World Politics

[blutto]

....have had this crazy idea for a while.....that the Saudi move to drop the price of oil wasn't so much a geopolitical move ( though it did have aspects of that functionally ) but rather the start of a fire sale on fossil fuel assets....the Saudis looked at future and maybe saw a greatly diminished role for fossil fuel over the next several decades and decided to be sure they would have the smallest amount of stranded fossil fuel assets left in the ground when the sun finally sets on a world powered by fossil fuels.....

...find below a few words above how the future of power may unfold in the coming decades....
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"World leaders finally made commitments to clean, renewable energy that will help to ensure a safer, healthier and more prosperous future for us all. The agreement signals that the age of fossil fuels is coming to a close and the age of renewable energy is dawning.

In many ways, the Paris deal is the mother of all market signals. To deliver on the promises world leaders made, we will need to leave coal and oil in the ground and move toward a complete reliance on clean energy. Let’s not miss the writing on the wall: fossil fuels are a losing bet, while renewables offer economic opportunity.

This is true for all segments of society—from energy investors to individual households that can save money on their energy bills by switching to rooftop solar power.

The Paris pact ratifies an ongoing renewable energy revolution spreading across the globe. Each year since 2013, the world has added more power-generating capacity fueled by renewable sources than from coal, natural gas and oil combined. Global investment in renewable energy hit $310bn last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. And major companies are pledging to go 100 percent renewable, too."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheers

 

[blackcat]

Re:

....have had this crazy idea for a while.....that the Saudi move to drop the price of oil wasn't so much a geopolitical move ( though it did have aspects of that functionally ) but rather the start of a fire sale on fossil fuel assets....the Saudis looked at future and maybe saw a greatly diminished role for fossil fuel over the next several decades and decided to be sure they would have the smallest amount of stranded fossil fuel assets left in the ground when the sun finally sets on a world powered by fossil fuels.....

...find below a few words above how the future of power may unfold in the coming decades....
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"World leaders finally made commitments to clean, renewable energy that will help to ensure a safer, healthier and more prosperous future for us all. The agreement signals that the age of fossil fuels is coming to a close and the age of renewable energy is dawning.

In many ways, the Paris deal is the mother of all market signals. To deliver on the promises world leaders made, we will need to leave coal and oil in the ground and move toward a complete reliance on clean energy. Let’s not miss the writing on the wall: fossil fuels are a losing bet, while renewables offer economic opportunity.

This is true for all segments of society—from energy investors to individual households that can save money on their energy bills by switching to rooftop solar power.

The Paris pact ratifies an ongoing renewable energy revolution spreading across the globe. Each year since 2013, the world has added more power-generating capacity fueled by renewable sources than from coal, natural gas and oil combined. Global investment in renewable energy hit $310bn last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. And major companies are pledging to go 100 percent renewable, too."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheers

but Kerry flies into Riyadh and tells the princes and Bandar Bush to drop the prices and hurt the Russian current account. that.

mebbe he did a sojourn to Tel Aviv to tell Bibi to rein it in, then Bibi does what he does and announces another 5 thousand settlements in the West Bank becomes he knows he has the Whitehouse's measure. Bibi is the bosss.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Maybe you had more than one Leffe? Anyhow that theory with respect to Thurston Howell III the USA secretary of state and the Saud's is more than likely closer to the truth than the crap we here on the USA "news" outlets.

 

[blutto]

Re: Re:

....have had this crazy idea for a while.....that the Saudi move to drop the price of oil wasn't so much a geopolitical move ( though it did have aspects of that functionally ) but rather the start of a fire sale on fossil fuel assets....the Saudis looked at future and maybe saw a greatly diminished role for fossil fuel over the next several decades and decided to be sure they would have the smallest amount of stranded fossil fuel assets left in the ground when the sun finally sets on a world powered by fossil fuels.....

...find below a few words above how the future of power may unfold in the coming decades....
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"World leaders finally made commitments to clean, renewable energy that will help to ensure a safer, healthier and more prosperous future for us all. The agreement signals that the age of fossil fuels is coming to a close and the age of renewable energy is dawning.

In many ways, the Paris deal is the mother of all market signals. To deliver on the promises world leaders made, we will need to leave coal and oil in the ground and move toward a complete reliance on clean energy. Let’s not miss the writing on the wall: fossil fuels are a losing bet, while renewables offer economic opportunity.

This is true for all segments of society—from energy investors to individual households that can save money on their energy bills by switching to rooftop solar power.

The Paris pact ratifies an ongoing renewable energy revolution spreading across the globe. Each year since 2013, the world has added more power-generating capacity fueled by renewable sources than from coal, natural gas and oil combined. Global investment in renewable energy hit $310bn last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. And major companies are pledging to go 100 percent renewable, too."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheers

but Kerry flies into Riyadh and tells the princes and Bandar Bush to drop the prices and hurt the Russian current account. that.

mebbe he did a sojourn to Tel Aviv to tell Bibi to rein it in, then Bibi does what he does and announces another 5 thousand settlements in the West Bank becomes he knows he has the Whitehouse's measure. Bibi is the bosss.

