That’s right.  Despite the lies that you have been told by our government, oil companies, wall street and the media, if our legislature drafted a bill curtailing oil speculation and providing transparency to the industry, we would have $2/gallon gasoline nationally in less than thirty days. This is according to testimony given to the House Committee on Energy & Commerce this week.

Expert testimony states that although there are deep underlying issues to supply and demand, oil should be trading at $65-$75/barrel.  It is the self-fulfilling prophesy of financial speculation that has created the current climate of $131/barrel plus pricing.

To add insult to injury, our federal governing body for commodity futures (the CFTC) has been issuing exemptions that ALLOW and ENCOURAGE further speculation. In other words, OUR government’s corporatism is to blame for this acute rise in gas prices, not OPEC, not you.

Read the testimony given to the House Committee Energy & Commerce on 6/23/2008 below and ask yourself, whom do you believe?

Question:
“BOTH SECRETARY PAULSON AND SECRETARY BODMAN HAVE ARGUED SPECULATIONS’ PLAY NO ROLE IN THE RISING OF OIL PRICES.  THE CFTC AGREES WITH THEM.  WHAT ARE THE COST OF INACTION IF CONGRESS FAILS TO ADDRESS THIS MATTER?  WILL IT SELF CORRECT ITSELF?”

Answer:
“THIS IS AN ACUTE PROBLEM.  IT CAN BE SOLVED VERY QUICKLY WITH CHANGES IN THE VERY GOOD BRIEF REMARK.  — AND THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.”

Question:
“MR. MASTERS, YOU INDICATED THIS PROBLEM COULD BE SOLVED  RATHER QUICKLY IF WE TOOK STEPS  REGARDING THE REGULATORY ON A TRAIN OF SPECULATORS IN THE MARKETS.  LET’S SAY THAT CONGRESS PASSED  LEGISLATION AND ADOPTED THESE,  AND SEND IT, PAST, AND THE  PRESIDENT SIGNED.  HOW SOON WOULD WE SEE A  SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN RETAIL  GASOLINE PRICES?”

Answer:
“WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO PREDICT THE FUTURE, MY ESTIMATION WOULD  BE WITHIN 30 DAYS.”

Question:
“HOW MUCH WOULD THEY BE REDUCED, ROUGHLY?”

Answer:
“I AM NOT SURE I HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL.  I WOULD GO BACK TO WHAT I SAID EARLIER.  MY SENSE IS THEY WOULD PROBABLY  DROP OVER A REASONABLY SHORT  PERIOD OF TIME CLOSER TO  $65-$75.”

Answer:
“I THINK IT IS REASONABLE TO CONCLUDE THAT IS ABOUT HALF OF WHERE PRICES ARE TODAY.  I WOULD THINK THAT GASOLINE PRICES WOULD REFLECT THAT.”

Question:
“YOU’RE SAYING THAT WE COULD ALMOST CUT THE RETAIL PRICE OF GAS IN HALF IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME.”

Answer:
“YES.”

(more…)

Tags: acute problem, cftc, commodity futures, corporatism, Energy & Humanity, expert testimony, financial speculation, Gov, government oil companies, insult to injury, oil prices, oil speculation, paulson, regulatory framework, retail gasoline prices, self fulfilling prophesy, speculators, thirty days

New York, USA (July 09, 2008) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Scherr Technology today announces the launch of milehighpedicabs.com the website for Mile High Pedicabs, Inc. The website showcases the types of rides they provide and includes a inline custom contact form. Scherr Technology provided Mile High Pedicabs with product design and implementation services.

About Mile High Pedicabs
Mile High Pedicabs is the first downtown Denver pedicab operation, and now provides the largest fleet of pedicabs to serve the downtown area. These three-wheeled pedal cabs, the descendants of rickshaws, are powered by trained, licensed, and insured drivers to provide a fun and practical mode of green transportation. Mile High pedicabs is the offspring of Main Street Pedicabs, the largest manufacturer of pedicabs in North America.

About Scherr Technology
Founded in 1994 by Brian C. Scherr and located in New York, Scherr Technology is a full service media company specializing in video enabled website design and development, existing site redesigns, corporate identity, ecommerce and marketing. Scherr Technology provides unique solutions to a diverse range of clientele across the United States and throughout the world with an emphasis on emerging technologies.

