red onion

What does a speech by Al Gore in 2001 on alternative energy, Occidental Oil (Oxy), and cold fusion have in common? The answer is, a spider web and a riddle.

Let me first address the spider web.

The web of Gore and Occidental oil began decades ago when Al Gore Sr. had business dealings with that company in the 1940's, resulting in Gore Sr.'s working for a subsidiary of the company, and mineral royalties for the family.

Al Gore Jr. substantially increased the value of the family's Occidental stock when he persuaded the Federal Government in 1997 to sell a tract of land known as Elk Hills, to Oxy.

According to CorpWatch, he did this as part of his 1995 "Reinventing Government" National Performance Review program.

Elk Hills is part of the same field in Wyoming of which the Teapot Dome is part of, that tract made famous by the Teapot Dome scandal in the 1920's. The scandal involved bribery that was the undoing of the Warren G. Harding administration.

One American indigenous tribe, the Kitanemuk Indians, were displaced when the U.S. aquired Elk Hills in the 1850's. The site contains sacred burial grounds of the tribe, as well as endangered fox, lizard and the kangaroo rat, according to CorpWatch.

CorpWatch reports:

"...the 500 remaining Kitanemuk sought assurances from Oxy that their native sites and burial grounds would not be destroyed. Company officials said they would protect their heritage. But it soon became apparent that the last of the 100 archaeological sites identified by the tribe would be destroyed by February 2001. Occidental agreed to first allow the State Native American Heritage Commission to retrieve what it feels is most valuable for a future display at a Museum a the California State University in Bakersfield."


According to CorpWatch,

"Al gore controls between $250,000-$500,000 of Occidental stock (he is executor of a trust that he says goes only to his mother, but will revert to him upon her death). After the sale, Gore began disclosing between $500,000 and $1 million of his significantly more valuable stock."

Democratic fund raiser Tony Cohelo, later dumped as Gore's campaign manager, was on the board of director's of the private company hired by the Energy Department to complete the environmental impact statement necessary for the sale of Elk Hills to Occidental.

Needless to say, the sale was completed. Cohelo, by the way, is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his financial holdings.

That is the web.

Here is the riddle: Why would Gore in 2001 in a speech to the Tennessee Tech's Office of Public Affairs, publicly criticize the political/corporate hold on our energy policy, while privately profiting from questionable oil deals? What does this have to do with a cold fusion scientist, Dr. Eugene Mallove, who was bludgeoned to death in his childhood home earlier this year?

The answer to this riddle requires a look at Gore's speech in April of 2001.

Gore states, "One of the biggest problems with our continuing dependence on foreign oil is that we're tying our fate to the most volatile tinderbox in the entire world. Our options are limited. We're tied to the Middle East's willingness to keep pumping oil," he said.

"American families, however, would gain a number of advantages by supporting the development of alternative energy sources in order to help eliminate that dependence," Gore continued. "Those advantages would include less pollution, more jobs and better lifestyles."

"Those decisions are made in the political system, as we all know the political system responds to pressure. It's a disservice to the American people not to tell them who is writing the kinds of policies that change their lives."

In the preceding statement, Gore speaks in a kind of code language. He will not publicly state that he profits from collusion between the U.S. government and the oil industry, but he will publicly state that our energy policy has been hijacked.

In the same speech, Gore offers this solution:

"The answer is in your hands, to put your hands to the task of politics. Some of you will do it as candidates, but everyone can do it as citizens..."

Gore would like you, and me to force the issue of alternative energy because frankly, neither he nor most politicians currently in office possess the will to demand such a change.

Where does all of this tie into the fate of Cold Fusion Scientist Eugene Mallove, and his violent end?

Gore stated, in that same speech in 2001, "That same revolution that has led to a dramatic reduction in the cost of computing--that same kind of ingenuity--is beginning to be applied to energy use. There are a lot of new approaches that used to seem like science fiction," he said.

What he referring to cold fusion? He does not mention a particular form of energy in this speech, curiously enough, but certainly cold fusion, among other forms of alternative energy are worth investment and research, particularly in light of the mysterious, violent death of Dr.Eugene Mallove.

Gore is inviting all Americans to think outside of the box, and define and energy policy that makes sense in terms of its environmental soundness and its probable abundance.

Gore wants you to bite the hand that feeds him.