4 New Messages
Digest #4736
Messages
Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:51 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://en.rian.
Russian Information Agency Novosti
June 27, 2013
NATO Lambasts Russian Fences in Breakaway Georgian Region
====
[Rasmussen] commended Georgia for being a “strong supporter of shared security” and having “more troops in Afghanistan than any other of NATO’s partner nations.” He hailed the country’s progress “on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration, including in NATO,” adding that “Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration will only be a matter of time.”
====
TBILISI: NATO on Thursday once again harshly criticized Russia’s construction of barbed-wire fences along an ex-Georgian region’s 350-kilometer border with that country.
Georgia lost control of a fifth of its territory in 2008 after fighting a five-day war with Russia over the breakaway region, South Ossetia. Russia subsequently granted independence to that region and the nearby province of Abkhazia, but reportedly gave the residents Russian passports.
Speaking in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on Thursday, NATO’s secretary general reiterated, nearly word-for-word, comments that he made early this month when the fences were reported.
“Fence-building impedes freedom of movement. It can further inflame tensions. It is not acceptable and should be reversed,” Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at the opening of Georgia’s National Parliamentary Library.
He commended Georgia for being a “strong supporter of shared security” and having “more troops in Afghanistan than any other of NATO’s partner nations.” He hailed the country’s progress “on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration, including in NATO,” adding that “Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration will only be a matter of time.”
Late last month, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said Russian border guards had installed barbed-wire fences along Georgia’s border with South Ossetia and had even pushed the border line inside Georgia.
Georgia maintains its claim to sovereignty over both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, whose Russia-proclaimed independence has been recognized by only a handful of other nations.
Rasmussen on Thursday urged Russia to maintain peace in the area, in keeping with an agreement signed in the wake of the August 2008 conflict. “Such moves [building fences] are contrary to international law, and they are contrary to the ceasefire agreement,” he said.
In November 2010, Georgia’s president declared that his country would never use force to restore the territorial integrity of the breakaway republics.
“We have welcomed Georgia’s commitment not to use force, and we have called on Russia to reciprocate,” Rasmussen said Thursday, adding that “it takes two to tango” and “Russia has to help in this regard.”
Under an interstate agreement with Russia signed on April 30, 2009, South Ossetia delegated its border protection functions to Russia until the republic established its own border guard service.
Rasmussen arrived in Tbilisi on Wednesday for a two-day visit to assess steps that Georgia has taken to fulfill requirement for joining NATO.
Georgia will become a full-fledged member of NATO, but further work is needed to meet the requirements of membership, he said, adding that, for example, Georgia should continue to work to ensure the highest democratic standards.
“You are on the right path. Because it’s the path to NATO’s open door,” he said. “You are making real progress. With consistent and determined efforts, you will reach your destination. And you will walk through that open door.”
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Russian Information Agency Novosti
June 27, 2013
NATO Lambasts Russian Fences in Breakaway Georgian Region
====
[Rasmussen] commended Georgia for being a “strong supporter of shared security” and having “more troops in Afghanistan than any other of NATO’s partner nations.” He hailed the country’s progress “on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration, including in NATO,” adding that “Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration will only be a matter of time.”
====
TBILISI: NATO on Thursday once again harshly criticized Russia’s construction of barbed-wire fences along an ex-Georgian region’s 350-kilometer border with that country.
Georgia lost control of a fifth of its territory in 2008 after fighting a five-day war with Russia over the breakaway region, South Ossetia. Russia subsequently granted independence to that region and the nearby province of Abkhazia, but reportedly gave the residents Russian passports.
Speaking in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on Thursday, NATO’s secretary general reiterated, nearly word-for-word, comments that he made early this month when the fences were reported.
“Fence-building impedes freedom of movement. It can further inflame tensions. It is not acceptable and should be reversed,” Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at the opening of Georgia’s National Parliamentary Library.
He commended Georgia for being a “strong supporter of shared security” and having “more troops in Afghanistan than any other of NATO’s partner nations.” He hailed the country’s progress “on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration, including in NATO,” adding that “Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration will only be a matter of time.”
Late last month, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said Russian border guards had installed barbed-wire fences along Georgia’s border with South Ossetia and had even pushed the border line inside Georgia.
