Tag Archives: iran

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: China outproducing Exxon Mobil, North Sea major gas leak, Sudan bombs oil rich South Sudan, Iraqi Kurds stop oil shipments, Canada will stop selling cheap oil to the U.S.!

French oil company Total, could lose $2.5 million USD per day due to its North Sea oil rig leak.

The Elgin ocean rig, near Scotland, began leaking natural gas eight days ago.  It’s coming from a well that workers were trying to cap.  The situation in the North Sea now, is similar to the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico blow out.

Workers were evacuated for fear of a huge explosion. There are now reports of “oily sheen” on the ocean’s surface.

According to the North African country of South Sudan, their neighbor Sudan is bombing their oil rich areas, in order to drive off investors from the United States.

Officials from Sudan deny that they are specifically targeting oil wells, but U.S. President Barack Obama asked both sides to avoid targeting oil resources.  The U.S. supported the creation of the new country of South Sudan.

The Kurdish autonomous government in northern Iraq, have stopped oil shipments.  Kurdish officials say the Iraqi government has not made any of the payments promised for past oil shipments.

Iraqi officials responded by stating that the Kurds have not sent all the oil that was promised. However, a payment of $560 million USD is being reviewed.

Iraqi officials also say they have reason to believe the Kurds are illegally selling oil to neighboring Middle Eastern countries.  However, despite such claims of loss from Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraqi oil exports hit 2.13 million barrels per day in March.

The world’s biggest oil producer is no longer Exxon Mobil.  PetroChina is now the number one producer of petroleum oil.

According to Bloomberg, PetroChina is now producing a little more than 2.4 million barrels per day of oil.  Chinese officials say the petroleum company will actually increase its take over of other oil companies around the world, because China’s industries need the oil.

“Look, the very fact that a ‘no’ [a no on Keystone] could even be said underscores to our country that we must diversify our energy export markets. We cannot be, as a country, in a situation where our one and, in many cases, only energy partner could say no to our energy products. We just cannot be in that position.”-Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

Canada has been selling its oil to the United States by at least half the going rate, but Canadian officials say that can’t continue, even if U.S. officials approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Canada will eventually jack up the price for U.S. customers.

“We have taken a significant price hit by virtue of the fact that we are a captive supplier and that just does not make sense in terms of the broader interests of the Canadian economy…”-Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

 

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: More Hypocrisy; the U.S. exempts EU & Japan from Iran oil sanctions

In a move that is hypocritical, the United States has exempted 10 European Union countries, and Japan, from U.S. imposed Iran oil sanctions.

It also brings up the question: What was the point?

I already showed how, under the Bush jr administration, U.S. corporations were exempted from future sanctions against Iran, back in 2000!

The countries now granted exemptions from the U.S. oil sanctions are Belgium, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Japan.

Again: What was the point of the U.S. imposed sanctions against Iran, if the U.S. is going to grant exemptions to other countries, and, a Republican created law in 2000 already exempts U.S. corporations from having to obey any sanctions anyway?

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: Obama issues National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order. The closest thing to Martial Law yet! Controls food supply! Preps for Total War!

Very quietly, on March 16, 2012, Nobel prize winning U.S. President Barack Obama issued a new Executive Order: National Defense Resources Preparedness.

If you think the military industrial complex is big now, guess what!

The bulk of the Order focuses on creating a full blown Total War military industry.  Obama stresses the need to “improve the efficiency and responsiveness of the domestic industrial base to support national defense requirements” and “to foster cooperation between the defense and commercial sectors for research and development and for acquisition of materials, services, components, and equipment to enhance industrial base efficiency and responsiveness.”

The Order establishes the officials who will lead the Defense Production Act Committee, and orders the Secretary of Commerce to co-operate with the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security!

It also orders six Departments to begin prioritizing and allocating resources respective to food, health care, transportation, resources for industries, and even water supply (assigned to the Department of Defense)!

