From Jones:
Former CIA director James Woolsey made this insightful
observation in this month's Futurist magazine
http://www.wfs.org/futintervja07.htm
...
Good article!
There is a lot of irony in the James Woosley article. It reminds me of
an obscure film I once saw back around 1980, titled The Formula
starring George C. Scott and Marlin Brando.
See:
http://www.amazon.com/Formula-George-Scott-Marlon-Brando/dp/B000KHME7U
http://tinyurl.com/3bbzvg
and Ebert's take:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19801223/REVIEWS/12230301/1023
http://tinyurl.com/2ybpul
The film revolved around a murder espionage mystery associated with
the deliberate suppression of a chemical formula, a cheap and easy to
implement catalyst that could be used to convert ample supplies of
coal into a liquid petroleum base making (as it had been theorized
over twenty years ago) cheap and abundant oil. I won't go into the
rational of making abundant oil from coal, nor had the specter of
global warming become a hot topic of discussion. Suffice it is to
say I gather that these days there actually are a few in the industry
working on this process, and with some limited success. But I'm
getting off topic.
Getting back to this obscure little film. G. C. Scott is an
investigator hot on the trail of a murder victim, a famous chemist. He
quickly discovers that the chemist had been murdered because of his
unique knowledge of a special chemical catalyst, the formula.
Scott's investigation eventually lands him in the mansion of a major
petroleum CEO tycoon where he confronts the legendary (as well as
physically large) Marlin Brando, where we get to hear Scott
regurgitate a patriotic speech, something to the effect that ...you
are the reason we have people foraging for food out of garbage cans
these days...
Before this confrontation occurs there is a scene where the CEO is
meticulously tending the garden in the back of his lavish mansion. A
subordinate arrives with another routine report on changes in the
supply and demand of their petroleum product. At the end of the report
the subordinate smugly states that due to the complexities of how the
their extracted crude will be bought sold through various supply
chains it will be easy to hoodwink everyone, especially the America
public, into blaming the Arabs for what is anticipated to be a another
round of price hikes. Brando straightens up from his flower bed and
releases a heavy sigh matching his heavy girth. He turns to face his
subordinate and with an exasperated expression states
matter-of-factly, You continue to forget the fact that WE are the
Arabs.
Fast forwarding to the racy present, I find incredible irony in the
premise that in order to assist our nation's vulnerable and fledgling
synfuels industry the petroleum industry must in turn continue to play
the role of ...the Arabs. Whether such conspiracies are the result
of deliberate design or, more likely, due to the way the raw egg is
rolling precariously across the kitchen counter top we the general
public are probably never likely to know the nitty-gritty of it all. I
am, however, willing to entertain the notion that there may be a few
brave souls within the petroleum industry who have figured out this
dirty little secret, as well as the irony of it all. It would seem
that the most patriotic action they can continue to pursue would be to
remain the greedy little bastards that they are. Perhaps under the
circumstances it's easy to play the role of the unsung hero.
Regards,
Steven Vincent Johnson
www.OrionWorks.com