Georgia maintains its claim to sovereignty over both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, whose Russia-proclaimed independence has been recognized by only a handful of other nations.
Rasmussen on Thursday urged Russia to maintain peace in the area, in keeping with an agreement signed in the wake of the August 2008 conflict. “Such moves [building fences] are contrary to international law, and they are contrary to the ceasefire agreement,” he said.
In November 2010, Georgia’s president declared that his country would never use force to restore the territorial integrity of the breakaway republics.
“We have welcomed Georgia’s commitment not to use force, and we have called on Russia to reciprocate,” Rasmussen said Thursday, adding that “it takes two to tango” and “Russia has to help in this regard.”
Under an interstate agreement with Russia signed on April 30, 2009, South Ossetia delegated its border protection functions to Russia until the republic established its own border guard service.
Rasmussen arrived in Tbilisi on Wednesday for a two-day visit to assess steps that Georgia has taken to fulfill requirement for joining NATO.
Georgia will become a full-fledged member of NATO, but further work is needed to meet the requirements of membership, he said, adding that, for example, Georgia should continue to work to ensure the highest democratic standards.
“You are on the right path. Because it’s the path to NATO’s open door,” he said. “You are making real progress. With consistent and determined efforts, you will reach your destination. And you will walk through that open door.”
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:12 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://en.rian.
Russian Information Agency Novosti
June 28, 2013
Deputy PM Expects Sabotage Attempts Against Russia in Arctic
====
“NATO has long been discussing plans to reinforce the naval grouping in the Arctic region under the pretext of safeguarding commercial navigation,” Rogozin, who is Russia’s former envoy to Brussels, said...
====
MOSCOW: Russia’s oil and gas extraction infrastructure in the Arctic could become a target for sabotage attempts by other countries as the race to exploit the Arctic shelf leads to conflicts of interest between competing nations, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday.
“The settlement of these conflicts could very easily exceed the boundaries of diplomacy. It’s quite possible that Russia’s oil and gas production facilities might see secret sabotage attempts by rival countries,” Rogozin, who is responsible for the defense industry in the government, said on Friday.
He added that Russia is not yet ready for such threats, which would require modern monitoring equipment able to operate both above ground and underwater.
According to Rogozin, Russia would need to identify the nature and source of the threat in order to strike back accordingly.
“NATO has long been discussing plans to reinforce the naval grouping in the Arctic region under the pretext of safeguarding commercial navigation,” Rogozin, who is Russia’s former envoy to Brussels, said without giving further details.
The race in the Arctic to exploit previously inaccessible resources, accounting for an estimated 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped natural gas, has accelerated in recent years. Russian energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft have obtained licenses to explore the Russian continental shelf – an initiative that has been strongly opposed by environmentalists.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Russian Information Agency Novosti
June 28, 2013
Deputy PM Expects Sabotage Attempts Against Russia in Arctic
====
“NATO has long been discussing plans to reinforce the naval grouping in the Arctic region under the pretext of safeguarding commercial navigation,” Rogozin, who is Russia’s former envoy to Brussels, said...
====
MOSCOW: Russia’s oil and gas extraction infrastructure in the Arctic could become a target for sabotage attempts by other countries as the race to exploit the Arctic shelf leads to conflicts of interest between competing nations, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday.
“The settlement of these conflicts could very easily exceed the boundaries of diplomacy. It’s quite possible that Russia’s oil and gas production facilities might see secret sabotage attempts by rival countries,” Rogozin, who is responsible for the defense industry in the government, said on Friday.
He added that Russia is not yet ready for such threats, which would require modern monitoring equipment able to operate both above ground and underwater.
According to Rogozin, Russia would need to identify the nature and source of the threat in order to strike back accordingly.
“NATO has long been discussing plans to reinforce the naval grouping in the Arctic region under the pretext of safeguarding commercial navigation,” Rogozin, who is Russia’s former envoy to Brussels, said without giving further details.
The race in the Arctic to exploit previously inaccessible resources, accounting for an estimated 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped natural gas, has accelerated in recent years. Russian energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft have obtained licenses to explore the Russian continental shelf – an initiative that has been strongly opposed by environmentalists.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:12 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://english.
