Oil Companies at Brave New Films

What Has Gordon Smith Done?

2008-10-29T21:31:04Z

Billions for oil companies, billions for drug companies

John McCain: Speech 08/01/08

2008-10-28T15:29:56Z

John McCain
Speech
Orlando, FL 08/01/08

TRANSCRIPT:
JOHN MCCAIN (interrupting): "And by the way, Steve, keep drilling offshore, pal! Thank you!"
[...]
AUDIENCE MEMBER: "[...] You mention offshore [...] And I happened to see on CNN last night, they were talking about this offshore drilling. And that it would be at least 10-plus years before we get any benefit from that. And that only 3 per cent of the oil that we consume would [...] come from the offshore drilling. And I want you to help us with the real benefit of this. [...] As far as us receiving any benefit at the pump [...] that it would close to 10 years before we would receive it [...]"

JOHN MCCAIN: "I don't agree. In fact I met with oil executives just a few days ago in California -- as some call it Cal-i-fornia -- and the fact is that we can, using existing facilities, expand our oil production within months, according to these executives. And the fact that if we go offshore and if we find, as I'm confident we will, additional reserves of oil, that will have a beneficial effect. That is economics: that if you have a greater supply, that it has an effect on the price of whatever it is. And the fact is that in my view and that of oil company executives that I've talked to--the people that actually do it, not those that comment on television, but those that actually do it--we could, in a very short time, have a beneficial effect as we bridge the gap between our dependence on foreign oil and becoming energy independent [...] So I disagree with those experts and I've talked to the actual people that do the work, that are in the business that say within months and certainly within a very short time, we could have additional oil supply for this nation. So we ought to drill now."

LABEL: JM FL 08-01 (KF#6) GKY - ClipB - LS

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John McCain: Town Hall 07/29/08

2008-10-28T09:31:26Z

John McCain
Town Hall
Sparks, NV 07/29/08

TRANSCRIPT:

QUESTIONER: What is it going to take to get congress to release the ban on drilling? The President has done so but Congress seems to be just not wanting to take action whatsoever.

JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you. It's because we have a Congress that is not responsive to the wills, the will of the American people. My friends, all Americans want us--most Americans want us to drill. And by the way when the President announced he was lifting the Federal Moratorium, the price of a barrel of oil went down. And I am convinced that when we can-- I just met with some petroleum producers in California, Ca- li-fornia, yesterday. And they say there is some oil that is readily accessible to them because they're next to existing rigs that they could get a flow of oil within months, increased oil within months. So don't listen to this when you hear it could take five years or ten years. And my friends we've got to do that [...]

LABEL: JM NV 07-29 (KF#3) AEGHI - ClipA

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Meet The Bloggers with Matt Stoller

2008-10-29T15:31:17Z

Meet The Bloggers with Matt Stoller talks about dishonest Oil Companies

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John McCain: Town Hall Meeting 07/22/08

2008-10-28T03:31:30Z

John McCain
Town Hall
Rochester, NH - 07/22/08

TRANSCRIPT:
MCCAIN: "[...] And I'd like to mention offshore drilling if I could. My friends, we have to drill offshore. We have to do it! Oil executives say within a couple years we could be seeing results from it. So why not do it? We need to do it, and I was pleased to note that, in case you missed it, when the President announced that we were lifting the Federal moratorium on offshore drilling that the price of oil went down ten dollars a barrel. So it does, if America can show as we move into this energy independent era, that we have significant oil and gas reserves and we aren't dependent on foreign oil, it will have an effect on the price of a barrel of oil. So it can have a beneficial effect in the short term, as well as the long term."

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Stop Oil Speculation Now

2008-07-22T21:11:51Z

Guess what? Gas is expensive. Expensive gas impacts almost everything in Americans’ day-to-day lives by making almost everything we do or consume more costly. One of the large contributors to the high cost of fuel is speculation, which in simple terms means to buy something you have no purpose for other than to make money off of its unstable price.

Well, the argument against excessive speculation, especially on commodities like oil, has brought together groups of citizens, organizations, and companies that oftentimes are at odds with one another. The Stop Oil Speculation Now effort has caused many to join in a call for smarter, more responsible government regulation and an end to one of the major drivers if high gas prices.

Flynt Leverett: Structural Shifts in Global Energy Markets

2008-10-28T14:36:12Z

National governments and national energy companies own more than 80 percent of the world's proven reserves of crude oil and international energy companies have no major places left to go and drill.
This is an excerpt from a Carnegie Council Global Policy Innovations event, "The Rise of the Rest," on July 1, 2008. For the full video, audio, and transcript, go to www.policyinnovations.org or www.carnegiecouncil.org

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McCain: Town Hall 05/01/08

2008-10-26T21:29:39Z

John McCain
Town Hall
Cleveland, OH 05/01/08

TRANSCRIPT:
REPORTER: Senator, on the gas tax holiday, you've seen all this criticism. Some of it indicating things like it would drive up demand when the supply is tight and some of the other economists who say it's not a good idea. Those specific things about perhaps giving oil companies more money or driving up demand . . . what is your reaction to those specific criticisms?

