[lit-ideas] well, it's heating up....all over
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:39:54 -0800
Okay, Andreas, got it. Any Iranian attacks will be caused by the U.S. Who
should we blame for the following Islamist actions, the Danes? The British?
Jack Straw?
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1d3059b2-a1b5-11da-9ca4-0000779e2340.html
Militants threaten new oil industry attacks
>By Dino Mahtani in Lagos and Carola Hoyos in London
>Published: February 20 2006 02:00 | Last updated: February 20 2006 02:00
Nigerian militants yesterday threatened to extend their disruption of the
country's oil industry to attacks on oil tankers, after violence and
abductions at the weekend led to the closure of an entire oilfield and
forced Royal Dutch Shell to abandon loadings at one of its export terminals.
Militant attacks, including the kidnapping of nine oil workers on Saturday,
have led to a 25 per cent cut in oil exports from the world's eighth-largest
crude exporter, a cut likely to put some upward pressure on prices when
markets reopen today.
Militants said they had destroyed the loading facility at the 380,000 barrel
per day Forcados terminal in attacks over the weekend against oil and gas
facilities in the western Niger Delta. Shell said it was assessing the
damage at Forcados and had shut down its nearby EA offshore field as a
precaution, turning off 115,000 b/d of production.
The company had already seen its production cut by attacks last month.
Nigeria produces about 2.4m b/d. Its light and sweet crude is highly sought
after, as it is easier to refine into petrol. Nigeria's central location
also means it is well placed to serve the US and Europe.
A representative of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
(Mend), the group claiming responsibility for the weekend attacks, was
quoted yesterday as saying: "There is no shortage of things to destroy."
His comment underlined the vulnerability of oil companies in the region. In
January Mend threatened to cut Nigeria's export capacity by 30 per cent this
month.
The trouble in the delta coincided with an outbreak of violence in the
Muslim-dominated north of Nigeria, as a protest in the state of Borno
against Danish cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed turned violent. At least
15 people died on Saturday in the bloodiest reaction to the cartoons to date
around the world as mobs burned churches and other buildings.
The clashes will leave the military - which security analysts say is already
severely under-resourced to tackle the insurgency in the delta - even more
stretched. A spokesman for Nigeria's military commander in the delta said no
reinforcements were expected and "no military option" was being considered
while the government worked on negotiating the release of hostages.
The nine hostages, including three US workers for the oil servicing company
Willbros and a British security consultant, were kidnapped from a barge in
the delta and taken to a jungle hideout.
Mend says it is fighting for the rights of the delta's majority tribe, the
Ijaw, many of whom claim they have been cheated out of their oil wealth by
the central government and oil industry and have been politically
marginalised through rigged elections. But some analysts believe Mend could
be acting on behalf of anonymous political figures.
The group said its weekend attacks were in retaliation for an operation
launched by the Nigerian military last week, which coincided with the
visitof Jack Straw, UK foreign secretary, to the delta.
The group is focusing attacks on Shell, saying the Anglo-Dutch oil company
is responsible for severe environmental damage in the delta.
While some oil companies are increasing their alert status, Shell has not
confirmed any evacuations despite Mend's warning that any of the company's
staff "caught in platforms will be subjected to ruthless treatment and
possible execution on the spot".
Just why you like to defend these guys is beyond me, Andreas.
Lawrence
-----Original Message-----
From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Andreas Ramos
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2006 8:43 PM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: well, it's heating up....
> Eric: It's funny that the despots who rule Iran are enlisting martyrs in a
cynical attempt
> to promote their own power and care nothing about the lives of their
citizens.
Eric, put down that Cowboy Bob Six-Shooter. Listen up. Not one. Zero. None.
Not a single
suicide bomber in Iraq has been Iranian.
They have not been a threat. Yet now, because Bush will attack Iran, we will
see Iranian
suicide bombers. Cause and effect.
Your above sentence goes both ways. Try this:
> It's funny that the despots who rule the USA
> are enlisting martyrs in a cynical attempt to promote their own power and
care nothing
> about the lives of their citizens.
Really amusing, isn't it?
You show a callous disregard for human life and the consequences of a war.
yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com
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