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Another Conspiracy Theory Becomes Fact: The Entire Oil Collapse Is All About Crushing Russian Control Over Syria
While the markets are still debating whether the price of oil is more impacted by the excess pumping of crude here, or the lack of demand there, or if it is all just a mechanical squeeze by momentum-chasing HFT algos who also know to buy in the milliseconds before 2:30pm, we bring readers' attention back to what several months ago was debunked as a deep conspiracy theory.
Back then we wrote about a certain visit by John Kerry to Saudi Arabia, on September 11 of all days, to negotiate a secret deal with the now late King Abdullah so as to get a "green light" in order "to launch its airstrikes against ISIS, or rather, parts of Iraq and Syria. And, not surprising, it is once again Assad whose fate was the bargaining chip to get the Saudis on the US' side, because in order to launch the incursion into Syrian sovereign territory, it "took months of behind-the-scenes work by the U.S. and Arab leaders, who agreed on the need to cooperate against Islamic State, but not how or when. The process gave the Saudis leverage to extract a fresh U.S. commitment to beef up training for rebels fighting Mr. Assad, whose demise the Saudis still see as a top priority."
We concluded:
Said otherwise, the pound of flesh demanded by Saudi Arabia to "bless" US airstrikes and make them appear as an act of some coalition, is the removal of the Assad regime. Why? So that, as we also explained last year, the holdings of the great Qatar natural gas fields can finally make their way onward to Europe, which incidentally is also America's desire - what better way to punish Putin for his recent actions than by crushing the main leverage the Kremlin has over Europe?
Because at the end of the day it is all about energy. We made as much very clear one month later when in mid-October we said "If The Oil Plunge Continues, "Now May Be A Time To Panic" For US Shale Companies." The panic time has long since come, but only after we laid out the problem clearly enough for all to grasp:
... while we understand if Saudi Arabia is employing a dumping strategy to punish the Kremlin as per the "deal" with Obama's White House, very soon there will be a very vocal, very insolvent and very domestic shale community demanding answers from the Obama administration, as once again the "costs" meant to punish Russia end up crippling the only truly viable industry under the current presidency.
As a reminder, the last time Obama threatened Russia with "costs", he sent Europe into a triple-dip recession.
It would truly be the crowning achievement of Obama's career if, amazingly, he manages to bankrupt the US shale "miracle" next.
Of course, all of the above was purely in the realm of the conspiratorial, because the last thing the administration would admit is that the tradeoff to its bargain with Saudi Arabia to implement a (largely failed) foreign policy regarding ISIS (which has grown in size since the coalition campaign) was to put at risk the entire US shale miracle, a miracle which is evaporating in front of everyone's eyes. And all thanks to that "closest" of US allies in the middle east: Saudi Arabia.
It was conspiratorial, that is, until today, when thanks to the far less "tinfoil" NYT one more conspiracy theory becomes conspiracy fact, following a report that "Saudi Arabia has been trying to pressure President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to abandon his support for President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, using its dominance of the global oil markets at a time when the Russian government is reeling from the effects of plummeting oil prices."
From the NYT:
Saudi Arabia and Russia have had numerous discussions over the past several months that have yet to produce a significant breakthrough, according to American and Saudi officials. It is unclear how explicitly Saudi officials have linked oil to the issue of Syria during the talks, but Saudi officials say — and they have told the United States — that they think they have some leverage over Mr. Putin because of their ability to reduce the supply of oil and possibly drive up prices."
As we predicted, correctly, in September: it was all about Syria:
“If oil can serve to bring peace in Syria, I don’t see how Saudi Arabia would back away from trying to reach a deal,” a Saudi diplomat said. An array of diplomatic, intelligence and political officials from the United States and Middle East spoke on the condition of anonymity to adhere to protocols of diplomacy.
So what would it take for the price of oil to finally jump? Not much: Putin's announcement that Syria's leader Bashar is no longer a strategic ally of Russia.
Any weakening of Russian support for Mr. Assad could be one of the first signs that the recent tumult in the oil market is having an impact on global statecraft. Saudi officials have said publicly that the price of oil reflects only global supply and demand, and they have insisted that Saudi Arabia will not let geopolitics drive its economic agenda. But they believe that there could be ancillary diplomatic benefits to the country’s current strategy of allowing oil prices to stay low — including a chance to negotiate an exit for Mr. Assad.
...
"Russia has been one of the Syrian president’s most steadfast supporters, selling military equipment to the government for years to bolster Mr. Assad’s forces in their battle against rebel groups, including the Islamic State, and supplying everything from spare parts and specialty fuels to sniper training and helicopter maintenance."
Will Putin relent?
"Mr. Putin, however, has frequently demonstrated that he would rather accept economic hardship than buckle to outside pressures to change his policies. Sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries have not prompted Moscow to end its military involvement in Ukraine, and Mr. Putin has remained steadfast in his support for Mr. Assad, whom he sees as a bulwark in a region made increasingly volatile by Islamic extremism."
Actually that's not it: Syria, as we have been explaining for nearly two years is the critical transit zone of a proposed natural gas pipeline, originating in Qatar, and one which would terminate somewhere in central Europe. The same Qatar which was the "mystery sponsor of weapons and money to Syrian mercenary rebels" who eventually became ISIS. The same Qatar which is now directly funding ISIS. Of course, if Putin were to handover Syria to the Saudi princes (and to Qatar), he would effectively shoot himself in the foot by ending any leverage Gazprom has over Europe.
This too is very well known to Putin. For now he has shown that he has no intention of abdicating Syria, and losing critical leverage when it comes to being the provider of last resort of European gas:
The Saudis have offered economic enticements to Russian leaders in return for concessions on regional issues like Syria before, but never with oil prices so low. It is unclear what effect, if any, the discussions are having. While the United States would support initiatives to end Russian backing for Mr. Assad, any success by the Saudis to cut production and raise global oil prices could hurt many parts of the American economy.
After the meeting in Moscow in November between Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, and Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, Mr. Lavrov rejected the idea that international politics should play a role in setting oil prices.
“We see eye to eye with our Saudi colleagues in that we believe the oil market should be based on the balance of supply and demand,” Mr. Lavrov said, “and that it should be free of any attempts to influence it for political or geopolitical purposes.”
Which, in retrospect puts the Ukraine conflict, and the western isolation of Russia in a very simple spotlight - the whole point is to inflict as much pain as possible, so Putin has no choice but to hand over Syria.
Russia is feeling financial pain and diplomatic isolation because of international sanctions stemming from its incursion into Crimea and eastern Ukraine, American officials said. But Mr. Putin still wants to be viewed as a pivotal player in the Middle East. The Russians hosted a conference last week in Moscow between the Assad government and some of Syria’s opposition groups, though few analysts believe the talks will amount to much, especially since many of the opposition groups boycotted them. Some Russia experts expressed skepticism that Mr. Putin would be amenable to any deal that involved removing support for Mr. Assad.
Saudi Arabia’s leverage depends on how seriously Moscow views its declining oil revenues. “If they are hurting so bad that they need the oil deal right away, the Saudis are in a good position to make them pay a geopolitical price as well,” said F. Gregory Gause III, a Middle East specialist at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service.
As for Assad, the Syrian president "has shown no inclination to step aside. He said in a recent interview with Foreign Affairs magazine that the true threat in Syria comes from the Islamic State and Qaeda-affiliated groups that, in his words, make up the “majority” of rebellion. American and Arab officials said that even if Russia were to abandon Mr. Assad, the Syrian president would still have his most generous benefactor, Iran. Iranian aid to the Syrian government has been one of the principal reasons that Mr. Assad has been able to hold power as other autocrats in the Middle East have been deposed.
And as a major oil producer, Iran would benefit if Saudi Arabia helped push up oil prices as part of a bargain with Russia.
“You are going to strengthen your enemy whether you like it or not, and the Iranians are not showing any flexibility here,” said Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Gulf Research Center who is close to the Saudi royal family.
But the military aid that Russia provides to Syria is different enough from what Damascus receives from Iran, its other major supplier, that if “Russia withdrew all military support, I don’t think the Syrian Army could function,” a senior Obama administration official said.
The conclusion:
A number of Arab nations have been pushing for the Saudis and Russians — polar extremes in their positions toward Mr. Assad — to find common ground on the matter as a step toward ending the carnage of Syria’s civil war, now almost four years old. But, as one Arab diplomat put it, “This decision is ultimately in Putin’s hands.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what the great oil collapse of 2014/2015 is all about. For those who want to know when to buy oil, the answer is simple: just after (or ideally before) Putin announces he will no longer support the Assad regime. If, that is, he ever does because that act will effectively destroy all leverage Putin may ever have over Europe, and in the process, also end - quite prematurely - his career.
Until then, every single HFT-induced spike in oil is one to be ultimately faded, because as the past few months have shown, it is the Saudis who set the price, and they will not take no for an answer, even if it means crippling the entire US shale, and energy, industry in the process.
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So as per usual, this site front runs global fuckery. A bunch of silver spoon faggots trying to hurt a country that is legendary for its stoic and steadfast wearing down of invaders doesn't work. The folks who won Stalingrad WWII....yeah, good luck with that. Russians will starve to death and eat fuckin dirt before relenting. It must be the Mongol blood. Meanwhile, the average American calls the cops if the local McDs runs outta McNuggets.
WHAT A SHIT SHOW.
The options for Russians are not as you describe.
Getting over run by Hitler and becomming victims of a gas chamber is not quite the same as having beneficial economic cooperation with the EU.
And by beneficial you mean being their bitch? News flash! EU needs Russia more than Russia needs EU. Go check the Debt to GDP Ratio and Asia Eastern cooperation.
This the same shit happening now that happened with the truman, eisenhower, and carter doctrine, post ww2. Russian communist cadres/ affiliates were in Egypt, Syria, Iraq (although outlawed in iraq they still were active). Nasser hated the communist but needed to play the US agaist USSR for his high aswam dam which the westerer's agreed to finance, but,.. that was when the French/British & Jews started the Egyptian War. Fortunately the USA and USSR both condemned the provocative war.
Ever since the 1948 Arab war the hatred for Israel hasn't faded one iota. What does Israel have to do with today? Everything! The USA uses them to do their proxy mischiefness throughout the ME.
Currently Israel is gearing up for war with Lebanon and Hezbollah which is helping Assad in Syria. Iran is 100% behind Assad as is Shia Iraq.
ISIS has a huge buffer zone now in the fertile (Turkey, Lebanon,Syria and Iraq) crescent similar to the failed Baghdad Pact (Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq,and Iran with the UK as it's sponser but ISIS is a home grown USSA monster as Afghanistan Taliban, al-Qaeda, and Mujahideen all created it with the help of SA to destroy the USSR's invasion for the good of good`ole USSA.
