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Obama Puppetmaster Warren Buffett Biggest Winner From Keystone Pipeline Rejection
Just when one thinks American crony capitalism couldn't hit new lows, here comes Warren Buffett and his personal puppet, the president, proving everyone wrong once more. Because if one thinks there is no (s)quid pro quo for all that "sage" advice that Buffett has been giving to Obama on extracting as much wealth as possible from future wealthy Americans (before they decide they have had enough with this crony shit and leave the country for good), one would be fatally wrong. As it turns out, it is not just natural resources and aquifer purity that Obama had in mind when sealing the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline. No - it appears there were far more relevant numerial metrics that determined Obama's decisions. Such as the bottom line number of Buffett's Burlington Northern, which according to Bloomberg, is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit. '“Whatever people bring to us, we’re ready to haul,” Krista York-Wooley, a spokeswoman for Burlington Northern, a unit of Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), said in an interview. If Keystone XL “doesn’t happen, we’re here to haul." And quite delighted to reap the windfalls of unfounded populist fears she forgot to add. Because while the whole "carbon-credit" multi-trillion top line expansion scheme for Goldman under the pretense of actually caring for the environment may have collapsed, it is not preventing others from trying and succeeding where even Goldman has failed.
From Bloomberg:
Rail car production is already at a three-year high as manufacturers such as Greenbrier Cos Inc. (GBX) and American Railcar Industries Inc. (ARII) expand to meet demand for sand used in oil and gas exploration, according to Steve Barger, an analyst at Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. in Cleveland, citing Railway Supply Institute statistics.
Rail-car suppliers can add capacity, Hatch said.
“Railroads are not just a stopgap while we wait for a pipeline,” Hatch said in an interview. “They are potentially part of the long-term solution.”
Railroads are being used in North Dakota (STOND1), where oil producers have spurred a fivefold increase in output by using intensive drilling practices in the Bakken, a geologic formation that stretches from southern Alberta to the northern U.S. Great Plains. During 2011, rail capacity in the region tripled to almost 300,000 barrels a day as higher production exceeded what pipelines handle, according to the State Department report on Keystone XL.
Burlington Northern carries about 25 percent of the oil from the Bakken, said Krista York-Wooley, the railroad spokeswoman. The company can carry higher volumes from North Dakota or Alberta, she said.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP)’s shipments from North Dakota climbed to more than 13,000 carloads last year from about 500 in 2009, Ed Greenberg, a spokesman, said in an e-mail. The Calgary- based company has a similar plan in western Canada.
“With an extensive rail network and proven expertise in moving energy, CP offers a flexible option for transporting crude oil and other energy-related products to and from key locations in North America,” Vice President Tracy Robinson said in an e-mail. “Rail is scalable, allowing CP to effectively keep pace with the shipping needs of producers.”
So those wondering how it is that AAR railroad statistics continue to be so very strong, it is not because the economy actually justifies it: it is because crony interests such as those of the Octogenarian of Omaha demand it as "payment" for their crony collegiality with the biggest dunce president since Carter.
In other news, it is truly amazing how with every new development, America is now becoming like one giant conspiracy theory, only this time it is actually not a theory as with every passing day we see it enacted in practice.
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Buffett wins, Canada wins, America wins a free buffet of faeces...
Classic.
jobs program...carry the oil in buckets.
Rail is comparatively efficient but it's not anywhere near that of a pipeline. Fucking carrying oil around, lol. The sand thing is rail's sweet spot
Obummer is a fucking disgusting pos.
Progressive government at it best. Get some billionaire geezer to wring his hands and say we should increase taxes, and reward him with billion dollar crony business. Watch for big Buffet donation to Obama's campaign for his 'progessive enlightened principles'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAKiMYwCwJc&feature=context&context=G2978a7dFAAAAAAAAAAA
Uploaded by RepAlanGrayson on Jan 24, 2012
Former congressman Alan Grayson (D-Orlando) recorded this speech for Blue America. The speech refers to the 2nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's dreadful Citizens United ruling. The decision grants corporations the same rights as humans when it comes to political free speech, and enables them to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence our elections.
Are the Koch brothers teaching you? (or Your Children?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f_7uE2rqWw&feature=uploademail
Uploaded by bravenewfoundation on Jan 23, 2012
Billionaires Charles and David Koch are infringing on intellectual freedom and independence in colleges and universities by controlling entire fields of study and the faculty hiring process. Defend academia and share this video.
TAKE ACTION: http://KochBrothersExposed.com/KochCollege
DISCUSS: http://facebook.com/KochBrothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAf7J4a_T1g
Vincent Browne v The ECB
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Worth the time to watch!
God Bless Vincent Browne!! and the People of the Ireland!
In your tidy little Socialist world do partnerships have free speech ? "Corporations are just partnerships that got so big they had to pass out numbers !"....Monedas 2012
I am a socialist?
I will go K-1 for K-1 with anyone you personaly know.
Corruption is the Problem.
Lobby Dollars communicated to Wahsington DC thru 'K" Street..
The Corporations that Provide the Bulk of the Lobby Monies are soulless.. My definition of a Soulless Corporation is "A corp that does NOT! have a Majority Holder of shares".
There is no one person or even group of people steering these soulless corps.
The Board is installed by the CEO.. and the CEO does not have a meaningful amount of shares.. thusly milks the Corp for as mush Quarterly Bonus Money as Possible.
This behavior is translated into Lobby Dollars that drive Washington DC.
Now the fact that you dont grasp this or one better know this off the top of your head.. tells me you should stick to washing cars or whatever service industry you provide labor for. minus arrow that.. all the way down to the un-employment line.
No worries!! Aztlan Rising http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajkAP_M4ZAM !! You will get yours! LOL!! you just have to wait for the white people to die off! LOL!! would you like Fire Water or Trinckets? I have both! LOL!!
The problem with corporate corruption is the size of the federal government. Outlawing free speech by corporations and political donations will further enhance the power of the federal government, which is fine if you are communist pos.
