Another Word For It Patrick Durusau on Topic Maps and Semantic Diversity

Standing Rock Becomes Symbolic Battlecry by HechoEnLA.

From the post:

Water Protectors have meticulously defended moral and ethical obligations on behalf of the greater good for years now. Today, we all watched and waited for what would be the symbolic #LastStand and collision between Militarized forces and Peaceful Protectors. Things are ending peacefully as many left the camps in anticipation of the forces that hovered but some remain and sing peacefully in the face of riot gear and weapons. They still remain, they continue to sing, they burn sage, they are women, they are men, their hearts are heavy, but they will continue to pray peacefully.

…

WE HAVE DEFUNDED $69 Million Dollars from Big Banks: just from the people alone. Seattle Divested over $3 BILLION Dollars from Wells Fargo! University of California Divested $250 Million and Santa Monica is in the process of Divesting as well. There is more that is coming and we are all uniting behind the battle cry #StandingRock #NoDAPL #WaterProtectors there is beauty where there is pain, there is glory in defeat, there can be a better tomorrow when we come together and commit to fight.

… (emphasis in the original)

Speaking of going forward:

1. Beyond DAPL
2. Why Invest In Pipelines
3. Investor Uncertainty
4. DAPL False Flags

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Beyond DAPL

Defunding is the right note to strike with banks, but DAPL isn’t the only injury investors have planned for the Earth.

…
Using pipelines for the movement of crude oil, NGLs, refined products, and natural gas greatly benefits the United States economy. Direct capital investments for the construction of new pipelines will average approximately $55 billion between 2014 and 2025, with more being spent between 2016 and 2020. This estimate considers a conservative path of oil and gas production during that time period. If access to off limit areas of production, like the Atlantic, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific, and Alaska, is granted, direct capital investments will increase and average around $65 billion between 2014 and 2025. Regardless of the amount of production, these direct investments will further elicit indirect investments from others in the supply chain, such as steel manufacturing and engineering companies. Wages provided to workers will also be used to purchase consumer goods and contribute even further to the economy. In the end, while the approximate direct investment value may be between $55 and $65 billion, more contributions to the economy are likely providing all the indirect factors that are a part of construction and maintenance of gas and liquid pipelines. (Investing In Pipelines February 23, 2017)
…

There is a distinction between gas and oil pipelines. Gas pipeline projects that are pending, can be found the Major Pipeline Projects Pending (Onshore) page, which is maintained by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Can you guess who doesn’t regulate oil pipelines? Yes, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Dan Zukowski lists 14 proposed pipeline projects in 14 Pipeline Projects in 24 States … Which Will Be the Next Battleground?, mapped as:

That didn’t scale down very well but as you can see, if DAPL wasn’t close enough for you to take action, a closer opportunity is at hand.

 
 
Why Invest In Pipelines?

…
There currently are about 40 major interstate pipelines connecting to about 100 minor interstate pipelines operating in a highly regulated environment. As I wrote above, the barriers to entry are quite high if you’re considering building a pipeline any time soon. Most of the grid is in place, with access to building new lines ever more difficult because of urbanization. Oil and gas pipelines are simply great fixed assets that offer excellent long-term prospects for income-oriented investors seeking stable cash flow, upside appreciation and tax benefits from the way they are structured for the capital markets.

Because they are capital-intensive businesses, pipeline operators choose a structure that allows them to aggressively depreciate the huge amounts of money that go into building out and maintaining their lines. In practice, master limited partnerships (MLPs) pay their investors through quarterly required distributions (QRDs), the amount of which is stated in the contract between the limited partners (the investors) and the general partner (the managers).

Because of the stringent provisions on MLPs and the nature of the QRD, the vast majority of MLPs are energy-related businesses, of which pipeline operators tend to earn very stable income from the transport of oil, gasoline or natural gas. Because MLPs are a partnership, they avoid the corporate income tax on both a state and federal basis. Additionally, the limited partner (investor) also may record a prorated share of the MLP’s depreciation on his or her own tax forms to reduce liability. This is the primary benefit of MLPs and allows MLPs to have relatively cheap funding costs.

The tax-free income component to oil-and-gas-pipeline MLPs is very attractive to me at a time when higher income taxes are a reality fueled by a debt-ridden government. My view is that income investors seeking tax-advantaged income will continue to own MLPs and other tax-free investments if the tax code remains as is or becomes even more burdensome. I don’t see any major overhaul in the tax code with next year’s election because neither party in Congress has the will to cut spending. (The Advantages Of Investing In Oil And Gas Pipelines, February 23, 2017)
…

Altering the tax code to impact investment in pipelines is a theoretical possibility, but not an effective one.

Consult a tax lawyer for the exact details but investors in a pipeline partnership make money two ways:

1. Pass through of depreciation for the pipeline and its maintenance
2. Pass through of income from operation of the pipeline

Assuming there is nothing to be done to alter #1 (changing the tax code), altering investor behavior depends solely upon #2.

Altering #2 means no oil or gas flowing through the pipeline.

 
 
Investor Uncertainty

One of the aspects of pipeline that make them attractive to investors, as mentioned above, is stable income. Whatever the prices of oil or gas, it’s not worth anything unless it can be brought to market, hence the constant demand for pipelines.

As I mentioned in Stopping DAPL – One Breach At A Time, a pipeline cannot deliver oil or gas if it has even one breach in it. A breach renders it just pipe in the ground and that doesn’t produce any income.

Breaches in pipelines do occur but as far as reported, only by accident, so investors see no uncertainly to the revenue they expect from pipelines.

What if that were to change?

What if the final 13% of DAPL becomes irrelevant because the completed 1,172 miles of pipe begins to resemble Swiss cheese?

 
 
DAPL False Flags

Because I mentioned thermite recently, someone asked about a video showing its capabilities:

Be forewarned this was created by a 9/11 conspiracy theorist but it is a good illustration of the power of a pound or so of thermite. Properly used, breaching even 1/2″ steel pipe is a matter of seconds.

Getting there:

could take a bit longer.

That plus a #NoDAPL flag:

made me think of a DAPL false flag operation.

Assuming someone is to foolish as to dig up a portion of DAPL and breach it with thermite, then cover it back up with dirt and plant a #noDAPL flag, how would you distinguish that from a freshly dug area, with a #noDAPL flag?

Or any number of freshly dug areas with #noDAPL flags?

Would you not dig on the hopes there wasn’t a breach of the pipe?

Gives the idea of a “false flag operation” more immediate currency. Yes?

PS: Tracking proposed oil pipelines requires monitoring all fifty (50) states. There is no centralized regulation of such pipelines.