Now back to Egypt. There will be a revolution perhaps in weeks if not sooner regarding Sisi who is worse than Mumbarak ever was, and the Muslim Brotherhood will take control. They are not the monster the USSA's, MSM, portrays them as, but rather quite the perfect solution for an Eqypt that has forgotten their Islamic Roots. Sharia Law is common in all the ME, espescially in SA where the Wahhabi rule with an iron fist, first with a religous police and second with a medievil nazi/ fascist doctrine of pure evil. Think about Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood called terrorist groups! When half a century ago they were fighting for their independence from the feudal yoke of draconian`imperialism via France, Britain, and USSA.
Russia and Turkey will fight the jews and the Arabs that collude when convenient! The Arab's and Jews have been documented in the past as partners in crime with USSA solicitation.
When the USSA gives the jews the go-ahead to bomb Lebanon it will also drop a few wayward bombs on Syria. This will draw Iran into the fight which the USSA has wanted since Iraq, but couln't because of world opinion?!?
Sudan will join-in the fight as the whole of northern africa will fight for Islamic Nationalism. From Morrocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya... pushed by the Muslim Brotherhood which will turn the USSA's puppeteer Sisi into a candlestick.
In short the whole of the ME is a tinderbox with one match-up igniting the entire region and believe it or not ISIS... created by the USSA and SA will be the accelerant.
This is what the whole of the Arab evolution has been waiting for since they evolved from their medieva tyme in the mid/late 19th century, when the west introduced them to modernity, and a different way of life. Like it or not the warring will never stop until all foreign entities/ governments have left the ME along with Israel? WOW!!!
jmo
The Saudi's don't set the oil price, they are just oil producers like the others. The Western markets set the price on the exchanges in response to overall supply and demand, not just supply from Saudi Arabia or even OPEC. We know demand is down by looking at the Baltic Dry Index, the global economy is slowing since the US stopped money printing back in October. The oil producers are going flat out regardless seeing who blinks first and cuts production. So far it looks like the US and Canada are going to blink first in shale oil and tar sands. Russia just has to wait it out until others reduce production, it won't take very long, a matter of months I would say judging by the rapidly falling US rig count.
"A number of Arab nations have been pushing for the Saudis and Russians — polar extremes in their positions toward Mr. Assad — to find common ground on the matter as a step toward ending the carnage of Syria’s civil war, now almost four years old. But, as one Arab diplomat put it, “This decision is ultimately in Putin’s hands.”"
So, here's my take on this article. You poor fucks in Syria (Christian, Muslim, Jew, whatever). Your life is holy hell now, not for any reason other than the US FP fucks (read bankers, NWOers, narcissistic elites, etc) are going to continue to make your life a holy hell until Putin allows the US to Lybianize Syria (one assumes that means Assad gets an ass-fucking on CNN) so that the Saudis (via Qatar) can sell gas to Europe.
And, somehow, it's all Putin's fault.
What a world, what a world.
How many flying Homers, I mean F35s, are the Saudi promising to buy?
The US has been selling that albatross to all its friends. After all, dumping shitty, over-budget military aircraft that can not fly and chew gum at the same time to allies is what friends are for.
DOH!
A conspiracy involving obummer and kerry? They could f#%K up a shot put!
On the way home from work today, I was scanning the news talk on sirius. I can only take few minutes at a time, regardless of the political leanings, because it is all just pure bullshit. I heard Mark Levine screaming about this barbequed Jordanian pilot and how the US needs to get in there and wipe all the islamonazis out. I wonder why he never discusses how the US, along with mossad and our "allies" like Saudi Arabia and Qatar created and continue to support ISIS? He's just screaming away for war and reminding people of how the muslims blew up the world trade center. It's no secret to the well-informed that the talmudic zionists want a major war in the middle east. The final battle, oracharit hayamim, the end days, as they see it, would fulfill the prophecy of the returning of the messiah. With their messiah in place, the talmud zios would finally have full control over the Earth. It is so easy to incite people's emotions. The cruelty of burning someone alive and the "fact" that they are coming here for us next gets everyone up in arms and wanting to send our military over there to fight this boogeyman. And we also have Ukraine and the blatant provoking of Russia by the zios in the US and Israel. Everything is in place for the big false flag attack in order to really get the hostilities on. Once "ISIS" detonates their bomb in the US, you can bet your ass we'll be sending troops over there to secure the Levant for Israel. Russia will either have to step down and let Assad fall, or come in there with guns blazing and take on the US and mossad. Either way, the zios are going to get their war.
Or maybe I'm just a paranoid conspiracy theorist and the muslims hate us for our freedoms.
excellent.
9/11 is the key...
https://archive.org/details/MastersOfDeception
https://wikispooks.com/w/images/c/cc/Solving_9-11.pdf
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/9-11/Israel_did_it
the key to unlock people's minds...
Neither Americans, nor Israelis, nor Russians.... are the same object as their government.
All governments are hostile.
Here. I'm going to shorten it up for ya
It took months for you all to to embarrass yourselves.
now you threaten the rest of the world with your ill gotten gains due to your reserve currennecy status
unable to put your dick between your legs and go home
the rest of the planet fears you
Are you proud?
I used to look up to you...............40yrs ago
A fair assessment. It is true we may have abused the privilege.
Good for you.
Mullah Omar will appreciate your conversion. Just before the head chopping.
Be sure to loudly proclaim your belief. Virgins goats, sheep and boys will be awaiting your arrival.
I'm from Canada. White, and far more conservative than you. NOT THAT that matters. fuck off
You should contribute cash to your favorite U.S. politician.
i like simple and spot on reads-thanks.
and the dick is not firing blanks.
we (the knowledgable) are not proud.
i feel shamed to be a citizen of this evolving human tragedy.
i feel helpless.
doin what i can, although insignicant.
thanks zhers for this very insightfull reads.
i feel humbled to the max by your knowledge.
Bringing Civilization & Democracy to you third world heathens isn't always a popularity contest winner but duty and a sense of charity compels us to act to make your lives better.
Ya know, cuz that's how we roll.
+1 for the sarc. I hope
i think the actual plan was hatched after the drop in oil prices. no matter.
before the usa helped ukraine hold free elections after a coupla political rallies chased the other elected leader away, there was no risk for europe to heat their homes with russian gas. i understand the strategic need for europe to diversify its sources of gas but russia seems to have found a way to source gas for europe without killing more than a coupla people to do it. in the meantime, the west has had more than twenty years to secure a viable alternative and all that has happened is the fracturing of the entire mideast to india and all of north and central africa into dysfunctioning societies. the usa has projected the moshe dayan "crazy dog" offense to the world. the world is not liking it. even germany does the bidding of the usa under extreme duress since the obvious future of eurasia is a cross continental link from china(actually japan,SSSHHHH) through moscow and berlin to paris with major spurs linking from india and the mideast. the usa is on the outside of this obvious destiny so are making themselves relevant by coercion. how long can this relationship last in a civil manner.
do you think french intelligence doesn't know charlie was a victim of france's pledge of support for a palestinian state or the japanese aren't correlating the japanese hostage event to the pledge of 100mil for the rebuilding of gaza? do you think usa intelligence doesn't know what happened on 9/11. do you think putin doesn't know?
anyone who thinks russia will back down are nutz in a purely descriptive way. putin knew the consequences of taking this route. that's why merkel famously said putin must be crazy. he established the brink. he told the usa the only way they get what they want out of russia anymore is war. china signed on with russia making the game even more interesting. europe needs russia. the usa needs china. with this alliance neither party needs the usa or europe as the russia/china team.
russia doesn't decide how this ends. the usa does. it already has. the usa will not go to war with russia so syria and iran stay in the russia/china sphere. it looks like the kiev regime is done and the republic of donetsk may become reality given the superior fighting force of the freedom fighters. it looks like things are getting desperate in syria as the isis forces are not making the blietzkreig progess they started with. yemen is gone. libya is heating up again. afghanistan and iraq have been lost. the swiss gropped the euro. greece has emboldened spain. the chaos the neocons thought they could derive control out of is about to become chaos they can't control.
the saudis and qatarians don't owe anything to the usa. if they can get what they want by other means they will. who is to say the talks between putin and saudi arabia doesn't include a plan to crush usa oil(mind you iranian gas will go to europe via the new turkey proposal) and split the china/euro/india trade in oil and gas. they actually make natural allies in the region.
I wasn;t sure at first since in some circles Mossad or CIA is blamed for everything...
http://12160.info/page/this-isn-t-the-first-time-france-experienced-a-is...
But hebdo looks to have very likely indeed been Mossad. People are saying it here and there that never say such things. Serious people.
oh, and in all likelihood, so were the argentina bombings back in 1994.
One wishes they'd focus on killing Salafists, but they like how the Salafists kill many of the goyim living in what is supposed to be Greater Israel.
If you actually sit and read the Torah, you'll understand why even Sam Harris admitted it contains ideas and passages more vile than anything in the Koran.
"Before the US helped Ukraine to hold free elections" You are either totally uninformed or a CIA representative: The US organized a putsch in Kiev to avoid free elections that Yanukovich planned for fall 2013. The new government has not been elected but put into pover by the US with Victoria Nuland selecting Arsenij Jaz. for leader. Than elections were held to confirm this government but the east Ukraine did not participate, because of which Russia does not accept the result.
I thought he was being sarcastic.
This is clearly an "all clear" signal to mortgage your house to buy oil futures.
Pipelines are an enforcement mechanism for the petrodollar system. Monopoly on pipelines means maximum geopolitical control. Trade outside the dollar, your oil does not make it to market. Kuwait cut off Sadam's oil going to Kuwait City at the behest of our state department. Some believe this was the impetus behind Sadam's incursion into Kuwait. Ask yourself why the US wanted so badly to block Gazprom's Southstream pipeline (circumventing Ukraine). Alternative pipelines plus competing exchange clearing network equals dead petrodollar system. These events all tie together.....
kuwait had horizontal wells, tapping iraq oil. they were pumping at full speed.
RINSE, REPEAT.
There are no conspiracies, there are only facts.
Facts are not objects.
Be-ing is not a predicate.
Fuck Obama. I hope Putin wins and the US liberals and the ME lose. Russia is white. Fuck the browns screwing America from the south and the ME at the same time.
Thanks for reminding us stupid comes in every color.
Maybe this story is the lie.
there will be polonium in someones urine soon
Ice cold lemonade, sir?
Ooh! Fear porn and global economic armchair solutions from the ZH crowd.
All the geopolitical experts on this blog make me convinced that the world leaders need to: 1) read your comments, 2) catch their breath in awe of your insight and wisdom, and 3) turn the keys of running their governments over to you and the ZH comment community.
For fuck's sake.
I'm sure that many countries would love to hire you to be on their intellegence teams, given your unique insights,... but you are far too dangerous with your "insider" knowledge to be trusted. Not to mention your unique abilities to draw regression lines through a single point. Yes... you are a dangerous bunch.
