U.S. Official Pushes Alternative to Pipeline from Caspian
Iran Seeks to Undermine U.S. Energy Plan for Europe
This is exactly what I was predicting since FTW published our article"Rapprochement" two years ago. The hidden truth is that the US, amidst increasing tensions with an increasingly hostile and emergent Russia, doesn't want to invest in those exensive and vulnerbale pipelines which would run so close to Russian borders, and real Islamic terrorists across the Steppes and into the Caucasus.
In 1997 Mobil was caught doing an illegal oil swap through Iran. Mobil knew, as all oil companies do now, that it is far more efficient to"plug" Caspian oil directly into Iran's pipeline system and ship it to the Gulf that way; far from any Russian threat. But that flies in the face of the US sanctions that have been in place since the overthrow of the Shah in 1979.
Since we have passed Peak there probably isn't time to build those pipelines anyway before shortages become much more painful and obvious. In the end what Iran and the US want here are not in conflict. The US will have to steer public and world opinion to avoid a loss of face. But Peak Oil will prove to be the trump card where we will see that al alliances are negotiable and subject to the overriding dictates of simple geography. -- MCR
Iran Discusses Storing Oil Reserves in China
Pakistan Questions Two in Daniel Pearl Killing
Iran Judge Says Detainees Admit "Activities"
Pentagon Holds Suspected Al Qaeda Member in East Africa
In case the genocide in Darfur isn't enough to galvanize the U.S. to rally behind another oil embroglio, Al Qaeda's always ready to oblige.
Al Qaeda Declares Holy War on India
U.S. Navy Plans Six Month West African Training Mission
Tenet Cashes In On Iraq
Corporate Takeover of U.S. Intelligence
Saudi Prince Got Secret Payments from U.K. Bank
GAO: Factors Influencing Gas Prices
A prize to anyone who can find Peak Oil mentioned in the GAO's analysis. Rather, they focus on those pesky "regulatory factors such as national air quality standards." Perhaps the global issue of the day will receive passing recognition in the separate study to follow:
"The price of crude oil is a major determinant of gasoline prices. However, a number of other factors also affect gasoline prices including (1) increasing demand for gasoline; (2) refinery capacity in the United States that has not expanded at the same pace as the demand for gasoline; (3) a declining trend in gasoline inventories and (4) regulatory factors, such as national air quality standards, that have induced some states to switch to special gasoline blends. Consolidation in the petroleum industry plays a role in determining gasoline prices as well
Also, we are working on a separate study on issues related to petroleum inventories, refining and fuel prices." J.O.
Glaciers Speed Up Due to Global Warming
Global Warming Breeds More Cats
Spain Sells 20% Gold Reserves
More and more evidence of Peak Oil surfacing -
ReplyDeletehttp://news.independent.co.uk/sci_
tech/article2656034.ece
Switzerland to sell 250 Tons of Gold !!
ReplyDeletehttp://news.moneycentral.msn.com/
provider/providerarticle.aspx?
Feed=AP&Date=20070614&ID=7032489
Thanks for the interesting new articles! And here's this....the canaries in the coal mine?
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB118127599055528888.html?mod=home_we_banner_left
GATA Will Demand Truth about U.S. Gold Reserves
ReplyDeletehttp://biz.yahoo.com/bw/
070614/20070614005304.html?.v=1
Maybe another false flag event?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.roguegovernment.com/news.
php?id=2522
gaelicgirl - That was a good article , we are in a similar situation here in southern Nova Scotia. I would expect that we will see it get much worse....But I still feel that in the future it will be much safer in these more remote areas than in Urban Jungles of the world !!
ReplyDelete"Greenspan says oil output a threat to Mexico"
ReplyDeletehttp://money.cnn.com/2007/06/13/news/international/bc.usa.economy.greenspan.mexico.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007061315
The Swiss story is really business as usual to return their gold reserves to the normal percentage (33%) of backing for the SFranc. The sale will be spread out over two years. Between 2000 and 2005 Switzerland sold 1,300 metric tons (1,433 US tons). The money will be used to pay off debts.
ReplyDeleteThe Spanish sale is perhaps more significant as it was from their foreign exchange reserves and amounted to 108 tons over the last 3 months. They are desperate for cash and are facing a possible banking crisis as they have the 2nd largest trade deficit balance in the world at over $98.6 billion or 9.5% of GDP. The only country that "beats" Spain is of course, the USA. (According to 2006 CIA figures.)
Good catch on the Independent article Bartonbythesea. (World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists).
ReplyDeleteFrozen canaries, Gaelicgirl. :D
"Tenet Cashes In On Iraq"
ReplyDeleteThis backs up my long-held position on 9/11 that it was also the launching pad for all kinds of money-spinning scams by US elites (you can find a number of entries on my blog about this). Afghanistan, Iraq, drugs, oil, homeland security, airport security, war on terror, military hardware, consulting, mercenary services, contracting -- all these things and more are the boxcars full of cash in the 9/11 gravy train. Tenet is just one of the many elites with gravy-smeared faces who have been capitalizing on the fallout from 9/11.
Great post by the way. I love thinkers like this. It reminds me of me. At any rate, you might find Gas prices useful.
ReplyDeleteIt’s Official: The Crash of the U.S. Economy has begun
ReplyDelete"It’s official. Mark your calendars. The crash of the U.S. economy has begun. It was announced the morning of Wednesday, June 13, 2007, by economic writers Steven Pearlstein and Robert Samuelson in the pages of the Washington Post, one of the foremost house organs of the U.S. monetary elite."
From globalresearch.