Voice of Russia
June 28, 2013
Kosovo is Serbia and Russia has not evacuated personnel from Syria
The information war and information operations by the West appear to have been geared up to full capacity in Serbia as the West tries to force the Serbian people into accepting the independence of Kosovo and European Union integration.
From a geopolitical point of view Serbia may not seem like that big of a country but it is of great importance for the United States and its NATO allies because right in the heart of Serbia, in Kosovo, a territory the US and NATO planners have literally stolen from the Serbian people, is the largest U.S. military installation outside of the continental United States.
From hundreds of contacts, interviews, documents and observations regarding Serbia and the Serbian people, it is clear that the government of Serbia is not following the wishes of the majority of the Serbian people when it comes to Kosovo, European integration and relations with the Russian Federation.
The vast majority of the Serbian people in no way recognize the independence of Kosovo and for almost every single Serbian Kosovo is viewed not only as an integral part of the sovereign territory of Serbia but also as the heart of the Serbian people.
When I first started reporting about Kosovo and Serbia I was at first confronted with claims and even evidence that there was a complete and total media blackout in effect when it came to Serbia and the views of the Serbian people. This has not gone away and until now the western media operations seemed to be limited to stifling dissent and muzzling the voice of the Serbian people. Like I just said, that is, until now.
Now there is increasing evidence that U.S. and NATO led media and information operations in Serbia are taking the form of sinister PSYOPS, the abbreviation for covert Psychological Operations.
It is important to note that the former Yugoslavia and Serbia in particular have been something akin to a geopolitical laboratory since the first invasion of Yugoslavia by the U.S. and NATO. Here it is important to recall that it was in fact Yugoslavia that served as the first blueprint for the “humanitarian” based US/NATO tactic of aggressive invasion. A blueprint that has since gone on to be used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other countries. Serbia was the first such invasion and as the guinea pig for everything since from massively covered up genocide (Srebrenica)
the country into sheepish submission.
The level and nature of the way the media is Serbia is being manipulated has reached a shocking level with the push for the Serbian people to accept what has already been decided on as being the fate of their country by those pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Recently I was contacted by several of my contacts in Serbia who were alarmed and asked me if it was true that Russia had pulled all of its military and other personnel out of Syria. I checked around using my confidential channels, searched for media reports and the like, and came back with the answer that this was nonsense.
Reports that there were currently no staff of the Russian Armed Forces in Tartus which appeared in the Al-Hayat pan-Arabic had been twisted and misconstrued to paint the picture of an evacuation or other sudden removal of personnel. Taking the point out of context, inflating it and spinning it into something it is not is a specialty of many in the western press.
It is important to note that the maintenance facility in Tartus is not a base and it was staffed by only several dozen civilian personnel. The Russian Defense ministry has stated that it was concerned with the safety of the civilian personnel but there was no evacuation of any personnel and the ridiculous assertion by the Western media and in particular certain Serbian media outlets, that Russia had evacuated soldiers and had left civilians behind is outrageous and a fabrication. There was no evacuation.
One might also ask the question: Why would Russia be pulling its personnel out of Syria if Assad is winning? This is usually done only if an invasion is imminent or the government is about to fall, or perhaps if there is an imminent threat to the lives of the personnel due to natural or other causes.
Then one of my sources in Serbia who had sent me a link to the story made the logical conclusion that with the Snowden story currently showing the world the true impotence of the United States, the West about to obtain complete and total victory in Serbia and the fact that the only hope for many of the Serbian people is Russia, the West needs a way to make Russia looks weak and incapable, especially in light of its unyielding support for president Assad and the Syrian people.
The parallels between the situation in Syria and the former Yugoslavia are almost so many that it appears that the US has used the same blueprint and like Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, and in every other country it has invaded or destroyed by causing revolutions or coup d’états, and as the latest country where a military base or other objective is the key and is being subjected to western global remapping and geopolitical manipulation, Syria is of particular interest but more so because of the staunch support by Russia.
Some may say that Syria is the final litmus test for Russia. Russia was tricked out of Serbia although it stood up to the West and has maintained, even more so than some Serbians, that Kosovo is Serbia and there is no legitimate “other” power that can control the sovereign territory, other than the Serbs.