© 2008 Scherr Technology. All rights reserved. Scherr Technology is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries, Mile High Pedicabs is a registered trademark in the U.S. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Tags: client, ecommerce, Image, Launch, Main Street Pedicabs, Press Releases, Redesign, ScherrTech.com, Website

In a move anticipated by many Net Neutrality watchdog groups, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and AT&T have announced that they are officially pursuing a metered Internet service provider system. As our ISP’s, these corporations function as our collective gateway’s to the Internet. Now these gateways are tightening their grasp for all but those who can afford to pay their premiums.

Yes, we all remember tiered dial-up service but the Internet has changed. Unlimited broadband provided the framework for another leap in the maturity and democratization of the Internet. The lesson is clear THE SAME INTERNET FOR ALL. These policies only serve to steer us away from the progress we have already made.

Don’t be fooled, this will cripple future broadband innovation. Unlimited broadband connections to the Internet and the freedom to visit websites that rely on broadband-based technologies will become a privilege. This will certainly deepen the already significant digital divide between people who have access to free and unfettered communication with the rest of humanity and those who do not.

This is seen by many as the necessary first step to “reduce Internet access to a TV-like subscription model, only offering access to a small standard amount of commercial sites and require extra fees for every other site you visit. These ‘other’ sites would then lose all their exposure and eventually shut down, resulting in what could be seen as the end of the Internet.” ISP’s confirm ‘2012: The Year The Internet Ends’, iPower

Metered billing could also put a crimp in the plans of services like Apple Inc.’s iTunes that use the Internet to deliver video. DVD-by-mail pioneer Netflix Inc. just launched a TV set-top box that receives an unlimited stream of Internet video for as little as $8.99 per month. Time Warner Cable tries metering Internet use, ap va yahoo news

AT&T believes it “inevitable” that its most frequent Internet users will pay some kind of surcharge for the extra demand on the network, says company representative Michael Coe. AT&T mulling fees for heavy Internet use, electronista

Time Warner Cable will launch a trial program on Thursday which will impose monthly Internet consumption caps on new subscribers in Beaumont, Texas. Following a two-month grace period, cable users will pay $1 for each additional gigabyte consumed beyond the cap. 40GB for $55 per month: Time Warner bandwidth caps arrive, ars technica

Comcast is evaluating a capping system that it hopes will pay for the cost of very heavy users without affecting most reasonable use, according to a tip sent to BBR. In the proposed plan, the provider would implement a clear 250GB monthly data transfer cap and charge users $15 extra per month for every 10GB increment past the limit. Comcast mulling 250GB cap, excess fees?, electronista

Don’t let OUR Internet devolve to this:

Tags: broadband connections, comcast, democratization, dial up service, extra fees, frequent internet users, internet service provider, internet use, itunes, Net Neutrality & Stats, Net Neutrality & Stats, netflix inc, subscription model, time warner cable, unlimited broadband

On Thursday June 19, 2008, leaders of Congress and the White House reached an agreement to approved telco amnesty, legalize and then expand President Bush’s Secret Spy Program. All citizens should know that when the bill is enacted, your email, website, phone calls and any other digital communication will be unprotected.

Who will have access to this information and for what purposes?  How will it be protected?  How long will it be until this sweeping new power is abused?  What precedent does giving immunity to corporations who collaborated with illegal government activities set?  After all, I stick to my cell phone agreement.  Shouldn’t they?

With legal action pending against major telecommunications companies, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt said courts will make the call but predicted, “The lawsuits will be dismissed.” FERRARO, Thomas (2008), Spy bill to shield phone companies from lawsuits, Reuters, [19 June 2008]

“I think the White House got a better deal than even they had hoped to get,” said Senator Christopher S. Bond, Republican of Missouri, who led the negotiations. LICHBLAU, Eric (2008), Deal Is Struck to Overhaul Wiretap Law, The New York Times, [20 June 2008]

Tags: 19 june, amnesty, FINALIZED, Gov, illegal government, Image, immunity, Net Neutrality & Stats, Partner, precedent, ScherrTech.com, spy bill, spy program, telco, telecommunications companies, Website, wiretap law