After all. You are the only one who can see the Youtube videos that frame your ideaology.
Stay safe, you stealthy, insightful posters.
So the NYT is incorrect?
No, but on the other hand, we can spell ideology.
Silly me. I meant to down click this comment. It is too obviously from a troll, but I clicked the up by mistake. Sorry guys.
ZH was not only right again, but first, according to Obama's own toadie rag, the NYT. How's them apples... bitch?
ZH is not an investment website. If you are looking for that, go over to CNBC and follow Jim Cramer. ZH is one of the only sources that exposes the world for what it really is. Yes, you can make money by playing along with the insanity, but I don't think most people are here for investment advice. If you want some advice though, here it is - BTFD. That has been investing rule #1 since 2008. It doesn't matter how shitty the company is, you will make money. ZH explains, and often in great detail, how fucked up the system is. If you don't agree, you are spending your time in the wrong place.
spellchecker - use it
It seems odd that both those Mideast fellows are grabbing their Junk.
When the shit hits the fan, call us . . . www.leagueofthesouth.com
This story is fantastic, thanks ZH.
However, let me point out that the "Saudis" do nothing without the Vichy-DC-Zio-Cabal's say-so. I believe it is the Vichy-DC-Zio-Cabal's effort to make this look like the Saudi's are "bad," and hence externalize the blame. We call it "blamestorming" at work.
Saudis short the oil market make money on the way down. Pay U.S for destroying the shale industry. This in turn takes Russias economy out and Assad. Install puppet government in Russia and Syria. Two down 1 to go. Then that leaves Iran. Quick lil false flag of Iran attacking Israel. Install puppet Government. Isis gets there levant. Obama term over he heads to middle east to lead Caliphate. Game over Albet Pike and the globalists win.
That is unless Somebody pushes the button!
However in my opinion There will be a battle at Armageddon and we all know who wins that battle!
This is a picture of Saudi Princes with Whore's face.
- The king don't meet with shit birds
Qatar has a short life future
How's that control over Syria coming along, SA? Is ISIS your bitch, now?
But no mention of the roll of China in backstopping Russia? And how does China play into this thesis (and it most certainly does)?
Gog will be led as if it had a hook in its nose to that region. Selah.
Firstly there is a conspicuous absence of actual "facts" in this piece, so the headline is misleading (who would have thought?), secondly, however, it is a perfectly good explanation anyway. Putin grew increasingly aggressive and obstinate with the increase of funds, and it would be a perfectly reasonable way to cut him down to size, by taking his money away from him, whatever way possible. If the pipeline from Quatar becomes fact, so much the better.
If politics would be based on facts, it would not be politics, so dear Izz, the whole world believed that you were smart... until you spoke.
guys ... story is too late.............oil is now headed higher.
And all of us better hope it works because methinks the end game may have started
ISIS (Team 44 likes ISIL) did not play out Jordan (an important country for many reasons which the non-military here will never understand) as they clearly gamed Prince Abdullah. He is a hardy customer. He knows what he sees unlike typical soft westerners (yes .... Europe you are softer than the USofA). To my small mind this means serious stuff is headed everyone's ( yes everyone ... Europe, NAmerica, Asia). It may take a few days but I would not be making balls out bets now.
Last....... Team 44 are traitors.......especially Queen Val Jar.....................so many middle eastern states are going under or facing crisis due to her. Hillary is an idiot, so is Kerry .......but ValJar seems to be Rasputin to the top of Team 44. Go figure where the power comes from. I very much hope I am wrong but methinks the real game has started now (where is Pres. Putin these days many ask?)
Marc Faber said in Barron's Roundtable that one of the black swans no one saw was the departure of Team 44. Well, I see enough already that the West as a whole better rise up soon and force his resignation. Of course we know that it will not be wormtongue Cameron leading the call for change. My guess it might be France as their intelligence agencies are the best in the world. They may be able to save the fast swooning French PM and his delusional party.
Last....before you scream this is overreaction.......I ask for your own ego's sake ......wait 2-3 weeks. Very bad stuff has been unleashed because of the pure fecklessness of the present President of the United States of America. What is now occurring tops the Vietnam era (I was a sscreaming lefty before I woke up to the left's duplicitious motivations ..... to them it is all social standing 'the ends justifies the means' and more dangerous mind bending nostrums....they could care less if you or yours or blacks or Asian or muslims or latinos or anybody else are annihilated....that is the potency of the Al-Qaeda/ISIL crowd.....they are outmanipulating the manipulators ... the irony!)
Good luck y'all.....
your first miscalculation is abdullah of jordan. he is the weakest, most pathetic link in the me. totally dependent upon israel and ussa!
team 44 is just following orders from the cabal? no goyims welcomed.
mark faber has been calling for a casus belli as l;ong as he's been playing both sides of the gold trade,... just to predictable especially speaking at the defunct 'round-table' of BTFD.
lastly, hillary is an idiot that could actually be our next president as a thatcher 'iron lady in war tyme'. it is libya's manpads and sophisticated fim-92 stingers, rpg-7s, hj-9, and m79-os2's, just to name a few tricks in their hodge-podge arsenal, what the ussa is saying is coming from china, that has been smuggled through egypt into syria. and saudi arabia with qatar pay the bill.
Could link Val-Jar to German Marshall Fund... Interesting names again within that fund.
The Marshall Fund is still like the Sword of Damocles above Germany and me thinks it is actually in use to get them where Cabal wants them to be.
7/14/1914-- 11/11/1918 27yrs
9/1/1939-- 9/2/1045 60 yrs
?/??/2015-- 100 yrs? to destroy our 'cradle of-civilization'... the one-and-only, fertile crescent was iraq with its tigris and euphrates...[?]
!'thy zionist come'!
In my opinion that is wrong !
1) Most oil companies fracking in the USA are unviable if the price is of a barrel is below US$60
2) Most oil companies are ptrofitable at US4$40 in Russia. The Russian government budget is based on on US$80 a barrel but remember that the rubbel has devalued and abcsorbed a lot as a result. I am also sure that Putin would rather suffer economically for a time.
3) Ukraine has nothing that the USA needs (no cheap oil)
4) could it be because of this:
As yet another dead cat bounce fools the Drill Baby Drill oil suckers, we continue to have the ill informed commentators trying to make sense of something way beyond their comprehension.
Oil has lost half its value in six months, you would think they would get a clue.
The Fossil Fuel Age is dead.
A verified working LENR killed it.
Scientists working for the organisation that decides who gets the Nobel prizes good enough for you?
Scientists working for the Swedish Royal Academy of Science and Swedish Energy Research Institute Elforsk, completed a verification of a working LENR in February, they finished the report in June/July, when it started doing the rounds in scientific circles, where it soon reached the eyes of those who had been shorting the Market in preperation for the verification, after a lot of critiquing and review they released the report that they had verified the working reactor at the beginning of October:
http://amsacta.unibo.it/4084/1/LuganoReportSubmit.pdf
It has been replicated by an independent Russian Scientist:
https://docviewer.yandex.com/?url=ya-disk-public%3A%2F%2FejFRuMB3GiCF6ZXZHI9lIxg2OeCo5GTI6HuLUo5jb5Y%3D&name=%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%20%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8.pdf&c=54a72ecd60ef
http://www.univrmagazine.it/sito/vedi_articolo.php?id=2820
And according to other sources has been involved for some time.
A primitive version was demonstrated in front of an invited audience, including representatives of Big Oil and various other big industry players in September of 2011. This was the trigger for Big Oil to sell their oil fields, though Shell who had a department watching this particular Black Swan started to divest their oil fields even before then, Big Oil then gave the cash from the sales to the merchant banks along with a nod and a wink, the commitment of traders report shows they then built the massive short position in oil that we are now experiencing.
http://oilprice.com/Finance/investing-and-trading-reports/Why-Are-the-Bi...
Big Oil did not want the SEC to blab on them so they:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/27/oil-derivatives-regulation-idUK...
http://uk.reuters.com/article/...
After the demonstration and additional testing a $2 Billion US company: Cherokee Investment Corp's Industrial Heat bought up the inventor and all his IP and have been developing it for market, it got tested and verified by them and other scientists and then the full independent test above. Since then they have been running a pilot plant at an undisclosed customer site believed to be in the US, and have negotiated with the Chinese to build a mass production facility there.
There are a dozen other players in the race to market including major names and research organisations.
It will take a conservative maximum of 30 years until LENR is fully adopted in all energy markets. New technology adoption times are 12 years on average though the speed of adoption is increasing exponentially, read your Ray Kurzweil.
Saudi Arabia knows all this they have enough money to employ the best and brightest minds to work out their strategy and it is simple. If the fossil fuel market its dead then it is time to have fire sale.
Saudi Arabia has more than enough reserves to drop its prices right down to $10 per barrel, with that it it will kill off 98% of its competition. Then it can take all the market for the last thirty years of oil as a fuel and prevent any competion in a post LENR market for lubricants and chemical feed stocks for plastics etc.
So Saudi Arabia's strategy is the classic stack em high sell em cheap Tesco tin of beans strategy and it is dropping the price of oil to its bare minimum to slow down adoption of LENR and so that Saudi Arabia can maximise its profits by taking thinner margins on higher volume, by wiping out all its competition.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-saudis-naimi-says-opec-will-not-cut-outp...
5) Or could it be that the Jews have decided that they want the Ukraine because they recently believe that it is the promised land.
now that the msm has 'pinned-the-tail-on-the-arab camel' of saudi arabia, its a perfect storm for a multiple attack of riddle-me-this casus belli's where the me blows up and oil goes to $200bbl overnite
Very few scientist buying off on Energy Catalyzers or E-Cat technology.
"Fracking the Narative" .... (off topic) .... the cost of burning people alive with gasoline .... is way down ! http://i.4cdn.org/b/1422984895020.webm
What's an Arab in a dress worth at $35 bucks a barrel?
too much
"HFT algos who also know to buy in the milliseconds before 2:30pm"
HFTs are getting in their first but this how they work, front running markets.
They have no prior knowledge, they just pick up on the first orders before they can execute and get in their first.
This is why HFT companies make money day in and day out, it is just insider trading on a micro-second advantage.
I'm wondering, if the Fed-Pentagon-US administration is giving the King the $29 billion. That he is handing out to his state workers.
As a payback for killing the price of oil.
Just putting this out there for discussion, Saudi Arabia has been pumping oil for decades, and since 1986 their proven reserves have stayed at 260 billion barrels. What if Saudi Arabia's biggest state secret is not their proven reserves but that they are running out? How does that figure into geopolitics?
Well, that is actually a fact. They are running at peak capacity now. Their production will likely decline in a few years. Or maybe they will drill a lot to keep production flat.
they've been drilling off shore for quite some time.