....yeah I love that story, not as much as much as I like Alice in Wonderland, but a I do like it a lot , but then I am a real sucker for any and all high brow fantasy....that being said some substantial proof of that particular story would be nice because it don't divide well into the subsequent facts on the ground without a meaningful remainder, if youse knows what I'm sayin'....

....and as for that hurt thing....should have brought the Bear to its knees by now shouldn't it have....but last I checked the Bear is still alive and kicking and well and doing stuff in Syria....go figure eh ?....don't you just hate it when the best laid plans of mice and Saudi princes smash head first into reality....awful mess, just awful...

...but then the Saudis are in bed with Bibi so maybe they are both telling Kerry to go forth and multiply...tough call...its a crazy mixed up world out there ain't it eh...

Cheers

 

[blackcat]

you dont read about the US Shale oil prospectors and 'driller'(s) getting hurt as world oil prices go off.

but you tell me that your theory is the Kingdom thing a fire sale of their carbon energy assets is the motive? we aint even at peak oil, you are the deluded one Blutto.

As long as Iran and Iraq are getting squeezed out of a completely free world oil market, you would think that Saud would be seeking to capitalise on the artificially inflated price. demand curves and all. inelastic commodity.

They would not be fire selling, or, fire selling in anticipation of Iraq and Iran coming back onstream and then their prices being reduced in a larger supplier market place....

 

[blutto]

Re:

you dont read about the US Shale oil prospectors and 'driller'(s) getting hurt as world oil prices go off.

but you tell me that your theory is the Kingdom thing a fire sale of their carbon energy assets is the motive? we aint even at peak oil, you are the deluded one Blutto.

As long as Iran and Iraq are getting squeezed out of a completely free world oil market, you would think that Saud would be seeking to capitalise on the artificially inflated price. demand curves and all. inelastic commodity.

They would not be fire selling, or, fire selling in anticipation of Iraq and Iran coming back onstream and then their prices being reduced in a larger supplier market place....

...read about the recent travails of the US shale, uhhh, industry ?.... nah, I live in a cave away from civilization, though its not all bad, I've got running water and some candles...

....a YED of close to 1 and you say inelastic eh....and you call me deluded...okie dokie.....btw bLACkCaT, that is blutto, all small caps....trust me, you don't want to ever deal with Blutto ( who is a real nasty piece of work...and big as a mountain too...often drunk....hair trigger...volcanic temper...and oddly enough a great sense of humour...)

....and good luck trying to squeeze that there square peg into that there round hole....

Cheers

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Re: Re:

you dont read about the US Shale oil prospectors and 'driller'(s) getting hurt as world oil prices go off.

but you tell me that your theory is the Kingdom thing a fire sale of their carbon energy assets is the motive? we aint even at peak oil, you are the deluded one Blutto.

As long as Iran and Iraq are getting squeezed out of a completely free world oil market, you would think that Saud would be seeking to capitalise on the artificially inflated price. demand curves and all. inelastic commodity.

They would not be fire selling, or, fire selling in anticipation of Iraq and Iran coming back onstream and then their prices being reduced in a larger supplier market place....

...read about the recent travails of the US shale, uhhh, industry ?.... nah, I live in a cave away from civilization, though its not all bad, I've got running water and some candles...

....a YED of close to 1 and you say inelastic eh....and you call me deluded...okie dokie.....btw bLACkCaT, that is blutto, all small caps....trust me you don't want to ever deal with Blutto...

....and good luck trying to squeeze that there square peg into that there round hole....

Cheers

blutto do you remember that member on the other thread trying to tell me how the shale oil and gas being a Ponzi scheme? Seems we should have stayed out of that business to keep the Saud's in high prices!

 

[blutto]

Re: Re:

you dont read about the US Shale oil prospectors and 'driller'(s) getting hurt as world oil prices go off.

but you tell me that your theory is the Kingdom thing a fire sale of their carbon energy assets is the motive? we aint even at peak oil, you are the deluded one Blutto.

As long as Iran and Iraq are getting squeezed out of a completely free world oil market, you would think that Saud would be seeking to capitalise on the artificially inflated price. demand curves and all. inelastic commodity.

They would not be fire selling, or, fire selling in anticipation of Iraq and Iran coming back onstream and then their prices being reduced in a larger supplier market place....

...read about the recent travails of the US shale, uhhh, industry ?.... nah, I live in a cave away from civilization, though its not all bad, I've got running water and some candles...

....a YED of close to 1 and you say inelastic eh....and you call me deluded...okie dokie.....btw bLACkCaT, that is blutto, all small caps....trust me you don't want to ever deal with Blutto...

....and good luck trying to squeeze that there square peg into that there round hole....

Cheers

blutto do you remember that member on the other thread trying to tell me how the shale oil and gas being a Ponzi scheme? Seems we should have stayed out of that business to keep the Saud's in high prices!