If you want to reduce the influence of lobbying and corporations over the government you have to shrink the federal government. The only cure known to man that works.
Alan Grayson is a one world Zionists pos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SovALlOhSg8
The EU has delivered on its threat to ban the import of crude oil from Iran, in response to its nuclear programme. The latest round of sanctions prohibits any new oil contracts, while allowing for existing deals to run until July. But Tehran is apparently finding ways to keep business pumping. Reports say Iran will keep supplying one of its biggest customers - India - but will get payment in gold instead of dollars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vD8Y1jLo58&feature=relmfu
Iran Sanction Bill Exempts BP ProjectBritish and European Union officials have convinced some U.S. lawmakers to ensure that any new sanctions against Iran exempt a BP PLC-led natural-gas project, as Western governments try to isolate Tehran without harming their own energy security.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203718504577176553622681734.html
Corporate Free Speech!! BP is exempt from any Sanctions in Iran!
I see what you mean!
Free Speech does Work!
and less Government is the answer.. less power to the Government and Less Government interference!
Just like the Koch Brothers want!
It is what's good for America!!
Look how well things have gone this far?
So what you just told me..
in all seriousness.
is that you buy the 5th Ave. Multi-Market Tested Swill Provided by the likes of the Koch Brothers.
Tax Breaks.. is code for Tax Breaks for the Rich.
Less Government Regulation.. is code for Less Civil Liabilities for Corporations and MORE Criminal Laws for Main Street.
and you talking to me about being a socialist who is in LOVE with Big Government?
I guess you are bored, stupid or new.. or maybe you dont speak the fucking language as in English is a second language to you.. so given that my spanglish is non-existent..
I will go with this..
STOP DRINKING THE 5TH AVE KOOLAIDE and then Regurgitating IT ALL OVER ME, YOU DUMB FUCK!
You offer NO! facts..
and the shit you are pumping is corporate apporved bullshit. save it for your buddies over at Huffington Post.
this is not that place, we are not those people.
So either get a fucking clue? or stay stupid! the choice is yours.
Good Luck and God Bless!
Signed, Christian Constitutionalist and for you stupid, lazy pieces of shit.. “See Something? Say Something!” and here is the link for you ---- > http://www.dhs.gov/files/reportincidents/see-something-say-something.shtm
Last week, the federal government reported that the U.S. trade deficit grew by 33 percent in 2010 to nearly half a trillion dollars. Most of the gap resulted from an imbalance in trade with China, which shipped $365 billion in goods to America but only bought $92 billion in U.S. goods. The resulting U.S. deficit of $273 billion in bilateral trade with Beijing reflects a persistent feature of the Sino-American relationship since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Over the last ten years, China has mounted the biggest challenge to the U.S. manufacturing sector ever seen, threatening producers of steel, chemicals, glass, paper, drugs and any number of other items with prices they cannot match. Not coincidentally, the United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs every month during the same period.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2011/02/14/intelligence-community-fears-u-s-manufacturing-decline/
for the past decade, since Bush signed the agreement.. America has shipped (conservatively) 50,000 Manufacturing Jobs Per Month to China (alone).
6 million manufacturing jobs..
$50k a year on average from top to bottom blend of wages (for those of you who are fucking dense and need it explained)
30% of $50k is $15k a year in Taxes.. $90,000,000,000 a year in tax base.. multiplied by 10 FUCKING YEARS!
and lets be honest.. this is the tip of the fucking iceberg.
Washington DC has not only allowed this to go on.. but provided Tax Breaks for Companies who shut down operations in the United States.. and then Provided TAX CREDITS! ON TOP OF THE TAX BREAKS!!
America... Paid Corporations.. to Move.
Corporations are People!
Money is Free Speech!!
so says the Supreme Court!
he Conservative Justices who were strict Constitutionalists while being questioned by Congress! have allowed this to go on and on and on and FUCKING ON!
Obama to Bankers: I’m Standing ‘Between You and the Pitchforks’
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/04/obama-to-banker/
Promise Broken rulings on the The Obameter
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/rulings/promise-broken/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SlBlvirqA0
Obama said "no lobbyists will work in my White House." It seems he forgot that promise to the voters as this video shows
Signed, Christian Constitutionalist and for you stupid, lazy pieces of shit.. “See Something? Say Something!” and here is the link for you ---- > http://www.dhs.gov/files/reportincidents/see-something-say-something.shtm
And you want what? High tariffs? Yea that worked out well in 1931 with Smoot-Hawley.
If you want American jobs to stay here;
1. One set of regulations for all 50 states.
2. A energy policy that allows drilling.
3. Tort reform.
4. Low or no corporate taxes.
5. Federal, state, and local cooperation with private companies to set up shop.
6. A educational system that teaches children how to read, write, and do arithmetic.
FYI, 7 of the top 8 manufacturing companies in the world are high wage countries.
http://www.inautonews.com/china-new-vehicle-vessel-tax-from-jan-1
General Motors faces the greatest impact, almost 22% extra on some sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and other cars with engine capacities above 2.5 litres. Chrysler faces a 15% penalty, while a 2% levy will be imposed on BMW, whose US plants make many of the cars it exports to China.
Existing taxes and duties already push up the cost of US imports by 25%, and the new levies make it even more expensive for Chinese consumers to buy American.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/15/china-taxes-us-car-imports
I am sorry? you were saying that I am for America taxing China's trinckets?
Maybe you said that becuase you didnt know China ia already taxing America.
Well I am glad that EVERYONE got to see how ignorant you are of the World around you.
I am glad to help you be just that much less fucking stupid.
I hope you are enjoying your english lessons.. I am going to have to start charging you, no matter what name you post under.
I like the 2 down arrows from you with your 2 names.. maybe you could go make a couple more and come back.. but you will still be ignorant, just that much more so.
Fuck Off!
Another mercantilist, just what need.
Buddy, be disgusted with it...
