the big debate of the day. OIL COMAPNIES and AMERICA

[Tortington]

watched syriana the other night.

[twinkletinselpud]

syriana?

[uwila]

ooo I smell something.... Is it the stench of left wing propoganda?

[DominiConnor]

Sadly a lot of "green" propaganda is simply anti-American racism.
Here's a little quiz for you.
Given the world's growth in enertgy consumption, try to work out how many years it would buy us if :

a) All SUVs in America simply disappeared
or
b) All cars in the USA ran on prayer
or
c) Absolutely every form of fossil fuel consumption in the USA stopped tomorrow.

[Tortington]

d) how many years it would take to butt fuck a catholic donkey

[Tortington]

e) how many years what whould buy whom
f) maybe you should watch the film before assuming its george clooney dressed as a hippie saving the fucking ozone layer.

[Ready]

Really enjoyed the film myself. And it does make you wonder.

[nightynight]

anti American racism not possible, given that America includes people of all known races.

it is legitimate to be against a culture, that is practised by many of the inhabitants.

[DominiConnor]

Racism is a state of mind, not a statement about genetics.
I recall a couple of years ago how some English soccer thugs stabbed a German after they won a football match.
But it turned out to be a Russian.
Still counts as racism I think.

Pakistan is a nation created on the basis of cultural factors, not race. There is no Pakistani "race", yet "paki" is a recognised racist term.

People say thins about Americans that if said about other groups would be seen as racist.

Indians squander huge amounts of carbon on inefficient stell porduct, chinese rice paddies emit methane with serious effects, latin americans and indonesians burn vast amounts of trees. Yet just carry out the simple experiement of looking at British news over the next week. US cars which consume around 2% of world carbon will be the main image used for climate change far more than the 98%.

[worldgonewild]

DC. As was pointed out on the News at One today; If everyone went around saying this & that (e.g. US cars) is only contributing 2% of world carbon emissions and therefore why bother reining it in, then we might as well join the lemmings and jump off the white cliffs of Dover! It is a piss poor argument. Totally defeatist.

As to anyone else writing something off (e.g. a film or whatever) because they decide to immediately pigeon hole it as left or right wing propaganda, one word ... pathetic. You not only degrade your own intelligence you also close yourself off from learning from a wider range of sources. Open your eyes & ears. And no, I haven't seen the film! I'm talking in general.

Rant over.

[Gingerbear]

Someone once described this film as a 'Movie with hyperlinks'. The plot is so complex that you are not meant to be able to understand it - that is the point of it. The film explains the politics of oil by telling us to stop seeking an explanation. Just look at the behaviour. In the short run, you can see who wants oil and how they're trying to get it. In the long run, we're out of oil.

[Gingerbear]

DC, totally off at a tangent once again.
Oh, and no left wing propaganda in sight.

[expatinscotland]

Yawn.

Here we go again w/this old chesnut.

[Tortington]

if your a bit left wing and a bit right wing
could you fly?

worldgonewold - i could almost taste your oosing venom - but not sure why.


interesting that gingerbear. wished i'd have know i wasnt supposed to understand it - rather absorb it it would have made me feel less anxious throughout.


we paused the film (dh and i) twice to make a brew and between us we were both trying to get through the plotlines. i got the two young boys being groomed ( oh dear DC, nope no catholic reference there dear) but it did take some talking through afterwards for the others.

so in that respect it was a good film. in learning how many die in literal links to ensure the power which ensures an oil supply. ( however that oil is used DC)

[uwila]

Ok, if you want me to inform myself, supply a link or an article or something.

I'll decide whether or not I think it's left wing propaganda. But, hey, if it's posted on mumsnet then that chances are good...


Oh, and someone said we are out of oil. I suggest you research the wisdom of Daniel Yergin (Cambridge Research) on this subject. He is a very credible source.

[ludaloo]

...ducks as she comes in...

we are not out of oil yet are we??
I thought we were just over the half way mark??

...scuttles out again....

[uwila]

And how do you know that?

[ludaloo]

um..dh read it somewhere...I will ask him when he comes home...

[uwila]

recent interview with Daniel Yergin

[DominiConnor]

I'm not saying thar US cars arten't worth reducing but they are 2% of the problem yet get 50% of the blame.

[uwila]

and this is fairly current as well (November 2006)

[Gingerbear]

uwila, He wrote 'The Prize' didn't he?
interesting article by him in the washington post from 2005 here

Thanks for mentioning him. I was trying to think of his name but couldn't.

And by the way the 'in the long run, we are out of oil' was a quote from a film critic, not my words!

[uwila]

This does not mean that our supplies are unlimited. We should seek alternative energy. But the Peak Oil talk is scaremongering in my book. People talk about it like suddenly the oil will be all gone. It won't. The earth will continue to produce oil and gas, but not as fast as we might be using it. Our current consumtion is unsustanable: that is true. But we aren't out of oil, and we aren't on the verge of it. It is many years away.

Personally, and you know it pains me to say this, but I agree with DC that there is too much hype about SUVs. They are inefficient, but they are not the bulk of the problem.

[uwila]

Yes, he is the author of The Prize, for which he won the pulitzer prize. The book, incidentally, is a fantastic account of the history of the oil industry. I highly recommend it.

[fuzzywuzzy]

I've read varied reviews for it, and I thought I heard somewhere that George Clooney won a best supporting actor oscar for his part in it???

It's not anti-american I don't think (I'm going by the reviews), it's all about the oil, those who have it, and those who want it.


timesonline review.