Michael Ruppert was right - for the most part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVd-zAXACrU
It doesn't - your own point proves it.
The Saudi's have been pumping for decades and still kept reserves consistent, I've suspected since the BP oil well disaster that the source of Saudi oil is produced continiously in the earths crust....ergo they wont run out...ever.
Also it's counter to their actions. If they were running out of oil, then there entire economy is about to be royally fucked....if this was the case they would slow production, drive up the oil price and milk it for what oil they had left. The fact they are prepared to openly drive down oil prices suggests they have tons of it to play with.
Putin will not abandon Syria. Why?
Because it will be seen as extreme weakness by enemies and allies alike! Do something like this and Russia's reputation as a reliable partner is lost.
The US oil industry is in more danger due to low oil prices. Russia can weather the storm or Russia can even do something else to raise oil prices.
Oh, so this has nothing to do with Israel or the Oded Yinon Plan, and Israel is happy to let Qatar build a pipeline to Europe through a stable and prosperous Syria to sell gas that will compete with Israel's own Leviathan find {and whatever it can steal from Palestine, Lebanon and Syria in the Eastern Med.}
Is that right?
If you believe that, I suppose you'll have no trouble believing that the 9/11 Commission did a thorough and accurate job....
https://archive.org/details/MastersOfDeception
https://wikispooks.com/w/images/c/cc/Solving_9-11.pdf
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/9-11/Israel_did_it
Never heard of the Oded Yinon plan, boys?
Here, let me google that for you....
You could say that it's political, not fundamental about everything else in the markets too. I think most ZHers called it as soon as the story broke although quite a few got distracted on the way by disinfo.
not
What NYT is fact! Joking.
This story needs to be put into geopolitical context.
The Saudis have much more on their minds than only the price of oil. The House of Saud just happened to be the desert tribe that the western powers decided to place in control of the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. The Sauds have many natural rivals to control of the area. The Saudis are involved in internal family competition for control, in efforts to control domestic unrest, and in the byzantine maze of Middle East politics. The Saudi position is complicated by rivalries among the various kingdoms, sectoral religious-inspired rivalries (Sunni vs Shia vs Alawite vs Druse vs Jewish vs Muslim Brotherhood vs Hesbollah vs ISIS vs Hamas vs Kurds vs various others), international oil and gas sales rivalries, and Big Power jockeying for influence among states and in the international energy markets. All the other states in the Middle East are similarly involved in these issues.
The Saudis see themselves as the big Sunni Muslim Dog in the Middle East being challenged by Shiite Iran, and somewhat by Turkey, among others. Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey are seeking to control Iraq and exert influence in Muslim religious affaris and in Middle Eastern politics. The Kurds are trying to create a Greater Kurdistan out of part of Iraq and eastern Turkey. Israel is also trying to be the top dog in Middle Eastern affairs.
The Sunnis are faced with a "Shiite Cescent" having been formed by Iran, Iran-influenced Iraq, and Syria. The Shiite Crescent has its own plan to ship natural gas from Iran and Iraq through Syria and Turkey to the Mediterranian and via Turkey to the EU. These nations signed a pipeline deal for this purpose a few years ago, which is one reason Iraq had to be destabilized by ISIS and why attempts are being made to depose Assad in Syria and replace him with someone not friendly to Iran.
Much of the current turmoil in the Middle East results from attempts by the US to promote its influence in the ME and Europe, and US/EU/Middle East attempts to create an energy coalition to bring natural gas to the EU via Syria and Turkey. The NABUCCO/TANAP Project was envisioned as a means to reduce Russia's dominance in EU gas imports. Nabucco/Tanap was to bring gas from Israel, Egypt, the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia) and some Central Asian states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan) via Turkey to the EU. Iran was ruled out by US sanctions. Syria, an ally of Iran, (Shiite) refused to allow the necessary pipelines across its territory, having made the aforementioned deal with Iran to carry Iranian gas through Syria to Turkey and the Mediterranean. Egypt's Mubarack, under Russian influence, refused to go along. Gaza stands in the way of Israel since Gaza has claims to the seabed under which much of the gas fields that Isreal wants to exploit lie. Russia supports Gaza. Hence, under US and EU sponsorship, a grand alliance among Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Israel and the Muslim Brotherhood was formed to overcome the resistance to the grand coalition plan by creating regime change in Egypt and Syria. The Muslim Brotherhood was successful in deposing Mubarack in Egypt and put in Mohamed Morsi, but he was too strong an Islamist for Egypt's military and secular groups to accept, so he was deposed and al Sisi was put in his place. Al Sisi is more pro-Russian and pro-Assad, and so is anti the coalition plans. In Syria, the USA was set to invade and depose Assad on the excuse that Assad had chemical weapons, but Russia intervened and brokered a deal for Assad to give up the chemical weapons under international supervision. Next, the USA let loose the "Free Syrian Army" but that was unsuccessful in trying to depose Assad, so the US and its allies in the ME created ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State and set it upon the problem. At the same time, Russia has been supporting Iran and Syria to frustrate the USA's ambitions of having controlling influence in the Middle East. That puts Russia and the Saudi rulers at odds.
The hopes for the Nabucco/Tanap project took a major hit when it became clear that there were insufficient volumes of natural gas available to make the project viable, and in 2013 Azerbaijan announced that it would send its Caspian Sea gas via a rival project TAP via Turkey to Italy. Some promoters of Nabucco/Tanap continue to talk up its prospects, just as Bulgaria keeps insisting that South Stream will be built.
The uprising in Ukraine was fomented by the US to pay back Russia for refusing to let the US have its way in Syria, to draw Ukraine away from economic and political alliances with Russia, to install NATO missile bases in Ukraine, and to force Russia out of its Black Sea naval base in Crimea. The US is seeking to keep Russia occupied, weaken it economically and militarily, and drive a wedge between Russia and the EU so that the EU remains solidly in the pro-US economic and political camp. The aims of the US are among the key geopolitical drivers in all of the Ukraine/Russia/Middle East issues.
At the same time, Israel has big plans to profit from its newly-discovered gas fields, but Gaza's position on the Mediterranean coast puts it smack dab in the middle of the gas fields, since Gaza has natural rights to the seabed off its coast. Much of recent Israeli strategy against Gaza is aimed at forcing Gaza to yield up its potential gas resources to Israel. Israel is a key supporter of ISIS, providing training and medical care for ISIS fighters, and the head of ISIS, the fabled al Baghdadi, is allegedly a Mossad operative. The fact that ISIS never attacks Israel or jews is telling. The fact that ISIS has provided much slickly-produced video of horrendous atrocities allegedly by jiihadist crazy Muslims, is wonderful propaganda against Muslims and also provides wonderful cover for the coalition of US/Israel/Saudi/Qatar/Turkey/Jordan that supports and funds ISIS.
Turkey has been seeking greater influence in the ME and in Europe for a long time. The leaders of Turkey see themselves as the natural successors to the Ottoman Empire, deserving of the position of top dog in the Sunni Muslim world. Turkey also wants to become a major energy conduit for delivery of oil and (especially) natural gas to the EU nations in Europe. Turkey also hates the House of Assad in Syria since Hafez al Assad gave a safe base for Kurdish separatists in the 1980s when the Kurds went on a separatist rebellion in eastern Turkey and cost Turkey much blood, treasure, and international reputation over the many years it took to put down the rebellion. Turkey has been a member of NATO since about 1952 but its efforts to join the EU over the last 20 years have been frustrated by the EU - always a fiance, never a bride.
Journalists have been reporting on truck convoys crossing the Turkey/Syria border in areas controlled by ISIS, carrying supplies for ISIS. The US is allegedly sending jets to bomg ISIS targets, but ISIS keeps expanding its territory in areas where the US is allegedly driving them back with air-delivered bombs. Strange the US air campaign is so ineffective to stop ISIS. At the same time Israel has been sending bombing missions into Syria but all the Israelis hit is Syrian government positions.
The EU has been trying to strong-arm Russia over natural gas imports for several years, trying to force Russia to give more control and ownership of gas pipelines to the European Commission (EC), and to allow the EC to take over all gas price negotiations with Russia. Russia faced a bottleneck of its gas supplies since most of its gas ran through pipelines in Ukraine, and Ukraine was constantly siponing off gas and not paying for it, so Russia built the North Stream pipeline (NSP) to Germany and planned to build the South Stream line across the Black Sea to Bulgaria and on to Austria. But the EC is restricting the NSP to half its capacity and put regulatory restrictions in the way of South Stream after the various countries along the route had signed deals to allow its construction.
Then, on December 1st, 2014 President Putin of Russia announced a deal with Turkey to divert South Stream to Turkey and then onward to the Turkey/Greece border. The Russians have since told the EC that once the new Turk Stream line is built, Russia will shut off the lines through Ukraine. The EC is in denial, insisting that South Stream must be built and must comply with all EC rules, but Russia seems to have dealt itself a winning hand against the EC and EU in this particular match. Turkey is emboldened by the plan, since it gives Turkey geater influence over the EU by making Turkey a key conduit for more gas to the EU. The US and EU are in a panic over the Turk Stream and Turkey's apparent move away from the Western camp and into the Eurasian Economic bloc, with stronger ties to Russian influence.
In all this, there are many gounds upon which to found a move by the Saudis to sacrifice oil profits to weaken Russia - to lessen Russia's support for Iran and Syria and thus weaken resistance to Saudi wishes for greater influence in the Middle East, and to give the Saudis and their allies a greater share of the EU natural gas markets. The USA and House of Saud have a long strategic partnership, and the Saudis are key to the Petrodollar agreement whereby the OPEC countries agreed to sell oil only for US dollars.
Other possible reasons have been touted for the Saudi decision to maintain its oil export volumes in spite of the falling oil price. These include: oil and gas production in the US may be reduced in a year or so as shale producers go bankrupt; the Saudis may be disciplining OPEC members who have produced more than their quotas; Russia, the biggest single exporter of oil and gas, may be forced to come to an agreement with OPEC over market share; the USA may have promised continued military support for the House of Saud; and then there is a report out that says that the CIA tricked the Saudis into injecting excessive amounts of sea water into their old oil fields to stimulate production, and if production is not allowed to run at full capacity, ultimate recovery from those fields will be reduced as the sea water infiltrates the fields. Another possible motivation for the US to have persuaded the Saudis to push down the price of oil would be to give the EU more leverage against Russia over control of natural gas imports and pricing, and to force Russia to agree to US/EU/NATO demands that Russia yield more influence over Ukraine to the West.
Then again, the fall in the price of oil may have come about for the same reasons that the international prices of coal, copper, and iron ore have fallen - the reduction in demand caused by a slumping world economy - while the Saudis refused to reduce production in the face of increased US oil production. Or maybe a whole number of reasons resulted in the drop in oil prices and the Saudi decision to keep production up. About the only sure thing is that the players are not going to tell us all their true motivations.
