Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics
2012 Rena & Angelius Anspach Lecture:
“Transformation in the Middle East: Libya, Syria, and Beyond”
Dr. Fawaz Gerges, London School of Economics

[PEUS]: Oil Drilling Advocates Drive Presidential Debate With Ads

May 2 2012

This is part of the INFLUENCE series “The Politicization of Energy in the US” [PEUS]. For other related topics, follow the associated tag and stay tuned for the development of this series’ page.

The article (Oil Drilling Advocates Drive Presidential Debate With Ads- Bloomberg) starts: “While polls show the economy as the top concern of voters, a review of political attack ads suggests a different issue dominates: energy” – and I think to myself, what a great way to speak about this ‘mysterious connection’ between energy and politics.

Americans for Prosperity, an organization backed by oil interests, last week began airing its third television commercial since November, a campaign worth $6.1 million, attacking Obama’s green energy policies.

The latest round brings the group’s total ad buys to $12.5 million this year, compared with a combined $5.7 million total spent on ads of all sorts by Obama and Priorities USA Action, a Washington-based super political action committee supporting him. Priorities on April 24 teamed with the League of Conservation Voters to begin a $1 million commercial run that accuses presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, of being a protector of the oil industry.

It should be no surprise that different groups are going to support different candidates based off of their affiliations. But this intense political effort and campaigning dominates most mainstream discussion of energy. Continue reading →

Wikistrat’s “Ask a Senior Analyst” - Middle East Politics

Wikistrat’s “Ask a Senior Analyst”: (http://www.facebook.com/Wikistrat)

Jesse Parent asks- ( http://www.facebook.com/jesse.parent )
Q: What do you think is the most overlooked factor influencing the politics and stability of the Middle East?”

Wikistrat Senior Analyst Pascale Seigel gives her answer -
A: “Education (quality, access, ad-equation with job market requirements) is the most often overlooked fundamental factor that underpins politics and stability in the Middle East. Education access and quality (which includes the ability to enter the job market) is fundamental in shaping the people’s expectations of the future and preparing them for the challenges ahead. Whether the people feel armed and prepared impacts their political engagement and aspirations: civic engagement, nature of the political discourse, and nature of the political remedies thought.”

Thank you to all those who participated.
Have more questions? Don’t worry, Ask a Senior Analyst will be back next week!

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My follow up: Thanks for responding! Education definitely is important, and I can see how what you say would go towards building a strong society, and hopefully strong thereby strong (and just) governing institutions.

More Climate Change politicization - Wall Street Journal's editors get

Pretty steep.

But the most amazing and telling evidence of the bias of the Wall Street Journal in this field is the fact that 255 members of the United States National Academy of Sciences wrote a comparable (but scientifically accurate) essay on the realities of climate change and on the need for improved and serious public debate around the issue, offered it to the Wall Street Journal, and were turned down. The National Academy of Sciences is the nation’s pre-eminent independent scientific organizations. Its members are among the most respected in the world in their fields. Yet the Journal wouldn’t publish this letter, from more than 15 times as many top scientists. Instead they chose to publish an error-filled and misleading piece on climate because some so-called experts aligned with their bias signed it. This may be good politics for them, but it is bad science and it is bad for the nation.

Science magazine – perhaps the nation’s most important journal on scientific issues – published the letter from the NAS members after the Journal turned it down.

Do you have an open mind? Read both, side by side. And understand that every national academy of sciences on the planet agrees with the reality and seriousness of human caused climate change.

The letter signed by 255 National Academy of Sciences members, from Science magazine.

The letter signed by 16 “scientists” in the Wall Street Journal.