Oliver Stone: US should nationalize oil resources - Counterpoint: China oil spill 'worse than thought'

Oliver Stone: US should nationalize oil resources

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100720/ap_on_en_mo/eu_oliver_stone_bp_1

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jul 20, 1:27 pm ET

LONDON – The Gulf of Mexico oil spill shows that the United States should follow the example of South American socialists in nationalizing its energy industry, filmmaker Oliver Stone said Tuesday.

The Academy Award-winning director of "Born on the Fourth of July" and "JFK" said that America's country's natural wealth was too important to be left in private hands, telling journalists in central London that oil and other natural resources "belong to the people."

"This BP oil spill is typical" of what happens when private industry is allowed to draw revenue on what should be a public good, Stone said.

"We shouldn't make this kind of profit on oil or on health or on war or on prisons. All these industries should be public industries."

Stone, 63, is in the British capital to promote his documentary, "South of the Border," which tells the story of firebrand Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his left-wing Latin American allies.

The 75-minute film is meant to draw attention to the social improvements ushered in by Chavez, who has nationalized vast swaths of Venezuela's economy, including important parts of the oil sector and big chunks of the banking, electric and steel industries. Bolivian leader Evo Morales, also interviewed by Stone for the documentary, has similarly expanded the state's control over the country's energy infrastructure.

Critics of the film accuse Stone of painting a fawning portrait of the Venezuelan leader, saying the documentary ignores Venezuela's opposition — which human rights groups say is being squeezed by Chavez's increasingly authoritarian leadership and a crackdown on private media.

Stone accused critics of "nitpicking."

The director occasionally wandered off-topic during the press conference, discussing Latin American history, sharing his thoughts about President Barack Obama (who he dismissed as "Bush not-so-lite") and musing about the possibility of making a film about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.

"I don't know, that's a hot potato for me," Stone said when asked whether a movie about Ahmedinejad was in the works. "Obviously he's got bad press in the West."

"South of the Border" had its U.K. premier Monday at the Curzon Cinema in central London.

China oil spill after pipe blast 'worse than thought'

By Chris Hogg BBC News, Shanghai

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10708375

Some reports suggest windshave started blowing the oil back towards the shore

Efforts to clean up an oil slick continue in China, amid fears strong winds have dispersed the pollution more widely than previously been thought.

Shipments of oil from the north to the industrial belt in the south have been disrupted since the accident.

The oil spilled into the sea in North East China after two pipelines exploded on Friday night.

The environmental group Greenpeace says the spill is China's worst in recent memory.

In the area around where the pipes caught fire, beaches have been polluted.

An official in the State Oceanic Administration has told Chinese official media that heavy winds on Monday broke up the spill and dispersed it more widely than had previously been reported.

An area of ocean covering 430 sq km is now polluted.

Usually, 30,000 to 50,000 tones of oil for use in factories in the south leave the port each day.

Reserves in the south are reported to be ample at present - enough to guarantee 10 days' supply - and the oil price in that part of the country is stable.

But the officials leading the clean up warn it could take at least that long to complete their work.

Some reports suggest the winds since Monday have started blowing the oil back towards the shore away from international waters.

That could make the clean up easier, but the environmental impact worse if the oil contaminates more of the coastline.

Every year fishing boats in the area stop fishing from June to August.

Some of their skippers are worried that when they put to sea again in a few weeks, the pollution will have ruined the fishing grounds.