Another op-ed that I wrote for my friends at Ace News Room…..if you like this op-ed please stop by and poke around Ace they have new3s for everyone…..
Recently Mr. Trump made a speech that was labeled as a foreign policy speech….as usual it was slap full of platitudes and one liners made for applause…..slogans for the nose picking ass scratchers…..
The one thought that I most liked (sarcasm) was the one about the invasion of Iraq and the oil…..
Remember when the last Iraq War began some were saying that it was all about oil……sorry but I agree with that assessment…..why? During the invasion a guard was dispatched to the oil ministry to be sire all was okay and yet the priceless artifacts in the Baghdad museum were not worth a thought……pretty much illustrates where the priorities fell……
When I heard about the deals that were being discussed for the Iraqi oil industry I said then that the people would suffer…..but instead of trying to outline my thinking here I will post the articles I wrote back in 2007 and 2008……
Source: Who Gets Iraq’s Oil? – In Saner Thought
Source: Big Oil To Return To Iraq – In Saner Thought
After reading those I will try to explain why I referenced them……you see I read a disturbing article about the Iraqi oil revenues…….
This article was originally published by Niqash. Where Are The Petrodollars? Kirkuk Oil Flowing Fast, But Locals Never See Any Money The province of Kirkuk exports millions of barrels of oil per month. But nobody knows where […]
Source: Kirkuk Oil Flowing, but Locals Never See Any Money | Iraq Business News
Okay we all agree that Saddam was a wanker and pretty much deserved what he got…..but after he nationalized the oil industry the revenues were used for all sorts of projects for the country……..
So where are the revenues going? Who is lining their pockets this time? This is why I am a supporter of the nationalization of the oil industry and the revenue used for the benefit of the country not for the pockets of the people that control the industry……. this country needs so much to repair the damage that politicians and constant warfare have done….if you want this country to “bounce” back then a new thought process is much needed….someone is taking the “cream” off the top of the revenue flow……who would be your guess?
As long as we are talking about oil……I read a good piece on how oil fuels authoritarianism in the world…..
Source: How the structure of global oil markets fuels authoritarianism and war – Vox
Maybe we need a new mantra…..”Oil is the root of all evil”……will it catch on?
Amazing how much damage oil can create…….but if it is not oil we will only find something else that will do the job, right?
Awhile back the Obama admin decided to let there be Arctic drilling…..and the environmentalists went batcrap crazy.
Then Shell had problems with 2 of its drilling rigs…..I mean major problems…..those solved they leased an ice breaker from Finland or Sweden or some country of the North……after they took possession they found a gash in the side of the ship and it had to go dry dock to be fixed……after clashes with environmental groups over the ship it finally made it to the Arctic and then wok could begin……
But after some time looking for the “black oil”….Shell has issued a statement…..
Royal Dutch Shell says it will cease exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast following disappointing results from an exploratory well backed by billions in investment and years of work. This is a huge blow to Shell, which was counting on offshore drilling in Alaska to help it drive future revenue. Environmentalists, however, had tried repeatedly to block the project and welcomed the news. Shell has spent upward of $7 billion on Arctic offshore exploration, including $2.1 billion in 2008 for leases in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast, where an exploratory well about 80 miles off shore drilled to 6,800 feet but yielded disappointing results. Backed by a 28-vessel flotilla, drillers found indications of oil and gas but not in sufficient quantities to warrant more exploration.
Shell will end exploration off Alaska “for the foreseeable future,” the company said, because of the well results and because of the “challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska.” Environmental groups had warned oil exploration in the ecologically fragile Arctic could lead to increased greenhouse gases, crude oil spills, and a disaster for wildlife. “Polar bears, Alaska’s Arctic, and our climate just caught a huge break,” the oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. “Here’s hoping Shell leaves the Arctic forever.” Analysts say that since the Chukchi and Beaufort seas contain an estimated 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil, further exploration in decades to come is probably inevitable
And the peasants danced!
Who will be the next sucker to attempt an Arctic drilling operation?
WIN one for the earth!
I have found a few articles in the last couple of days that leads me to believe that Texans elect the most batcrap crazies in the state.
