OPEC Members in session
“There are clear parallels between the 2014 oil
price drops and the Cold War ones. Even US attempts to drag Russia into a
conflict in Ukraine parallel the US objective of dragging the Soviets into
Afghanistan . There are several US adversaries that will be affected by the
2014 oil price drops: Ecuador , Iran , Venezuela , and Russia . Russia,
however, may be the main target just like the USSR was the main one during the
Cold War even though Iraq and Iran were targeted too.” Oil Prices and Energy Wars: The Empire of Frack versus Russia
by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya http://www.globalresearch.ca/oil-prices-and-energy-wars-the-u-s-empire-of-frack-versus-russia/5418051
Most people in the US are so busy enjoying the sudden respite from high gas
pump prices they have not given any thought why prices are falling so
unexpectedly. But there are reasons for the drop in oil process that may have
disastrous geopolitical consequences down the road. There is much mischief
afoot and as usual the US is one of the main trouble makers. In September US
Secretary of State John Kerry visited King Abdulla of Saudi Arabia . Many
market watchers believe following Kerry’s visit the Saudis not only agreed to
cut oil prices they also promised to step up production and influence other
OPEC cartel members to go along with the policy.
Market watchers are suggesting this doesn’t make sense; since lowering
prices and boosting production goes against the supposed law of supply and
demand pricing. There is heavy speculation the move was proposed and pushed by
Washington as a way to further destabilize the Russian economy since Russia is
one of the world’s leading exporters of both natural gas and oil. The price per
barrel drop adversely impacts Russia . Nevertheless, the policy in the short
term adversely affects Saudi, Arabia costing them billions.
“The IMF said Saudi Arabia ’s government spending might
exceed its income – almost entirely from oil revenue – in 2015. This public
deficit could increase to 7.4 percent of gross domestic product by 2019. The
break-even oil price required to balance the state budget is $91 for 2015, but
the price is currently lower than that. Still, the price tumble is
disproportionally more damaging to Russia and Iran . Russia , already coping
with Western sanctions over Ukraine , is heavily dependent on its oil revenue
and President Vladimir Putin is well aware of the destabilization of Russia
that falling energy prices can inflict. That said, Russia is a lot better
prepared than it was in the 1980s and 1990s and thus is in a position to endure
for some time. Iran will suffer, too, but probably not enough to make it flinch
in its various confrontations with the United States and the West. Iran ’s
economy is weak, especially under sanctions over its nuclear program and from
the costs of several proxy wars in the region that are draining its
budget. But Iran has historically weathered economic hardship and has recently
demonstrated its resilience when it comes to priorities, such as defending its
Shiite allies in Syria and Iraq . On the other hand, the Saudis know Western allies
will appreciate the decision to keep prices low and thus give oil-importing
countries a financial break. When the U.S. consumers save on oil imports, which
still represent about a third of the net oil that America uses that means they
have more money in their pockets for other purchases.” Saudi Arabia ’s Oil
Politics on Syria
http://consortiumnews.com/2014/11/03/saudi-arabias-oil-politics-on-syria/
Make no mistake; economic sanctions are a
hostile act, tantamount to an act of war. The US and EU have in effect
initiated economic warfare against Russia and the BRICS (Brazil China Russia
India and South Africa) coalition because they will not kowtow to US hegemony
or the Bank of International Settlements loan shark monopoly. Russia responded
by seeking other markets for Russian oil and gas like China , India and Vietnam
. “Once the agreement
is signed it will help fulfill a target for raising Vietnam-Russia bilateral
trade to US$7 billion in 2015 and US$10 billion in 2020. The statement was made
by Doan Duy Khuong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (VCCI) at the Vietnam-Russia Business Forum in Hanoi on October 6.
