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Thursday, November 05, 2009
Oil
revenue accounts for more than 90 percent of Iraq's annual budget, and
much of the future planning was made when oil prices hit record highs
in 2008, [United States Institute of Peace's Sam] Parker says. Now that
crude prices have fallen, Baghdad feels new pressure to ramp up
production: The Oil Ministry hopes to be pumping 6 million barrels a
day by 2017.This week has
finally seen the first steps toward significant foreign investment. The
winners of the June auction, U.K.'s BP and China's state-owned CNPC,
signed a 20 year-contract worth $50 billion in investments Tuesday.
Iraqi officials hope to increase production at Rumaila, a large oil
field in the south, from 1 million barrels per day to around 2.8
million within six years. In a separate deal, Italy's Eni SpA
formalized an agreement Monday to develop Zubair, another, smaller
field in the south.But
[Eurasia Group's Greg] Priddy warns that even if elections in January
go smoothly, "things don't fall apart" because of sectarian violence
and Baghdad drives a softer bargain with foreign oil companies, it will
still be five or more years before Iraq sees any major increases in
production.Even with more
investment, Iraq still doesn't have enough engineers or institutional
experience. While Saudi Arabia has half a century of oil expertise
under its belt, brain-drain robbed Iraq of plenty of talent under
Saddam Hussein and scared off more talent during the turbulent
aftermath of the 2003 invasion.The above is from David Gauvey Herbert's " Whatever Happened To Iraqi Oil?" ( National Journal) and some of 'whatever happened' was noted in yesterday's snapshot: Meanwhile Iran's Press TV informs,
"Iraq has signed its biggest oil deal since the US 2003 invasion with
Britain's BP and China's CNPC to develop the giant Rumaila oilfield.
The 20-year contract is expected to triple production at the southern
oilfield, from the current one million barrels per day (bpd) to around
2.8 million bpd within a six-year period." British Petroleum and China
National Petroleum Company formed a consortium earlier this year during
bidding on Iraqi oil fields and, unlike many other oil companies, they
didn't bail out on the bidding right before it started. However, now
other companies are rushing to get their hands on Iraqi oil despite the
fact that the terms are the same ones so many foreign coporations found
hard to swallow earlier this year. Stanley Reed (BusinessWeek) explains, "The big oil companies are reconsidering Iraq because they realize this may be among their last opportunities to get large volumes of crude. Britain's BP (BP),
for instance, typically turns up its nose at anything below roughly 700
million barrels of reserves; Rumaila, about 30 miles west of Basra, may
have 20 billion barrels of recoverable oil, BP estimates. Another field
in the same class is West Qurna, located north of Basra, where a group
including Exxon Mobil and Shell is competing against a partnership of
ConocoPhillips and Russia's Lukoil (LKOH.RTS) for production rights."This morning AFP reports
that the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced today the awarding of a contract
to Exxon Mobil for West Qurna 1 field: "West Qurna 1 currently produces
about 279,000 bpd and has reserves of around 8.5 billion barrels,
according to oil ministry figures." Away from the big dollar figures
tossed around -- 'oh, so impressive' -- what's it like? Owen Fay (Al Jazeera) investigates (link is video, transcript to video follows): Owen
Fay: Children play on a street filled with sewage, live in homes
surrounded by rubbish and grow up in villages displaying all of the
signs of abject poverty. This is southern Iraq, just outside Basra and,
by any measure, one of the wealthiest pieces of land on earth. Iraq has
the world's third largest reserves of oil and the bulk of it is located
right here. The government in Baghdad is in the middle of signing a
series of deals with major oil companies from around the world worth
billions and billions of dollars but people here have seen none of it.Female Resident of Basra: We have not benefited from anything, we have nothing to show for it at all.Own Fay: Instead, what they do have is widespread unemployment, intermittent electricity and wells filled with septic water.Male
Resident of Basra: Is this Iraq? This is an oil rich country? It is
true that there is security now and that's much improved. Security is
there but what's the use of that? It is true this is an oil country but
as you can see can anyone live in this sewage water?Owen
Fay: Local government officials are circumspect about the major new
deals being announced in Baghdad. They say they're not opposed to the
oil companies coming here but they do have conditions.Jabaar
Amin (Head of Basra Provincial Council): If the contracts are
beneficial to Iraq, we welcome them. If they subjugate us and take
Iraq's oil wealth, we do not.