All the uproar about fracking and the damage it could possibly do has been all over the tube for a couple of years…..we have minor earthquakes, rotten water and pollution…..the big debate is what to do about fracking….is it really worth the dangers it could impose?
It appears that Texas has found a way to settle the debate……..
Texas moved Monday to ban its own cities from imposing prohibitions on hydraulic fracturing and other potentially environmentally harmful oil and natural gas drilling activities within their boundaries – a major victory for industry groups and top conservatives who have decried rampant local “overregulation.”
The bill last month overwhelmingly cleared the House, which Republicans control by a 2-to-1 margin, and passed the GOP-dominated Senate almost as easily Monday – sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.
To all my readers and followers from Texas…..I apologize if it appears I am picking on Texas…..but I still cannot get over all the BATCRAP CRAZY stuff you guys are doing…….
Hopefully you can find a cure for the condition……..if you do please4 pass it on….I live in Mississippi and we are pretty much trying to out batcrap crazy Texas……
Americans have been ga-ga over the slow fall in gas prices…..we have decided now is the time for that bigger car and that long awaited road trip…..I mean why not….gas is CHEAP!
There have been expert after expert on talk shows giving a wide array of reasons for the slide of crude oil prices….but do we really know the reason? And by we I mean us average mere mortal consumers.
By now I would expect the Right to be having a stroke at the announcement that there will be a delay in the Keystone issue…..but I guess they still have not gotten the rancher thing out of their system…..but for those that are not sure of what I speak……
The White House was supposed to wrap up its review of the proposed Keystone oil pipeline in another two weeks. But in a surprise move today, the administration announced that the review would be extended indefinitely—and probably until after the November elections, reports the Wall Street Journal. The White House says the delay is necessary only because of a legal challenge still playing out in Nebraska, reports AP. But reaction to the move is pretty clear-cut: Supporters of the pipeline are angry and environmentalists are happy.
It’s “good news on Good Friday for those who oppose Keystone as not being in our nation’s best interest,” green activist Tom Steyer tells Politico. But that sentiment was countered by critics from both parties: “This decision is irresponsible, unnecessary and unacceptable,” said Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, while Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called it a “stunning act of political cowardice.” The pipeline would carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, but the legal fight in Nebraska—home of the Ogallala Aquifer—means its exact route is still unclear, reports the New York Times. The state Supreme Court isn’t expected to rule on the case until the fall, and more legal wrangling would surely follow.
Of course the usual culprits had lots to say and of course the one about cheaper gas ha risen again…….I have been fighting that piece of crap since 2008….(check comments for a list of posts that I have for this issue)…….at first I thought people were just misinformed….then I thought they were naive…..and then I thought they were deluding themselves ……and now I believe they are just stupid!
Oil is sold on the spot market…….prices are rigged……the only way that we could ever have cheap gas is by doing something that most do not want…….here I will use the “N” word………oil traveling in the pipeline does not belong to the US it belongs to whoever drilled it………
Cheaper gas? Do you think that Exxon or BP or Shell is ever gonna lower gas prices?
Please stop using the lame and tired old slogan of drill baby drill…..NOTHING will change….gas will go up and down according to the people that fix the prices……..you are doing nothing but making the American people more stupid…….please stop!
Something wicked this way comes……..(Ray Bradbury)
Just outside my front door was the world’s worst environmental disaster ever……..the impact of the oil spill is still being felt and who knows what will be the results of future tests to determine water quality…..BP has ponied up about $50 billion in damages….and there is still NO definitive proof that all is okay…there are a wealth of opinions on the subject….most come from the American Petroleum Institute…..a think tank to convince the multitude that the oil industry is a somehow safe…….I have my doubts.
But thanx to the lame brain thinking of ‘drill baby drill’ the British (BP) are allowed to resume their work in the Gulf……..