^excellent.
Very instructive. Thanks.
+1 Some of the best posts are always found at the end of the comment section. Case in point.
+1 excellent post. one little qualm, though
"The EU has been trying to strong-arm Russia over natural gas imports for several years, trying to force Russia to give more control and ownership of gas pipelines to the European Commission (EC), and to allow the EC to take over all gas price negotiations with Russia. Russia faced a bottleneck of its gas supplies since most of its gas ran through pipelines in Ukraine, and Ukraine was constantly siponing off gas and not paying for it, so Russia built the North Stream pipeline (NSP) to Germany and planned to build the South Stream line across the Black Sea to Bulgaria and on to Austria. But the EC is restricting the NSP to half its capacity and put regulatory restrictions in the way of South Stream after the various countries along the route had signed deals to allow its construction. "
I have to defend the EU position, here
for all purposes, Gazprom is a monopolist. One owned by the Russian state and being used for geo-political leverage
Donald Tusk, former Polish PM and now EU Council Prez, proposes to counter a supply monopolist with a demand monopolist: the EU
further, the EU Parliament had an idea: pipeline neutrality. This would mean that pipelines have to be owned by neutral, non-market-involved, non-partisan operators that just deliver the service of transportation, without price or other strings attached
sure, there is a lot of dirt attached to all parts, but as such, I do have to defend the principles involved. free markets can't exist while monopolists or oligopolists are allowed to exist
it's a damn big fig leave, this one
Hey, I'd be all for X-"neutrality" if I didn't own X too.
It would be about as neutral as the SWIFT system turned out to be. Remember how SWIFT was promised to be neutral and would never be used as a political weapon?
Funny how they want to remove ownership of what others own but not what they might own.
And once the "neutral" operators are in place the EU will use control of the pipeline to force it's members to comply with sanctions or any other demand or face gas shut offs. The EU would use the control of the pipeline to further counter any ideas of independence by member countries. The unelected EU sock puppets would have another weapon to use.
Since it is such a neutral friendly, lets all live together world in the EU area how about letting Russia have some warm water naval bases in the EU. The US has a Greek island as a naval base, start with a Greek island for a Russian naval base.
I don't accept any of these sorts of claims and statements, they are much too easy to make, usually have zero substance, and never show up, never substantiated, but go on and on in conspiratorial myths. and we're all supposed to go, "oh, wow, that explains everything."
But in reality, it never explains anything.
Dude, why didn't you just type 'TLDR'.
So you believe NOTHING? Or just what comes off the teleprompter?
An actual pipeline would be nice ... duh! ... don't stress your brain too much their mate, something might let go. Belief not required.
Sorry Tyler, that's not evidence of premeditated conspiracy, it is only suggestive of foreign policy opportunism, after the fact has already become evident.
--
--
And the following is a pretty clear direct statement:
And I see nothing that refutes that, other than more unsourced Tyler-published speculation.
But I do see plenty of actual evidence of a massive production boom, into a global and US macro slump, which is enhancing a typical commodity boom/bust cycle.
And I very seriously doubt Assad is going to interpret any of this as an opportunity to "negotiate an exit", thanks to a Saudis opportunistic insinuation it was all planned to that end.
I see you're also trying to resuscitate that barking abject nonsense about a Qatar pipeline through the heart of Syria again, and and trenchant regional destabilization, using sectarian and national wars and soon to progress to international war, to build it.
Ridiculous!
Retarded unsubstantiated twaddle with nothing tangible to recommend it, and certainly not a logic nor redeemable business and investment practice in sight. But let's not let logic overshadow a great streaming pile of warm soft oil-war conspiracy bullcrap.
And the suggestion that Iran is going to work with the US and Saudis GCC camp, to cut Assad's and Hezbollah's throats is deluded guff to say the least. It's not analysis, and it's not even rational, but is consistent with being a fairytale.
The US obtains Iranian acquiescence only for as long as the US is not attacking Assad's forces, but is weakening his immediate enemies and thereby, defacto spreading Assad's control and re-stabilization of the Sovereign state of Syria.
In the same way Kiev is not the business of Moscow, Damascus is not the business of Washington. And likewise Russia and Syria have every right to enter into any strategic arrangements needed for the Strategic defense of Syria, against western infringement on sovereignty, that they see fit to make and which will serve Russia's and also Iran's Strategic interests, and survival against external meddling and armed intrusion and aggression.
The moment the US or Saudi/GCC go after Assad we're immediately going right back to the Sept-Oct 2013 situation, where Iran was within days or hours of bombarding the Saudi-GCC infrastructure and US navy, and closing the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely, until WWIII is staring the US in the face.
The US blinked then and so did Saudi/GCC.
There is no evidence of a conspiracy to weaken Russia here.
There is just a suggestion of opportunistic diplomatic behaviors in the subsequent face of a Nat-Gas and oil price collapse, that was already baked-in, indeed zh had been predicting this collapse from market forces alone for about two years prior - has it not?
So which 'Tyler' are you then?
Who wrote this ancillary conspiracy claptrap, and claims the above constitutes 'evidence', or implies 'proof' of such things being 'confirmed', or 'factual'? ... hmmm?
Or are you getting schizophrenic and biasing a conglomeration of flaky predictions, and calling it geopolitical 'analysis' these days?
If on the off chance you are the original Tyler writing this bullcrap as fact, you're increasingly losing the plot amid all this linkage of conspiracies together.
Try again
(but get your shit sorted)
It appears that you think you've got it all sorted.
Good for you.
You accuse Tylers, with some justification, of promoting speculation into conspiracy fact. But then you make the statement concerning the Sept-Oct 2013 situation, where Iran was within days or hours of bombarding the Saudi-GCC infrastructure and US navy, and closing the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely.
And you know this how, exactly?
A link to the document that I wanted is no longer available.
Pity as it was a cracker and I can't locate another copy so far. But in paraphrase, around the 21st thru 23rd of Sept 2013 the Iranian IRGC were demanding actual military operations be taken against the west, immediately.
It fell to Hassan Rouhani, who was directly backed by and spoke for Khamenei, to try to make them see reason, to wait and allow diplomacy one last chance to work, and remain at peace in the interim. Two days later he went to the US, gave a speech at the UN, and the current diplomatic thaw with Washington finally unfolded from the 25th of Sept 2013, forward to present.
It was very clear to me at the time that if that last ditch trip had failed to cause the US to respond, a war to oust the US from the Gulf region would have followed, within days or hours.
I did find (below) some documents that support the sort of quasi-rebellion Rouhani was facing during those few days in Sept 2013.
I'll see if I can locate the original document but this will give some context from what was going on, and how close it got to war.
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President Hassan Rouhani:
Rouhani addressed the 20th IRGC Commanders and Officials conference in Tehran.
“Syria is at a sensitive point and the fight is not regarding the President or a tribe. The matter goes beyond that, and it is clear for all of us that the West has a determination for the entire region and does not prefer our region in its current form. This is why the English and French are returning to the region after years.”
“Analyzing the situations of Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Syria demonstrate that the West has placed them in a chain and is seeking to strengthen Israel and weaken the Resistance Front. The Syrian matter is the matter of a large region’s destiny, not just a single country, and it is possible to determine the world’s destiny in these circumstances.”
“Of course, the Islamic Republic’s opinion was always clear [about chemical weapons] and we have opposed weapons of mass destruction. But the West’s mistake is that it thinks that the Islamic Republic is seeking an opportunity for military dominance in the region, while we are not pursuing it. Our strength is our thought’s dominance in the entire region.”
“The IRGC is not the army of war in the region. The IRGC is peace and security. If the Global Arrogance’s military threats are eliminated in the region, the IRGC does not seek military dominance in the region. Our saying is populism, stability, unity, brotherhood and the fight against terrorism in the entire region.”
“It is better for unwelcome guests to leave the region and let go of their invasion and Iranophobia. Our slogan is the slogan of populism. If the Egyptian people seek populism and the West is concerned, this is the Egyptian people’s own decision.”
“In Syria, Iraq and all countries, the people’s opinion must rule, even in Palestine. The affirmation of the Revolution's leader that all displaced Palestinians must return to their country and vote, demonstrates that our basis is populism.
“Anyone who uses chemical weapons anywhere is condemned by us. Fundamentally, we condemn civil war and massacre. Syria must return to stability and afterwards, we will accept anyone the people vote for.”
http://www.irantracker.org/analysis/toumaj-iranian-reaction-syria-aug-31...
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World public opinion may believe Rouhani’s statements and articles; however, if we follow what is being said inside Iran, we will notice a real difference.
About a week ago, the Revolutionary Guards defied Rouhani, warning Iran’s diplomats against dealing with the Americans. Even before the West had a chance to be clear about Rouhani’s intentions, the newspapers of the Revolutionary Guards were saying the IRGC would reject any peace treaty that might threaten its main objective—namely, the production of a nuclear bomb. The “Down with America, Down with Israel” slogan is one of the pillars of the Iranian regime. And if this slogan disappears from the scene through the openness with the West Rouhani mentioned, the regime will undoubtedly be shaken.
On the eve of his departure to New York to attend the new session of the UN General Assembly, Rouhani drew his own red lines regarding any settlement reached over Iran’s nuclear program. He stated that Iran has signed and continues to abide by all weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation treaties. Rouhani also told the West and the US that Iran has the right to enrich uranium—without specifying the percentage to which they can enrich it—and that this must be part of any nuclear agreement, stressing that his country will not produce nuclear weapons.
Later on, Rouhani attended a military parade for the first time as president. The parade displayed some 30 ballistic missiles. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi announced, “Iran has become a regional superpower.” Basking in the light of the country’s military power, Rouhani announced that Tehran is ready to cooperate with the West if it recognizes the Iranians’ rights.
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/09/article553177601
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(CNSNews.com) – A U.S. television interview in which Iran’s new president said Iranians “seek peace and friendship among the nations of the region” and called a letter from President Obama “positive and constructive” was recorded just two days after he struck a different tone, accusing the West of hatching plots and suggesting that foreign troops should leave the region.
“You, the uninvited guest in our region, leave the region and then you will see that it becomes heaven,” President Hasan Rouhani said in an address to a gathering of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, according to a translation by Kayhan, a hard-line Iranian publication close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s “moderate” new head of government told the commanders that the Syrian civil war was part of a wider Western conspiracy.
“We are well aware that the disputes are not over one person or one president or the coming to power of a particular faction in Syria,” Rouhani said. “It goes beyond that, and it is obvious that the West has plans for the whole region.”
“What has happened in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain are rings of a single chain of events which aims to impact the region and weaken the resistance front,” he added, using the term favored by the Iranian and Syrian regimes and allies like Hezbollah to describe their anti-Israel alliance.
