Consequences of Oil and Gas Bans

Posted on October 27, 2020October 27, 2020 by Denise Simon

VP Biden and the whole democrat caucus perhaps need a short class on petroleum before they declare their war on oil and coal.

A Federal Leasing and Development Ban Threatens America’s Energy Security and Economic Growth, Undermines Environmental Progress

API: Energy produced on federal lands and waters plays a critical role in America’s energy revolution, accounting for 12% of U.S. natural gas production and nearly a quarter of U.S. oil production.

According to a new OnLocation analysis, The Consequences of a Leasing and Development Ban on Federal Lands and Waters (Sept. 2020), U.S. energy leadership could be at stake if a federal leasing and development ban is enacted.*

Highlights from the analysis include:

Energy Security Impacts

U.S. oil imports from foreign sources could increase by 2 million barrels a day by 2030
Annual U.S. natural gas exports could decrease by 800 billion cubic feet by 2030
U.S. offshore natural gas and oil production could decrease by 68% and 44% respectively

Economic Impacts

U.S. GDP could decline by a cumulative $700 billion by 2030
Nearly 1 million jobs could be lost by 2022
U.S. households could spend a cumulative $19 billion more on energy by 2030
Over $9 billion in government revenue could be at risk

Environmental Impacts

National U.S. CO₂ emissions could increase by an average of 58 million metric tons and keep rising to represent a 5.5% increase in the power sector by 2030
Current transition from coal to natural gas could be delayed, keeping half the coal capacity that would otherwise be retired by 2030
Total U.S. coal use could increase by 15% by 2030

Petroleum is an important substance across society, politics, technology including in economy. Besides, apart from fuel there are a lot of petroleum by products that show up in our modern life. Let’s look at some uses of petroleum below.

Agriculture
Detergents, Dyes, and Others
Plastics, Paints and More
Pharmaceuticals
Rubber

1. Agriculture

When we talk about agriculture we are talking about fertilizers. Here, petroleum is used in the production of ammonia which serves a source of nitrogen. The Haber process is used in this case. Pesticides are also made from oil. All in all, petroleum based products are used extensively in agriculture as it helps in running farm machinery and fertilize plants.

2. Detergents, Dyes, and Others

Distillates of petroleum that include toluene, benzene, xylene, amongst others are used to obtain raw materials that are further used in products like synthetic detergents, dyes, and fabrics. Benzene and toluene which gives polyurethanes is often used in oils or surfactants, and it is also used to varnish wood.

3. Plastics, Paints and More

Plastics are mostly made of petrochemicals. Petroleum-based plastic like nylon or Styrofoam and other are made from this element. Usually, the plastics come from olefins, which include ethylene and propylene. Petrochemicals are also used to produce oil based paints or paint additives. Petrochemical ethylene is found in photographic film.

4. Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics

Petroleum by-products like mineral oil and petroleum are used in many creams and other pharmaceuticals. Tar is also produced from petroleum. Cosmetics that contain oils, perfumes are petroleum derivatives.

5. Rubber

Petrochemicals are also used in manufacturing synthetic rubber which is further used to make rubber soles on shoes, car tire and others rubber products. Rubber is primarily a product of butadiene.

Popular Products Made from Petroleum

Some products made from or contain petroleum are; wax, ink, vitamin capsule, denture adhesive, toilet seats, upholstery, CDs, putty, guitar strings, crayons, pillows, artificial turf, hair colouring, deodorant, lipstick, heart valves, anaesthetics cortisone, aspirin.

Brace for Impact by Facebook Around Election Day

Posted on October 26, 2020October 26, 2020 by Denise Simon

FB: As the U.S. braces for election-related unrest next month, Facebook executives are implementing emergency measures reserved for “at-risk” countries in a company-wide effort to bring down the online temperature.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the social media giant plans to limit the spread of viral content and lower the benchmark for suppressing potentially inflammatory posts using internal tools previously deployed in Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

ZUCKERBERG: FACEBOOK WILL RESTRICT LESS CONTENT AFTER US ELECTIONS

The tools, now a key component of Facebook’s strategy to prepare for the contentious U.S. election, would only be activated in “dire circumstances” and instances of violence, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.

