Why Doesn’t Warren Buffett Want To Fund Genocide Anymore?
For reasons totally lost on us, Warren Buffett has once again scaled back Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in PetroChina. In July, Berk sold holdings in the company worth $27 million. Last week, it was $136 million. And just today, 28 million shares valued at $40 million, reducing BRK’s interest to a paltry 8.93 percent from over 11 percent this year.
For those of you who don’t know what this means, we’ll tell you what this means: slowly but surely, Warren Buffett is distancing himself from a government-run company that human rights activists claim has extensive involvement with the Sudan oil industry, and perpetuates what they call “the humanitarian crisis” in Darfur. (This is an overly dramatic way of spinning the truth, which is simply that the region is going through a restructuring of its population.)
Until fairly recently, Buffett had stood up to the anti-genocists, including BRK shareholder Judith Porter, who told WB that cutting ties with PTR would “send a signal to China and to the Sudan that there are costs for continuing this destruction." Buffett argued that he and Berkshire had nothing to do with the “situation,” and that Judy and everyone else ought to quit their bitching. And when asked if today’s and last week’s and July’s sale had anything to do with a decision to take responsibility for aiding and abet serial killers, he said no. And analysts are in agreement: they think it’s just about “the money.”
But we know they’re lying. Nobody wants to admit it, but something’s going on with that old kook, and he’s going soft. Is it the new, young, probably liberal wife’s influence? A sudden fear that John Carney, against all odds, might’ve been onto something when he asked, “is Warren Buffett going to hell?” The fact that in May, two months before he started selling, we called him an “Equal Opportunity Genocide Supporter”? (That was a compliment!) A near-death, life-changing experience? An Oreo Blizzard epiphany?
Don’t answer that. ‘Cause we don’t want to know why this happening, we just want it fixed. Let things go back to the way they were, and no one gets hurt (except maybe the Sudanese. Whatever: details). If we isolate the problem now, we may be able to salvage this thing, but we have to act fast. Today he sells a percentage of his stake in PetroChina for allegedly purely monetary reasons. Tomorrow it could be standing up in a local Dairy Queen and saying “not on my watch.” I just pray it’s not too late.
Earlier: Warren Buffett Is An Equal Opportunity Genocide Supporter
Comments
"An Oreo Blizzard epiphany?
Don't answer that."
Lovely. Welcome back, Bess!
Posted by: Anonymous | September 20, 2007 04:33 PM
PetroChina doesn't have any operations in Sudan. Its parent company China National Petroleum Corp. does.
I don't understand how Berkshire's ownership of the sub is related to actions of the parent.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 20, 2007 05:10 PM
Related-party Transactions
Posted by: Mike Hunt | September 20, 2007 05:17 PM
Restructuring of its population? hahaha. That's messed up
Posted by: Anonymous | September 20, 2007 05:30 PM
Similar restructuring of population has gone on many times, in many places throughout time. Iraq is even conducting its own restructuring, ya know, how, all the reasonably intelligent people that make up the er, 'middle class' have basically peaced out, leaving only the death-mongers and ignorant poor (two groups that are certiantly not mutually exclusive)
Posted by: JT | September 20, 2007 05:37 PM
Anyone who has purchased over the past several years a product made in China is pro-genocide. Yes, you all have blood on your hands!
Posted by: JD | September 20, 2007 08:05 PM
Finally, an official link....
http://www dot ronpaul2008 dot com/events/new-york-city-evening
Posted by: Anonymous | September 20, 2007 10:12 PM
Nice reporting, Bess. Keep up the pressure on Buffett. I grew tired of his excuses long ago.
Posted by: Tom Augenthaler | September 21, 2007 09:53 AM
I must set the record straight on this wanton slander of a good man.
He's eating a peanut buster parfait, not an oreo blizzard!
Posted by: Jose Aragon | September 21, 2007 11:04 AM
genocide vs. capitalism... seriously people if you want to save the whales then get off this site and move to northern cali, but if you understand capitalism then agree with the man... money is money, and this man knows more about making money than anyone who has lived in our lifetime... warren my suggestion is that before you gracefully bow out from BH is to just make it rain on all these paupers once and for all... they take your humble attitude for granted, when in reality i think you may pity the common man and that is why you are the way you are...
oil moguls of the USA work side by side in the lands of the same people who supported the group that attacked nyc... and everyone continues to buy gas from these men... even better, how about the trophy wives of the men who read this shit, those diamonds on her come from genocide, and the same companies that you buy your children's toys from pay workers less in year than what your lawn boy makes in a week...
preach to me about being fair now... plus after that maria scandal on the plane you know warren got a piece... (bet he wishes erin burnett interviewed him) if you can't appreciate warren's actions than it is pure jealousy...
save the ones you can people...
peanut butter parfait who gives a shit, post a comment that requires more intelligence than needed to aquire a GED
Posted by: saving sugarman | October 13, 2007 03:01 AM