Owen Fay: Another set of oil
auctions is due to take place next month. Big names like Exxon will get
a chance to invest billions and right now assurances are being made
that one of the conditions for any successful bid will be local and
regional investment.Shiltag
Aboud (Governor of Basra): These companies will not only be
contributing to the oil sector but will contribute to the economic,
cultural and environmental situation in Basra too. They're not just
going to be based at the fields far from everyday life. The impact on
the city will be felt.Owen
Fay: If that does happen, it will be warmly welcomed but people here
say they'll believe it when they see it. For now, they're deeply
skeptical because as they look around what they see are international
companies far more interested in what lies beneath this land than in
the people who have to live on it. Owen Fay, Al Jazeera.Iraq War veteran John LaBossiere died Sunday. Jackson Holtz (Everett's Herald) reports
the 26-year-old's father, Phil LaBossiere, explained that his son "was
fatally shot during a confrontation with a Lake Stevens police officer"
and quotes the father stating, "We all loved him, and he did not
understand that. He didn't understand that anymore. Unfortunately, when
life ends like that it's too late to fix anything." Along with his
father, John LaBossiere's survivors include his mother, his wife, their
three kids and a brother Tim and the "memorial service is scheduled for
2 p.m. Saturday at the Hope Foursquare Church, 5002 Bickford Avenue,
Snohomish." Meanwhile Missouri Governor Jay Nixon's office released the following yesterday: Jefferson
City, Mo. - Gov. Jay Nixon has ordered that the U.S. and Missouri flags
on all state buildings in Platte County be flown at half-staff from
Nov. 5 to Nov. 11 to honor the bravery and sacrifice of Major David L.
Audo, age 35. Major Audo's immediate family resided in Platte City.
Major Audo was a soldier in the United States Army who died on Oct. 27
while serving his country in Baghdad, Iraq.In
addition, Gov. Nixon has ordered that the U.S. and Missouri flags at
state buildings in all 114 counties and the city of St. Louis be flown
at half-staff for one full day on Thursday, Nov. 5, the day of Major
Audo's funeral.Major Audo
was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 22nd Military
Police Battalion, 6th Military Police Group, stationed out of Fort
Lewis, Wash. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal
2, the Meritorious Service Medal 3, the Army Commendation Medal 2, the
Army Achievement Medal 4, the National Defense Service Medal, the
Kosovo Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Afghanistan
Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Iraq Campaign Medal with
Bronze Service Star, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal,
the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the
Overseas Service Ribbon 5, the NATO Medal, the Right Side Award - Navy
Presidential Unit Citation, and the Air Assault Badge.David
died last week, two US service members' deaths were announced yesterday
and US troops continue to deploy to Iraq. The war is not over. Robert Norris (Daily Times Staff) reports
that the "Maryville-based Howitzer Battery, 1st Squadron" ("Tennessee's
largest combat unit") is readying for their deployment to Iraq in
February. WVLT speaks
with 1st Sgt Mike Miller who states that the deployment has an effect
on family dinners, "You certainly cherish it more. You build on those
memories and take with you." Matt Lakin (Knoxville News Sentinel) explains "Iraq
keeps getting closer for the soldiers of the Knoxville-based 278th
Armored Cavalry Regiment" and that the service members first go to Camp
Shelby December 5th for additional training before deploying to Iraq
(and for some members, it will be their second tour of Iraq). The following community sites updated last night: -
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The day after 11 hours ago -
And Marcia's " Equality," Trina's " The economy continues to be bad news," Ruth's " Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose," Elaine's " The Big Insurance Give Away," Ann's " Battle for Seattle" and Kat's " Janis Ian, Dennis Kucinich." With Aimee Allison, David Solnit authored the must read Army Of None. David Solnit has now teamed up with his sister Rebecca Solnit, of Courage to Resist, for a new book and there's a new action. Two things I'd like to tell you about: ACTION: A Global Day of Action for Climate Justice on the ten year anniversary of Seattle WTO shutdown, Nov 30, 2009. Yesterday African delegates walked out of pre-Copenhagen trade talks in Barcelona demanding the US and rich countries commit themselves to deeper and faster greenhouse gas emission cuts and European activists blockaded the talks.
The key fight over the future of the planet is taking place right now
around climate; corporate market solutions are the new WTO and the US
and the rich countries are undermining any efforts at climate solutions
to avert even more catastrophic impacts. What could shift things right
now is people in the US (doing what we did ten years ago) showing mass
resistance to the US government and corporate capitalism's obstruction
and false solutions. Please join one of the regional actions being
planned in SF and around the US (details here soon) and sign up to take or support direct action and get your folks together now!
BOOK: AK Press asked me to make a book reflecting on the Seattle WTO shutdown from an organizers view. With my sister Rebecca Solnit, Kate and the AK Press collective workers, designer Jason Justice and contributions from fellow organizers we did it just in time for the ten year anniversary. Please support by buying a book , get ten at half-off, and pass on the announcement below.
hope and resistance, David Solnit
*** PLEASE POST, CIRCULATE & SHARE WITH OTHERS *** "To
many mass movements in developing countries that had long been fighting
lonely, isolated battles, Seattle was the first delightful sign that
people in imperialist countries shared their anger and their vision of
another kind of world." -- Arundhati Roy
AK Press is pleased to announce the release of a new book in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Seattle WTO protests: November 30, 2009
THE BATTLE OF THE STORY OF THE BATTLE OF SEATTLE
By David Solnit & Rebecca Solnit
with Anuradha Mittal, Chris Dixon, Stephanie Guilloud, and Chris Borte
| From dawn to dusk on November 30, 1999, tens of thousands of people shut down the World Trade Organization meeting, facing cops firing tear gas and rubber bullets, the National Guard, and the suspension of civil liberties.
