The Rethugs lied that China was going to exploit Gulf oil if we didn't to sway public opinion

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.progressillinois.com/2008/06/18/kirk-peddles-debunked-china-drilling-claim

Adam Doster Wednesday June 18th, 2008, 4:10pm

Kirk Peddles Debunked China Drilling Claim, Mixes Up "Osama" And "Obama" (UPDATED)

Another day, another instance of Rep. Mark Kirk twisting the facts.

Last week, we noted his falsehoods about the uninsured population in America. Yesterday, we thoroughly debunked his bogus claim that the federal unemployment insurance benefit extension he voted against would lead people to cash in after two weeks of work.

Then, during an appearance on WLS' Don Wade & Roma Morning Show today, Kirk falsely asserted that the Chinese are drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba. Listen here:

Internal mp3

Vice President Dick Cheney made the same claim last week in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, adding that "even the communists have figured out that a good answer to high prices is more supply."

But the assertion that the Chinese are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico -- first put forth by George Will -- is completely false.

Jorge Piñon, an energy expert at the University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy, told The Miami Herald that “China is not drilling in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters, period.” The Congressional Research Service agrees.
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http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/china_starts_oil_drilling.html

CHINA STARTS OIL DRILLING OFF FLORIDA

WHILE AMERICA TWIDDLES THUMBS, CHINESE TAP BILLIONS OF BARRELS

By Mike Blair

While Washington dithers over exploiting oil and gas reserves off the coast of Florida, China has seized the opportunity to gobble up these deposits, which run throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and along the U.S. Gulf coast.

The Chinese have forged a deal with Cuban leader Fidel Castro to explore and tap into massive oil reserves almost within sight of Key West, Florida. At the same time, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who controls the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere, is making deals to sell his country�s oil to China, oil that is currently coming to the United States.

Meanwhile, a new left-wing populist regime in Bolivia has nationalized the natural gas industry, threatening to cut off supplies to the United States.

SLANT DRILLING

There are new reports out circulating that Chinese firms are planning to slant drill off the Cuban coast near the Florida Straits, tapping into U.S. oil reserves that are estimated at 4.6 billion to 9.3 billion barrels. This compares with 4 billion to 10 billion barrels believed to be beneath the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, where drilling is held up in Congress due to the objections of environmental groups which warn of endangering caribou. Permission to drill in the refuge, which experts are certain will not present any environmental hazard, has failed by just two votes in the Senate.

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2008 Offshore drilling by China

In a Washington Post column on June 5, 2008, Will stated that "Drilling is underway 60 miles (97 km) off Florida. The drilling is being done by China, in cooperation with Cuba, which is drilling closer to South Florida than U.S. companies are". This statement was incorrect. It was later quoted and subsequently withdrawn by Dick Cheney after Congressional Democrats, backed by energy experts, pointed out the error. House Leader John Boehner also cited the incorrect statement: "Right at this moment some 60 miles (97 km) or less off the coast of Key West, Fla., China has the green light to drill for oil."

In a June 17, 2008 column, George Will issued a correction: "In a previous column, I stated that China, in partnership with Cuba, is drilling for oil 60 miles (97 km) from the Florida coast. While Cuba has partnered with Chinese companies to drill in the Florida Straits, no Chinese company has been involved in Cuba's oil exploration that close to the United States."(See Offshore Cuba)

[jaxx]

1. Mark Kirk is a real slug.

No way should he win that senate seat.

[NNN0LHI]

2. Almost think the NYT would report on this blatant lie front page?

This is very timely.

But they won't. If it was a Dem be six inch headlines of Kirks China Lie.

They would never do that though. Not to a Rethug.

Don

[LiberalFighter]

3. There is a reason why China or anyone is not drilling in that location using that technique.

Right?

[LiberalFighter]

4. Found this article at Capitol Hill Cubans

The Cuba-China Oil Scare Dated 5/10/2010

It's only a matter of time before the disastrous oil spill caused by the rupture in a BP offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico revives the old "Cuba-China oil scare" strategy -- if it hasn't already.

This periodically recycled strategy seeks to convince policymakers that if U.S. companies aren't permitted to explore for oil off Cuba's shores, and/or if the U.S. doesn't engage Cuba's dictatorship on this issue, then the Chinese will do so -- risking the safety of U.S. coastlines.

What this old siren song fails to consider -- and why this scenario never seems to materialize despite years of hype -- is that it's economically implausible.

Why?

Precisely thanks to U.S. sanctions.

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