But just for the record, the other side of the deal was a different set of crony capitalists making the money. Why don't you google up "Export Zones Gulf Coast Valero Keystone Koch" and see what pops up?
The average joe would have been screwed that way as welll...
Stop trying to talk sense, Flak.
They want to believe Obama and Buffet screwed them and those on the other side of the trade were pure of heart and intentions.
effieciency is a crypto-facist preoccupation for corporate sociopaths
Makes you think twice next time you hear Opuppet intone: "As my good friend Warren Buffet says..."
OBAMA / BUFFETT
2012
I am going to rip that off.
that's just beggin' to be a Tshirt. . .
On tonight's State of the Union address, Obama will “lay out some specifics” on the so-called Buffett rule -- named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett -- which would require people with incomes of more than $1 million a year to pay at least the same percentage rate in taxes as middle-class households. In a New York Times op-ed essay in August, Buffett noted that he paid a lower tax rate -- 17.4 percent -- in 2010 than “any of the other 20 people in our office.”
When Obama announced the proposal in September, he said that “Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett.” The secretary, Debbie Bosanek, will be a guest at the speech tonight, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said in a Twitter posting this morning.
If Buffett thinks he is paying too little for taxes, why doesn't he mail the government a check for what he feels he owes? The IRS, to my knowledge, has never turned down money. Has anyone ever heard of the IRS calling someone in for an audit because they paid too much money in?
I am no fan of Buffett, Canada is our sister but she doesn't mind giving us a butt f*uk every once in a while, And America still can't get enough of those SUV's, and coruption is common as sand....
But frankly folks, this is like Sally has red hair, the connection is poorly defined and asks for conclusions based on coincidence. I am not ready to hang anyone on loose evidence, are you?
I'm not sure what's worse, wacko environmentalists stopping the pipeline or crony capitalism. Either way I dont care, Obama has to go into the dustbin of history. He can live out his days being head douche at the UN, because after 2012 that's the only political place he'll find any work with other anti-western minded people.
Do a little research...
The Nebraska State Republicans were against the proposed path....
TRP could have spent about 20 million bucks extra to avoid the sweet spot of the Ogallala... but in a fit of utter arrogance they tried to ram it through....
As bad as some of the tree huggers are, the scourge of this country has been crony capitalism....
you act as if like oil, water is an important liquid
He also acts like oil and water don't mix.
stop "dressing" it up
Moyers & Company Show 102: On Crony Capitalism
Bill Moyers and former White House budget director David Stockman on the all-too-cozy relationship between Washington and Wall Street.
http://vimeo.com/35372114
NOW with Bill Moyers: Essay on Sandy Weill
http://vimeo.com/35521206
Wear your junks with pride, blindfaith. When one points out any defect in logic, which is contrary to the theme of the article, it results in a piling-on. Pointing out the obvious fallacy is dangerous in the ZH mindset. Obama is Buffet's puppet. Okay. When someone points to puppetry in another I'm prone to look for the strings there as well.
Tea Party wires showing?
Good point but bad observation assuming you meant as my string-puller. The Tea Party ain't my thang. All of us have strings, and there are various flavors of the Koolaid.
Even ZH has its own peculiarly flavored Koolaid. Some drink it lovingly, some rabidly. Staying sane is the goal.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/01/19/the-great-pipeline-scam/
January 19, 2012When Will Environmentalists Ever Wake Up? The Great Pipeline Scam by MICHAEL LEONARDI
In another ridiculous moment of political trickery, Obama managed to dupe a major chunk of the American environmental movement yesterday by refusing to authorize the construction of the Keystone Pipeline now. The keyword in that sentence which seems like it is being largely ignored by the enviros is now, because what Obama did do is leave open the possibility of authorizing the construction of a pipeline any time in the future, say just after the election? And not that it matters much, as pipeline or not Tar Sands are already being refined all across the United States in increasing amounts. This great victory being celebrated by 350.org, Bill Mckibben and the no carbon crusaders out there is a complete farce to manipulate voters as we head into the latest corporate sponsored election.
Why is it so hard for seemingly good and well intentioned people to see the reality in front of them? Climate change will not be reversed by temporarily stopping this pipeline and Tar Sands are still moving forward full steam ahead. The Petrolarchs will get their Tar Sands Oil to market anyway they can pipeline or not. As was widely reported in the mainstream media, the state department made sure to leave the door open for Trans Canada to go ahead with another proposal for the construction of the pipeline. Trans Canada says they are preparing to start construction on schedule, knowing full well that this is already a done deal. Is it Obama’s nurturing language that fools them? “The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment,” Obama said. How many times will these well intentioned people allow themselves to be fooled? It seems that many of these good folks often get swept away by the feel good headlines and rarely read beyond the first two paragraphs of an article. Obama should be thanking the idiot republicans for this one, as it was a good way to rally a part of his most gullible base.
The celebration is on as headlines of “Obama Rejects Keystone Pipeline” shoot across the screens, and Mckibben, like a good little foot soldier isn’t missing a beat to rally the troops around the HOPE inspiring president. The Rockefeller front group and its flock rally to the news of Obama coming through in the clutch. They talk of tar sands and coal and fracking and the carbon foot print but never a mention of the “safe and clean” nuclear power from these folks. The very real dangers of our decrepit and crumbling nuclear power industry aren’t on Bill Mckibben’s radar screen it seems and just as with his buddy Al Gore, the issue of carbon seems solely on the radar superficially, maybe as a way to sell more books? One has to wonder.
It’s not at all difficult to dissect the situation here. Tar Sands is quite arguably the most destructive extraction of resources ever unleashed by man and it is wreaking havoc in the tar fields of Alberta Canada, where once intact and beautiful ecosystems are being ravaged. The Oil Industry which is a major share holder in our political establishment, is making a lot of money off this mess. Tar Sands are being refined all over the United States with major expansions ready to be implemented that will further increase the capacity of the United States to work with its halfwitted cousin Canada in the furthering of Tar Sands exploitation. The Keystone XL will be a part of this destructive web and Obama has put it on hold until the next election.