The measures would loosen the threshold previously established for content deemed dangerous on the platform, and would slow down the dissemination of specific posts as they begin to gain traction, the Journal explains. An internal adjustment would also be applied to news feeds to control the content available to users.

“Deployed together, the tools could alter what tens of millions of Americans see when they log onto the platform, diminishing their exposure to sensationalism, incitements to violence and misinformation, said the people familiar with the measures,” the Journal writes. “But slowing down the spread of popular content could suppress some good-faith political discussion, a prospect that makes some Facebook employees uneasy, some of the people said.”

Facebook spokesman Andy Stone told the Journal that the company has “spent years building for safer, more secure elections,” and that their strategy is based on “lessons from previous elections, hired experts, and built new teams with experience across different areas to prepare for various scenarios.”

The move comes days after Facebook censored a story from The New York Post detailing allegedly corrupt business deals by Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden — which prompted harsh backlash from President Trump and Republicans who have long criticized the platform’s role in regulating content.

At the time, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company would impose fewer restrictive rules on content following the conclusion of November’s election, but that they had implemented policy changes to address any uncertainty and the perpetuation of disinformation for the time being, according to BuzzFeed News.

FACEBOOK AND TWITTER REDUCING DISTRIBUTION OF NEW YORK POST HUNTER BIDEN STORY

“Once we’re past these events and we’ve resolved them peacefully, I wouldn’t expect that we continue to adopt a lot more policies that are restricting of a lot more content,” Zuckerberg said.

*** Facebook: Russian ads sought to sow political division ...

Adding more details:

Company higher-ups have said these tools are the nuclear option and will only be used in the event of election-related violence or other dire circumstances, people familiar with the planning told the outlet. Some employees at the company said they were uneasy about these measures and particularly concerned that they could suppress legitimate political discussions and viral content, according to the Journal.

Mark Zuckerberg Promises That Facebook Will Not Interfere ...

Facebook established its toolkit for humanitarian intervention after facing widespread criticism for mishandling violent hate speech against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. As far back as 2014, human rights activists implored Facebook to crack down on inflammatory rumors and calls for violence against the minority Rohingya population. After years of violence, mass exodus, and thousands of deaths, Facebook admitted in 2018 that it had been “too slow to act” and wasn’t “doing enough to help prevent our platform from being used to foment division and incite offline violence.” The company pledged to better prepare for future crises and promptly banned several high-profile figures that were named by the United Nations as complicit in the genocide.

Facebook announced last month that it would not accept new political ad submissions a week before election day and plans to ban all political ads indefinitely once the polls close. It also said it will label any premature declarations of victory by either candidate (though, really, we all know which one they’re worried about) and include “specific information…that the counting is still in progress and no winner has been determined.” Facebook’s VP of global affairs and communications, Nick Clegg, recently said that, to date, the company’s rejected 2.2 million ads and withdrawn 120,000 posts in total across Facebook and Instagram that were trying to “obstruct voting” in the 2020 presidential election. More here.

He Sought the ‘Big Guy’s’ Advise on All Foreign Deals

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by Denise Simon

The Post reported about the May 13, 2017 email regarding a business agreement with CEFC, a Chinese energy company that was owned by Ye Jianming, a Chinese entrepreneur who has links to the People’s Liberation Army.

The email, from businessman James Gilliar, discusses “remuneration packages” and equity shares for members of the business consortium.

Hunter Biden is identified in the email as “Chair / Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC,” with an allotted payment of $850,000. More here from Daily Caller.

Reference

Hunter biz partner confirms e-mail, details Joe Biden's ... Hunter Biden's ex-business partner says Joe Biden talked ...

