ouch! anyone else's wallet in pain?

[TexasWSP]

Originally Posted by jon1856

Just came across this story and while it could go just about anywhere, parts seemed to place it here:
Cuba oil plans could put hole in U.S. embargo
"HAVANA (Reuters) - Sometime next year, Cuba plans to begin drilling a major oil field off its northern coast that might do what little else has done -- bring change to U.S-Cuba relations.
In a rare confluence of circumstances, oil could grease the wheels for the two bitter enemies to come together in the middle of the Florida Straits out of mutual need, experts say.
Getting there would require a sea change in U.S. policy -- namely putting a major hole in the U.S. trade embargo imposed against Cuba in 1962 to topple Fidel Castro's communist government."..................
"CLOSE TO U.S.
An odd fact is that Cuba will be drilling 50 miles from the Florida Keys, or more than twice as close as U.S. companies can get due to regulations protecting Florida's coast.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who has introduced bills to lift the embargo for oil companies, said the environmental argument may be key because there is much concern in Florida about potential oil spills.
"If there are going to be oil rigs off of Florida, I think most Americans would be more comfortable if they were U.S. oil rigs, rather than Chinese for example," Flake said.
He said U.S. companies are definitely interested in Cuba, but have not publicly pushed for embargo change. In interviews, industry executives emphasized they did not oppose the embargo because it is U.S. national policy and were pushing instead for access to U.S. areas that are currently prohibited, such as offshore western Florida.
"When U.S. companies are not even allowed to drill in the eastern half of the Gulf of Mexico, we have a long way to go before we can think about international waters off the coast of Cuba," said Larry Nichols, chairman of Houston-based Devon Energy.
Cuba has said it would welcome U.S. companies to their offshore field and showed its interest by sending Cubapetroleo representatives to a 2006 conference in Mexico City with companies including oil giant Exxon Mobil and top U.S. refiner Valero Corp.
The conference became the center of international controversy when the Sheraton Hotel kicked out the Cuban representatives after the Bush administration told the U.S.-based hotel chain it was violating the embargo by having paying Cuban guests.
The incident may have convinced the oil industry to lie low on Cuban oil.".............
http://www.reuters.com/article/inDep...thNews&sp=true

Hahahaha. I love that part. Now that is just freaking ridiculous. I guess that's what we get for being complete morons when it comes to our country's energy needs. State and Federal governments bitch for years about coastal drilling.......and now Cuba is basically gonna drill in our backyard, so to speak. Brilliant.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by TexasWSP

Hahahaha. I love that part. Now that is just freaking ridiculous. I guess that's what we get for being complete morons when it comes to our country's energy needs. State and Federal governments bitch for years about coastal drilling.......and now Cuba is basically gonna drill in our backyard, so to speak. Brilliant.

Brother;
Now on hand:


Dutch Mandel

General Motors' very smart move: Can it help save the planet? Who cares! At least they're thinking about it
"Talk about a smart move.

The General Motors announcement that it was shuttering truck plants, giving the hybrid Chevrolet Volt a production jolt, eyeing future strategy of the Hummer brand, developing a Chevy Cobalt replacement and closing other manufacturing facilities is a brilliant tactical move. It telegraphs a message that this company understands life as we have known it has changed, and it's trumpeting that message to shareholders around the world and to customers near and far in advance of the annual stockholders meeting.

Brilliant!

Is it enough? Is it a response with sufficient rapidity? Will naysayers pooh-pooh it?

In order: No. Maybe. Almost surely, yes.

Is it the right kind of public relations for a behemoth seen as slow and cumbersome by its detractors? Absolutely. "........

And then this comment on the other:

"Allow for a moment, as an example of this, a bit of digression. Last week ExxonMobil's embattled CEO, Rex Tillerson, said that instead of developing alternative fuel technologies, it was consumers' responsibility to exercise conservation efforts.

No joke.

Is that like a cigarette company saying, if you think cancer strikes those who smoke cigarettes and you suck down three packs a day, maybe you should cut back to two packs?

Or is that akin to car companies saying that if we want to get better fuel economy, perhaps, Ms. Consumer, you should drive slower.

It is disingenuous, short-sighted and arrogant for Tillerson or any other executive to place this onus on customers and shareholders, the very people who made the companies what they are. "................
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...7221/1049/FREE

BTB Brother, while out shopping today, I paused to give some thought of you.
Do you prefer 25 or 30 year old?
\_/ \_/ cheers!