As outlined by Tom McDonnell in his December 15th Mother Jones article “There’s No Hiding From Tar Sands Oil“ , with or without the pipeline, Tar Sands extraction is intensifying and expanding. In Toledo and outside of Chicago, billion dollar expansions of BP refineries are set to refine this crap and spew CO2s and extremely toxic byproducts laden with heavy metals and sulfur into the air, land and water around these facilities which are celebrated by the local Democratic Party Machines and the likes of congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. The ever more ridiculous liberals celebrate their elected leaders as progressive saint like figures leading us to the land of growth and prosperity while protecting our environment through working in partnership with industry and regulators to make sure all is done in compliance with unenforced regulations. Obama is now billed as a hero by the likes of Bill Mckibben who tweeted yesterday that: “the president acted decisively and bravely–and he listened to people, not money. a good day”.
Those who point out the truth about what is happening here are ridiculed, called unloving, unrealistic, haters. We are told to join the team or shut up. We are told we think to much and need to open our hearts. We are chastised and told that if the republicans get in then that pipeline will really be a reality and we are told that this pipeline is the key to stopping Tar Sands refining. None of it is true. Many of these same people, when confronted with the reality of the National Defense Authorization act deny completely that Obama signed indefinite detention into law. They say that we are liars trying to defame their mythological god of hope. They say that the ACLU is full of crap. They are in the worst form of denial.
The Rockefellers and Obama have found a new front man in Bill Mckibben it seems. All 350.org will do is spread the word to its minions about this single issue while continuing to ignore the grim reality of the Tar Sands that are already being refined all across this country, the dangers of Nuclear Power and a whole host of energy fiascos. It was all set up to pull in the most gullible of the Big environmental groups under one big tent of blinded voters. America is really lost and it is doubtful that it will ever find its way. Bill Moyers recently said that “one of the biggest changes in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit at the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress,” and thanks to the likes of the delusional environmentalists that continue to uphold this system, this reality will be difficult to remedy. Hopefully Bill Mckibben won’t prove to be as naive as he seems and will lead his new found flock in a more resistant direction than rubber stamping the delusional reality that he is so far only feeding.
The moron who wrote this article would have you believe there are NO environmentalists and conservations ANYWHERE fighting aging nuclear power plants...as though McKibben and Gore are the head of some monolithic environmental movement with no independent or non-aligned interest outside of Big Environment.
He needs to get a clue and do a simple web search.
Here, I'll help him out and get him started.
http://nirs.org
One of the oldest...back to the 1970s.
Here is another relic from the 70s.
http://www.denisdutton.com/cooling_world.htm
Hey Chumpboy,
Screw both global cooling and warming.
Let's get back to basics...What's wrong with cleaner, NON-irradiated air?
Take a deep breath before you answer.
Nothing. And "Chump" is already self-deprecating, idiot.
ETA: You can't "fight aging nuclear power plants" without a plan to store waste, period. Show me those plans, signed off by any environmentalist or conservationist groups, or NIRS.org or whatever the fuck. Get Dingy Harry on board since shutting down Yucca Mountain is such an awesome accomplishment to him. Until then you're just another dickhole who wants all the benefits of electricity while remaining willfully blind to the costs.
I have a plan for the nuclear waste goddamn it!
Put the shit onto missiles and fire them into the goddamn Sun. The biggest and best incinderator of all time.
Yucca Mountain is such a hole far out in the middle of a land you REALLY have to work hard to get to. Just driving on it requires a gallon of water to drink per mile.
Everything that is good for the Nation gets screwed up beyond recognition and I am tired of it.
How is it possible that the Environmentalists and tree huggers as well as the water hoarders get to influence a strategic project?
As far as Buffett is concerned, he has his life as we have ours. Working on the Railroad is good for him. Otherwise he would have been a senile case in the Nursing home ripe for the plunder from the buzzards and vultures hovering above his dollar bloated and dying corpse.
As far as the global warming and all that shit, I really dont care. What I do care is the fact that Japan is showing us all how radiation can become a part and end of your life while you stumble oblivious of it.
I see what you did here and I approve.
Do a little study to estimate the failure rate for large payload launches and get back to me....not to mention the cost per tonne....
The stuff is too valuable to waste, it can be reprocessed for even more fuel....
If we convince Warren Buffet to buy Yucca Mountain, at a deep discount I am sure, then our troubles would be over. The project would be fast-tracked before Harry Reid could say, "NIMBY."
OK by me.
I always thought Yucca Mnt. was a reasonable solution to the problem.
WTF???
ETA: Please dear flattrader, pretend to be some random, totally anti-nuclear asshole so we can keep up an argument.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYUrTZ2gO90
Sorry...I yam what I yam.
I always thought Yucca Mnt. was a resonable solution to the problem. Even with the potential earthquake danger, as well as that crap was supposed to be casked, a good hard jostling would have done little other than knock it around. Virtually no danger of having it bust open. Much superior to the haphazard store on site which is happening now.
Trust me. When we have our next againg plant accident. Yucca plans will make a comeback.
Many decommissioning advocates feel this way which goes to show you there in no monolithic Big Environment.
OK, we know you got like - a GAZILLION dollars in the bank - how about giving some back to the good of the world...for humanity?
Your going to die like the rest of us you POS.
Capitalism - Long-term investment that creates Long-term value. What creates more jobs? pipeline or railroad? What creates more environmental catastrophe? Of course, in a Capitalist system these would be considerations. Competing souless gangs? Probably not. Any winners here? greed and venality and the zombie status quo.
what a fkin joke
And of course, putting oil in tanker cars one by one and driving them across the country on railroad tracks has to be safer and "greener" than piping the stuff direct - right? http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/11/08/5430030-train-wreck-in-poland
http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00794/29-TH-BURNING_TRAIN_794661f.jpg
We can't build a pipeline for oil
Because it might damage the soil
To avoid any stains
We'll use Warren's trains
As a Klepto, he's been very loyal
Soooo how about the Department of Energy building a government owned state of the art refinery on the land the US owns in south Dakota?