“My name is Tony Bobulinski. The facts set forth below are true and accurate; they are not any form of domestic or foreign disinformation. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and offensive. I am the recipient of the email published seven days ago by the New York Post which showed a copy to Hunter Biden and Rob Walker. That email is genuine.
This afternoon I received a request from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and the Senate Committee on Finance requesting all documents relating to my business affairs with the Biden family as well as various foreign entities and individuals. I have extensive relevant records and communications and I intend to produce those items to both Committees in the immediate future.
I am the grandson of a 37 year Army Intelligence officer, the son of a 20+ year career Naval Officer and the brother of a 28 year career Naval Flight Officer. I myself served our country for 4 years and left the Navy as LT Bobulinski. I held a high level security clearance and was an instructor and then CTO for Naval Nuclear Power Training Command. I take great pride in the time my family and I served this country. I am also not a political person. What few campaign contributions I have made in my life were to Democrats.
If the media and big tech companies had done their jobs over the past several weeks I would be irrelevant in this story. Given my long standing service and devotion to this great country, I could no longer allow my family’s name to be associated or tied to Russian disinformation or implied lies and false narratives dominating the media right now.
After leaving the military I became an institutional investor investing extensively around the world and on every continent. I have traveled to over 50 countries. I believe, hands down, we live in the greatest country in the world.
What I am outlining is fact. I know it is fact because I lived it. I am the CEO of Sinohawk Holdings which was a partnership between the Chinese operating through CEFC/Chairman Ye and the Biden family. I was brought into the company to be the CEO by James Gilliar and Hunter Biden. The reference to “the Big Guy” in the much publicized May 13, 2017 email is in fact a reference to Joe Biden. The other “JB” referenced in that email is Jim Biden, Joe’s brother.
Hunter Biden called his dad ‘the Big Guy’ or ‘my Chairman,’ and frequently referenced asking him for his sign-off or advice on various potential deals that we were discussing. I’ve seen Vice President Biden saying he never talked to Hunter about his business. I’ve seen firsthand that that’s not true, because it wasn’t just Hunter’s business, they said they were putting the Biden family name and its legacy on the line.
I realized the Chinese were not really focused on a healthy financial ROI. They were looking at this as a political or influence investment. Once I realized that Hunter wanted to use the company as his personal piggy bank by just taking money out of it as soon as it came from the Chinese, I took steps to prevent that from happening.
The Johnson Report connected some dots in a way that shocked me — it made me realize the Bidens had gone behind my back and gotten paid millions of dollars by the Chinese, even though they told me they hadn’t and wouldn’t do that to their partners.
I would ask the Biden family to address the American people and outline the facts so I can go back to being irrelevant — and so I am not put in a position to have to answer those questions for them.
I don’t have a political ax to grind; I just saw behind the Biden curtain and I grew concerned with what I saw. The Biden family aggressively leveraged the Biden family name to make millions of dollars from foreign entities even though some were from communist controlled China.”

US blames Iran for Spoofed Proud Boys Emails

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by Denise Simon

US blames Iran for spoofed Proud Boys emails threatening Democrat voters

ZDNet: US claims Iran is behind a wave of emails purporting to be from right-wing Proud Boys group that threatened registered Democrat voters with repercussions if they didn’t vote for Trump.

In a short press conference held today by the US Department of Justice, high-ranking officials with the US government claimed that Iran was behind a wave of emails sent to US voters earlier this week.

Spoofing the identity of violent extremist group Proud Boys, the emails threatened registered Democrat voters with repercussions if they didn’t vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming US Presidential Election.

The senders claimed to have “gained access into the entire [US] voting infrastructure,” but appeared to use public voter registration databases to target Democrat voters in Alaska, Arizona, and Florida.

Two waves of emails were sent this week, the first on Tuesday (October 20), and the second on Wednesday (October 21), according to a report from email security firm Proofpoint, which has been tracking the spam campaigns.

The second wave of emails, besides the original message threatening Democrat voters, also included a link to a video claiming to show an individual print out a voting ballot with another person’s information (a copy of the video is embedded in the Proofpoint report). The video was debunked by several US news media publications.

Responding to intense media coverage surrounding the emails, in a short press conference earlier today, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe attributed the spam campaigns to Iran.

Addressing the video shared in the emails, Ratcliffe added that “the information in the video is not true.”

Ratcliffe also added that besides Iran, Russia has also also “taken specific actions to influence public opinion relating to our election.”