During the event Rouhani sat alongside IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Muhammad-Ali Jafari, who in his own speech asserted that the “resistance front” had successfully seen off Western-backed attempts to topple the Assad regime.
“So far, the enemies’ plot for military intervention in Syria has failed,” Jafari said. “Given the fact that enemies cannot overcome the resistance front in Syria, they definitely cannot take any action against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/iranian-president-s-t...
--
Rouhani's circuit breaker trip to the USand UN that prevented a war in the Gulf:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/24/iran-president-hassan-rouha...
--
"Rouhani opted to deal with the increased presence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the country’s economy – a product of Ahmadinejad’s administration -- in a nuanced manner. Mindful of the risks of antagonizing the powerful leadership of this elite force, Rouhani invited the Guards to have control over three or four large national projects, instead of competing with the private sector across all areas of the economy. In this endeavor, Rouhani seems to have the blessing of Khamenei who told a group of IRGC commanders in September that the IRGC should focus on guarding the revolution, and not stretch itself “across to all spheres including scientific, intellectual, cultural and economic spheres.”
http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/publications/articles/rouhani-s-first-one...
--------------
So it's clear to me there was a power play, and a war was narrowly averted at that time, as Iran's military was full committed to making a pre-emptive attack if diplomacy failed after the 25th Sept 2013.
And its clear from this that we will end up in the same place if Assad is attacked by Western military forces in the near future.
The IRGC leaders and others within Iran's military forces will take this as a signal that the West does not want peace with Tehran.
Right now they will be looking for any sign that Washington reneges on this understanding that resulted in peace continuing.
To put all this into even larger geopolitical context, consider China's position. The US/EU/NATO moves in the Middle East, Ukraine, and EU are forcing Russia to accelerate its plans to extend its political and economic ties to the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperations Organization countries, and their arrangements for international trade in their own currencies. These plans have been under way for some years, but the recent Ukraine coup and sanctions against Russia have forced Russia to downgrade its political and economic ties with the EU, and to cut, as much as possible, its dependence upon the Western financial markets.
China is only too happy to partner with Russia. Russia has vast resources needed by China, and shares the same continent, and the same or similar geopolitical concerns. China's economic and financial muscle now backs Russia in Russia's defence against the economic and financial war being waged by the US and EU and the Western banksters. Chiina says it will keep Russia from financial collapse, but China, at the same time, is the happy beneficiary of low oil prices, importing as much as it can while the price slump lasts.
China is very quietly extending its investment and resource partnerships with many nations around the world, gaining much influence in Africa and elsewhere. At the same time, China is flexing its muscles in the seas off its coast, trying to take control of as much of the seabed and undersea resources as possible. Russia is a useful foil for China in geopolitical affairs where there is a dispute with the US over Europe or the Middle East. China can sit back and pick off low-lying fruit while the US and Russia and their various proxies squabble in Europe and the Middle East.
China and Russia are playing the long game, while the US and EU remain fixed upon much shorter time frames. No doubt part of the Russia/China long game plan is to hold their positions while the West's house of financial cards collapses.
Firstly, I don't accept the 'BRICs' amounts to, nor will amount to anything, it is a mythical beast touted by speculations with little substance, and a lot of wish-washy thinking constructed for narrative purposes (which are mostly to try and sell gold ... i.e. talking their book).
It's not really working like that though.
The relations between China and Russian have always been ambivalent. I think they would like to like each other more, but neither trusts the other to not screw it. They are very similar in their paranoia levels, China is perhaps more cunning, and Russia more thuggish and blunt. The end result is they have had multiple stops and starts at these partnerships, but neither is open enough for the other to trust it. Plus China mostly wants to obtain and duplicate Russian tech and weapons, like it does with everyone else.
So we can expect this to be a predominantly business arrangement, and as we have seen with Russia, it can be unreliable and very erratic in this area of commodity supply to markets they think they can thuggishly dominate.
And China will not trust them to not do that again.
More then anything China recognizes that Russia is prone to geopolitical entanglements with the west, and it's rather clear Beijing does not want to be involved in Russia's self-inflicted issues that are not resulting.
The Key tenet of the Chinese diplomacy is the avoidance of interfering in the internal affairs of othr states, especially major powers.
Beijing does this for one reason, and one reason alone, it wants demands and expects all other powers to stay 100% out of Chinese internal affairs and issues. It is their red line. YOu leave us alone and we will leave you alone.
The Russians are not like that, and nor is Washington (in any form). China only signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia last November because Beijing trusts that Canberra and the Australian public detest Washington's foreign meddling and despise going to US wars (and they are right about that). So they feel they can trust Australia to help moderate and cool down the US in Asia.
This is not really true (and you were meant to think that btw);
Politicians play a short game in the democratic political cycle.
Bankers play a long game for control (which is going very badly, but they have their hands on state power, the treasury, white house and the laws of the land, so who fucking cares)
Military definitely plays a long game, measured in decades.
Intel and Strategy elements of the Western alliance are definitely geared to deep-planning and manipulation of developments. A new American century PNAC is certainly the underlying agenda in the US, so they play a very long game, and make moves to that end.
China is signalling it is not going to play that sort of deep game, except internally and to work in its near area, and in ad-hoc arrangements with suitable partners to primarily trade, sans the geopolitics.
Have a read
You may well be correct in what China "desires". But what about what China must "DO" in matters of geopolitics like, say, when US sides with Japan over the disputed islands, or when US Fed Res names Japan as a "swap lines country"?
When those matters occur, and they already have, China has exactly two choices: react to Western Agressions or withdraw and allow Western TBTF to undermine your nation and economy. One can NEVER withdraw from geopolitcs in a World Economy or he soon becomes North Korea.
I don't expect China to ever do less than they currently are. They will continue to build a much better navy, air force and C4 network.
Japan will produce a very much more capable military now that it's been directly challenged for territory and will balance and cover-off sufficiently to give no winning-move option.
It's fair to say the US has fully sided with Japan already, given they are in close strategic alliance, with US and Australia, so any deliberate attack on Japan would pretty much guarantee US and Australian involvement, and probable activation of five-powers defense arrangements in SEA.
Beijing know that, it have digested it all, knows there's not winning move, understands their limitations and have decided a constructive path is the way to go, but they expect Western discretion, then they'll keep out of Western affairs. They expect us to follow the law and our agreements, and vise-versa.
Beijing will achieve far more via trade, trust, linkage and diplomacy with growing shared-interests than via a future confrontation.
It seems China is keen to have the sort of open relationship that Japan has with the West, it doesn't want another war for that to take place, it wants to develop that now.
The Chinese Premier also said in Australia in November, when done announcing the free trade deal and strategic partnership that China intends to transition to full democracy by 2050. That was something that was not reported much, at the time, but it was something he simply didn't have to say or add at that point, but he made a point of saying within a Western country during a speech so that the West knows that things are going to change, politically, from here on.
If that all occurs, most of the regional tension will fade and enter a more manageable period.
You and Al Tinfoil make some very good points, but isn't all this explained quite simply by the triangle inequality? A= America, B = the Russian Bear, C = China
In the 60's, A> B, A> C, so it was A vs B+C. After Watergate and Carter, it appeared that B > A + C, so it was B vs. A+C
In the 80's, after Reagan's build up, it was A vs B+C
In the 90's, as China seemed ascendant and Clinton seemed more interested in hummers than humanity, it was C vs. A+B
Now, it seems like we're back to the same old same old, A vs. B+C.
Or as Orwell put it: "We are at war with EastAsia. We have always been at war with EastAsia".
I AM ABSOLUTELY PUZZLED BY THIS.
Why would Qatar need Syria as transit? Look at a map. A gas pipeline could go through Saud-Arabia and Egypt. I do not think this is about pipelines.
oh, its about pipelines, but not about Qatari ones, and about *preventing* Iran's as much as *preparing* that of Ersatz Israel....
But where would the Iranian pipeline source it's gas, and who is extracting gas from there now?
It's about the money (gas) not the pipelines used to transport it.
If I were Vlad I'd deploy his Special Forces to start picking off the Saudi 'Royals' one by one and eventually the message would get across.
Why stop there.? Hit the choke points for oil flow in SA. That'd get the price back up.
Incidentally, ZH was making a big case that the price of oil has fallen in large part because demand has dropped substantially. When did that fact change?
To the ones that think that Assad is evil . Is he as evil as Obongo or the Saudi criminals ? He hasn't got hundreds of military bases all over the world and doesn't use drones all over the world to bump off presumed " terrorists " . Assad is much more modern leader than the morons of the House of Saud that doesn't allow women to drive cars or to vote . Until the criminals from Qatar , Saud and the CIA started to finance Isis , Siria was one of the most modern countries in the arab World . Long live Assad !
"Will Putin relent?"
Will Merca repent?
Time for Russia to stoke the rotten House of Saud until it burns like an oil soaked rag.
war is already upon Russia.
It's time to start shooting down Israeli Offense Force planes that sortie over other sovereign nations on this pretext or that.
Hard to tell the difference in insignia. One both have white stars on their aircraft, one six pointed star and one five pointed.
Obola and his idiotic boy Kerry have designed M/E foreign policy that will destroy America's shale industry and a lot more too.
Their craving to sacrifice the global economy on the alter of WWIII has taken over what's left of their minds. It's time to charge these traitors and the CIA with treason.
American ME foreign "policy" was designed decades ago and continues to devolve since the invasion of Iraq in 03... right through the various Dem/Rep "changes". Save your indignation for yourself and fellow Republicrat travellers...
1948 seems to ring a bell on U.S. Middle East policy and its been screwed up ever since.
Dear TrulyStupid: So sorry if my comments about Obola and Kerry upset you. {shrug}
Oh right. The invasion of Iraq was designed "decades ago" was it?
How about the invasion of Libya. Was that designed "decades ago"?
How about the virtual invasion of Syria. Was that designed "decades ago"?
How about the sanctions on Iran. Was that designed "decades ago"?
How about overthrowing Mubarek. Was that designed "decades ago" too?
BTW: I lean towards libertarianism, not Republicanism.
Yes..By Bush 1
Yes..By Reagan
Yes..by Likud
Yes..early 90's
Yes...Mubarek was moved out... but the military dictatorship remains
Like most of your partisan ilk, your historic attention span is severely limited.
If you understand Libertarianism you would have more of a historic vs. hysteric perspective.... Obama will leave as Did Bush, but the neo-con narrative will simply be upheld by his successor.
I suppose there is a grain of truth in every story. Circumstance breeds opportunity, so it might well be that the fall in prices created an advantage that one or other nations are trying to utilise.