Profits could go to pay off the national debt.
The refinery's are old, inefficent, and sitting in the path of hurricanes and tornados. Sooner or later they will be out-of-business.
...or if Canada throws one up right on our border and sells us the product. You make more money exporting finished as opposed to raw goods. Oops.
I understand the NIMBY factor in building something like a refinery (although Fed land would circumvent that to some extent) but when the blanket policy is no more refineries (or nuclear reactors) ever that just puts greater demands on older and crappier equipment. I’m not very fluent in Japanese politics but I'm willing to bet that environmental advocacy stood in the way of replacing an ancient plant like Fukushima with a more modern, safer construction. How did that work out?
Oil isn't going anywhere soon, it makes sense to better manage the infrastructure with that in mind.
Blindfaith,
I've had this exact same thought and was going to post something on it, although I don't claim to know enough about the energy sector to debate the pros and cons.
I should clarify and say I have been wondering why we don't build refineries in the "badlands", but cringe at the idea of having it be a state run enterprise. We have too many of those already and it is a recipe for disaster.
To those who have followed this topic more closely than I: Is there a legitimate reason the pipeline had to go all the way to Texas?
Because thats where the refineries (and shipping ports) are and we haven't built a new one in decades.
At least 3 monster facilities are under construction at this time. Plans under way to build export LNG Terminals are being advanced as well. The reason for building the pipeline all the way to the GoM is so that excess production can be shipped and sold overseas at which time we will join OPEC and then when the price of oil and gas starts to sag, we can cut off the world to prop up the prices for our friends in the Middle East.
Sorry just couldn't resist that last part. After all, that is what will happen.
There is excess refinery capacity worldwide....esp. at the light sweet end of the API spectrum..
Why would any integrated oil co. build a green field refinery somewhere else when they would only be rendering another of their assets redundant??? This would be financial suicide....
In other words, why rob Peter to pay Paul?
Well, because it would be in the public interest to upgrade existing infrastructure so that US refining capacity would be better, safer, cleaner or whatever.
Of course you can't expect a private enterprise to do something like that unilaterally but that's what government incentives are supposed to be for.
Encouraging refinary upgrades/relocations might even be net more effective than pushing solar power and windmills. Encouraging natural gas conversion (where it makes sense) certainly is.
Refining is a dirty business and on the whole, the Gulf Coast is home to the most complex refineries on the planet...
In other words, there is not much to be gained there....
Phasing out coal via NG at first, to be followed by wind and solar is the best bet...
I am not delusional in thinking that the Fossil fuel paradigm is changeable by anything but the percieved energy costs discounted 5 years into future.... The lessons will be painful, but they will learn...
The US has come into a NG glut at a time when they are in no position to exploit it....
Going coal-->gas or even diesel--> gas (where feasible) is exploting it.
Besides, some hydrocarbon fuels (like gas) might not originate from fossils. There is certainly methane on other, dinosaur-free planets and moons.
Yes, there is some primordial Methane.... but most of that outgassed and escaped or was oxidized early on...
Compare the Earth to Titan, i.e. escape velocity and average molecular velocity as a function of temperature...
OK, Flak, I can follow your line of thinking. However, knowing that many of those refineries are outdated, is there not a better time (tax incentives) to invest in new refineries than right now? And how much less expensive would it be to build some in the middle of nowhere?
The new refineries are being built where the demand is and they are being optimized for heavy sour crude.
For example, Jamnagar, a 668,000 bpd Indian refinery optimized for heavy crude....
The US has had at least a factor 2 more refining capacity than oil production for close to 35 years...The older East Coast refineries (think NJ) are obsolete and forced to compete for dwindling supplies of light sweet feed stock...
The Libyan episode was a deathknell for these guys; something that was not trumpeted too loudly was that Libya was responsible for ~10% of the light sweet crude available on the international market...
Finally why would you want to invest in extra capacity when the feedstock supply is flat at best likely declining??
It makes no business sense....
nice post
http://www.arabschool.org/pdf_notes/20_REFINING_OF_KUWAITS_HEAVY_CRUDE_OIL.pdf
No new refineries, no resumption of Gulf drilling, no pipeline. Any of these items would slow down MaoBama's orders from Sauron to destroy the Republic.
I still think his primary mission from his handler(s) is to obliterate the United States and salt the earth.
Look and listen very closely.... Obama has been a failure but these are the facts:
1) Domestic Oil production has risen during his tenure, somthing no president has been able to say for a full term since Carter and Reagan (and that was in part due to the bringing on line of the largest oil field in the US, Prudhoe Bay, even with Prudhoe Bay, production never exceed the 1970 peak)....
2) There is now a NG gas glut...
3) There has been a incredible boom in drilling....the problem is that even though the production is up we are drilling more and more for less and less
To put it in perspective given the number of rotary oil rigs in operation and the observed increase, each rig is responsible for a net 100 bpd/yr/rig increase..... Ergo, we are drilling the fuck out of the country for marginally less and less...
4) US refinery capacity has been relatively unchanged for many many years but it did hit a 30 year high this past year....
Here is an excerpt...
and here
So you are allowed to have your own opinions but not your own facts...
Buffett would never put his own interests above those of the American people.
*For those that lack a sarcasm detector </sarc>
From Buffet's perspective, he IS the American people. Look at his charitable donation plan for his wealth.
Yeah, donations to Obama & the rest of the dem's! Payoff for services rendered!
Crony capitalism's upper echelon - George Soros & Warren Buffet!
God forbid congresscritters get off their fat lazy asses and investigate this BS!
Buffet is winding up like Oral Roberts did at the end of his career.
Robert's handlers kept him locked up and carefully used his name to advance their agenda.
It's all about the money.
