Remember you can't Drive without the saudis - And you thought lawyers were scum

[IkeaBoy]

Saudi Arabia. They hate America. The only reason they pretend to like us is because we buy oil from them and hey, money (money money) makes the world go round. But still, President Bush likes pretending to be friends with them; inviting him to this country, abiding by THEIR rules (no women in the air control tower), while they have done nothing for us. 15 of the hijackers came from Saudi Arabia but that doesn't mean they're an anti-American country. They make Palestinain suicide bombers as heros to be honoured but hey, oil can help us forget all that. But in case you didn't know they were good people...

SAUDIS HIRE GOP SPIN DOCS


May 1, 2002 -- WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia has hired a slew of D.C.'s most powerful lobbying and p.r. firms - including turning to an ad-buying company that's helped top Republicans - to buff its post-9/11 image, The Post has learned.
One firm, Sandler-Innocenzi, which has worked for the Republican National Committee, recently was used by the Saudis to place TV spots portraying the kingdom as an ally against terrorism, according to the group that won the contract.

Qorvis Communication, which signed a $200,000- per-month public-relations deal with the Saudis last November, sent its commercial-placing job to Sandler-Innocenzi, said Qorvis executive Michael Petruzello.

Despite the company's efforts, several cable TV networks - including the Weather Channel and A&E - rejected the Saudi ads as inappropriate. Some local stations aired the spots.

The Saudis' image in the United States has been hurt by revelations that 15 of the Sept. 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, that it makes payments to families of homicide bombers, and promoted a national telethon to raise money for Palestinian "martyrs."

The Saudi strategy is to "increase awareness" and promote their "commitment in the war against terrorism," according to the p.r. contract with Qorvis.

The firm also lists House GOP Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) - sponsor of a strongly pro-Israel resolution in Congress - as a client.

The RNC said it hasn't used Sandler-Innocenzi since 2000.

It's unclear how much the Saudis paid the company. The firm's representatives didn't reply to requests for comment or register as foreign agents with the Justice Department.

The Saudis also have hired the powerhouse lobbying firm Patton Boggs for a flat fee of $100,000 for two months - and recently entered into a one-year $77,000-per-month agreement with p.r. giant Hill and Knowlton, according to foreign agent registration records kept by the Justice Department.

Just eight days after the Sept. 11 attacks, the kingdom paid about $2.5 million to the p.r. firm Burson-Marsteller to buy national newspaper ads, including one expressing condolences.

Lobbyist Jamie Gallagher, a former GOP Senate aide, was paid $20,000 to advise the Saudis for their recent meetings with President Bush and GOPers on Capitol Hill.

Does this bother anyone else?

[Maynard]

What I really don't understand is why the car companies aren't using 9/11 as a good excuse to look into alternate fuel sources. I know they have done reasearch and even built some cars, but they should be trying extra hard now to find those alternate sources. Shove it up their ass! Don't buy oil from these fucks.

[Spitfire]

It bothered me when I heard Burston-Marstellar got the account...

but pr people have no morals, scruples...I think I need to be in a new career...

[IkeaBoy]

What I really don't understand is why the car companies aren't using 9/11 as a good excuse to look into alternate fuel sources.

If anything, it should be the government who should look into alternative fuel sources but George W. Bush, et al. are kind of buddy buddy with oil and since oil financed the Bush campaign trying to go against oil would look bad for the people that helped him get into office. If you listen to his rhetoric he makes it seem as if there is no possible way for an alternative fuel source (hybrid cars exist and work) and refuses to put money into it because, well once again, he gets his money from oil.

[Bondgirl]

It might be fucked up, but the fact is that money motivates nearly every decision on every level. It may not be fair or right, but its true. Once again, a case of 'one hand washing the other'. If hybrid car manufacturers were giving the government more money then oil companies, we'd probably all be driving them now.


This is an e-mail I got that kind of relates to this...do you really think this could work?

Here we are going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the summer Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action. Phillip Hollsworth, offered this good idea:
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because the! y knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read it and join with us! By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me to! o! It is currently $1.97 for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50- $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace....not sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the
pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea:
For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally
millions! of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do!! Now, don't whimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am sending this note to about thirty people. If eachof you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again, all You have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all.
(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people....
Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician.
But I am ... so trust me on this one.)

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this
email out to ten more people within one day of
receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be
contacted within the next 8 days!!! I'll bet you
I didn't think you and I had that much potential, did
you! Acting together we can make a difference. If
this makes sense to you, please pass this message
on.
PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES
TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND
KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

[Doc]

What I really don't understand is why the car companies aren't using 9/11 as a good excuse to look into alternate fuel sources. I know they have done reasearch and even built some cars, but they should be trying extra hard now to find those alternate sources.