....if that was me I don't remember a thing, I was going thru a crazy period, lost my meds eh....was talking crazy stuff...

....ok... seriously now...yes there has been more than a bit of talk by really smart folks that yes indeed over the long run the shale thingee is a Ponzi scheme....the wells it seems don't produce enough to pay for all of the upfront costs....so yeah all the earmarks of a Ponzi scheme since someone is going to left holding the bag when the wells run dry....

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....as Python stated earlier the glorious revolution is just going ticket-a-tee-boo....here are some of the glorious numbers....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"17% approve of Poroshenko's job performance
•8% confident in their national government
•5% say government doing enough to fight corruption

December 24, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite signs last year that Ukraine's then-new president was starting to rebuild Ukrainians' trust in their leadership, President Petro Poroshenko is now less popular than his predecessor Viktor Yanukovych was before he was ousted. After more than a year in office, 17% of Ukrainians approve of the job that Poroshenko is doing. This approval rating is down sharply from 47% a few months after his election in May 2014."

....from... http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43802.htm

....and...

"According to Gallup, only 17 percent of people approve the job Poroshenko is doing, while Yanukovych, prior to the revolution in 2013, had an approval rating of 28 percent."

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20151223/1032196569/poroshenko-approval-rating-yanukovych-maidan.html#ixzz3vFQfaE45


Cheers

 

[Amsterhammer]

Re:

....as Python stated earlier the glorious revolution is just going ticket-a-tee-boo....here are some of the glorious numbers....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"17% approve of Poroshenko's job performance
•8% confident in their national government
•5% say government doing enough to fight corruption

December 24, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite signs last year that Ukraine's then-new president was starting to rebuild Ukrainians' trust in their leadership, President Petro Poroshenko is now less popular than his predecessor Viktor Yanukovych was before he was ousted. After more than a year in office, 17% of Ukrainians approve of the job that Poroshenko is doing. This approval rating is down sharply from 47% a few months after his election in May 2014."

....from... http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43802.htm

....and...

"According to Gallup, only 17 percent of people approve the job Poroshenko is doing, while Yanukovych, prior to the revolution in 2013, had an approval rating of 28 percent."

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20151223/1032196569/poroshenko-approval-rating-yanukovych-maidan.html#ixzz3vFQfaE45


Cheers

Looks like they are going to tit for tat one another back to the stone age.

Ukraine has responded to Moscow’s food embargo with “mirror sanctions” of its own. Effective from January 1, Kyiv will impose restrictions on Russian products entering the country.


Ukraine's parliament voted Thursday to give the government powers to impose a trade embargo against Russia, which would suspend a free trade zone with Ukraine from the beginning of next month.

“The cabinet of ministers will introduce similar restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. We will protect Ukraine's domestic market,” Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced Thursday.

Kyiv's decision to suspend trade is a counter-move to Moscow's announcement Monday for a food embargo against Ukraine, which is to begin January 1. Moscow says Ukraine's free trade pact with Brussels, which comes into force next month, could lead to a flood of European imports into Russia, making its exports to Ukraine less competitive.

The law, supported by 291 of parliament's 420 lawmakers, comes into effect when it is signed by the president.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week ordered trade with its neighbors to be suspended in a decree which cited “extraordinary circumstances affecting the interests and economic security” of Russia.

Following the announcement, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said he regretted Russia's decision to end preferential trade with Kyiv, but was “ready to pay the price” for the EU trade accord.

Ukraine estimates the trade war with Moscow could cost upwards of $600 million (548.6 million euros) next year or about 0.6 percent of its trade turnover.

The EU-Ukraine trade deal was the initial trigger for unrest that culminated in the ousting of former Russia-allied President Victor Yanukovych in 2014. Russia then annexed Crimea and backed a separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine.

http://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-to-impose-tit-for-tat-trade-embargo-on-russia/a-18940722

 

[blutto]

Re: Re:

....as Python stated earlier the glorious revolution is just going ticket-a-tee-boo....here are some of the glorious numbers....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"17% approve of Poroshenko's job performance
•8% confident in their national government
•5% say government doing enough to fight corruption

December 24, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite signs last year that Ukraine's then-new president was starting to rebuild Ukrainians' trust in their leadership, President Petro Poroshenko is now less popular than his predecessor Viktor Yanukovych was before he was ousted. After more than a year in office, 17% of Ukrainians approve of the job that Poroshenko is doing. This approval rating is down sharply from 47% a few months after his election in May 2014."

....from... http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43802.htm

....and...

"According to Gallup, only 17 percent of people approve the job Poroshenko is doing, while Yanukovych, prior to the revolution in 2013, had an approval rating of 28 percent."

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20151223/1032196569/poroshenko-approval-rating-yanukovych-maidan.html#ixzz3vFQfaE45


Cheers

Looks like they are going to tit for tat one another back to the stone age.