Stories that Russia has failed in Syria would then further help top demoralize and throw the Serbian people in grudging acceptance that giving up Kosovo and following the sell out of Serbia that many of the Serbian leaders are pushing through even though more than 80% of the people of Serbia are against European Union integration and even more against recognizing any kind of independence from Kosovo.
The students at Belgrade University, many of whom I have spoken to and who are typical well-educated intelligent and proud patriotic Serbian young people, sent me a statement regarding the Prime Minister of Serbia’s recent statements which have attempted to paint a picture of the broad (although nonexistent) popular support for European integration and the recognition of the independence of Kosovo.
These statements and recent media reports regarding the Kosovo Parliament, the very recognition of such a body existing on the Sovereign territory of Serbia an admission as to the independent nature of Kosovo, are all part of a clever yet so obviously patently fabricated, information war campaign, to legitimize the illegal and egregious meddling in Serbia by the West, and the abomination that is Western recognition for the separation of the heart of Serbia from Serbia proper.
The students at Belgrade University sent me the following statement through one of their fellow students on the Political Science Faculty and a student protest organizer named Nenad Uzelac:
The statement by the Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, that he hopes that Serbia will become a member of EU in four or five years is nothing but cheap propaganda for the economically, socially and mentally numbed Serbian people. He is serving us an illusion on a silver platter.
Every country of the ex SSSR has experienced a fiasco upon entering the EU with regard to at least four economic parameters: growth of the external debt, growth of unemployment, growth of poverty and the destruction of the agricultural sector.
The EU is an American protectorate, as Bzezinski would say, therefore it serves the American interests in the modern colonization of the Eastern European countries, with the goal of ''surroundi
Entering the EU today, is a ticket for a voyage on the Titanic. Serbia will never become a member of the EU, or at least not for decades to come, and this road is a road to disaster.
It has been said to us by former German ambassador Cobel, that we will not become a member before 2030-2035, and Angela Merkel recently stated that ''The door of the EU will close for a longer period of time, and that Serbia can gain membership, at the earliest in 2019''
Serbia has yet to meet a lot of ''condition
Besides that, there is no doubt that the EU has designs for Vojvodina as well as the internationalizatio
What is interesting is that Croatia is about to become a member of EU, and we shouldn'
In conclusion, I'll mention a detail from the letter in which Willy Wimmer wrote to Gerhard Shroeder: ''Serbia has to be permanently excluded from European development, thus securing the military presence of the USA''
Ivica Dacic knows all this, but, as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung stated: ''Dacic is a politician who loves money'&#
His statement can thus be better understood in the context of him being, a small, corrupted politician, who has to tell fairy tales about the EU to his own people.
The students of Belgrade University
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Voice of Russia
June 28, 2013
Kosovo is Serbia and Russia has not evacuated personnel from Syria
The information war and information operations by the West appear to have been geared up to full capacity in Serbia as the West tries to force the Serbian people into accepting the independence of Kosovo and European Union integration.
From a geopolitical point of view Serbia may not seem like that big of a country but it is of great importance for the United States and its NATO allies because right in the heart of Serbia, in Kosovo, a territory the US and NATO planners have literally stolen from the Serbian people, is the largest U.S. military installation outside of the continental United States.
From hundreds of contacts, interviews, documents and observations regarding Serbia and the Serbian people, it is clear that the government of Serbia is not following the wishes of the majority of the Serbian people when it comes to Kosovo, European integration and relations with the Russian Federation.
The vast majority of the Serbian people in no way recognize the independence of Kosovo and for almost every single Serbian Kosovo is viewed not only as an integral part of the sovereign territory of Serbia but also as the heart of the Serbian people.
When I first started reporting about Kosovo and Serbia I was at first confronted with claims and even evidence that there was a complete and total media blackout in effect when it came to Serbia and the views of the Serbian people. This has not gone away and until now the western media operations seemed to be limited to stifling dissent and muzzling the voice of the Serbian people. Like I just said, that is, until now.
Now there is increasing evidence that U.S. and NATO led media and information operations in Serbia are taking the form of sinister PSYOPS, the abbreviation for covert Psychological Operations.