And the public loves this fucking old fraud cocksucker. May he shit his depends mightily when the sheeple finally wake up and go after his worthless crony ass
rub a lamp....never gona happen. To wake up requires actually reading not playing video games or watching CNBC for 'facts' and Fox for 'truth'.
Besides, he looks like Col. Sanders and everyone likes fried chicken.
Well done Flak, for having drawn our attention first to this puppetry....As I said, back to the good ole pre-Antitrust days of Daddy Rockafella, where everything goes. The circle now is back to pre 1911, with WB in the role of JDR !
Much appreciated....
Look it was a choice of Kochs or Warren...
The oil shipped to the Gulf coast was going to be refined and exported exploiting a sweetheart tax free zone...(Check out the Valero docs..)
The whole Keystone thing smelt funny... and it pays to follow the money...
If jobs are truly a priority, and as well they should be, they Keystone should be a no go...
Convince me otherwise....
Sweet Jesus, taxes are what makes crony capitalism go round. Its always the tax scam, the hidden bullet. So much for open markets, invisible hands and Ricardian logic. Atlas fukked. Sorry to be impolite, but this oil lobby knows no bounds, the world is theirs upto its very shale and fracked entrails.
As Diderot once said; I'd like to see the royals hung by the entrails of the clerics. RE contextualised : read Oil barons and crony Congressmen.
That Diderot had a way with words, didn't he?
A bit like Figaro in the barber of Seville...
If they give "haircuts" to the banks its time they cut off those "family jewels" from these crony oil Oligarchs.
Where are those Keystone Cops in this cop out!
large corporations are not capitalism - they haven't been for at least 2 generations.
the trifecta of enormous corporations, unions and big-govt are what is wrong with this country.
capitalism as practiced by small business and entrepeneurs are what needs to be promoted but they don't have the dollars to lobby for themselves.
Apparently, as far as these guys are concerned, capitalism and the constitution exist to distract the sheeple.
Well you don't have to worry much about unions since they've been pretty well gutted.
While more than one-third of employed people belonged to unions in 1945, union membership fell to 24.1 percent of the U.S. work force in 1979 and to 13.9 percent in 1998.
Currently, the percentage of private sector workers in unions fell to 6.9 percent. That's the lowest rate in 70 years.
Coincidentally, the decline in unions has also coincided with the largest gap in income disparity since the gilded era and has contributed to the skyrocketing CEO salaries.
Not that any of that matters.
you seem to want to pitt one against the other (unions vs ceos) but they're an equal part (albeit two sides) of the problem
the 'gutted' unions were still strong enough to get a detroit bail out
carl ichan has a lot of great commentary on what it takes (think Dilbert Principle) to become CEO.
my point is that neither CEOs nor unions do the country any good.
A decline in union memberships to a 70 year low coinciding with average wages hitting multi year lows and continuing to decline while CEO pay reaches all time highs and corporations reaping record profits as they continue to lay off workers and outsource jobs to the country with the lowest wages
If pointing that out is pitting one against the other...then I guess I'm guilty.
guilty of pointing out the irrelevant.
union membership is down coincides also with less manufacturing being done in this country;
less manufacturing being done in this country coincides with 3rd world nations coming 'online';
3rd world nations coming 'online' and their cheap labor coincides with downward pressure on our wages;
there are A TON of factors that are correlated.
to pick out "ceo pay" and "wages" as the CAUSE -> EFFECT is just plain ignorant.
Well, I guess you guys do not want oil from us. So go and kiss asses in Saudi Arabia. Have a good lick.
yeah. well you are a raaaaaacist...there thats about all we "progtards" have...well that and gooberment jobs...now get to work we union thug gubbers need to figure out where to have lunch!!!!
Railroad traffic is already at capacity from all the BS they ship out of Washington. Now more oil too?
Meanwhile the BDI keeps falling. Will it crack below 800 this week?
You guys didn't think Buffet was in that bathtub alone? Someone has to do Buffett's back and find his rubber ducky under all those bubbles...
Why does this not surprise me?
Why did Uncle say today that Romney's low tax bill is Congress's fault?
Why does Uncle's sage investment prowess seem to inextricably rely upon regulatory capture and oligopolistic/monopolistic market structures?
Why does the phrase "With friends like these..." come to mind?
I gotta go poop.
Hey Warren. Put some money in BAC. You have our word we will make it up to you.
"The answer is to export our way out of this mess by making our exports cheaper by destroying the dollar in a global game of currency devaluation. This simply means that they are going to print more and more dollars until all of your purchasing power is destroyed and you will need more and more dollars to buy the same amount of goods."
full video:
http://www.webcompact.net/index.php/news/7186-obama-admin-we-are-going-to-kill-the-us-dollar
Page 4
In 2035, the average real price of crude oil in the Reference case is about $145 per barrel in 2010 dollars, or about $230 per barrel in nominal dollars.
http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/er/pdf/0383er(2012).pdf
First off this is Warren's job...and that's why we love him! Second...if you stick the oil in a pipeline to Loiusiana...guess where it goes? If you answer "not the USA" you people aren't so stupid after all! Now I understand Hanna Reich Palin of Arizona and Air Force Governor Goerhing of Texas are all over this thing...AND I APPLAUD THEM FOR IT TOO! The fact of the matter is this is America...and we're CRAZY! (Now where's that Middle East peace process that Jimmy Carter so assiduously and wonderfully produced...
well as long as the true reich of obama and buffet is going well as guess you will feel good about watching us marched into obama/buffet "work camps"...
but you first
Damn, this really IS Atlas Shrugged.
I love the vigor with which people want to condemn what she wrote. It's an academic circle jerk to see who can sound the most offended by someone taking her ideas seriously. They take it quite personally.
Who is John Galt?
no, really...
Should help make up a little for his 5 billion dollar fuckup investment in BOA, lol!!! How come Warren isn't investing in any GREEN ENERGY projects? Because they aren't fucking practical at the present time. The days of reconcilation are coming soon...
