House Looks At Forcing States To Drill Offshore . . . Or Else

Brandon Turbeville
Natural Blaze
July 4, 2018

House Republicans can’t claim anything if they’re not earning their keep for massive corporations and other special interests whether it be genetically modified food, the banking and finance industry, pharmaceutical companies, the Israel lobby, and, of course, Big Oil.

In keeping with their history of doing the bidding of large interests, House Republicans have just put forward a proposals to impose fees on states that do not allow offshore drilling in state waters off their coasts. The measure is designed to punish states for opposing the Federal government’s plan to expand offshore drilling that began under the Obama administration and is continuing under the Trump administration.

The plan to expand offshore drilling has not only met with resistance from environmental activists, even Democrats and Republicans in offshore states have expressed concern and opposition to the plan after public outcry, a stance that has become more entrenched after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The proposal, which was discussed at a hearing held by the House Natural Resources Committee, will allow states to disapprove drilling offshore in up to half of the lease blocks located off their coasts without incurring a penalty. However, any state that disapproves a proposed lease sale that would seek to put more than 50 percent of the lease blocks off limits would have to pay a fee equal to at least 1/10th the estimated government revenue that would have been generated from the lease sales, royalties, and other revenue streams if the drilling had been allowed to take place.

Monsanto, Big Oil Lobbies Back Smear Campaign Against Ohio Gov Candidate Dennis Kucinich

Brandon Turbeville

Natural Blaze

April 10, 2018

It seems former Ohio Candidate for Governor, Dennis Kucinich, has drawn the ire of Monsanto. Documents released by the Kucinich campaign have demonstrated a link between attack emails aimed at the candidate to two major lobbying firms and statehouse law firms that represent corporations and corporate interests that Kucinich has challenged on the campaign trail as well as during his term as Congressman.

The emails attempt to label Kucinich as a conspiracy theorist, Russian sympathizer, and Trump supporter and encourage the reader to join the writers in preventing the “dangerous” Kucinich from reaching the Governor’s office or winning the May 8 Democratic Primary.

The emails were signed by Herb Hedden of the law firm Vorys Sater and John Gilligan of ICE Miller and were sent statewide last week.

Interestingly enough, Vorys Sater represents Monsanto as well as various oil and insurance interests who stand to lose if Kucinich’s plan to ban fracking and create a system of not-for-profit public health care in the state is enacted. Kucinich has long criticized Monsanto for its food health and safety record and Kucinich’s wife, Elizabeth, has been even more vocal against GMOs and unsustainable farming.

Big Oil, Qataris, Saudis Lick Lips As US 'Fights ISIS' By Bombing Syrian Pipelines

Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
October 26, 2014

In yet another example of the infantile nature of NATO propaganda regarding the Syrian crisis, it is now being reported in the mainstream media that that the United States must bomb Syrian oil pipelines in order to defeat the ISIS threat that NATO itself created.

While logically fallacious, the rationale offered to the American public remains that ISIS is making millions of dollars per day via the sale of the oil taken from the fields in its possession on the black market to a number of different states.

Yet, while the U.S. media does not bother to explain just how ISIS manages to extract, refine, and ship the oil, or how it is able to procure deals, and complete their transactions outside of the knowledge of Western militaries, governments, and intelligence agencies to the tune of $2 million per day, these outlets do provide the solution – bomb the oil pipelines belonging to Bashar al-Assad.

Of course, while it is most likely true that ISIS is using their commandeered oil sites to support themselves on a number of fronts, and even attempting (with some success) to sell that oil, the idea that ISIS is somehow able to evade the most sophisticated monitoring network in the entire world during the process of obtaining, refining, selling, and delivering oil across the region is entirely unbelievable. Indeed, it is about as believable as the claim that ISIS was able to seize such large swaths of territory across Syria and Iraq without the knowledge of the United States and NATO.

Regardless, it must be pointed out that, among the countries listed as hosting ISIS customers by mainstream outlets like CNN, Turkey and Jordan are at the top of the list, both close American allies and one a member of NATO. Even more interesting is the fact that ISIS has also allegedly sold “black market” oil to buyers in a number of EU member states.