However, I don't believe for one moment that it was causal. Cheap money causes malinvestment. It's difficult to know what industries are being supported until an investment bubble begins to deflate. The unwinding can appear anywhere, but just like the beginnings of the last recession, one of the areas is energy production.
It's simple economics. The new money has gone to the wealthy. They have bought assets, gambled stocks and bought back shares. Meanwhile the vast majority in the West have seen a collapse in wages, savings, high income jobs, shrinkflation of common commodities and ever higher prices in CPI and non CPI goods. It means they aren't buying as much but are paying higher prices for ever smaller quantities.
Whilst no one at first noticed the slide in real wage power there appeared to be growth in all markets. Oil prices remained high due to demand. Cheap money poured into shale wells and other high cost drilling. Eventually the numbers caught up with the illusion and one area that began to unwind was in oil. It's a primary industry so it's not difficult to see why this might be one of the first actors and of sufficiently high profile to raise concerns. That said, it isn't the only one. Most other commodities are also seeing a downturn as the unwinding begins to work through the entire production system. It's a sporadic unwinding. At times the bubble reflates in one area whilst collapsing in another. There are sequences of connected industries that fall like dominoes and others that are buoyed up by the collapse. It's like a explosion occurring very slowly and capable of manipulation.
Putin regime sells away russian land to chinese:
http://youtu.be/okVaiPVWsxE
http://www.chinadailyasia.com/nation/2015-01/27/content_15220020.html
its not your business, bastard nazi. How many jews has killed your grandfather in the WWII? In wich KY haws he the capo?
Dear Mr Latvian: Britain sold its land to foreigners very many decades ago and continues to this day.
Interesting article.
Had you bothered to actually read it, you might have avoided lookin stoopid.
1. There is no sale of land. It is being gifted.
2. It's not being gifted to chinese, but to the local residents.
Russia's Far East is expected to see an increase in the number of Chinese immigrants after a program that offers the residents of the region a free hectare of land to start a farm or other business gets green light.
...
The remote region would be the main exporter of green food to China if the program pans out, said an expert. The population of Chinese immigrants in the area is likely to increase as they could lease land from local residents, which would also benefit the local budget.
+1
Brilliant :-)
Oil and politics : Saint John Philby and King Saud...the beginnings of a "beautiful" relationship.
What moar is there to say. It was in many ways more important than Yalta and the pernicious ideological division of Europe which all came down when Berlin East said : Auf wiedersehen to Stasi and Mutti became Kohl compatible and Reagan-Bush rolled out NWO saying :
"Now as the towering colossus we can build the NSA spy wall to replace Ulbricht's checkpoint "Je suis Charlie"..."
When oil, Mic and petrodollar become the corrupt nexus of Pax Americana construct, essentially built on two rotten planks which betray the Jeffersonian ideal : Wahhabism and Zionism as local friends, wHat you sow your then reap.
Trying to build a world power construct with that as local backdrop is inviting the hounds of hell into your own rose garden. What Pax Britannica bequeathed to the US was already a rotten apple in Mesopotamian divide and conquer under Balfour declaration play out.
I hope the ugly four of Azores who ratcheted up that score in Iraq "clash of civilization" rampage, remember that to their final resting places.
Meanwhile, Saud and the US now have split agendas locally, as the US realises that ISIS is not as easy to dismember as was Osiris by his half brother Seth in Egyptian mythology.
PS : Like I have always stated here : this is a repeat of 1984 oil collapse --initiated in fact in 1982 when Fahd became top man, as he was US friendly, unlike his older brothers, notably Faisal.
That Reagan oil strategy -- backed by the Majors against their own better short term interests-- (they could afford to wait given all the tax kick backs obtained by their DC lobbyists, notably thanks to Caspar Weinberger and Goerge Shultz as Bechtel men, whose influence was subsequently cut and pasted into the Halliburton-Cheney -Bush cabal ten years later)--played out to bring down bogey man Gorby's USSR empire.
Now its rinse and repeat, but the US is no longer a "towering colossus", as confirmed by Lehman Moment and what has followed.
Yes...backed by (or even prompted by) the Majors, against their own short-term interests.
I continue to insist that the harm to domestic producers is not only known, but desired.
The author of the article (and many others writing on the subject) act as though the damage done the current business entities, equates to the loss of the underlying resource. Clearly, it does not. The Minors playing in the Bakken, EF, etc. may go tits-up, but all that means is the Majors will come in and pick up the pieces - which have so conveniently all been put in place by the Minors (and on their credit-dime)- and ramp back up as fast or oas slow as they want...at a lower cost of production, since the bankrupt Minors took the upfront heat off the equation.
Stated differently, there is no downside to the current Saudi smash, as far as the Majors are concerned.
Russians say there never was a deal to dump Syria.
http://rt.com/news/229183-saudi-russia-oil-assad/
If true, this ZH article simply reports a new twist in the conspiracy theory, it doesn't turn it into a conspiracy fact.
New Smacker, you've been with ZH for over two years and don't believe it?
In the end it comes down to our subjective view of the facts, not opinions or conspiracy theories which are rife all over the place. ZH puts in a lot of effort to sort out the truth.
I cannot see why Russia would deny that Saudi tried to put pressure on it to dump support for Assad if it had done so. In fact, it may have helped Russia to publicly embarrass USG and show Saudi up as a lapdog by confirming the allegation. The condemnation of the NYT article was also substantial.
So at this point I need to see more evidence than presented to believe this claim.
That said, I do believe that a key factor of the manipulated oil price is to screw Russia, it's just a matter of whether Saudi admitted that conspiracy to Russia. Quite risky to do so.
Yes.
Always remember, by definition, it is logically impossible to either prove or disprove a conspiracy.
And Getting Crushed Russia is. I thought they good at chess?
Putin still has the higher cards in his hand that he could use anytime. He's waiting for the moment of greatest impact. 9/11 truth, free energy devices, new disease curing devices including any cancer, etc. His cards are empire-destroying caliber. The US, EU, UK have none of these cards that can be used to their advantage - Putin has them all.
He could start by annexing one of the NATO nations that border Russia.
America's response? Beer summit. Or golf round.
Who didn't see this?
This has more to do with the pipeline Saudi Arabia wants to build THROUGH Syria. And Putin isn't about to let that happen. It would completely undermine Russian hegemony over European gas supply. Oh, I'm quite sure historians looking back at WWIII will recognize the "civil" war in Syria was the begging.
"The Great Game" has never stopped from 2 centuries ago; only the names of the players change; and so it will be for at least another 2 centuries.
www.traderzoo.mobi
AAWWW shucks say it aint so JOE
So, if this is true, here's how Putin, always with the higher card in his hand, can totally fuck the Saudis and any & all other oil producers: unleash the "free energy" devices. Boom goes the whole oil-used-as-energy oil industry. Of course this dooms Russia's oil & gas industry as well. But it also does in the Rockefeller Empire, Saudi empire, etc. Its ("free" energy) coming anyway eventually - Putin might as well get the most relative leverage out of it. Its one of his many trump cards.
I think there's a global conspiracy to reduce oil demand. I can't think of any other reason why US consumption is down by more than 40% since 2009.
If we all just pretend to be consuming more, then the banking system will be better able to pretend that demand is increasing. Back to fracking! Problem solved!
This, of course, will fool Russia into returning to the petrodollar, seeing as how our system is so much better than theirs. Idiots.
NYT should advertise themselves as in the same league with palm readers. Understand principled Russian thinking first before spewing your deluded bs and lies made up by the hooknosed tribe. Russians have never abandoned Cuba, and they are not about to abandon Syria either, because they think long term, not short term like porno addicts. On the contrary, they are more likely working on a strategy to make Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the US pay dearly, and when it comes, it will be like a thunderbolt.
Old diplomat told me once, when it comes to foreign policy - Russians play chess, Americans play poker.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what the great oil collapse of 2014/2015 is all about. For those who want to know when to buy oil, the answer is simple: just after (or ideally before) Putin announces he will no longer support the Assad regime.
And that my friends, will never happen...
Story says: Russia is feeling financial pain and diplomatic isolation because of international sanctions stemming from its incursion into Crimea and eastern Ukraine, American officials said.This is the official BS narrative. Russia is not in eastern Ukraine. Russian speaking Ukrainians are in eastern Ukraine.
The truth is:
After the violent US and EU sponsored junta overthrew the legally elected govenrment of Ukraine the Crimean people voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to join the Russian Federation. Russian Naval troups were always stationed there and the majority of Crimean people today are VERY happy to be rejoined with Russia.
Brief history:
Crimea was detached from the Russian Republic in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchev after a drunken dinner and given as a grand (but then empty) gesture to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. Khrushchev was a Ukrainian Communist party boss who had participated in Stalin’s murder of 6-7 million Ukrainian farmers.
Two of
Crimea’s cities,SevastopolandKerch, were honored as “HeroCities” of theSoviet Unionfor their gallant defense inWorld War II. Over 170,000 Soviet soldiers died in 1942 defendingSevastopolin a brutal, 170-day siege. Another 100,000 died retaking the peninsula in 1944.In total, well over 16 million
Sovietsoldiers died in the war, destroying in the process 70% of theGerman Wehrmachtand 80% of theLuftwaffe. By contrast,USlosses in that war, including thePacific, were 400,000.One might as well ask
Texasto give up theAlamoorHoustonas to orderRussiato get out ofCrimea, a giant graveyard for theRed Armyand theGerman11th army.Response to Mike Masr:
I am an American who has lived in Odessa, Ukraine since 2009 - soon moving permenently to Crimea.
MY wife's family and most of her long-time live in Crimea, so we visit Crimea at least once a month.
You are CORRECT !!! The people of Crimea are thrilled to be totally independent of Kyiv and part od the Russian Federation - with "special privileges" making Crimea much more autonous than any other republic within the Russian Federation. The Crimean people are truly HAPPY !!!! - especially since the Russian government more than DOUBLED the monthly pensions of retired Crimeans (which means ANYONE over 50 yers of age, EVEN IF you are still working!).
The Crimean economy is pickng up, so Kyiv stopped all traffic (trains, cars, buses, etc.) ibetween Ukraine and Crimea. (The last time we were there, one 1 week visit turned into 3 weeks; until the roadbloack wa lifted for commericla trucks and busus only for a few days). We took a bus to Odessa, but were stopped and interrogated at the Kyiv government "check point" for almost 3 hours!!!
This policy is strange, since it hurts the Ukraine economy the most!!!! Ukraine exports far more products to Crimea than it imports!!! Crimea can EASILY replace those Ukraine products via Russia and many other countries, since it is nearly an island with many fine ports! After we passed the Kyiv military check point, I saw commercial trucks (trying to enter Crimea) backed up for at least 5 or more miles on BOTH sides of the highway - thousands and thousands of large commercial trucks just sitting on the sides of the highway! It was a sight to behold!