Khuong said businesses from the two countries play a leading role in promoting
bilateral economic and trade cooperation, helping to consolidate and develop
friendship ties. In recent years, economic, trade, industry and investment
cooperation between the two countries have been developing strongly. Two-way
trade turnover hit nearly US$4 billion last year and nearly US$2 billion in the
first seven months of this year.” http://english.vov.vn/Economy/Trade/Vietnam-Russia-target-US7-billion-in-bilateral-trade-by-2015/282190.vov
The motives behind US bellicosity and sanctions have not
been lost on either Russia or China . They are planning for peace and war. They
both are reaching out to other nations solidifying trade deals while at the
same time boosting their military spending and military capabilities. Both
China and Russia are testing US and NATO defenses and cooperating together in
war exercises. “Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered military
forces in the country's east to carry out a major exercise to test their
preparedness, a day after announcing a push to develop new offensive
weapons. This is a
second major drill of combat readiness since June when the conflict in eastern
Ukraine was already raging. The previous drill in the Volga region
and the Urals involved 65,000 troops. In May, Russia and China held a joint
naval exercise in the East China Sea . Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on
state television on Thursday that the ‘combat alert’ in the eastern military
district, which encompasses eastern-most territories including those bordering
on China and Japan, was issued at 10 a.m. Moscow time, or 0600 GMT. Russia news
agencies later quoted Shoigu as saying that the seven-day drill will test the
defense of Russia 's sea border. As part of the exercise Russia 's Pacific
fleet will repel the enemy's naval attack.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vladimir-putin-orders-military-exercise-response-nato-ukraine/
Russian
planes and Chinese submarines have been spotted off US coasts and Russian
planes and ships are being positioned in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Let’s
hope saner heads prevail and the US backs off it present course. Pray for PEACE
both around the world and here at home. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, America
needs a revolution in values. The Untied States is devolving into a vampire
society indiscriminately sucking blood everywhere; at home and abroad. We are
becoming more and more violent, morally desensitized and losing what’s left of
our sacredness and humanity. The government is a main source of the violence but
pop culture and the values shaping apparatus (education, religion and media)
are in overdrive promoting violence, incivility and war. All life particularly
Black life is minimized.
It’s no wonder
police misconduct is off the hook. The situations in Ferguson , Cleveland and
New York are merely the tip of the iceberg. The police are not just abusing
people of color; they now have all citizens in their crosshairs. “Across the
country, heavily armed Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams are forcing
their way into people’s homes in the middle of the night, often deploying
explosive devices such as flashbang grenades to temporarily blind and deafen
residents, simply to serve a search warrant on the suspicion that someone may
be in possession of a small amount of drugs. Neighborhoods are not war zones,
and our police officers should not be treating us like wartime enemies.
However, the ACLU encountered this type of story over and over when studying
the militarization of state and local law enforcement agencies. This
investigation gave us data to corroborate a trend we have been noticing
nationwide: American policing has become unnecessarily and dangerously
militarized, in large part through federal programs that have armed state and
local law enforcement agencies with the weapons and tactics of war, with almost
no public discussion or oversight. Using these federal funds, state and local
law enforcement agencies have amassed military arsenals purportedly to wage the
failed War on Drugs, the battlegrounds of which have disproportionately been in
communities of color. But these arsenals are by no means free of cost for
communities. Instead, the use of hyper-aggressive tools and tactics results in
tragedy for civilians and police officers, escalates the risk of needless
violence, destroys property, and undermines individual liberties.” War Comes
Home Excessive Militarization of American Policing https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/jus14-warcomeshome-report-web-rel1.pdf
The problem is we have been brainwashed and conditioned to go along with this
madness, to put our heads in the sand and hope it doesn’t visit us or our
family. The moral rot is metastasizing throughout the whole society on every
level and class. The US has become a full fledged banana republic/police state.
The key to changing conditions in our neighborhoods and larger society is
changing our minds, one person at a time, “be transformed by the renewing of
your minds.” See and think of yourself as a divine being, an extension of
an ALL WISE INTELLIGENT CREATOR/SPIRIT and connected to all there is. We are
all interconnected and interdependent; this is a universe, ONE SONG.
If we really wanted to, if we really made PEACE, HARMONY and
JUSTICE our intention we could alter and change our reality (world) into one
that is far better and more humane. The question is do we think it is possible
and how badly do we want it?
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