An unexpected history was launched from the streets of Seattle, one in
which popular power would matter as much as corporate power, in which
economics assumed center-stage, and people began envisioning who else
they could be and what else their economies and societies might look
like.
The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattleexplores how that history itself has become a battleground and how our perception of it shapes today’s movements against corporate capitalism and for a better world. David Solnit recounts activist efforts to intervene in the Hollywood star-studded movie, Battle in Seattle,
and pulls lessons from a decade ago for today. Rebecca Solnit writes of
challenging mainstream misrepresentation of the Seattle protests and
reflects on official history and popular power. Core organizer Chris
Dixon tells the real story of what happened during those five days in
the streets of Seattle.
Profusely illustrated, with a reprint of the original 1999 Direct Action Network's "Call to Action"
broadsheet-- including key articles by Stephanie Guilloud, Chris Borte,
and Chris Dixon -- and a powerful introduction from Anuradha Mittal, The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle
is a tribute to the scores of activists struggling for a better world
around the globe. It's also a highly-charged attack on media mythmaking
in all its forms, from Rebecca Solnit’s battle with the New York Times to David Solnit’s intervention in the Battle in Seattle
film, and beyond. Every essay in this book sets the record straight
about what really happened in Seattle, and more importantly why it
happened. This is the real story.
David Solnit lived and
organized in Seattle in 1999 with the Direct Action Network, a group
co-initiated by the Art and Revolution Collective, of which he was a
part. He has been a mass direct action organizer since the early ’80s,
and in the ’90s became a puppeteer and arts organizer. He is the editor
of Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World and co-author with Aimee Allison ofArmy of None: Strategies to Counter Military Recruitment, End War and Build a Better World. He currently works as a carpenter in Oakland, California and organizes with Courage to Resist, supporting GI resisters, and with the Mobilization for Climate Justice West. Rebecca Solnit is an activist, historian and writer who lives in San Francisco. Her twelfth book, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster, came out this fall. The previous eleven include 2007’s Storming the Gates of Paradise; A Field Guide to Getting Lost; Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities; Wanderlust: A History of Walking; As Eve Said to the Serpent: On Landscape, Gender and Art; River of Shadows, Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West (for which she received a Guggenheim, the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism, and the Lannan Literary Award). A contributing editor to Harper’s, she frequently writes for the political site Tomdispatch.com. She has worked on antinuclear, antiwar, environmental, indigenous land rights and human rights campaigns and movements over the years. Available now in electronic galleys. Contact Kate Khatib (kate@akpress.org)
to request a copy for review. Please consider scheduling articles to
coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Seattle WTO protests on
November 30, 2009.
SPECIAL OFFER FROM AK PRESS!
http://www.akpress.org/2008/items/battleofseattleakpress
The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle
is now available for preorder at the AK Press website, and will ship in
mid-November. Individuals can get a 25% discount on the cover price (a
modest $12) by ordering in advance. If, however, you or your
organization is interested in buying copies in bulk at a wholesale
rate, to sell or give away at upcoming events or convergences, we have
a special deal for you! Order 10 or more copies of The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle
by November 20, and get 50% off the cover price. Books will be shipped
to arrive by N30. (Orders must be prepaid, and are non-returnable,
except in the case of damaged books. Shipping fees vary based on
location.) Email kate@akpress.org
for more information or to place an order, or simply place your order
for 10 or more copies on our website, note *Special 50% off deal* in
the comments box during checkout, and we'll apply the 50% discount
before we charge your card.
Questions? Emailkate@akpress.org, or call the warehouse at (510) 208-1700. | THE BATTLE OF THE STORY OF THE BATTLE OF SEATTLE
ISBN: 978-1-904859635
November 2009
5.5 X 8.5, 128 pages
$12.00
40+ B&W Illustrations
CURRENT EVENTS
 For more information or to request a review copy, please contact:Kate Khatibkate@akpress.org p (410) 878-7706f (510) 208-1701674-A 23rd Street
Oakland, CA 94612http://www.akpress.org Please send any and all reviews to the
addresses above. |
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com. iraqdavid gauvey herbertthe national journalal jazeeraowen fayjackson holtzrobert norriswvltmatt lakinanns mega dublike maria said pazkats kornersex and politics and screeds and attitudethomas friedman is a great mantrinas kitchenthe daily jotcedrics big mixmikey likes itruths reportsickofitradlzoh boy it never ends
Posted at 06:40 am by thecommonills
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