“The Secretary of each agency delegated authority under subsection (a) of this section (resource departments) shall plan for and issue regulations to prioritize and allocate resources and establish standards and procedures by which the authority shall be used to promote the national defense, under both emergency and non-emergency conditions.”

The Order even gets into the details of providing loans to companies involved with providing for National Defense!

It makes the Secretary of Defense the go to man for funding, as he is now acting  Defense Production Act Fund Manager.

The Order places the Secretary of Homeland Security in charge of the National Defense Executive Reserve (NDER), including the “…establishment, recruitment, training, monitoring, and activation of NDER units…”

The Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Defense, will “…collect and maintain data necessary to make a continuing appraisal of the Nation’s workforce…”  and develop “…policies regulating the induction and deferment of persons for duty in the armed services…”

“Executive Order 12919 of June 3, 1994, and sections 401(3) (4) of Executive Order 12656 of November 18, 1988, are revoked.”

Executive Order 12919 deals with national defense industrial resource policies and programs.   Executive Order 12656 deals with emergency preparedness responsibilities.

The major differences between this National Defense Resources Preparedness, and those made in the past, is the use of the term “non-emergencies”, several times in the order.  Also, the desire to control food & water supplies as well as health care and transportation.

From Section 201: “…to promote the national defense over performance of any other contracts or orders, and to allocate materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense…”

This is for real people! This is basically an order that puts the United States in a Total War stance. “Total war is the practice of war where nearly all the resources of a society are employed to defeat an opponent.”–Silvapages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: U.S. oil sanctions have actually increased Iranian oil sales! Saudi oil sales increase! Algeria oil increase! Ecuador oil increase! Iraq planning to avoid Strait of Hormuz

According to the Joint Organization Data Initiative (JODI), Iranian oil sales have gone up since the United States started their sanctions games last year!

In January 2012, Iran exported 2.265 million barrels per day. The highest since December 2008!

Of course part of the increase is from customers stocking up now, ’cause they’re afraid the Iranian oil supply will end due to new sanctions and a possible war (again, no thanks to the United States, European Union and Israel).

Those same sanctions, and threats of war, have also increased Saudi Arabian oil sales to the United States.  U.S. officials managed to get Saudi officials to change their minds about not increasing oil production, at a recent IEF meeting.

Canadian media reporting that Saudi oil exports to the U.S. have already increased by 25%.

Algeria and Ecuador have also increased oil production.  Algeria by 18%, Ecuador by 41%!

All this comes at a time when oil industry leaders say there is plenty of oil in the system. It could be a sign of stockpiling before the Third World War gets going full throttle.

Iraq is preparing by planning oil shipment routes that will avoid the Strait of Hormuz. They plan to build new pipelines to Turkey: “Short and mid-term plans will be through boosting crude pumping and upgrading export capacity via Ceyhan port in Turkey. Also to increase the number of trucks that are shipping crude.”-Iraqi government statement

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Global March on Al Quds (Jerusalem) includes Asians and non-Muslims

The planned Global March on Al Quds includes people from South East Asia: “The troubles we have in this world now is because nobody stands up for justice.  Everybody is so selfish….Therefore we feel that although Palestine does not affect us directly, it is imperative for every single person who loves peace and justice to stand up…”-Nusrat Howard-Moore, Malaysia

Many people from India have joined the march as well: “We come to support the Palestine issue, as human beings, not Muslim, not Islamist.”-Suresh Khairnar, India

Thousands of demonstrators are hoping to surround Jerusalem on the 36th anniversary of Palestinian Land Day, which is March 30.

International, U.S.

World War 3: Afghan march on Al Quds (Jerusalem) reaches Iran, March 30 target date for surrounding Israel

“Peoples of the world demand the freedom for Jerusalem… People of the world demand to end the occupation of Palestine”-Global March on Al Quds

In February Afghans announced a Global March on Al Quds (aka 30th of March Operation).  Today those taking part in the march have rendezvoused in Terhan, Iran.

