US and UK oil corporations start to flaunt the spoils of imperial conquest

After 15 years of repudiating claims that the invasion of Iraq was only initiated to seize Iraqi resources, large oil corporations fronted by former architects of the war who vacated to the private sector are flagrantly advertising their contracts for exploration and production of Iraqi oil fields to potential investors.

The British oil and gas company BP won the contract to operate the Rumaila Oil Field back in 2009, and now proudly boast of its new drilling capabilities on Twitter. Rumaila is simply huge; by some measures it is the third largest reserve of crude oil on the planet, and is currently extracting 100 million dollars worth of oil every day – enough to cover the annual health budget of Iraq under the wartime rule of the US coalition every five days.

Read the Amity Underground story - “US and UK oil corporations start to flaunt the spoils of imperial conquest.”

Fossil fuel burning was responsible 250 million years ago - Monbiot

I

t now looks as if the greatest mass extinction on Earth – 250 million years ago – was caused by fossil fuel burning, according to Guardian columnist, George Monbiot.

George Monbiot.

In “A Prehistory of Violence” he writes, “ Do you want to know the real reason for the advances by Isis in Iraq and Syria? Changing lightbulbs in America. This is the explanation given by John McCain, Republican chair of the Senate armed services committee.

“At the weekend he blamed Barack Obama’s inability to magic away Islamic State on the president’s belief that climate change is “the biggest enemy we have”. Never mind the role of the Iraq war – which Mr McCain supported – in destabilising the region, destroying the Iraqi army and creating the opportunities Isis has exploited,” Monbiot wrote.

Desperately worried, but doing nothing

Nick O'Malley.

Australia appears desperately worried about its international reputation and responsibilities, except in relation to its treatment of asylum seekers and in its response to climate change.

Those two things have, sadly, seen a positive populist response for both Tony Abbott and his coalition compatriots and now that has been even further improved both his and the government stocks with Australia’s pugnacious approach to dealing with events in Iraq and locally.

However, that increase in endorsement is not reflected in many other forums.

And just today, Nick O’Malley wrote in the Melbourne Age in a story headed: “Australia's climate stance savagely condemned at New York summit” that both Australia and Canada were not willing to pull their weight, but beyond that they were seeking to derail the binding agreement on emissions reductions at next year's talks in Paris that many view as the world's last best hope to prevent catastrophic climate change.

War on terror costs insignificant, compared to climate change

Former U.S. president, George W. Bush, declared a war on terror.

Former U.S. president,
George W. Bush.
 

That war cost U.S. citizens dearly -the "war on terror" - and by terrorists - has directly killed a minimum of 62,006 people, created 4.5 million refugees and cost the U.S. more than the sum needed to pay off the debts of every poor nation on earth.

That alarming legacy of death does not stop there for if those of Iraq military killed during 2003 invasion, along with insurgents and the countless innocents are accounted for, and the can’t accurately be, the death toll leaps to near 200 000.

The cost to Americans specifically and the world generally was alarming.

However, compared to costs associated with climate change, they are insignificant and already many in the various militaries around the world have declared climate change the world’s greatest ever security threat.

Terrorism, some have said, is of little, or no consequence compared to what will unfold as the effects of climate change take hold.

We, well certainly Americans, Australians and the English, we prepared to pay to protect their lifestyle in the Bush “War on Terror”, but few, it appears are prepared to pay to do what they can to mitigate the circumstances that are changing our climate.

The Australian Federal Government is stepping away from being an active participant in combatting climate change, dismantling our climate change infrastructure and today moving in the first sitting of parliament since being elected in September, to repeal the carbon tax introduced by the then Labor Government.

Irrational decisions of huge consequence



Democracy Incorporated
 as listed on Amazon.com.

Writing in Democracy Incorporated – Managed democracy and spectre of inverted totalitarianism, Sheldon S. Wolin said:

“Under the Bush Administration there have been repeated instances of governmental or corporate attempts to distort or suppress unwelcome expert reports and scientific findings. As President Bush testified. ‘One of the hardest pasts of my job is to connect Iraq with the war on terror.’ A common thread connects false claims about WMDs with denials of global warming. The one insists that there was evidence; the other denies that there is evidence. Both are denials of actuality; both are irrational decisions of huge consequence; and both are aided by the lack of intellectual and public integrity among our scandal-ridden corporate ridder and governmental leadership.”