In case you're wondering why gas prices keep rising. . . .
Ok . . . I know there's "other" reasons gas prices are high such as oil company greed and taxes, etc. . . but I'm just commenting on the very scary stuff going on in the Middle East. This is a clip from a middle east news agency:
QUOTE: Ali Falahian, Iran’s senior spokesman on sanctions, said Sunday, March 18: “I suggest that the West take seriously our threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.” This was Tehran’s first response to the SWIFT decision to sever ties with Iranian banks.
Four US and French nuclear aircraft carriers and a large fleet of minesweepers stand by on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 percent of the world’s daily oil supply passes, and Israeli naval vessels are deployed in the Red Sea. Tehran has threatened to drop sea mines in the strategic strait and/or the approaches to the huge Saudi Ras Tanura oil export terminal.
After its foremost ally, Bashar Assad, proved his ability to survive largely with the help of abundant Iranian help, Tehran is unlikely to let this achievement be marred by a US and European economic stranglehold. UNQUOTE
SWIFT stands for society for worldwide interbank financial telecommunication which operates a worldwide financial messaging network which exchanges messages between banks and other financial institutions. Expelling Iranian banks from SWIFT would potentially deny Iran access to billions of dollars in revenue.
On 17 March 2012, following agreement two days earlier between all 27 member states of the Council of the European Union and the Council's subsequent ruling, SWIFT disconnected all Iranian banks from its international network that had been identified as institutions in breach of current EU sanctions, and that further Iranian financial institutions could be disconnected from the network.
I was personally glad to see the financial sanctions and not another war,but. . . it's not looking so good anyway . . :(