Organizers had hoped to be in Jordan by now: “Although it was supposed to reach to Jordanian borders to join the 30th of March program but due to situation in Syria and Iraq, no land rout to the borders of Jordan was possible and available and the caravan has to follow the rout from Turkey to Lebanon”– Salim Qafouri, Iranian participants of Global March on Al Quds

Organizers stress that anyone can join the march, which is hoping to surround Jerusalem with thousands of international protesters by March 30, 2012

The next rendezvous point will be Beirut, Lebanon on March 27.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Leon Panette restates that the U.S. will back up an Israeli attack on Iran

“Obviously Israel is an independent country, and they’ll make whatever decisions they make on their own based on what they think is in their national interests….If they should make that decision, then obviously the United States would take action.”-Leon Panette, U.S. Secretary of Defense

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. Navy doubles minesweepers in Persian Gulf

“We are moving four more minesweepers to the theater, making eight….We are moving Airborne Mine Countermeasure helicopters, that’ll take us to eight in theater.”-Admiral Jonathan Greenert, USN

The four Avenger class minesweeping ships, along with MH-53E Sea Dragon minesweeping helicopters, are being shipped from San Diego, California.  It will be a few weeks before they arrive in U.S. puppet state of Bahrain.

 

 

International, U.S.

Government Evil: Obama lies about having the support of the International Community against Iran

Obama continues to say the International Community are united against Iran: “I think they should understand that because the international community has applied so many sanctions.”

What does Obama mean by THE International Community?  Lets count the number of countries currently imposing sanctions against Iran: United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Switzerland, many but not all members of the European Union and India.  That’s about 36 countries, and there are 193 countries in the United Nations.  So, Obama is in a fantasy land if he thinks the International Community is behind the warmongering of the United States!

By the way, not all those countries imposing sanctions are going along with the U.S. fully. For example: India has sanctioned products that are used in the nuclear industry, but they refuse to stop buying Iranian oil. In fact the just made a deal with Iran, in which they can buy Iranian oil with Indian gold!

Oh, and don’t forget that several British oil companies (like BP) got exempted from the oil sanctions against Iran!

The fact that the majority of the International Community is not behind the U.S. raises a question concerning this statement by Obama: “Tehran must understand that it cannot escape or evade the choice before it: Meet your international obligations or face the consequences.”

If Obama is saying that Iran has violated international rules put forth by the United Nations, well the United States is even more guilty of that!

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: Obama says the U.S. will push for regime change in Syria and Iran, U.K. & U.S. military to be integrated!

U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, stated they will continue and increase efforts to effect regime change in Syria and Iran.

“….we’re gonna keep up the pressure with the strongest U.S. sanctions to date and the European Union preparing to impose an embargo on Iranian oil. Tehran must understand that it cannot escape or evade the choice before it: Meet your international obligations or face the consequences.”  “…we agreed to keep increasing the pressure on the regime [Syria], mobilizing the international community, tightening sanctions, cutting the regime’s revenues, isolating it politically, diplomatically and economically.”-Obama

Obama also announced that the United States and the evil Red Coats will merge military forces and military industries!!!

“Finally, I’m very pleased that we’re bringing our two militaries, the backbone of our alliance, even closer. As I told David, I can announce that next month we intend to start implementing our long awaited defense trade treaty with the U.K.”-Obama

David Cameron said the uniting of Britain (remember they’re the ones our founders fought against to get our freedom!) and the United States is based on “conviction” rather than “convenience”.

“…there are some countries whose alliance is a matter of convenience. But ours is a matter of conviction. Two states, as I said this morning, united for freedom and enterprise. Working together day-in day-out to defend those values and advance our shared interests.”-Cameron

History shows societies that are driven by ideology (“conviction”), rather than “convenience”, are the most dangerous!

Cameron repeated Obama’s statements on Syria and Iran.