“Although we have not seen the same actions from Russia, we are aware that they have obtained some voter registration information,” Ratcliffe added.

The two officials urged the US public to remain calm and not spread any similar messages they receive in the future.

Neither of the two officials presented any evidence during the press conference but only made short statements.

Spokespersons for several cyber-security firms could not confirm the Iranian attribution, when inquired by ZDNet today. However, they didn’t dismiss it either.

“Iranian information operations date back at least eight years and they have grown beyond fake news sites and social network activity to elaborate tactics, such as impersonating journalists to solicit video interviews and placing op-eds. They have even impersonated American politicians,” John Hultquist, Senior Director of Analysis, Mandiant Threat Intelligence, told ZDNet.

“The information operations we have seen from Iran to date have been about amplifying pro-Iranian messages and pushing a desired narrative out into the world that’s anti-Saudi or ant-Israeli or pro-JCPOA,” he added.

“This is different. This is deliberate interference in our democracy and it crosses a major red line. I think the Intel community scored a win here against Iran today,” Hultquist said.

“The U.S. government has concluded that Iran is behind a series of threatening emails arriving this week in the inboxes of Democratic voters, according to two U.S. officials.” https://t.co/k1NOrdJEaO

— Ariane Tabatabai (@ArianeTabatabai) October 21, 2020

THE Laptop now Coded with 272 D by FBI, Money-Laundering

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by Denise Simon

Primer: The FBI has established a predicate, otherwise the activities as noted below would not have been authorized.

272D Money Laundering – Unknown SUA Specified Uknown Activity

Possible the Kazakh oligarch
Possible the Moscow Mayor’s ex-wife
Possible trafficking

FNC: The FBI’s subpoena of a laptop and hard drive purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden came in connection with a money laundering investigation in late 2019, according to documents obtained by Fox News and verified by multiple federal law enforcement officials who reviewed them.

It is unclear, at this point, whether the investigation is ongoing or if it was directly related to Hunter Biden.

Multiple federal law enforcement officials, as well as two separate government officials, confirmed the authenticity of these documents, which were signed by FBI Special Agent Joshua Wilson. Wilson did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

One of the documents, obtained by Fox News, was designated as an FBI “Receipt for Property” form, which details the bureau’s interactions with John Paul Mac Isaac, the owner of “The Mac Shop” who reported the laptop’s contents to authorities.

The document has a “Case ID” section, which is filled in with a hand-written number: 272D-BA-3065729.

According to multiple officials, and the FBI’s website, “272” is the bureau’s classification for money laundering, while “272D” refers to “Money Laundering, Unknown SUA [Specified Unlawful Activity]—White Collar Crime Program,” according to FBI documents. One government official described “272D” as “transnational or blanket.”

“BA” indicates the case was opened in the FBI’s Baltimore field office, sources said.

The documents state that the subpoena was carried out in Wilmington, Del., which falls under the jurisdiction of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.

“The FBI cannot open a case without predication, so they believed there was predication for criminal activity,” a government official told Fox News. “This means there was sufficient evidence to believe that there was criminal conduct.”

Another document, obtained by Fox News, was a subpoena sent to Isaac to testify before U.S. District Court in Delaware on Dec. 9, 2019. One page of the subpoena shows what appears to be serial numbers for a laptop and hard drive taken into possession.

Based on the date of the subpoena, an official told Fox News that the case would have been opened prior to Isaac’s subpoena.

“If a criminal case was opened and subpoenas were issued, that means there is a high likelihood that both the laptop and hard drive contain fruits of criminal activity,” the official said.

Fox News first reported on Tuesday evening that the FBI is in possession of the laptop in question.

The FBI has declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation into the laptop or the emails, as is standard practice.

The Biden campaign on Wednesday pushed back on the claims leveled against Hunter Biden, particularly those first reported by The New York Post last week. The New York Post revealed that Rudy Giuliani provided them with emails allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden.