The Kyiv regime itself is KILLING OFF what is left of the Ukraine economy!!
Thanks Jack4952. I have enjoyed your posts. You are right on. I am an American of Kuban Cossack ancestry and a Russian Orthodox Christian.
While the old men play oil games house roofs all around me are springing up solar panels and there are more hybrids on the road. Times they are a changing.
Let me guess, Austin, Tx or Boulder, CO?
Let's see, falling energy prices were either the result of market forces, such as falling demand and rising production and a strong dollar, OR, it's all because of some extremely complicated super-secret conspiracy.
Hmm. Probably aliens are involved.
I CU WUT U DID THAR. (History Channel, I don't know, therefore - Aliens!)
Hey, rising prices could be because of greedy businessmen, and falling prices due to obama. cue Bernie Sanders, "I"-Senator, Vermont. (Possibly senile, verdict is still out on that)
For sure it happened in 85 86 (collusion US/KSA to bring the USSR down, or lets say finish to push it over the cliff), and the US oil industry truly suffered at that time as well :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02F-3l1EKsA
But this time I'm not so sure ...
By the way a great documentary about the oil geopolitical history , in two parts at the end of below post (but unfotunately in French) :
http://iiscn.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/bataille-et-lenergie/
The one linked below is quite good as well (but mucvh less ley guys interviewed) :
http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22914&highlight=
So a story from the NY times turns this BS conspiracy into a fact?
When the story explains how SA is also causing the decrease in other commodity prices and the Baltic Dry Index then and only then will this conspiracy become fact.
When the NY Times says so, then we are allowed to believe it. Fact = Reality = whatever the NYT editorial board allows to be printed.
Preface: I am an American now living in Odessa, Ukraine since 2009-- soon moving permanently to Crimea.
The U.S managed to stop Russia's "South Stream" pipeline from Russia (under the Black Sea) to Bulgaria - and then other pieplines including one into Italy. Bulgaria and most Europeaan government welcomed "South Stream", but the U.S. pressured them (especially Bulgaria) to stop "South Stream"
The U.S. goal to to build oil and natural gas pipelines from Iraq through Syria then the Europe - providng Europe with an alternative to Russian oil and natural gas.
That is why the U.S. pushed he Saudis to increase oil and natural gas production and lower its market price: to hurt Russia's economy.
What about UKRAINE ???
Many people are unaware that the European nations pay the Kyiv, Ykraine government over $1 Billion USD per MONTH as "gas transit fees" - thereby INCREASING the price of natural gas to European cusomers.
Had the Russian "South Stream" pipeline to Bulgaria been completed, it would have by-passed Ukraine, thus saving Europeans over $1 Billion per month for Ukraine's "gas transit fees". That would have meant for ALL Europeans LOWER prices for Russian natural gas! Ukraine would become neutralized re: its geopolitical significance; and thwarted any future threats by Kyiv to shut off all natural gas to Europe (as it has done in the past).
The goal of the U.S. is to kill off Russia economically with its new oi and natural gas pipelines from Iraq to Syria to Europe - which is why the take-over of Syria by the U.S. is of such importance.
But Russia is fighting back, with new pipelines through Turkey - and if Europe want the Russian natural gas, the European nations will have to build (at their OWN expense) pipeline connects to the Russian gas terminals in Turkey.
For the U.S. government (or more precisely, the corporations and banks that now control the U.S. government), it is all about MONEY and CONTROL of the entire world.
Goyim so easy to fool. Is not chess game. Is like professional wrestling. Total kosher theater. Everything we do is for multiple outcomes. We consolidate and tighten grip on industry. We wreck economies even more. We use kosher controlled media to justify high gasoline price, and all related costs to energy. Oil will be over $200 very soon. The goyim are like putty in our hands. Listen to the Rabbi while you still can. Nit gedeiget!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoGWSOD04ZU
Greg Palast on Alex Jones
RUSSIA WAS DEPOPULATED AND ITS MIDDLE CLASS DESTROYED A LONG TIME AGO. THE PLAN IS TO DESTROY AMERICA, NOT RUSSIA IN THE GUISE OF A FINANCIAL WAR BETWEEN EAST AND WEST. OIL PRICES ARE DAMAGING THE USA FAR MORE THAN RUSSIA AND THIS IS WHAT IT'S MEANT TO DO.
OPEC policy on crude production will ensure a crash in the U.S. shale industry, a Russian oil tycoon said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries kept output targets unchanged at a meeting in Vienna today even after this year’s slump in the oil price caused by surging supply from U.S shale fields.
American producers risk becoming victims of their own success. At today’s prices of just over $70 a barrel, drilling is close to becoming unprofitable for some explorers, Leonid Fedun, vice president and board member at OAO Lukoil, said in an interview in London.
“In 2016, when OPEC completes this objective of cleaning up the American marginal market, the oil price will start growing again,” said Fedun, who’s made a fortune of more than $4 billion in the oil business, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The shale boom is on a par with the dot-com boom. The strong players will remain, the weak ones will vanish.”
Oil futures in New York plunged as much as 3.8 percent to $70.87 a barrel today, the lowest since August 2010.
At the moment, some U.S. producers are surviving because they managed to hedge the prices they get for their oil at about $90 a barrel, Fedun said. When those arrangements expire, life will become much more difficult, he said.
Saudi ArabiaWhile some OPEC countries including Venezuela pushed for a reduction in output quotas at today’s meeting, Saudi Arabia, the group’s dominant member, argued for the status quo.
In Russia, where Lukoil is the second-largest producer behind state-run OAO Rosneft, the industry is much less exposed to oil’s slump, Fedun said. Companies are protected by lower costs and the slide in the ruble that lessens the impact of falling prices in local currency terms, he said.
Even so, output in Russia, the biggest producer after Saudi Arabia in 2013, is likely to fall slightly next year as lower prices force producers to rein in investment, Fedun said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-27/opec-policy-ensures-u-...
Chalky is the Manchurian, ValJar the Red Queen.
lol, another one that does not know much regarding KSA(Sauf family)/US relationship ...
I guess the little song "first oil shock = Arab embargo" is also strong in this one
Reminder (the story is much more "first oil shock= US **1970** peak production, top producer by far at the time) :
– end 1970 : US production peak, the energy crisis starts from there, with some heating fuel shortages for instance (some articles can be found on NYT archive on that), or :
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/US_Oil_Production_and_Imports_1920_to_2005.png
– Nixon name James Akins to go check what is going on.
– Akins goes around all US producers, saying this won’t be communicated to the media, but needs to be known, national security question
– The results are bad : no additional capacity at all, production will only go down, the results are also presented to the OECD
– The reserves of Alaska, North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, are known at that time, but to be developed the barrel price needs to be higher
– In parallel this is also the period of “rebalance” between oil majors and countries on each barrel revenues (Ghadaffi being the first to push 55/50 for instance), and creation of national oil companies.
– there is also the dropping of B Woods in 71 and associated $ devaluation, also putting a “bullish” pressure on oil price.
– So to be able to start Alaska, GOM, North Sea, and have some “outside OPEC” market share, the barrel price needs to go up (always good for oil majors anyway) and this is also US diplomacy strategy
– For instance Akins, then US ambassador in Saudi Arabia, is the one talking about $4 or $5 a barrel in an OAPEC meeting in Algiers in 1972
– Yom Kippur starts during an OPEC meeting in Vienna, which was about barrel revenus percentages, and barrel price rise.
– The declaration of the embargo pushes the barrel up on the spots markets (that just have been set up)
– But the embargo remains quite limited (not from Iran, not from Iraq, only towards a few countries)
– It remains fictive from Saudi Arabia towards the US : tankers kept on going from KSA, through Bahrain to make it more discrete, towards the US Army in Vietnam in particular.
– Akins is very clear about that in below documentary interviews (which unfortunately only exists in French and German to my knowledge, and interviews are voiced over) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fQJ-0jAr3LQ
For instance after 24:10, where he says that two senators were starting having rather “strong voices” about “doing something”, he asked the permission to tell them what was going on, got it, told them, they shat up and there was never any leak. The first oil shock “episode” starts at 18:00
The “embargo story” was in fact very “practical”, both for the US to “cover up” US peak towards US public opinion or western one in general, but also for major Arab producers to show “the Arab street” that they were doing something for the Palestinians.
In the end, clearly a wake up call that has been missed, especially at a time when we are around global peak and the omerta about it is almost complete.
Note : About Akins, see for instance :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/26/AR2010072605298.html
And his famous foreign affair article :
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~twod/oil-ns/articles/for_aff_aikins_oil_crisis_apr1973.pdf
His report to Nixon in 71 or 72 is still classified to my knowledge though, would be interesting to know if it can be declassified now.
And an example of a Nixon speech of the time (before the “embargo” ) :
”
“195 – Special Message to the Congress on Energy Resources.
June 4, 1971
1971
To the Congress of the United States:
For most of our history, a plentiful supply of energy is something the American people have taken very much for granted. In the past twenty years alone, we have been able to double our consumption of energy without exhausting the supply. But the assumption that sufficient energy will always be readily available has been brought sharply into question within the last year. The brownouts that have affected some areas of our country, the possible shortages of fuel that were threatened last fall, the sharp increases in certain fuel prices and our growing awareness of the environmental consequences of energy production have all demonstrated that we cannot take our energy supply for granted any longer.
…
”
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3038&st=oil&st1=
(was looking for an even clearer oneon video, cannot find it back)
)
Russia's "middle class was destroyed" ???????
I am an American who has lived in Odessa, Ukraine since 2009 -- soon moving permanently to Crimea.
Russia's "middle class" is BOOMING !!!
When was the last time YOU visited Russia?
+++++++
Plus, Odessa is the "vacation hot spot" for middle-class Europeans and Russians. At a beach close to our home are several massive hotels, plus hundreds of restaurants, cafes and stores along a boardwalk, which share several enormous parking lots. When we go to that beach in summer, at least 90% of the cars (all look new and very expensive) have RUSSIAN license plates. And the Russians are known as the "Big Spenders" which all the restauants and stores try to attract. They are very frienly people and (maybe because they recognize me as an American), i am very often invited to join then for dinners, cook-outs, or just good-ole drinks and conversation.
you show comprehension problem...he said "was"
it is sure he did not mean recent
as you think "when was last time you visited Russia?"
harasho?
So, Russia is so evil, out invading everyone,that we have to put people out of work to counter their viciously evil moves.
Someone please kick ValJar, her puppet, and the banksters OUT!
There are a couple of other benefits (to US and Saudi Arabia) that are not clearly spelled out in this article:
1. Cheap oil hurts Iran, who is Saudi Arabia's chief rival for leadership of OPEC.
2. The pain in the US shale industry is nearly entirely in Red states, which helps Obama by weakening his foes.
3. It hurts Venezuela, another high-priced producer and US adversary.