Are Big Oil Conspiracies Really Off-Base?

[John Coviello]

ExxonMobil just reported record quarterly profits, over $10 Billion just this quarter.  Has there ever been a business in the history of mankind that has even come close to the profits that the oil business has enjoyed, especially in recent years?  Does anyone really need a further explanation for why the U.S. government lavishes the oil industry with approximately $100 Billion in military protection each year and gives energy conservation and alternative energy so little attention and funding?  Oil is king of the economic world. The U.S. government knows the deal with peak oil, probably better than anyone.  It is the main reason we are in Iraq at the moment.  Oil plays the central role of our foreign policy, especially since Communism fell.  Remember how Dick Chenney said in 2001 that energy efficiency did not matter?  I just saw him last week explaining on network television that the reason our economy is not in recession due to the current high oil prices is because we use oil twice as efficiently as we did in 1980 when we had a serious economic recession due to oil.  Talk about speaking out of both sides of your mouth.  Slick Dick! For those out there who belittle big oil conspiracy theories as poppycock, I suggest you investigate the diamond trade.  Diamonds would be essentially worthless if they were allowed to trade freely.  I was surprised to learn this myself a few years ago.  Yes, there is actually an international cartel that tightly controls the diamond supply to ensure that diamonds remain a valuable commodity.  A company called DeBeers actually has warehouses full of diamonds in Europe, keeping millions of stones off the market, to ensure they remain scarce and valuable.  60 Minutes did a story on this fact a few years ago.  Not only do they keep diamonds embargoed, they also are heavily involved in the mining trade and control the production side as well. Well, if such far flung efforts have been carried out successfully for decades to ensure diamonds remain valuable, why is it so hard to believe that there are also powerful forces that manipulate energy markets.  Energy is the most valuable commodity known to man at the moment, and oil is the prime energy commodity.  Their is ample reason to manipulate the price of oil.  I believe we see this manipulation every year as the U.S. government routinely spends $100 Billion or more to ensure the free flow of oil, also ensuring huge profits for the ExxonMobils of the world, and having the side-effect of retarding alternative energy competitiors who have to compete against a subsidized commodity like oil.