It is important to note that the former Yugoslavia and Serbia in particular have been something akin to a geopolitical laboratory since the first invasion of Yugoslavia by the U.S. and NATO. Here it is important to recall that it was in fact Yugoslavia that served as the first blueprint for the “humanitarian” based US/NATO tactic of aggressive invasion. A blueprint that has since gone on to be used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other countries. Serbia was the first such invasion and as the guinea pig for everything since from massively covered up genocide (Srebrenica)
the country into sheepish submission.
The level and nature of the way the media is Serbia is being manipulated has reached a shocking level with the push for the Serbian people to accept what has already been decided on as being the fate of their country by those pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Recently I was contacted by several of my contacts in Serbia who were alarmed and asked me if it was true that Russia had pulled all of its military and other personnel out of Syria. I checked around using my confidential channels, searched for media reports and the like, and came back with the answer that this was nonsense.
Reports that there were currently no staff of the Russian Armed Forces in Tartus which appeared in the Al-Hayat pan-Arabic had been twisted and misconstrued to paint the picture of an evacuation or other sudden removal of personnel. Taking the point out of context, inflating it and spinning it into something it is not is a specialty of many in the western press.
It is important to note that the maintenance facility in Tartus is not a base and it was staffed by only several dozen civilian personnel. The Russian Defense ministry has stated that it was concerned with the safety of the civilian personnel but there was no evacuation of any personnel and the ridiculous assertion by the Western media and in particular certain Serbian media outlets, that Russia had evacuated soldiers and had left civilians behind is outrageous and a fabrication. There was no evacuation.
One might also ask the question: Why would Russia be pulling its personnel out of Syria if Assad is winning? This is usually done only if an invasion is imminent or the government is about to fall, or perhaps if there is an imminent threat to the lives of the personnel due to natural or other causes.
Then one of my sources in Serbia who had sent me a link to the story made the logical conclusion that with the Snowden story currently showing the world the true impotence of the United States, the West about to obtain complete and total victory in Serbia and the fact that the only hope for many of the Serbian people is Russia, the West needs a way to make Russia looks weak and incapable, especially in light of its unyielding support for president Assad and the Syrian people.
The parallels between the situation in Syria and the former Yugoslavia are almost so many that it appears that the US has used the same blueprint and like Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, and in every other country it has invaded or destroyed by causing revolutions or coup d’états, and as the latest country where a military base or other objective is the key and is being subjected to western global remapping and geopolitical manipulation, Syria is of particular interest but more so because of the staunch support by Russia.
Some may say that Syria is the final litmus test for Russia. Russia was tricked out of Serbia although it stood up to the West and has maintained, even more so than some Serbians, that Kosovo is Serbia and there is no legitimate “other” power that can control the sovereign territory, other than the Serbs.
Stories that Russia has failed in Syria would then further help top demoralize and throw the Serbian people in grudging acceptance that giving up Kosovo and following the sell out of Serbia that many of the Serbian leaders are pushing through even though more than 80% of the people of Serbia are against European Union integration and even more against recognizing any kind of independence from Kosovo.
The students at Belgrade University, many of whom I have spoken to and who are typical well-educated intelligent and proud patriotic Serbian young people, sent me a statement regarding the Prime Minister of Serbia’s recent statements which have attempted to paint a picture of the broad (although nonexistent) popular support for European integration and the recognition of the independence of Kosovo.
These statements and recent media reports regarding the Kosovo Parliament, the very recognition of such a body existing on the Sovereign territory of Serbia an admission as to the independent nature of Kosovo, are all part of a clever yet so obviously patently fabricated, information war campaign, to legitimize the illegal and egregious meddling in Serbia by the West, and the abomination that is Western recognition for the separation of the heart of Serbia from Serbia proper.
The students at Belgrade University sent me the following statement through one of their fellow students on the Political Science Faculty and a student protest organizer named Nenad Uzelac:
The statement by the Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, that he hopes that Serbia will become a member of EU in four or five years is nothing but cheap propaganda for the economically, socially and mentally numbed Serbian people. He is serving us an illusion on a silver platter.
Every country of the ex SSSR has experienced a fiasco upon entering the EU with regard to at least four economic parameters: growth of the external debt, growth of unemployment, growth of poverty and the destruction of the agricultural sector.