Business Week - From Peak Oil To Dark Age?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.businessweek.com/magazine/
content/07_26/b4040074.htm?campaign_
id=rss_magzn
A coola rticle on the Russian point of view on world affairs, Bush, etc.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17856.htm
Rice Farmer, what's your blog?
Jenna/Mike-- is there a way to make the links here live so we don't have to cut-and-paste?
Follow this link,it'll tell you how I did it.http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/html/article.php/3478171#how.I do agree it makes things a little more convenient in that sometimes the addresses people sometimes post do not show up in their entirety,and therefore do not always work,taking you to the site as intended.If there is an easier way to go about it,I'm not aware of it,but I hope this helps. Chris: aka A Peon.
ReplyDeleteHi All
ReplyDeleteJust an old peak oil article that I polished up and re-submitted here:
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/
view.asp?article=5964
(I snapped the link, but you can paste it back together again)
The purpose of it is to make the case for peak oil in a simple, common-sense way. It may come in handy when you are trying to explain to the unconvinced.
Cheers.... Chris
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChris Shaw - nice to see you posting a comment here. I read your article the other day (found it through theoildrum.com) and liked it so much I put it on my blog, Floating Down Denial. I appreciate how you present a serious subject with a sense of humor. I also liked your piece about keeping your eye on the donut and not the hole.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Butch - since rice farmer may be out hilling his potatoes or something...
ReplyDeletehis blog is Rice Farmer
(and is also linked on his blogger profile).
Cheers.
Sorry, I had to get my paddies weeded. Back on track now.
ReplyDeleteSo, what's in the news today? Petraeus supplies yet another official confirmation that the US is in Iraq for the long haul. You don't say?
The WSJ post by Gaelic Girl is a good example of how demand destuction works. Multiply that by tens of millions of poor people around the world, and you can imagine how many poor -- many of whom barely made it into the Petroleum Age -- are getting the shaft.
ReplyDeleteNice to see Chris Shaw make an appearance here. I read his piece quite some time ago and recommended it to lots of people as a good introduction to peak oil.
A bit rough from the angle of marketing, but here's an integrated solution to *several* of the world's current problems such as energy wastage/shortage, fresh water, pollution, unsustainable social structures:
ReplyDeletewww.reticulus.com
Has received 100% positive feedback so far: from politicians, environmental engineers, public engineers, business people. E-mail via the site to give your comments. It may be a bit too far-reaching to comprehend in the first 15 minutes, though, so take your time to think it through.
Hey there.Remember when I said someone at a Citgo station told me all of them were closing down?They must not have known what they were talking about,because in the town where my parents moved about an hour and a half drive from me there is still a Citgo station.As well as in points between.The lady at the one that used to be here must not have known what she was talking about.Anyways,I was just chatting with someone in Pennsylvania,and she was telling me there is at least one armed guard at every gas station in downtown Pittsburgh.Has anyone heard anything about this?
ReplyDeletePeon - haven't heard about guards, but wouldn't surprise me. I remember that during the oil shock of 1973 gas station attendants carried side arms as motorists got pretty, um, cranky while waiting hours in line.
ReplyDeleteIt Pittsburgh's case it probably has more to do with the level of robberies of cash in the area, but the gas itself will become the issue soon enough.
Push for Increase in Biofuels Causes Oil Industry To Scale Back Refinery Expansion
ReplyDeletehttp://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12974
Don't you believe it! All these statements lately by oil-producing countries and oil companies about biofuels crimping their operations are a load of BS to hide peak oil. In reality they can't increase production.
http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/2314.cfm
ReplyDeleteEveryone PLEASE READ THIS!
there is another key component to the drop in value of the US dollar
Nice to see Mr. Shaw posting here. I enjoyed your good work over at The Oil Drum.
ReplyDeleteBartonbythesea, thanks for the link to the businessweek article on peak oil. Although short and sweet, that it appeared in BW speaks volumes, as do the reader comments on it (90% positive and informed), making me think that their may yet be hope. Many people are starting to get it.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture has announced an initiative to increase the proportion of animal feed produced domestically. The reason is the skyrocketing price of imported corn. This is one indication of how the squeeze is being put on the food supply. And this ultimately comes down to peak oil because the ethanol craze was sparked by high crude prices.
ReplyDeleteThanks Isis and Ricey.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking about how this all started for me. I remember I was reading FTW, when I came across Mike's phrase, "low hanging fruit". Now, I had the pieces of jigsaw in front of me all along - but it was that simple phrase which precipitated a sudden rush of insight. Man, I couldn't sleep at night for thinking about it.
If I, a miner (and a huge consumer of energy) had been so ignorant, then what hope did an economist have? Or a politician or the person in the street?
So ever since, it's been a struggle to find new and novel ways of re-writing "The King's New Suit of Clothes", until we get a critical mass of people aboard. Sans oil, sans drugs, sans money, sans corruption.
Thanks for the inspiration Mike - and cheers all.
Search for Water Gets Harder in U.S. Southwest
ReplyDeletehttp://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12993
And from Japan, a major refiner today has announced yet another price hike in gasoline and other petroleum products. Other companies are expected to follow suit. The media here claim it is because of "growing demand," and they make no mention of peak oil.
I've always assumed that he's been too afraid to speak about this in public...I guess I was wrong.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21287595.shtml
Video Interview:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8399599446820879166&hl=en
There is an excellent film at Ireland's public broadcaster RTE. In "Futureshock: End of the Oil Age", their Chief Economics Correspondent, George Lee, looks into peak oil and what it portends for Ireland's future (canary in the coal mine). He interviews an IEA economist, but also Colin Campbell, Matt Simmons and others and does, IMO, an excellent job of scaring the bejeesus out of anyone who has been asleep or in denial to this point.
ReplyDeleteIt runs 1 hour and can be viewed here: Future Shock