BP is taking a big step in its recovery following 2010’s massive oil spill. The US has agreed to lift the 2012 ban that kept the oil company from doing business with the US government—including seeking contracts in the Gulf of Mexico. That means the company can begin competing for new contracts and leases as early as next Wednesday’s scheduled Gulf auction—though its path to the Gulf isn’t quite as neat as that. Per the agreement, it will have to meet increased ethics, corporate governance, and safety requirements, and must foot the bill for annual reviews by an independent auditor for the next five years. Those results will be handed over to the EPA, which can take action should the agreement be “breached,” the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal report. It’s “the best news BP has gotten since the accident,” notes an oil company analyst; to wit, the Journal points out that the 2012 injunction saw the company lose the opportunity to renew military fuel contracts valued at $2.3 billion. “BP has to get back into the hunt in order for them to score.” Others, unsurprisingly, aren’t as thrilled with the news. Activist group Public Citizen says the decision “lets a corporate felon and repeat offender off the hook for its crimes against people and the environment.” Craig Hooks at the EPA, however, says it’s “a fair agreement that requires BP to improve its practices in order to meet the terms we’ve outlined together.”
Wonder what this piece of good news cost BP? Cash was undoubtedly passed around…but the big question should be….who got the cheddar?
I remember back in the 2008 presidential circus…one of the big deals was what we shall call the ‘drill baby drill’ movement…..and all the accusations that a Dem would make it impossible for the country to reach any self-sufficiency in oil……first, the country has nothing to do with it….oil companies control that…….I heard all sorts of condemnation for programs offered up by the Dems…….and after the election these condemnations did not cease…Palin, McCain, do-dah and strataflop still hung in there with the ‘drill baby drill’ slogan and dog whistle for the uninformed.
We were bombarded by all the resistance to any regulations coming out of the Obama admin…..these programs would kill any chance for America to become self-sufficient. There is still a whisper of all this crap still in the right wing media…..not as pronounced as it once was….but there nonetheless…..
Yesterday there was an announcement by an oil company that got very little coverage….everyone was way too busy following Christie around waiting for a sound bite……but I will pass on what I read……this was disclosed on The Hill…….
Exxon Mobil’s CEO Rex Tillerson says the U.S. will be energy self-sufficient by 2020, CNBC reports.
“I think it is realistic that the U.S. could be energy self-sufficient by the end of this decade,” Tillerson told CNBC on Thursday.
“We’re already the world’s largest natural gas producer [and] last year, crude oil production surpassed levels not seen since the 1980s,” he added.
In November, the International Energy Agency predicted that the U.S. would surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer by 2016.
And in October, U.S. crude oil production exceeded imports for the first time in nearly 20 years, the Energy Information Administration reported.
Of course this does not mean that gas prices will go down…no matter what the dillweeds tell you……
Okay sports fans….may we put all the drill baby drill bullshit to sleep now?
We know all the hype…..drill baby drill…..or millions of jobs will be created by Keystone……fracking is a safe alternative…..on and on. But ask yourself what, if anything did the Congress do this last session in conjunction with environmental issues?
My Earth Day continues………..
Of course, almost yearly we here some goon spout the energy dependency thing…..and after that we here all the bobble heads chanting……”Drill Bay Drill”……and as always I ask….who will do the drilling? If the answer is BP or Shell or Exxon then there is NO independence from oil….these goofs control the price….no matter where they drill….stop! And smell the manure that is being spread!
Then there is all the buzz about natgas and ethanol……..and ethanol is where this post is going today……
(Newser) – President Obama, and President Bush before him, fought hard to make ethanol a central part of American energy. But an AP investigation finds that the program as it stands may be doing far more environmental harm than good. The effort to grow corn for fuel has meant the destruction of more conservation ground than “Yellowstone, Everglades, and Yosemite National Parks combined”—some 5 million acres. Billions of pounds of fertilizer have tainted drinking water, rivers, and wildlife habitats; wetlands and prairies have been ruined; and the farming process releases carbon dioxide once held in the soil.
“This is an ecological disaster,” says an environmental advocate. In fact, some environmental groups and big oil companies are fighting on the same side against the ethanol mandate. The Obama administration argues that even if such programs take a toll now, they’re an investment in future renewable energy that may be cleaner. But the AP investigation indicates that the White House is taking an unrealistically rosy view of the program—boosting corn yield assumptions, for instance, to make ethanol sound as green as possible. In further ethanol news:
We can pretend all we like but ethanol is not the answer….may be, at best, one of the pillars of Independence….but by NO means a solitary solution.