The EU is an American protectorate, as Bzezinski would say, therefore it serves the American interests in the modern colonization of the Eastern European countries, with the goal of ''surroundi
Entering the EU today, is a ticket for a voyage on the Titanic. Serbia will never become a member of the EU, or at least not for decades to come, and this road is a road to disaster.
It has been said to us by former German ambassador Cobel, that we will not become a member before 2030-2035, and Angela Merkel recently stated that ''The door of the EU will close for a longer period of time, and that Serbia can gain membership, at the earliest in 2019''
Serbia has yet to meet a lot of ''condition
Besides that, there is no doubt that the EU has designs for Vojvodina as well as the internationalizatio
What is interesting is that Croatia is about to become a member of EU, and we shouldn'
In conclusion, I'll mention a detail from the letter in which Willy Wimmer wrote to Gerhard Shroeder: ''Serbia has to be permanently excluded from European development, thus securing the military presence of the USA''
Ivica Dacic knows all this, but, as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung stated: ''Dacic is a politician who loves money'&#
His statement can thus be better understood in the context of him being, a small, corrupted politician, who has to tell fairy tales about the EU to his own people.
The students of Belgrade University
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:22 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.mywestte
Midland Reporter-Telegram
June 28, 2013
NATO delegation visits Permian Basin to study oil’s impact on economy, security
By Mella McEwen
The Permian Basin’s booming oil patch has drawn the attention of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Midland College on Thursday hosted a delegation of 28 dignitaries representing NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly Subcommittee on Transatlantic Economic Relations and Subcommittee on Energy and Environmental Security.
There were presentations on the area’s shale oil boom and its economic impact.
Hoxie Smith, director of Midland College’s Petroleum Professional Development Center, discussed the area’s unconventional resource plays, how they were being developed and their impact on the economy. He and Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of the Permian Basin Workforce Development Board, discussed labor issues in light of the present economic boom. Both men said they were quite impressed with the visitors’ grasp of the issues and the questions they asked.
The delegation included representatives from Turkey, Romania, Canada, Italy, Norway, France, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, the Czech Republic and United Kingdom. Among the members were Lamberto Dini, a former prime minister of Italy, and Baroness Ann Taylor of Bolton from the United Kingdom.
Leon Benoit, head of the Canadian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, said the delegation was interested in going beyond “the big picture” and connecting with people affected by events on the ground. Their findings will be woven into their reports that will focus on the emerging unconventional oil and gas plays on the global economy and global security, he said.
The Permian Basin “could be Alberta near Lloydminster, where new methods are bringing new production, or the Oil Sands three miles from my home,” Benoit said.
Like Midland, he said businesses in Alberta are struggling to find enough skilled workers.
The question is whether this new-found oil and gas production will result in a more stable world or a less stable world, Benoit said. He said he believes the world will be more stable and will result in the United States being less involved in international matters. Reducing American involvement in the Middle East will be especially beneficial, he said.
Tudor Barbu, secretary of the bureau of the senate in Romania, said his country is very interested in hydraulic fracturing.
“We have huge reserves of oil and gas in shales,” he said. “It’s a big issue. Parliament and the people are split. People don’t approve of the method because it leads to earthquakes and water lighting on fire. Others see Romania’s future could be in shales.”
He said he saw a similar debate during the group’s two days in Austin, when two speakers from academia and non-governmental organizations denounced the technology.
“My question is, why, don’t we put, at the same table, on the same screen, the two sides of the issue?” Barbu asked. “I remember, as a boy in Romania, watching Joe Frazier debate. ‘I’m the best.’ ‘I’m the best.’ They had to prove it in the ring. Why don’t organizations, local and national, debate the question? They can bring their arguments, their images, their props and once and for all settle the question?”
While Romania knows a lot about hydraulic fracturing technology, “we want to understand more,” Barbu said. “Texas is one of the most important points in the world concerning fracturing. We want to know if what we know is true.”
While in Austin the group heard about conventional oil and gas energy and renewable energy and toured the Webberville Solar Farm.
Benoit said that two years ago he led a a similar delegation on a tour of Alberta’s oil sands and oil mining and natural gas production facilities in British Columbia.