You're forgetting one thing. We're Americans

We don't want to drive cars that get good gas milage or you'd see a hell of a lot less SUV's and swarms of Geo Metros

We want our cars to be powerful, fast, with quick acceleration. You just can't get that out of alternative fuel cars right now. Try to drive an Honda Insight the way you drive your car now, and you'll be sadly shocked at how much it reminds of a go-cart.

Until our culture gets away from big powerful cars being tied in with our personality and self-image (hell, I'm guilty, I bought a 2002 Montel Carlo SS this past fall) alternative fuel vehicles won't get off the ground

[Bondgirl]

We don't want to drive cars that get good gas milage or you'd see a hell of a lot less SUV's and swarms of Geo Metros

This annoys the crap out of me for a whole different reason. They basically killed muscle cars because of the gas shortage in the 70's, and throughout the 90's, they kept making cars with less and less style all in the name of being more aerodynamic, and getting better gas mileage..then these gas pig boxes on wheels came along, and all of a sudden, its fine to waste gas again. What is that all about??

[IkeaBoy]

. What is that all about??

Good point Doc. We're Americans. We LIVE for indulgences and excesses. Damned be the earth, if you have the money for the car and the oil then fuck what it means for everything else and enjoy yourself, you and your giant fucking car. Nothing like an SUV to show that 'hey, my big car means I'm cool.' Personally, I can't stand SUVs, it's not because I'm Mr. Conservationist or save the earth, I just never liked them or mini-vans or anything like that.

[Skitchr4u]

vermont has (or had) an alternative fuel car rally each spring. they had about 30-35 cars owned by real people (not super rich people either) that they drove all around the state to promote the use of them...really cool, and informative. As for hurting the oil companies, we all knew this was coming, it isn't a big shock to anyone that gas prices are now through the roof...
doc is right, as long as people are going to have the big suv's gas only cars are the only thing we iwll see...if we start to become interested as a society in the alternative, only then will we see a movement by car companies

[Spitfire]

And you know what else sucks? They're just going to keep pushing drilling in the Arctic until Congress gets stupid enough to pass it. Let's completely corrupt a pristine area of nature because we're too lazy and won't to find other means of power, which could be readily available if we put our scientific and monetary resources together.

[Bondgirl]

The car companies want people to drive SUV's too, because the profit margin on each truck they sell is much higher then on a car. I'm not big on conspiracy theories, but I really believe that the car companies have made the cars less attractive in order in convince more people to drive SUV's and increase their profits.

[Grumpy]

alternative fuel vehicles won't get off the ground

Alternate fuel won't get off the ground because corporate america WONT LET IT. There have alternate fuel proposals for decades that went away quietly. Methanol, electric, etc... Why? Because the powers that be among the big car companies are too reliant on their current production systems and big OIL companies stand to collapse financially if the dependancy on fuel dimishes. There was a story a while back that Exxon, Mobil, Shell and other US oil companies have bought the patent and production rights to alternate fuel types with the sole intention of never producing them. Why? Why would you shoot your cow when you can milk it forever.

It's only now that the Ford, Honda, Chyrsler, GM, etc... are exploring alternate fuel vehicles because they're figuring out that the US can rely on the middle east for much longer. As a side note: according to government statistics, the middle east only produces 30% of the fuel consumed in the US. The other 70% come from other sources.

[Doc]

Let's completely corrupt a pristine area of nature because we're too lazy and won't to find other means of power, which could be readily available if we put our scientific and monetary resources together.

Arctic drilling is a little different matter, please, hear me out

Don't get me wrong, I like caribou as much as the next guy. hell, if I saw a caribou sitting homeless on the street I'd give it the shirt off my back, but that being said, sometimes you have to say fuck 'em.

We are dependant on oil, NOT just for power, but for a bunch of things. Do you know where plastics come from...long chain hydrocarbons. Do you know where we get long chain hydrocarbons?

Crude oil.

Everything that is plastic was made from oil. How about home heating oil. I don't want to have to tell little Johnny that he has to sleep in the cold because America didn't secure it's energy rights and now crude is $2000 a barrell.

It's a fine line we have to walk. The technology is absolutley NOT here now to replace fossil fuels as our main source of energy. It would be great if there was another way, but right now, there is not. Oil is so cheap that it does not make good business sense to go any other way, and the business of America is business. This economy will come to a grinding halt if we have to seriously cut back our fuel usage too quickly. Maybe in 50 years things will be different, but there really isn't much we can do today

[Spitfire]

We are dependant on oil, NOT just for power, but for a bunch of things. Do you know where plastics come from...long chain hydrocarbons. Do you know where we get long chain hydrocarbons?

Crude oil.

Everything that is plastic was made from oil.

