"Jim Yanik" . wrote in message
.. .

Oil prices are up because Communist China is using much more oil

Only indirectly. Unless there is a REAL shortage (which there is not), the
price is determined in the same way as many other investments, such as
stocks: Speculation and mood. Next time a suicide bomber strikes within
Saudi Arabia, watch the price of oil closely, even if the bomb was detonated
in a restaurant.