...
A strong regulatory framework will be vital, said Taylor, noting that the most recent report from the British Geological Survey showed the nation’s shale gas potential could be phenomenal.
“Obvious the context is different because we’re a small, crowded island and there are genuine environmental concerns,” she said. “If we go ahead with developing these shales, there needs to be a strong regulatory framework. One of the messages here is there are dangers so everything needs to be done to a high level of specification.”
After Thursday morning’s presentations at Midland College’s Carrasco Room, the delegates were to tour Chevron’s training facility and Fasken Oil and Ranch field operations. Their visit will conclude this morning with a visit to the Petroleum Museum.
Midland Reporter-Telegram
June 28, 2013
NATO delegation visits Permian Basin to study oil’s impact on economy, security
By Mella McEwen
The Permian Basin’s booming oil patch has drawn the attention of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Midland College on Thursday hosted a delegation of 28 dignitaries representing NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly Subcommittee on Transatlantic Economic Relations and Subcommittee on Energy and Environmental Security.
There were presentations on the area’s shale oil boom and its economic impact.
Hoxie Smith, director of Midland College’s Petroleum Professional Development Center, discussed the area’s unconventional resource plays, how they were being developed and their impact on the economy. He and Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of the Permian Basin Workforce Development Board, discussed labor issues in light of the present economic boom. Both men said they were quite impressed with the visitors’ grasp of the issues and the questions they asked.
The delegation included representatives from Turkey, Romania, Canada, Italy, Norway, France, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, the Czech Republic and United Kingdom. Among the members were Lamberto Dini, a former prime minister of Italy, and Baroness Ann Taylor of Bolton from the United Kingdom.
Leon Benoit, head of the Canadian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, said the delegation was interested in going beyond “the big picture” and connecting with people affected by events on the ground. Their findings will be woven into their reports that will focus on the emerging unconventional oil and gas plays on the global economy and global security, he said.
The Permian Basin “could be Alberta near Lloydminster, where new methods are bringing new production, or the Oil Sands three miles from my home,” Benoit said.
Like Midland, he said businesses in Alberta are struggling to find enough skilled workers.
The question is whether this new-found oil and gas production will result in a more stable world or a less stable world, Benoit said. He said he believes the world will be more stable and will result in the United States being less involved in international matters. Reducing American involvement in the Middle East will be especially beneficial, he said.
Tudor Barbu, secretary of the bureau of the senate in Romania, said his country is very interested in hydraulic fracturing.
“We have huge reserves of oil and gas in shales,” he said. “It’s a big issue. Parliament and the people are split. People don’t approve of the method because it leads to earthquakes and water lighting on fire. Others see Romania’s future could be in shales.”
He said he saw a similar debate during the group’s two days in Austin, when two speakers from academia and non-governmental organizations denounced the technology.
“My question is, why, don’t we put, at the same table, on the same screen, the two sides of the issue?” Barbu asked. “I remember, as a boy in Romania, watching Joe Frazier debate. ‘I’m the best.’ ‘I’m the best.’ They had to prove it in the ring. Why don’t organizations, local and national, debate the question? They can bring their arguments, their images, their props and once and for all settle the question?”
While Romania knows a lot about hydraulic fracturing technology, “we want to understand more,” Barbu said. “Texas is one of the most important points in the world concerning fracturing. We want to know if what we know is true.”
While in Austin the group heard about conventional oil and gas energy and renewable energy and toured the Webberville Solar Farm.
Benoit said that two years ago he led a a similar delegation on a tour of Alberta’s oil sands and oil mining and natural gas production facilities in British Columbia.
...
A strong regulatory framework will be vital, said Taylor, noting that the most recent report from the British Geological Survey showed the nation’s shale gas potential could be phenomenal.
“Obvious the context is different because we’re a small, crowded island and there are genuine environmental concerns,” she said. “If we go ahead with developing these shales, there needs to be a strong regulatory framework. One of the messages here is there are dangers so everything needs to be done to a high level of specification.”
After Thursday morning’s presentations at Midland College’s Carrasco Room, the delegates were to tour Chevron’s training facility and Fasken Oil and Ranch field operations. Their visit will conclude this morning with a visit to the Petroleum Museum.