Ukraine has responded to Moscow’s food embargo with “mirror sanctions” of its own. Effective from January 1, Kyiv will impose restrictions on Russian products entering the country.


Ukraine's parliament voted Thursday to give the government powers to impose a trade embargo against Russia, which would suspend a free trade zone with Ukraine from the beginning of next month.

“The cabinet of ministers will introduce similar restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. We will protect Ukraine's domestic market,” Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced Thursday.

Kyiv's decision to suspend trade is a counter-move to Moscow's announcement Monday for a food embargo against Ukraine, which is to begin January 1. Moscow says Ukraine's free trade pact with Brussels, which comes into force next month, could lead to a flood of European imports into Russia, making its exports to Ukraine less competitive.

The law, supported by 291 of parliament's 420 lawmakers, comes into effect when it is signed by the president.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week ordered trade with its neighbors to be suspended in a decree which cited “extraordinary circumstances affecting the interests and economic security” of Russia.

Following the announcement, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said he regretted Russia's decision to end preferential trade with Kyiv, but was “ready to pay the price” for the EU trade accord.

Ukraine estimates the trade war with Moscow could cost upwards of $600 million (548.6 million euros) next year or about 0.6 percent of its trade turnover.

The EU-Ukraine trade deal was the initial trigger for unrest that culminated in the ousting of former Russia-allied President Victor Yanukovych in 2014. Russia then annexed Crimea and backed a separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine.

http://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-to-impose-tit-for-tat-trade-embargo-on-russia/a-18940722

....gonna be interesting to see how long before the leaders of the glorious revolution will be hanging from light standards around Kiev....because if things continue as they are the glorious revolution is heading for a very very ugly demise...

Cheers

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Re: Re:

you dont read about the US Shale oil prospectors and 'driller'(s) getting hurt as world oil prices go off.

but you tell me that your theory is the Kingdom thing a fire sale of their carbon energy assets is the motive? we aint even at peak oil, you are the deluded one Blutto.

As long as Iran and Iraq are getting squeezed out of a completely free world oil market, you would think that Saud would be seeking to capitalise on the artificially inflated price. demand curves and all. inelastic commodity.

They would not be fire selling, or, fire selling in anticipation of Iraq and Iran coming back onstream and then their prices being reduced in a larger supplier market place....

...read about the recent travails of the US shale, uhhh, industry ?.... nah, I live in a cave away from civilization, though its not all bad, I've got running water and some candles...

....a YED of close to 1 and you say inelastic eh....and you call me deluded...okie dokie.....btw bLACkCaT, that is blutto, all small caps....trust me you don't want to ever deal with Blutto...

....and good luck trying to squeeze that there square peg into that there round hole....

Cheers

blutto do you remember that member on the other thread trying to tell me how the shale oil and gas being a Ponzi scheme? Seems we should have stayed out of that business to keep the Saud's in high prices!

....if that was me I don't remember a thing, I was going thru a crazy period, lost my meds eh....was talking crazy stuff...

....ok... seriously now...yes there has been more than a bit of talk by really smart folks that yes indeed over the long run the shale thingee is a Ponzi scheme....the wells it seems don't produce enough to pay for all of the upfront costs....so yeah all the earmarks of a Ponzi scheme since someone is going to left holding the bag when the wells run dry....

Cheers

It was not you who was talking about the Ponzi scheme of shale thingee. Someone else. I just can't remember and to lazy to go back and look.

Anyhow yes in a way "some" of these wells do not produce enough. The issue is or will be again when the oil price jumps will be --can these companies figure out the process to make the up front cost cheaper. They will eventually. The other issue is ......not every well needs to be drilled. Some are not worth the money.

Shale gas and Shale oil are 2 different issues. Most of the time people do not understand the difference.

 

[python]

Re: Re:

....gonna be interesting to see how long before the leaders of the glorious revolution will be hanging from light standards around Kiev....because if things continue as they are the glorious revolution is heading for a very very ugly demise...

Cheers

that. or suffering their due at the hands of the extreme right wing scum (many call the neo-nazis) the revolutionary clowns nurtured and unleashed...or it could be another revolutionary parliament brawl we all saw on the youtubes, except with the firearms

 

[blutto]

Re: Re:

....gonna be interesting to see how long before the leaders of the glorious revolution will be hanging from light standards around Kiev....because if things continue as they are the glorious revolution is heading for a very very ugly demise...

Cheers

that. or suffering their due at the hands of the extreme right wing scum (many call the neo-nazis) the revolutionary clowns nurtured and unleashed...or it could be another revolutionary parliament brawl we all saw on the youtubes, except with the firearms

...keep the popcorn close at hand as this show may blow at any moment....could end up one heck of a clusterfuck, errr, train wreck....

....and scum you say, I'm afraid you are being altogether too kind....real scum look down their noses on that crew...