JOHN MCCAIN: My reaction to some of them is, go out and visit with low income American families . . . that are experiencing a crushing burden of increased gasoline prices in the nations capitol, some of the wealthiest people I know live a very short distance from where they work, they live in Georgetown. Some of the people who do really hard work and are low income people live as far as forty or fifty miles away and they drive older automobiles. Why don't we give them a little break? And all I can say is I'm not sure if it will drive up demand or consumption but what I do believe is that maybe it could give them a little relief and they may have to drive back and forth everyday just like they did before they got a little bit of relief but maybe they need it because it is consuming more and more of low income, fixed income Americans and I think it's something that may give them a little more hope and a little more confidence.

LABEL:
JM OH 5-1 (EW#5) DAGH -- Clip K

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Foreign companies vie for profit from Iraq's oil - 30 Jun 08

2008-10-27T09:29:42Z

Opponents of the war in Iraq say that the US invaded the country's for its oil.

Oil is Iraq's most precious resource, and it is now finally within reach.

Some of the world's biggest companies are set to go back into Iraq, with new contracts expected to be announced shortly.

However many Iraqis are suspicious of such plans and worry the country's oil wealth will go to foreigners.

Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports.

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Americans Blame Oil Companies Less

2008-11-20T15:38:12Z

The number of Americans who blame oil companies for the high price of gasoline has decreased from 34% in 2007 to just 20% in 2008.

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Sergeant vs. Colonel For Congress in MN

2008-10-21T15:30:58Z

More at www.theuptake.org
Congressional candidate and Bronze Star winner Steve Sarvi picked up the endorsement of Minnesota's Democratic party on Saturday. He will face incumbent Republican Congressman John Kline in the November election. Sarvi was an Army Sergeant serving in Iraq up until last year. Kline is a retired Marine Colonel. Kline has often used his military background as a shield in his past campaigns --accusing his opponents of disrespecting the uniform when they criticize him.

Kline is also known for launching well-funded attacks on his opponents, falsely inferring that they support legalizing meth, wanting to give social security dollars to illegal immigrants, and wanting to reinstate the draft.

It will be interesting this year to see how Kline attacks Sarvi without appearing to be attacking the military.

Sarvi's military stories highlighted how ill equipped US troops were when they went into battle. "Let me tell you about the first humvee I got into in Iraq. I slammed the door and the window fell out of that truck. That's the war we went to."

Sarvi said Kline refuses to meet with constituents and "look them eye to eye"... a reference to Kline's refusal to honor a promise to hold frequent face-to-face meetings with constituents after he was petitioned into holding one a year ago.

Instead, Kline has opted to hold "tele town hall meetings" where random constituents are called with no notice and asked to listen to Kline speak on the phone. No public records of the "tele town hall meetings" have been released and the media has not been allowed to monitor them, which has led to speculation that the questions are scripted or only hand picked questions are allowed.

Sarvi criticized Kline for taking large campaign donations from oil companies and then voting to give them subsidies while they are making world-record profits.

"This is not about gas taxes, this is about big oil profits. And John Kline has done everything in his power to protect those. In fact, when you get to go to the gas station next time take a look at that gas pump and you're paying almost $4 a gallon...you'll see the face of John Kline on that gas pump.

"He's taken over a $110,000 from big oil and he rewards them with his votes and I think that's wrong".

Sarvi was energized after getting the unanimous endorsement from the DFL. The only other candidate, Peter Idusogie, dropped out of the race before the results of the first ballot were announced. Sarvi said he was going to celebrate, and then prepare for a battle with Kline.

"We are going to hit this trail hard. And you're going to see what a Sergeant can do against a Colonel".

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Sergeant vs. Colonel For Congress in MN

2008-10-28T03:30:52Z

It will be interesting this year to see how Kline attacks Sarvi without appearing to be attacking the military.

Sarvi criticized Kline for taking large campaign donations from oil companies and then voting to give them subsidies while they are making world-record profits.

"He's taken over a $110,000 from big oil and he rewards them with his votes and I think that's wrong".

"We are going to hit this trail hard. And you're going to see what a Sergeant can do against a Colonel".

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Quil Lawrence: Kurdistan's Oil

2008-11-28T03:08:11Z

Quil Lawrence, author of "Invisible Nation," discusses the oil reserves in Kurdistan, where foreign companies are already in place. Who owns the oil revenues, the central government or Kurdistan, and what are the possible outcomes for Kurdistan and the region?
This is an excerpt from a Carnegie Council talk on April 22, 2008. For the full video, audio, and transcript, go to carnegiecouncil.org

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