A few days ago I wrote a column entitled “Oil Prices Will go Sky High,” and I daresay I wasn’t far off the mark.

Mubarak’s refusal to vacate his office and get out of town and the uncertainty about what will be, is already causing global rumblings in as much as oil and food prices are already beginning to rise, and there is no way to tell just how long it will last.

A major concern is that uprisings and revolutions will spread to Egypt’s rich neighbors, who just happen to control much of the world’s oil supply.

This situation is casting a large shadow over world financial markets, and is affecting still very shaky world economies.

This instability in the Middle East, if allowed to continue for any length of time, could well jeopardize the still fragile economic recoveries in both the United States and Europe.

The situation remains very tense after more than 10 days of street demonstrations, but the real worry is if these protests continue, and there isn’t more forthcoming reassurance about stability in Egypt and the broader region as a whole, you will see a continued decline in the regional economy which in turn will have a negative effect on the economy here in the United States.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. was $3.12 as of last Friday – up 2.4 cents just in the past week, and most industry analysts expect prices to stay above $3.00 a gallon – that is the highest since 2008 – and likely to go even higher unless the present conflict resolves itself and tensions in the surrounding countries are eased.

Oil prices have been hovering at about $90 a barrel during the past eight or nine days, but could go over $100 a barrel if the Egyptian crisis is not settled.

Helping to fuel the popular uprising in Egypt are rising food prices, where most of the population is very poor, and the turmoil there and the unrest in Somalia and other Arab countries appears to be driving food prices even higher.

“Hundred dollar-a-barrel oil” puts the Iranians in the “Catbird seat” since that will do a lot to take the sting out of the current sanctions we are putting on them, so they must be rolling on the floor with laughter, but just to show you how my devious mind works I pose the question to you:
“Is it possible the Iranians might just have a hand in the current riots in Cairo?”

Saudi Arabia and Algeria just to name two, have indicated that they may begin increasing their stockpiles of wheat and other grains (sort of reminds one of Joseph and the seven years of fat and the seven years of lean).

Egypt, by the way is the world’s largest importer of wheat, and if they start hoarding it, and other countries in the region start to do the same, coupled with the current political strife, all I can say is a major food shortage plus millions of very poor an very hungry people, could lead to an extremely volatile situation.

I have tried to restrain my usual vitriol, however, when we have a guy like Obama who doesn’t have a clue what he is doing, and a Secretary of State who loves the sound of her own voice, but couldn’t find her fat butt with both hands, my advice is as follows:

“TIGHTEN THE CINCH ON YOUR SADDLE, AND HANG ON BECAUSE WE ARE IN FOR ONE HELLUVA RIDE!”

WAKE UP AMERICA!!!

February 5th, 2011

Submitted to the Federal Observer for publication, by the author, Aaron Cantor