Cheers

 

[blutto]

President Obama, like generations of Western leaders, has coddled the oil-rich Saudi monarchy by tolerating its reactionary politics, its financing of radical Islam and its military support for Sunni jihadist terrorism. But the spoiled Saudi leaders may finally be going too far, as Daniel Lazare describes.

By Daniel Lazare

December 23, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - Is the Saudi monarchy coming apart at the seams? Scholars and journalists have long predicted the kingdom’s demise, but this time the forecasts may finally prove correct.

The reason is an unprecedented avalanche of problems pouring down on Saudi Arabia since 79-year-old Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud assumed the throne last January. A hardliner in contrast to his vaguely reformist predecessor Abdullah, Salman lost no time in letting the world know that a new sheriff was in town. He upped the number of public executions, which, at 151, are now running at nearly double last year’s rate.

After meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he promised to intensify efforts to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by increasing aid to Al Nusra, Al Qaeda’s official Syrian affiliate. A few weeks later, he assembled a coalition of nine Sunni Arab states to launch nightly bombing raids on Yemen, quickly reducing one of the poorest countries in the Middle East to ruin.

People certainly took notice. But if Salman thought such actions would win him respect, he was wrong. Instead, the result has been a steady drum beat of negative publicity as the world awakes to the fact that, with its public beheadings and barbaric treatment of women, the Islamic state headed by the House of Saud is little different from the Islamic State headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northern Syria and Iraq.

Topping the kingdom’s list of woes is the economy. With its stubbornly high unemployment rate and growing wealth gap between the rich and poor, Saudi Arabia has long been the sick man of the Persian Gulf. Even though planners have been talking about economic diversification since the 1970s, the kingdom was actually more dependent on oil as of 2013 than 40 years earlier.

“Saudization” of the workforce is another mantra, yet the labor market remains polarized between a private sector dominated by foreign guest workers, mainly from South Asia, and a public sector filled with Saudi “sofa men” who spend their days lounging about in government offices.

Riyadh wishes that young people would take jobs in hotels, oil refineries and the like, but most prefer to wait for a high-paid government sinecure to open up – which is one reason why the jobless rate among young people is as high as 29 percent."

....and...

"Since Shi‘ite-majority Iran and Iraq were conspicuously absent from the list, was the real purpose to fight terrorism or to push a Sunni sectarian agenda? Considering the draconian “anti-terrorism” law that Salman pushed through last March banning everything from atheism to “sowing discord in society,” was the real goal to fight groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda or to ban dissent against the monarch in general?

It’s not hard to see why the Saudi defense chief is now known as “Muhammad the reckless” and why rumblings of a palace coup are beginning to be heard. All too aware of the role that the 1980s oil collapse played in tipping the Soviet Union over the edge, the Saudis, according to one foreign analyst, are determined to avoid anything smacking of perestroika and glasnost:

“The Saudis are obsessed with it, that if they liberalize a little, the whole thing will come apart,” the analyst said. Rather than loosening, they are determined to tighten up all the more even if it means pushing the contradictions to the breaking point.

The West is afraid to push too hard for the same reason. All too aware that the Saudi opposition to the monarchy is dominated by hard-line Islamists rather than nice house-broken liberals, the West’s greatest nightmare is of a failed oil giant sitting on top of 20 percent of the world’s proven reserves as Al Qaeda and ISIS run riot in the streets.

“Get rid of the House of Saud,” observed a senior UK diplomat, “and you will be screaming for them to come back within six months.” After years of feeding the Saudi monster, Western leaders are afraid to stop for fear of making things even worse."


....from... http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43798.htm

....and now for some real out-there weirdness....see the bolded below....
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"A Four-Dimensional Chess Board

The key players in this cesspool of deception and betrayal on almost every side consist of four broad groupings, each with its own divergent goals.

The first group is the ultra-conservative Wahhabite Sunni Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under King Salman and his influential, erratic Defense Minister and son, 31-year-old Prince Salman; President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s war-ready Turkish regime, with the key role being played by his MIT intelligence head, Hakan Fidan; DAESH, or the mis-named Islamic State (IS), which is nothing but a thinly disguised extension of Wahhabite Saudi Arabia, financed by Saudi and Qatari money and backed and trained by Fidan’s MIT. They are recently being joined by the newly-announced 34-state Saudi-created “Islamic Coalition Against Terror,” based in Riyadh.

The second group consists of the Bashar al-Assad legitimate Syrian government, and the Syrian Army and other Syrian forces loyal to him; Shi’ite Iran; the 60% Shi’ite Iraq besieged by the same IS. Since September 30 Putin’s Russia has been a surprise added factor with a daring campaign of military backing for Assad. The second group also includes to varying degrees Assad allies Iran and Iraq, including the Teheran-backed Shi’ite Hezbollah, in fighting DAESH and other anti-regime terror groups in Syria. Since Russia’s entry on September 30 at the behest of the legitimate Syrian President Assad, the fortunes of Damascus have dramatically improved on the ground.

