PALIN AND ALASKA'S GAS PIPELINE CONTINUED

While the bullshit flies about "Hurricane," as she has been dubbed, Palin's personal life, her religion, family, etc., the Alaska natural gas pipeline she negotiated remains THE dominant factor in her meteoric rise, career and popularity in Alaska and studying exactly what happened, its terms, etc., is very illustrative and revealing.

I realize this is not as "sexy" a subject as others and some might regard this as arcane.
That's fine with me.
No obligation to buy.
Just skip this blog.
But, if you are interested, here goes.

First of all, start with the fact that NO nationalization of industry exists in the US.

So, following are all the many exquisite, convoluted machinations, gyrations and manipulations of competing private interests and profitability to get anything done, rather than proceeding forward on a straight line and trajectory and allocation of resources, labor, etc.

In previous blogs, I provided some material, as best I could hurriedly muster up, on Palin's Alaska natural gas pipeline Transcanada negotiations.

In the following additional links, my previous central thesis seems to me reaffirmed, the distinguishing factor of Palin's Transcanada gas deal from others was that she circumvented, circumnavigated, challenged the monopoly of the big 3 major private, gas "lease" owners, ConocoPhillips, BP and ExxonMobil.

Here is another clear statement of the obvious, above,

www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080110-1217-alaskagaspipeline.html

In the following are details of her negotiations for a separate, additional pipeline to supply Alaska state with inexpensive gas.

Again, she continues circumventing the absolute control and dictate of terms by introducing the possibility of tax-exempt, state bond financing in a public/private partnership with a local, investor owned, delivery firm, Enstar,

www.bondbuyer.com/article.html?id=
20080717LMBSOEMP

And, here's alittle something about Enstar,

www.enstarnaturalgas.com/CompanyInfo/AboutUs.htm

Altho philosophically identifying herself as a free-marketeer, she applies her notion of "competition" to BALANCE, or, redress, what she deems a lopsided power equation favoring multinational monopoly control over resources, delivery, terms and pricing.

Whatever she wishes to call it, she winds up shifting the balance of power in a more favorable direction towards the public in the public/private partnership.
She winds up with a more equitable, balanced 'partnership" and one that is a more POTENTIALLY socialized/public form of ownership.

The situation, however, still remains unsure.

Enter, the Federal government.

In order for her/Alaska state's Transcanada pipeline deal to go through, it must get approval from FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. And, it is said, FERC, who most assuredly represents the big 3 interests above, will not approve two competing pipelines, Denali, which is the BP-Conoco-Exxon consortium and Transcanada.
Further, it is claimed, the 3 majors must ultimately agree to supply Transcanada with gas.

Now, just to give one a thumbnail sketch of all the many complex, competing and conflicting economic factors that I have not considered, above, in our dysfunctional, private, energy supply system, consider the following roundup, which I was surprised to notice happened to mention my own blog.
I did not choose it for that reason.

http://www.arcticgaspipeline.com/

The Hurricane Palin saga to be continued at a later date.