Those were Prefered Shared not common, he got them at a big discount under the daily market, and did it on margin. His 'investiment' was maybe 1.5 and he likely got that from the US tax payers, Ben or Timmy as a non recourse laon. So when BAC hits $1 he, excuse me US, will be underwater or freight train wheels...whatever.
Ahh so, Tyler lifts the curtain again. And will the MSM pick this up??
it's on Drudge, so, yeah.
Drudge has been carrying a lot of infowars stuff for the past few months. I am never quite sure what to think of Drudge.
Let's not forget the pipeline division of BRK/A - i'm sure Mid-American will not reap benefits from this.
Sounds like a "There will be blood" scenerio. Watch as Warren Buffett "drinks your milkshake".
This crap makes it all that much more amusing to watch old Obooba campaign video on youtube, all the vague promises, the chanting, kool-aid slurping crowds of suckers...
Yes
We
Can!!!
Warren's trains will also help transport all of the people to the Fema camps down the road... Good ol uncle warren..
meh, someone will always benefit from which ever way the wind blows. The funny part as far as I'm concerned is people that think that tar sand oil is for American consumption. Don't look too hard or you will find that it will be going to Latin America and Asia after Big Oil makes a bundle letting it pass through there hands on the way out of the country.
I'd be all for the pipeline if the oil was for Americans and would lower the price of gas, otherwise I could care less.
I agree because if the pipeline went to the closed up refinery in Wyoming (not enough demand) or to the big mutha in Oklahoma, it would be gasoline for most of the legal American citizens. So why send it all the way to the Gulf to do this if it was not to export? I call bull shit on this part of the pipeline deal.
Aren't the refineries down by the gulf?
No joke.
They wanted us to take the environmental risk in perpetuity for some lousy short term employment gains to transport a commodity that doesn't benefit US consumers...so who the fuck cares about so-called efficiency?
At least with rail, the leaks are obvious and the occasional exploding train a good "tell." Surface contamination is much easier to clean-up...it's not deep in the aquifer or spread throughout some of the best farmland in the US.
Fuck them...and any American who wants to put US water and soil at risk for generations.
You really need a reality check. Just exactly how deep do you think they bury a pipeline anyway? The only way a pipeline leak would penetrate all the way into an aquifer much less the Ogallala Aquifer is to soak through a minimum of several hundred feet of dirt & rock and flow uphill in this case to get there. In other words, it ain't going to happen.
Quit listening to environmentalist hype and get your facts and shit straight before trying to advance an argument on surface contamination. Just for the record, most pipelines are less than 8 feet below the surface. In many cases it is less than that and that depth is included when speaking of "surface contamination".
The Nebraska State Republicans do not like the proposed path....
The choice of path was the height of arrogance....
And it ain't just his railroads that have their snouts deep in the public trough. MidAmerican is deep in it too:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-24/berkshire-s-midamerican-creates...
Obama is the most divisive and politically motivated president ever. I'm not sure whats more amazing, that the media spins him as being the exact opposite of that, or that a near majority of americans believe the spin.
I'm sure some large portion of presidential records will have to be sealed, much like the presidents personal records (how how how does he get away with that?)
Reality is more like the movie The Matrix than we all think. How else can a guy like Obama after just being elected get the nobel peace prize for exactly doing what......? The Norwegians are just as remote controlled as we are.
Absolutely. Once you take off the blinders, you can see it everywhere. Maybe it's just what you want to see, but I don't think so. I think it's all theater and it's all pretty absurd. The beauty of it all, I don't think most of the actors even realize they are acting. The run of the mill congressman thinks he's on the right team (R vs. D). He may not agree with everything he's asked to do by his party, but hey, that's the way they make the sausage. The run of the mill soldier thinks that he's defending liberty. He may not agree with a particular mission, or may believe there would be better ways to "win" the war, but he doesn't question the overall big picture that he's on the side of freedom and democracy fighting against tyrants. Even us enlightened folks - we still are nothing more than cogs in the greater wheel on the path to oblivion.
Concur. Well said.
And just when I think I figured everything out there comes another layer of the onion to peel.
Bread and Circus - With American politics being the ultimate Circus. Now that it looks like the Republican nomination may stretch all of the way to the convention, I've started thinking back to the last election. What great theater they provided when a black man, with a Muslim sounding name, faced off against a former first lady. You almost can't make that up, right? And all of this happens right in the middle of the beginning of the economic collapse (which is still just beginning, but I digress).
So now the stage is set on the opposite side of the room. Someone here posted a "conspiracy theory" about a brokered convention leading to a Jeb Bush nomination. Well, the conspiracy theory is becoming a meme http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/01/23/dick_armey_predicts_a_brokered_convention.html - Though I don't think Jeb Bush seems like the next step if the evolution of our fascist presidency... I think Mitch Daniels or Chris Christy fits that role better.
So what I expect to see (or what will further convince me that EVERYTHING is a circus)... a brokered convention... the popular vote is meaningless... someone not running gets the nomiination... Daniels/Christy vs. Obama/Clinton (after he trades Clinton for Biden).
You almost can't make this up, right? Almost.
well if a brokered convention does happen, and at this point i do not exclude anything anymore, it will be candy coated as a 'compromise' for the 'best of the party' and blah blah blah.
it just like when you call a company and they keep telling you how much they value you as a customer but keep you on hold for 30 minutes, just to speak to some schlong somewhere is beki beki stan stan.
and the idiot pundits will once again put on a show with fake tough questions, because they will not ask the right questions.
Seems to be more hated than Jimmy Carter was and he was a one-termer.
Are we waking from a bad dream of epically monumental proportions?
DaddyO
I wonder just how many articles ZH is going to run on this topic and avoid the fact that:
1) This oil was NEVER going to find it's way to American consumers gas tanks
2) Keystone and the refiners in the Gulf "Free Trade Zone" would pay zero tax on this oil.