There then comes Netanyahu’s Israel, gleefully deceiving everyone, as it moves its own agenda in Syria. Netanyahu has recently made public strategic alliances with both Saudi Arabia’s Salman and with Turkey’s Erdoğan. Add to that Israel’s recent discovery of “huge” oil reserves in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights being illegally claimed by them, discovered we are told by the Israeli affiliate of a little-known spooky New Jersey oil company, Genie Energy, on whose board sits *** Cheney, Jacob Lord Rothschild and former CIA head James Woolsey.

The fourth group is for the moment playing the most sly, deceptive role of all. It is led by Washington, and using the French, British and German entry into active military actions in Syria. Washington is preparing a devastating trap that will catch the foolish Saudis and their Turkish and other Wahhabite allies in a devastating defeat in Syria and Iraq that will no doubt then be proclaimed as “victory over terrorism” and “victory for the Syrian people.”

Pour it all together, shake vigorously, and you have the ingredients for the most explosive world war cocktail since 1945.

Erdoğan, Salman and the Coming ‘Sunni’ War for Oil
F. William Engdahl
http://journal-neo.org/2015/12/22/erdogan-salman-and-the-coming-sunni-war-for-oil/


Cheers

 

[blutto]

....glorious news from the glorious revolution....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In the meantime, the Ukraine is in full-blown collapse—all five glorious stages of it—setting the stage for a Ukrainian Nightmare Before Christmas, or shortly after.

Phase 1. Financially, the Ukrainian government is in sovereign default as of a couple of days ago. The IMF was forced to break its own rules in order to keep it on life support even though it is clearly a deadbeat. In the process, the IMF stiffed Russia, which happens to be one of its major shareholders; what gives?

Phase 2. Industry and commerce are approaching a standstill and the country is rapidly deindustrializing. Formerly, most of the trade was with Russia; this is now over. The Ukraine does not make anything that the EU might want, except maybe prostitutes. Recently, the Ukraine has been selling off its dirt. This is illegal, but, given what's been happening there, the term “illegal” has become the stuff of comedy.

Phase 3. Politically, the Ukrainian government is a total farce. Much of it has been turned over to fly-by-night foreigners, such as the former Georgian president Saakashvili, who is a wanted criminal in his own country, which has recently stripped him of his citizenship. The parliament is stocked with criminals who bought their seat to gain immunity from prosecution, and who spend their time brawling with each other. Prime Minister Yatsenyuk was recently hauled off the podium by his crotch; how dignified is that? He seemed unfazed. Where are his testicles? Perhaps Victoria Nuland over at the US State Dept. is keeping them in a jar. This sort of action may be fun to watch on Youtube, but the reality is quite sad: those who “run” the Ukraine (if the term still applies) are only interested in one thing: stealing whatever is left.

Phase 4. Ukrainian society (if the term still applies) has been split into a number of warring factions. This was, to some extent, inevitable. What happens if you take bits of Poland, Hungary, Romania and Russia, and stick them together willy-nilly? Well, results may vary; but if you also spend $5 billion US (as the Americans did) turning the Ukrainians against Russia (and, since they are mostly Russian, against themselves), then you get a complete disaster. "

Now, here's what it all really means. With so much going wrong, the Ukraine has been unable to secure enough natural gas or coal supplies to provide a supply cushion in case of a cold snap this winter. A few weeks of frosty weather will deplete the supply, and then pipes will freeze, rendering much of the urban areas unlivable from then on (because, recall, there is no longer any money, or any industry to speak of, to repair the damage). That seems bad enough, but we aren't quite there yet."

...from.... http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43793.htm

....and then there is issue of the 19 or so nuclear reactors in The Ukraine....with the uranium coming from mother Russia and no money for maintenance not a nice future ( either they eventually go dark or blow up big-time and glow forever... ).....

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....gee this is interesting, again....
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Saving their sworn enemy: Heartstopping footage shows Israeli commandos rescuing wounded men from Syrian warzone - but WHY are they risking their lives for Islamic militants?
Elite Israeli troops rescue wounded Syrians from the world's worst war almost every night
They have saved more than 2,000 people since 2013, at a cost of 50 million shekels (£8.7million)
Many are enemies of Israel and some may even be fighters for groups affiliated to Al Qaeda
MailOnline embedded with Israeli commandos stationed on the border between Israel and Syria
Dramatic video filmed by MailOnline and the Israeli army shows these operations taking place
Israel says that the operation is purely humanitarian but analysts believe Israel also has strategic reasons
For more of the latest news updates on the Syrian war visit


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315347/Watch-heart-pounding-moment-Israeli-commandos-save-Islamic-militants-Syrian-warzone-risking-lives-sworn-enemies.html#ixzz3vQrSZG1j
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...and from.... http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/12/25/443152/Daesh-Organ-Harvesting-US/

"The United States says it has obtained a document revealing that the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group has allowed harvesting body organs from their captives.

The memo, found during a US raid in eastern Syria, is dated January 31, 2015, and states that organ harvest is permissible even if it leads to the captive’s death, Reuters reported on Thursday."