Did you know we could just get rid of plastics, oil, the need to cut down trees for paper, etc. if the government decided to legalize hemp?

[Doc]

Get rid of plastics....exactly how high are you?

And wouldn't we need MORE paper if pot was legal...I mean, otherwise everyone would need a Billy Bong Thorton
Those can be hard to use while driving



Edited By Doc on May 01 2002 at 3:27

[Hey Ladi]

I mean, otherwise everyone would need Billu Bong Thorton

Glass is nicer anyway. You don't burn your fingers, it's easy to pass, and no ash droppings.

How much oil really goes into plastics & petrolium jelly? If planes trains & automobiles ran on something other than oil, there would be plenty of it to go around. Unfortuately that might lead to more plastic.

[Skitchr4u]

hemp makes paper...so thus then we don't need to cut down more trees:fuggin:

[Spitfire]

NOT POT!!!! HEMP... goddamn, everyone is too indoctrinated by propaganda to realize there IS a big difference...

Hemp link

Another hemp article

Vote Hemp

Hemp is the world's strongest natural fiber. It has been used to make cloth and rope for over 10,000 years. Hemp was the first crop ever cultivated for textile production.

Hemp cloth is stronger, longer lasting, more resistant to mildew, and cheaper to produce than cloth made of cotton. Hemp ropes are known for their strength and durability. The original Levi Strauss jeans were made from a hempen canvas. Even Old Glory was made from hemp fiber. A 44 gun frigate like “Old Ironsides” took over 60 tons of hemp for rigging, including an anchor cable 25 inches in circumference.

Hemp can be used to make virtually anything that is currently made of cotton, timber, or petroleum. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper. Until 1883, more than 75% of the world's paper was made with hemp fiber.

In 1937 Popular Science magazine called hemp "The New Billion Dollar Crop."

Then the big money people struck out to protect their interests. Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst led the crusade to ban hemp. Hearst owned millions of acres of prime timber land and a machine that simplified the process of making paper from hemp had just been invented. Hearst used his power as a publisher to create public panic about the evils of hemp and marijuana. Another big money player Pierre DuPont held patent rights to the sulfuric acid wood pulp paper process. In 1937 DuPont patented nylon rope made from synthetic petrochemicals. Along with Duponts backer Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon the big money people prevailed and near the end of 1937 Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. By placing a prohibitively high tax on hemp production it destroyed the industry. This was done to protect these big money interests of the timber, petrochemical, and cotton industries. Hemp was briefly re-legalized during W.W.II. The U.S. government produced the movie Hemp for Victory to encourage farmers to grow hemp. Even 4H clubs were asked to grow hemp to help their country in wartime. The parachute that saved George Bush's life in World War II was made of hemp fiber.

Henry Ford dreamed that someday automobiles would be grown from the soil. In 1941 the Ford motor company produced an experimental automobile with a plastic body composed of 70% cellulose fibers from hemp. The car body could absorb blows 10 times as great as steel without denting. The car was designed to run on hemp fuel. Because of the ban on both hemp and alcohol the car was never mass produced.

Industrial hemp can replace cotton. Cotton is typically grown with large amounts of chemicals that are harmful to people, wildlife and the entire environment. Close to 50% of all the world's pesticides are sprayed on cotton. Hemp grows well in a wide variety of climates and soils. It requires far less fertilizer and pesticides than most commercial crops.

All parts of the hemp plant are useful. Hemp can be used to produce everything from fuel to soap. The oil from hemp seeds has the highest percentage of essential fatty acids and the lowest percentage of saturated fats.

Industrial hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fiber per acre. This is four times what an average forest can yield. It can replace wood fiber and help save our forests. Trees take approximately 20 years to mature - hemp takes 4 months. Paper made from hemp lasts for centuries, compared to 25-80 years for paper made from wood pulp.

Hemp is the perfect source for fuel. It produces more biomass than any other plant. If we had to pay at the pump for all the military costs to keep the oil flowing clean burning alcohol fuel produced from hemp would be a bargain.

Today industrial hemp is cultivated in Canada, China, Russia, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, England, Poland and many other Eastern European countries.

There, now you are informed Doc!



Edited By Spitfire on May 01 2002 at 3:46

[PollyannaFlower46]

There was a story a while back that Exxon, Mobil, Shell and other US oil companies have bought the patent and production rights to alternate fuel types with the sole intention of never producing them. Why? Why would you shoot your cow when you can milk it forever.

I heard the same thing, its because they want to own the patents so they don't go belly up when the oil really does run out...it's funny that Bill Gates gets taken to court for having a monopoly over the software industry but nothing happens to oil owners...

[Skitchr4u]

see, i am not as dumb as my posts lead people to think...thanks for the links spit, i haven't read that stuff since i wrote papers on the decriminalization of marijuana in college