A good rule of thumb in regard to world events is as such: you can always tell what a person or entity is made of when disaster strikes. If they act in a selfless manner, it’s a safe bet that they have a good heart. Conversely, if they try to inflict as much misery as humanly possible when people are at their most vulnerable, then you know that an inherent evil lurks inside their souls.

Over a week ago, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast. It will go down in history as the worst natural disaster to ever befall this country. Images have been flashing on TV for days showing the heartache, death, and suffering.

So what do the oil companies do? Extend their hand and try to ease us through this catastrophe? Hell no - these greedy, charcoal-hearted bastards went straight for our throats and started jacking gasoline prices through the roof --- as much as 50 cents a day, and over a dollar/gallon in some areas in less than a week's time.

Now remember, energy is the most profitable industry in the world, and the major oil companies are owned by the wealthiest entities in the world – the international bankers (who make all their money off of usury – another one of the biggest industries in the world). So, being that they’re not hurting for money by any stretch of the imagination, did these devils extend a helping hand? Not by a long-shot. Instead, they jacked gasoline prices past $3.00/gallon, and in the South it hit over $5.00/gallon.

To illustrate the extent of their spiteful greed, please read the following passage from an article by Derrick Z. Jackson (Big Oil's Big-Time Looting):

               Of the world's seven most profitable corporations, four are ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch                Shell, BP, and Chevron. ExxonMobil is the world's most profitable company, making                $25.3 billion last year. It and the other three corporations had combined profits last year                of $72.8 billion. ExxonMobil is also the world's most valuable company, with a market                value, according to Forbes magazine, of $405 billion. The combined market value of                ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Chevron is nearly $1 trillion.

               And that was last year. A month ago, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips                announced record second- quarter profits of $7.6 billion, $3.7 billion, and $3.1 billion,                respectively. Royal Dutch Shell's quarterly profits of $5.2 billion were up by 34 percent                over the same period last year. Other well-known companies like Sunoco also had record                second-quarter earnings.

               If ExxonMobil were to maintain its current pace of profits, it would cross the $30 billion                barrier for 2005.

Of course, as Jon Christian Ryter recently wrote in an article entitled Six Bucks for Gas: Jail the Price-Gougers, price gouging during a time of national emergency is a crime. But do you think the Bush administration will prosecute Standard Oil and the Seven Sisters (a name commonly used in reference to the seven leading oil producers)? Hardly. Why not? Because in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, 79% of George Bush’s $60 million in campaign contributions came from gas and oil companies. Does that spell-out the situation clearly enough?

Finally, don’t fall under the illusion that “refining” is the problem. As with every other area of the equation, this element too has been controlled, manipulated, and exploited. As Ryter points out:

               Early in his career, John D. Rockefeller, Sr. learned that to control the price of oil                nationwide he did not need to control the oil wildcatters who, from 1865 to 1876,                threatened to bankrupt the fledgeling oil industry in Pennsylvania by pumping too much oil                and causing the price of crude to drop below the cost to refine it. He only needed to                control how much oil was refined. As long as demand exceeded supply, the oil industry                would remain healthy—and profitable. Instead of attempting to buy out every wildcatter                who sunk a well around Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, Rockefeller and his partner, Henry                Flagler concentrated on either buying or bankrupting the independent refineries. By 1887,                Standard Oil controlled 85% of all the oil that was refined in the United States.

Folks, what we’re witnessing today in the United States may possibly be the gravest example of a royal screwing that we’ve ever seen. The question now is: how long are we going to take it until all hell breaks loose?