"No nation should use energy to stymie a people's aspirations:" John Kerry, 4/1/14. "If somebody wants to build a coal powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them." Obama, 1/17/2008, campaign promise

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4/2/14, "Ukraine crisis: Kerry says energy should not be used as weapon," CNN

"Energy supplies must not be used as a political weapon, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday, at a EU-U.S. energy summit dominated by the simmering crisis in Ukraine.

His remarks in Brussels, Belgium, came 24 hours after Russian energy giant Gazprom announced a hefty increase in the price of natural gas it supplies to Ukraine.

Kerry, who spoke flanked by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said the European Union and United States were taking "important steps" to make it harder for one state to hold another hostage to energy supplies.

"No nation should use energy to stymie a people's aspirations," Kerry said. "We cannot allow it to be used as a political weapon or an instrument of aggression."

Europe and the United States are working together to reduce Ukraine's reliance on Russian energy by developing alternative sources for natural gas, he said, including the United States....

The International Monetary Fund last week agreed to lend Ukraine up to $18 billion over the next two years in return for a package of reforms, including to its energy market.

"Developments in Ukraine have brought energy security concerns to the fore and prove the need to reinforce energy security in Europe," said a joint statement issued by the EU-U.S. Energy Council.

The statement also "underscored that energy relations with Russia must be based on reciprocity, transparency, fairness, non-discrimination, openness to competition and continued cooperation to ensure a level playing field for the safe and secure supply of energy.""....

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3/14/11, "Ohio coal industry says Obama promised to bankrupt coal-fired power plant builders," PolitiFact, "Mostly true"

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Following are coal related excerpts from Presidential Candidate Obama's 1/17/2008 interview with the SF Chronicle Editorial Board which is available on You Tube. Candidate Obama promised that if someone chooses to build a coal plant his policies will bankrupt them:

11/2/2008, "Obama Tells SF Chronicle [Editorial Board] He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry," NewsBusters, Gladnick

"Here [are excerpts from the] transcript of Obama's statement about bankrupting the coal industry (emphasis mine):

"Let me sort of describe my overall policy.

What I've said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else's out there.

I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year. 

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted. 

That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches.

The only thing I've said with respect to coal, I haven't been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it. 

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. 

It's just that it will bankrupt them."...

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Obama's 1/17/08 campaign promise to the SF Chronicle editorial board to bankrupt the coal industry didn't appear in the Chronicle's 1/18/08 article describing the board's interview with him.

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A European observer sees Obama constraining US energy using European style politics:

6/26/13, "Obama Is Merely Leveling The Energy Playing Field With Europe – Declares An End To Cheap American Energy," P. Gosselin, NoTricksZone 

"Declaration of war on blue-collar workers

Ironically not long ago the stated objective of western politicians was to generate prosperity for its citizens. Today it’s precisely the opposite. Obama’s plan is nothing less than an assault on American industry and millions of blue collar workers." 

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6/10/13, "A loud and empty suit in the Chicago style," Quadrant Online, Australia, by Daryl McCann

"The President of the United States appears to have declared peace in the world and war on Americans."

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