17 Dec 2006 | A Keynote address by Mr. Mohamed Hamel, Head, Energy Studies Department at the OPEC Secretariat to the "Offshore Arabia 2006" Conference and Exhibition in Dubai, 17-19 December 2006
25 Nov 2006 | Delivered by Mr. Fuad A. Al-Zayer, Head, Data Services Department at the OPEC Secretariat & Head of OPEC Delegation to the 6th JODI (Joint Oil Data Initiative) Conference, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 25-26 November 2006
20 Nov 2006 | Speech delivered by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, at the 11th Annual International IIES Oil & Gas Forum, entitled "New developments in world oil & gas: Challenges & Opportunities", Tehran, Iran, 20-21 November 2006
17 Nov 2006 | Delivered by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, to the high-level segment of the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change & the 2nd session of the Conference of the Parties acting as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol - 17 November 2006, Nairobi, Kenya
30 Oct 2006 | Speech delivered by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, at the Sixth Russian Oil & Gas Week, Moscow, Russia, 30 October-2 November 2006
19 Sep 2006 | A Speech by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, to the First International Conference on the Clean Development Mechanism, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 19-20 September 2006
13 Sep 2006 | By Dr. Edmund M. Daukoru, President of the OPEC Conference, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Nigeria
12 Sep 2006 | Delivered by HE Dr. Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru, OPEC Conference President, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Nigeria
12 Sep 2006 | Speech delivered by Mr. Mohammed S. Barkindo, Acting for OPEC Secretary General, at the 3rd OPEC International Seminar, Vienna, Austria, 12-13 September 2006
08 Sep 2006 | A Speech by Dr. Edmund M. Daukoru, President of the OPEC Conference, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Nigeria, to the 28th Oxford Energy Seminar, Oxford, England, 8 September 2006
27 Aug 2006 | Delivered by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, at the Bled Strategic Forum, "Caspian Outlook 2008" Conference, Bled, Slovenia, 27 August 2006
27 Jul 2006 | Speech delivered by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, at the London Oil Club, 27 July 2006, London, England
04 Jul 2006 | Opening Address by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, at a Dinner Debate, European Parliament, Strasbourg, France, 4 July 2006
22 Jun 2006 | Address by Dr. Hasan M. Qabazard, Director, Research Division, to the Annual General Assembly of the International Chamber of Commerce – Vienna, Austria, 22 June 2006
11 Jun 2006 | A keynote address by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, to Session Three of the 11th Annual Asia Oil & Gas Conference, Kuala Lumpur, 11-13 June 2006. Theme of the Conference: "Balancing the interests of consumers & producers".
09 Jun 2006 | Speech delivered by Mr. M. S. Barkindo, Acting for OPEC Secretary General, at a luncheon in honour of the 40th Meeting of the Chairman & Coordinators of the G-77 & China - Vienna, Austria - 9 June 2006
07 Jun 2006 | Delivered by HE Dr. Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru, President of the Conference & Minister of State for Petroleum Resources of Nigeria. Brussels, 7 June 2006
19 May 2006 | Delivered by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for OPEC Secretary General, at the Fourth Joint OPEC-IEA Workshop, Oslo, Norway, 19 May 2006
14 May 2006 | A Speech by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the Secretary General, to the 8th Arab Energy Conference, Amman, Jordan, 14-17 May 2006. The theme of the conference: "Energy & Arab cooperation".
OPEC Statement to the High-level Segment of the 14th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
04 May 2006 | A Speech by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the Secretary General, to the Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, 1-4 May 2006 - Panel Session: "Energy Leadership & Outlook".
23 Apr 2006 | A Speech by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the Secretary General, to the 10th International Energy Forum, Doha, Qatar, 22-24 April 2006.
