This National Post article about a Nebraska rancher opposed to the passing of the Keystone Pipeline XL expansion on his land is revelatory. Randy Thompson, a cattle buyer, is fighting to avoid a foreign company, TransCanada Corp, from bringing its pipeline on his land. I am saying revelatory because similar situations have happened on thousands of different occasions in the past. Everytime a new empire sets foot, or a new civilization takes roots, or an old one dies, we see good and decent people being caught in the implosion, explosion or redefining of the old ways to set the path for the new ones. People like Mr Thompson who have been forced to relocalize or cede a part of their land, by persuasion or by force, have been millions throughout history. Whether we talk about the Roman Empire conquering the world, the French Revolution cutting a few strategic heads, the armies of Muhammad conquering North Africa or the American colonies declaring their independence, in these occurences, there were always people who, even though they hadn’t done anything wrong, were caught in the processes of change to their detriment. That’s the way I see what is happening to Mr Thompson.
The Anglo-American Empire is under attack by the forces of the Third Reich that have gone underground after WWII, and they are more alive than ever. In effect, they have veiled their activities in all kinds of cloaks, such as the Green movement, social activism of all sorts, counter-culture activities, religious cults, religions per se, and sometimes intelligence agencies and other governmental, military and international organizations that they have infiltrated and co-opted to implement and push forward their agenda. Furthermore, the Anglo-American Empire is under attack as well by the most reactionary people that you can find on the surface of this Earth, the Arab/Islamic world that has been, since WWII, contaminated by nazism due to the collaboration of Hasan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, with Adolf Hitler. This world, driven by the morals of Sharia, proposes of bringing the world back to what it was in 7th century A.D. Clearly, we can’t go back to that era, simply because of the most basic rule of human history: to always look forward. These reactionary elements that we find in the Arab world, in Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and other states of the Gulf, are basically 7th century Bedouins…with billions of petro-dollars in their pockets…which makes them extremely dangerous. Contrary to westerners, these Bedouins have not worked to get their wealth. They were only lucky enough to be the nomads walking the country when the gasoline engine was invented and that oil became something important.
Evidently, reactionary and barbaric people showing corrupted and devious morals with so much power can’t resist the temptation of blackmailing and threatening the whole world to obey their dictates. Having the control on the oil valve, you can be sure that they have made already a few countries or organizations to do a few dances and sing a few songs. Just think how the European Union is accepting all the trouble that Muslim immigration brings to Europe without saying a single word, is revelatory enough. We can find other examples, such as the way the price of oil doesn’t follow the most basic law of the economy, the supply and demand principle. The price of the baril of crude can go down and the same day, you would see an increase at the pump. Prices are playing yo-yo with the consumer, which is an indication that something is wrong.
For theses reasons, like I wrote it in a previous article, I don’t think that we have much choice to go along with this project that will help us become more independent vis à vis these « nice » folks and increase our chances of survival in the crazy world in which we live. Mr Thompson is going through a difficult situation and I am sure that a solution can be found that will be satisfactory for everyone. I have a few questions though and please forgive my ignorance on these matters. The Keystone Pipeline already exists. What creates the problem for Mr Thompson is the trajectory of a second pipeline, Keystone XL, that would cross his land. With the little map provided with the National Post article, we can see that this second pipeline cuts short the distance, which is easily understandable due to transport and building costs. However, the already existing pipeline, called Keystone 1, goes through something like 2/3 of the proposed distance that the expansion would cover. In effect, it already reaches Oklahoma, and the Keystone Pipeline XL expansion would complete the distance from there to reach two ports on the Gulf Coast where are located refineries, in Houston and Port Arthur. Such locations are a must, I guess, because refined oil has to be loaded on ships to maximize transport and costs efficiency. In a nutshell: why building a new pipeline while all that is needed is the completion of the already-existing one? Is it necessary to build a new pipeline, while the last portion of the line will be the same anyway? Why is it essential to have the crude refined on the Gulf Coast? Why couldn’t we refine it at a facility, for example, in a location on the shores of Lake Superior? Just completing the missing portion to the Gulf Coast, or on the other hand building a refinery on the shores of Lake Superior would settle all the problems that this project faces: expropriation hurdles, environmental preoccupations such as the contamination of the Sand Hills, of the Ogallala Aquifer that provides 78% of the state’s water supply, possible leaks of oil, etc. In the difficult times that lie ahead, using our heads will become a necessity and it starts now. Please use yours, you the leaders and deciders, and solve this thing. I provide you with a second article that continues to explore this issue and a third one, on « environmental » activists.