....and...

"The May raid in Syria netted seven terabytes of data in the form of computer hard drives, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs and papers, said Brett McGurk, US President Barack Obama's Special Presidential Envoy for the so-called Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.

Aside from materials illustrating ISIL’s engagement in trafficking antiquities, until now none of the seized documents have been released to the public.

Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed Ali Alhakim, recently urged the UN Security Council to review 'evidence' that Daesh could be trafficking in organs to raise cash.

In February, Alhakim had urged the UN Security Council to investigate the deaths of 12 doctors in the ISIL-held city of Mosul. He said the doctors were killed after refusing to remove organs.

The foreign-backed Daesh militants have parts of Syria and Iraq under their control and terrorize the people there through heinous crimes."

....hmmm....organ transplant/harvesting is kinda time sensitive and technology intensive where or where could this lead ?.....because this is all happening in a war zone and all....might be interesting to see if someone in the area has a history of doing just this sort of thing wouldn't it....

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....well, the title says it all don't it eh....

"Syria: It's Not a Civil War and it Never Was"

"Being honest about what sort of conflict Syria is really fighting is the first step in finding a real solution to end it. The West continues to insist this is a "civil war." This allows them to continue trying to influence the outcome of the conflict and the political state Syria will exist in upon its conclusion. By claiming that the Syrian government has lost all legitimacy, the West further strengthens its hand in this context.

Attempts to strip the government of legitimacy predicated on the fact that it stood and fought groups of armed militants arrayed against it by an axis of foreign interests would set a very dangerous and unacceptable precedent. It is no surprise that Syria finds itself with an increasing number of allies in this fight as other nations realize they will be next if the "Syria model" is a success.

Acknowledging that Syria's ongoing conflict is the result of foreign aggression against Damascus would make the solution very simple. The solution would be to allow Damascus to restore order within its borders while taking action either at the UN or on the battlefield against those nations fueling violence aimed at Syria. Perhaps the clarity of this solution is why those behind this conflict have tried so hard to portray it as a civil war.

For those who have been trying to make sense of the Syrian "civil war" since 2011 with little luck, the explanation is simple, it isn't a civil war and it never was. Understanding it as a proxy conflict from the very beginning (or even before it began) will give one a clarity in perception that will aid one immeasurably in understanding what the obvious solutions are, but only when they come to this understanding."

....from... http://landdestroyer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/syria-its-not-civil-war-and-it-never-was.html

....and this extra added bonus... http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/29/doublespeak-unpleasant-reckoning-looming-for-americas-syrian-strategy/

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....exceptional friends doing stuff....from the "friends like etc etc " file...gonna be a great new year...

http://www.ekathimerini.com/204669/article/ekathimerini/news/greek-and-turkish-jets-in-dogfight-over-aegean

"Greek and Turkish jets engaged in a brief dogfight over the Aegean Sea on Tuesday after Turkish aircraft violated Greek national air space several times.

A formation of six Turkish jets, flanked by two CN-235 aircraft that were not in formation, violated Greek air space nine times, according to Greek defense officials.

In all cases the Turkish jets were chased off by Greek aircraft. Two of the eight Turkish aircraft were armed."


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/28/poland-law-curb-power-top-court-end-democracy-andrzej-duda

"The leader of Poland’s new pro-democracy movement said the government has “broken the country” after the president, Andrzej Duda, enacted a measure critics say could open the path to authoritarian rule.


The amendment radically changes how rulings are made by the highest legislative court, the constitutional tribunal, and its signing by Duda follows warnings from the European Union and nationwide street protests.

Poland’s senate votes to curb power of top court

“This is the end of democracy in Poland. They have broken the country,” Mateusz Kijowski told the Guardian. The figurehead of Komitet Obrony Demokracji – whose demonstrations in the past three weeks have drawn tens of thousands of people on to the streets – called for international condemnation of the conservative nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government, which was elected in October."

Cheers

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

....well, the title says it all don't it eh....

"Syria: It's Not a Civil War and it Never Was"

"Being honest about what sort of conflict Syria is really fighting is the first step in finding a real solution to end it. The West continues to insist this is a "civil war." This allows them to continue trying to influence the outcome of the conflict and the political state Syria will exist in upon its conclusion. By claiming that the Syrian government has lost all legitimacy, the West further strengthens its hand in this context.

Attempts to strip the government of legitimacy predicated on the fact that it stood and fought groups of armed militants arrayed against it by an axis of foreign interests would set a very dangerous and unacceptable precedent. It is no surprise that Syria finds itself with an increasing number of allies in this fight as other nations realize they will be next if the "Syria model" is a success.

Acknowledging that Syria's ongoing conflict is the result of foreign aggression against Damascus would make the solution very simple. The solution would be to allow Damascus to restore order within its borders while taking action either at the UN or on the battlefield against those nations fueling violence aimed at Syria. Perhaps the clarity of this solution is why those behind this conflict have tried so hard to portray it as a civil war.