22 Apr 2006 | Delivered by Mr. Mohammad Alipour-Jeddi, Head of the Petroleum Market Analysis Department at the OPEC Secretariat
07 Apr 2006 | Speech by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the Secretary General, to the 7th International Oil Summit, Paris, France - 7th April 2006
03 Apr 2006 | Keynote Speech by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, to "Nigeria Oil & Gas 2006", Abuja, Nigeria, 3-5 April 2006
14 Mar 2006 | Keynote address by Mr. Mohammed S. Barkindo, Acting for the OPEC Secretary General, to the Opening Ceremony of the 30th World Congress of the International Road Transport Union, Dubai, UAE, 14-16 March 2006
03 Mar 2006 | Address by HE Dr. Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru, OPEC Conference President, to the National Press Club, Washington DC, Friday, 3 March 2006
16 Feb 2006 | A Speech by Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, Acting for the Secretary General, delivered by Mr. Mohamed Hamel, Head, Energy Studies Department at EUROPIA Conference, London, England, 15-16 February 2006
26 Jan 2006 | A Ministerial Address delivered by HE Dr Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru, OPEC Conference President & Minister of State for Petroleum Resources of Nigeria, at the Working Lunch of the 2006 World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland - 26 January 2006
While watching the CNN/YouTube debate, the first thing that came to mind was this children's poem from so long ago. The Democratic presidential campaign has once again come down to this -- the on-lookers, the reporters, and the media pundits have decided that the primary election is to be a two-horse race without regard for the opinion of the people. No matter how well any of the other candidates may appeal to any of the public, they insist that the only true contest is between the two candidates of their choice. It's as if the other candidates are all part of the anonymous bric a brac; only there as background for the two objects d'arte to which the media wish to draw arrention.
In respone to the YouTube question, "Would you talk to people like Ahdemenadejad, Chavez, and Castro?" Senator Obama responded with an enthusiastic and spontaneous "Yes!" (As you know, puppies, whether or not made of gingham, are only too happy to greet anyone who is willing to pay them attention.) Senator Clinton, in typical kitty fashion, sniffed and responded that the President of the United States could not risk talking to just anybody without knowing exactly what is to be expected as the result.
Shortly thereafter, the words "naive" and "experienced" were hissed by Senator Clinton to which Senator Obama later barked "Bush/Cheney-lite!" The political atmosphere has been changed from one of all good friendly Democratic colleagues to open warfare between the leaders of all the polls. And, the talking heads on TV have been having a great time at their expense, (and taking odds on the winner?) Almost daily, the airwaves are full of the latest barbs in the exchanges between the two.
However, the innocent electorate should use their memories to recall the campaign which took place only three years ago. In it, Dr. Dean and Sen. Edwards were deemed to be the "favorites" in early polls and the media pundits were having a great time in promoting the rivalry between them and comparing them to the old "retreads" who had run so many times before. Many of us were comfortable with the siutation when the media suddenly decided that they were not happy with the apparently inevitable outcome and, just before the first big election, chopped a cheer by Dr. Dean from one of his speeches, isolated it, and re-played it ad nauseum, using it to brand Dr. Dean as being a "hot-head" and not fit to serve.
The American electorate can only stand and wait to see the outcome of this media-inspoired spat to see if either of these candidates is able to survive. We yearn for the possibility that one of them or another, should they yield to the inevitable and "eat each other up," will be the candidate that we can elect and that he or she will restore the reputation of the United States as a peace-making power. It shouldn't be asking too much for it to be someone with sufficient intelligence to prevent them from poking hornet's nests with a stick while armed only with a fly-swatter! In addition, the final choice must be one who can recognize and correct the damage done to every citizen and every level of government by the current administration.
Our only hope, in the event these two candidates should cancel each other out, is that there are others in the field who might, actually, be as good or better administrators of our suffering nation than either of them. Governor Richardson and Senator Biden each have superior experience and knowledge regarding foreign affairs and international policy, while a person with the knowledge and instincts of Sen. Edwards and Rep, Kucininch would be excellent keepers of our domestic reconstruction. If you just plain adore the shock of white hair on the head of Senator Dodd, you would also be pleased with the result of his many years in public service and his dedication to the cause of a stable and peaceful nation and world.
It would be in our own interest to demonstrate to the "talking heads" that we are not at all interested in the "horse race". We are not here to set or break records by electing the "first woman" or the "first black man" to the Presidency. The media must be shown that we, if not they, regard this election as a serious affair and not as a game, as they have treated the woebegotten war in which our children are still being destroyed. Being "good press" does not necessarily mean choosing a good President. They are only concerned with headlines and air time rather than the good of the nation and the restoration of our once-envied way of life, and it is our responsibilty to ignore, if we must, their silly games. Otherwise, we will be like the old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate, merely re-hashing another dubious election and trying to analyze what went wrong.