3) This would likely divert Canadian oil from Midwest refineries thus reducing the amount of Canadian oil actually sold in America and subsequently contributing to raising, not lowering, gas prices.
But why would we want to let these minor details interfere with setting off a good old fashioned democrat vs. republican circus act?
Dead on...but, the Tylers need eyeballs and posts for the ad revenue.
Red meat is tasty...even if it is "fake" meat.
I heard several reports that contradict what you say there, re the distribution. these accounts said some would be for domestic use, and some for export.
How much is "some", in terms of percentage?
I'd love to see the links to this information since I have yet to encounter any such information. I'd love to get that side of the story also, just to be thorough.
Actually, the topic of the post is crony capitalism. You of course are entitled to read into it as a "democrat vs republican" circus act even though neither were mentioned, just as entitled to an opinion, however right or wrong, that your "conclusions" are correct. Ironically, it is disproving the counterfactual, such your "taken for fact" assumptions, that is the fundamental premise behind the class war that is waged every day in this country.
Scroll down this thread and every other thread when this topic has arisen and it's hard to deny it's descent into a democrats vs. republican circus.
I often agree with many many of the posts here on ZH. I still believe this to be the best source for financial news anywhere on the web. This does not, however, mean yo are infallible, and on this topic I feel the coverage has been less than stellar and lacking balance.
I agree with the crony capitalism issues you often bring up. But there is more to this. This has been presented as having been a missed opportunity to relieve Americas middle east oil dependence...yet I cannot, outside of here, find any evidence to substantiate that belief. In fact, all I have found contradicts that.
What ZH does it does better than anyone else out there...I'm just pointing out what I think you've missed in this subject. Isn't that what the comments section is for?
Odd - most threads descend into D vs R discussions, especially when one makes a completely groundless allegation that this post was also about that. As for your repeat "assumption taken as fact" approach: where do we state we are better? We very well may not be. You are free to comment anywhere you want. Right? Also how can anyone know just what and how the Pipeline would be used for since it will obviously never actually be there?
"And again your "assumption taken as fact" approach: where do we state we are better?"
Huh? I don't understand this comment. I made no mention of ZH "stating it was better" than anyone. I simply said that I feel you are one of the better financial news sites on the web. That is a feeling that, I believe, many people here share...which is why we come here.
It feels odd having to defend what was (I thought obviously) a compliment.
actually this site and its readers have a pretty good share of folks pointing out that the two political parties have devolved into corrupt non ideological whores who do little more than serve their monolithic corporate masters.
"it is because crony interests such as those of the Octogenarian of Omaha demand it as "payment" for their crony collegiality with the biggest dunce president since Carter."
Quit bullshiting yourself that you are not making this a democrat vs. republican thing. You're just being coy when you say your not.
And you did click on the hyperlink yes?
>>>Actually, the topic of the post is crony capitalism.<<<
And internet bloggers are always pure of heart and intent with no ulterior motives???
This is Fight Club, no?
Hey, I am a big fan of the Asshole of Omaha.
So Obama did the right thing for all the right reasons. I don't know how anyone here would think actually building the pipeline would be a good thing. None of the fuel was meant for U.S. consumption. All the jobs were transitory. That is they would end in 3 to 5 years and long term after that the pipeline would actually kill jobs and the net result would be an environmental disaster waiting to happen.
Would have been a pyrrhic victory for U.S. to actually build the pipeline.
1.) Govt is corrupt--dismantle it as much as possible asap.
2.) If the U.S. cannot lead the world evovling an economy that runs on other than Dinosaur Juice--one of the most expensive (per btu) and least available (coincidence?) transportation fuels today--then file the DNR and pull the plug--USA is done! (but I don't believe it; I don't drive, much nor desire to; and I don't own oil futures, exploration or refinery stocks)
3.) What benefit is there to U.S. assuming environmental risk to deliver Canadian tar sands oil to Houston refineries for export of refined oil products to China and Europe? Who benefits? Answer: Oil companies and Canada. Zero benefit to vast majority of Americans. I say NO: develop the shale oil we have. Build pipelines if necessary to carry that. And most importantly TRANSITION to 21st century transport infrastructure (see Boone Pickens' plan) asap. In short, stop subsidizing 200 year old technology and oil companies using U.S. taxpayers as vassals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFz_PfpGKWo&feature=related
.
we are the fifteen percent bitchez
Pathetic.
Something happens that does not benefit Buffet's railway - green energy, lower dependence on oil - no comment. Something happens that does - crony capitalism.
Stick to the scum on Wall Street and the complete failure to prosecute that den of thieves. Flailing around and finding conspiracies everywhere dilutes the brand.
Unless of course that is the brand.
The Obamma White House Spnsered by the good people at Berkshire Hathaway. Oracle of Omaha my ass, Oracle of insider trading more like it.
Aw Warren, the sweetest ukulele-playing robber barron of them all.
Surely the cocksucker will croak soon, won't he? He just has to.
These fuckers seem to live forever. Just look at David Rockefeller. Isn't that vile dinosaur like 167 years old by now?
Only the good die young...and these fuckers ain't good.
Actually a good move for the USA. Sure, you can build a pipeline, but when the oil's gone, the pipeline is worth nothing and can be used for nothing else. On the other hand, build a rail network for hydrocarbon transport and when the oil's gone, you'll still have a useful rail network, not just for liquid oil, but any available hydrocarbons left to ship, and believe me, by the time the oil's gone, you're going to want that.
Bullshit. It can be cleaned out, wiped down by hand at enormous cost and rebuilt to ship water or something good.
Of course Obama wouldn't want anything to benefit the mid-west and the job picture there.
In Canada, the extreme left do everything in their power to weaken Alberta. It's the same on both sides of the border.
Isn't Buffett from Obamaha?
Buffet is visionary ! The Canadian crude coasts down to the Texas coast like barges going down the Mississippi......and the tank cars return full of Wetbacks and Tequila !!! Monedas 2012 Visionary Hoarder And Insider Trading Monitor !