“The Attorney General of Delaware’s office indicated that the FBI has ‘ongoing investigations regarding the veracity of this entire story.’ And it would be unsurprising for an investigation of a disinformation action involving Rudy Giuliani and those assisting him to involve questions about money laundering, especially since there are other documented inquiries into his dealings,” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement to Fox News. “In fact, Donald Trump’s own national security adviser warned the president that material furnished by Giuliani should be considered tainted by Russian interference.”

Giuliani, this week, reportedly turned over a copy of the hard drive to New Castle County Police Department in Delaware.

Richard Sauber, an attorney connected to the Biden campaign, said, in a statement to Fox News: “Criminal investigations of Russian disinformation campaigns that include the witting participation of American citizens like Rudy Giuliani often involve investigation by the FBI of whether the American has received payment for these activities that would implicate the Federal Money Laundering statutes.”

Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, however, confirmed this week that the laptop, purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden, and the emails on it “is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” despite claims from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

The FBI, in a letter to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings as well as the laptop in question, said that the bureau has “nothing to add at this time to the October 19th public statement by the Director of National Intelligence about the available actionable intelligence.”

“If actionable intelligence is developed, the FBI in consultation with the Intelligence Community will evaluate the need to provide defensive briefings to you and the Committee pursuant to the established notification framework,” the letter stated.

The FBI, in its letter to Johnson, wrote that “consistent with longstanding Department of Justice (Department) policy and practice, the FBI can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any ongoing investigation or persons or entities under investigation, including to Members of Congress.”

“As the Inspector General firmly reminded the Department and the FBI in recent years, this policy is designed to preserve the integrity of all Justice Department investigations and the Department’s ability to effectively administer justice without political or other undue outside influences,” Tyson wrote. “Therefore, the FBI cannot provide any additional information in response to the enumerated questions in your letter.”

The emails in question were first obtained by the New York Post and, in part, revealed that Hunter Biden allegedly introduced his father, the then-vice president, to a top executive at Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings less than a year before he pressured government officials in Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating the company’s founder.

The New York Post report revealed that Biden, at Hunter’s request, allegedly met with the executive, Vadym Pozharskyi, in April 2015 in Washington, D.C.

The meeting was mentioned in an email of appreciation, according to the Post, that Pozharskyi sent to Hunter Biden on April 17, 2015 — a year after Hunter took on his position on the board of Burisma.

The Biden campaign told Fox News Sunday that the former vice president “never had a meeting” with Pozharskyi.

Biden, prior to the emails surfacing, repeatedly has claimed he’s “never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.”

Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and his role on the board of Burisma, emerged during the Trump impeachment inquiry in 2019.

Another email, dated May 13, 2017, and obtained by Fox News, includes a discussion of “renumeration packages” for six people in a business deal with a Chinese energy firm. The email appeared to identify Hunter Biden as “Chair/Vice Chair depending on an agreement with CEFC,” in an apparent reference to now-bankrupt CEFC China Energy Co.

DOCUMENTS SHOW ALLEGED HUNTER BIDEN SIGNATURE, FBI CONTACTS WITH COMPUTER REPAIR SHOP OWNER

The email includes a note that “Hunter has some office expectations he will elaborate.” A proposed equity split references “20” for “H” and “10 held by H for the big guy?” with no further details.

Fox News spoke to one of the people who was copied on the email, who confirmed its authenticity.

Sources also told Fox News that “the big guy” was a reference to the former vice president. The New York Post initially published the emails, and others, that Fox News has also obtained.

While Biden has not commented on that email, or his alleged involvement in any deals with the Chinese Energy firm, his campaign said it released the former vice president’s tax documents and returns, which do not reflect any involvement with Chinese investments.

Fox News also obtained an email last week that revealed an adviser of Burisma Holdings, Vadym Pozharskyi, wrote an email to Hunter Biden on May 12, 2014, requesting “advice” on how he could use his “influence to convey a message” to “stop” what the company considers to be “politically motivated actions.”

“We urgently need your advice on how you could use your influence to convey a message / signal, etc .to stop what we consider to be politically motivated actions,” Pozharskyi wrote.

The email, part of a longer email chain obtained by Fox News, appeared to be referencing the firm’s founder, Mykola Zlochevsky, being under investigation.