For those who have been trying to make sense of the Syrian "civil war" since 2011 with little luck, the explanation is simple, it isn't a civil war and it never was. Understanding it as a proxy conflict from the very beginning (or even before it began) will give one a clarity in perception that will aid one immeasurably in understanding what the obvious solutions are, but only when they come to this understanding."

....from... http://landdestroyer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/syria-its-not-civil-war-and-it-never-was.html

....and this extra added bonus... http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/29/doublespeak-unpleasant-reckoning-looming-for-americas-syrian-strategy/

Cheers

The second paragraph basically just said screw you to anyone who maybe doesn't want to be oppressed by Assad. Or at least I understood it that way.

 

[blutto]

Re: Re:

....well, the title says it all don't it eh....

"Syria: It's Not a Civil War and it Never Was"

"Being honest about what sort of conflict Syria is really fighting is the first step in finding a real solution to end it. The West continues to insist this is a "civil war." This allows them to continue trying to influence the outcome of the conflict and the political state Syria will exist in upon its conclusion. By claiming that the Syrian government has lost all legitimacy, the West further strengthens its hand in this context.

Attempts to strip the government of legitimacy predicated on the fact that it stood and fought groups of armed militants arrayed against it by an axis of foreign interests would set a very dangerous and unacceptable precedent. It is no surprise that Syria finds itself with an increasing number of allies in this fight as other nations realize they will be next if the "Syria model" is a success.

Acknowledging that Syria's ongoing conflict is the result of foreign aggression against Damascus would make the solution very simple. The solution would be to allow Damascus to restore order within its borders while taking action either at the UN or on the battlefield against those nations fueling violence aimed at Syria. Perhaps the clarity of this solution is why those behind this conflict have tried so hard to portray it as a civil war.

For those who have been trying to make sense of the Syrian "civil war" since 2011 with little luck, the explanation is simple, it isn't a civil war and it never was. Understanding it as a proxy conflict from the very beginning (or even before it began) will give one a clarity in perception that will aid one immeasurably in understanding what the obvious solutions are, but only when they come to this understanding."

....from... http://landdestroyer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/syria-its-not-civil-war-and-it-never-was.html

....and this extra added bonus... http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/29/doublespeak-unpleasant-reckoning-looming-for-americas-syrian-strategy/

Cheers

The second paragraph basically just said screw you to anyone who maybe doesn't want to be oppressed by Assad. Or at least I understood it that way.

....a fair assessment but the situation is most definitely of the rock/hard place variety and Assad is the best of a host of very bad other outcomes....heck polling has shown that given the alternatives Assad even has broad support among Syrian Sunnis....what exactly are the alternatives at this point ?....

....or maybe looking at it from another viewpoint....would the forces that initially backed the invasion have ever allowed true democracy to flourish in Syria ?....the US of A certainly does not have a record of fostering democracy ....the Saudi's are definitely anti-democracy and are more interested in expanding their Sunni based heaven on earth....and the Israelis do not want anything that would allow any Arab state any sort of ability to function as a modern state...

....a truly screwed situation but then it was screwed right from the beginning....there were no good outcomes on the table when this mess began , despite what the aspirational crap the NYT and other official state organs were shovelling was saying...this was not an operation gone wrong, its an operation that just isn't finished in the way success was achieved in Iraq and Libya....

Cheers

 

[python]

Re:

....well, the title says it all don't it eh....

"Syria: It's Not a Civil War and it Never Was"

i am in a festive mood atm and don't feel like debating anything seriously, but frankly, i agree with 'it's not a civil war' and disagree with 'it never was'. the syrian conflict has certainly become a vicious war of proxies, but at some point in 2011 there was a domestic civil discontent ala 'arab sping' (a fundamentally flawed term coined in the west) that grew more bitter by the week to finally spillover...the syrian scenario being different in a way that under both assads the profoundly diverse syrian society, both ethnically and religiously, found a sort of its own uneasy but balance and tolerance. 2 brooklyn syrians (one armenian, another an assyrian) convinced me of that. of course, foreign actors jumped right in once the assad-son showed his teeth which are no different from the dental facilities typical of the region...

anyways, here's a very informative video that's right to the point of the syrian proxies..it's a recording of the doha brookings panel discussion. the panelists appear very informed, though clearly anti-assad... no saliva, no spinning - just cool, reasoned opinions on the us impotence, the saudis, the russian injection, the kurdish mess etc...and i learned a lot (both 'white men' apparently speak arabic judging by their pronouncement of arabic names)..it's about 90 mins but well worth the time.

War and peace by proxy? The impacts of outside actors on the war in Syria
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2015/12/22-event-summary-outside-actors-in-syria-alhashemi

 

[blackcat]

Re: Re:

....well, the title says it all don't it eh....

"Syria: It's Not a Civil War and it Never Was"

i am in a festive mood atm and don't feel like debating anything seriously, but frankly, i agree with 'it's not a civil war' and disagree with 'it never was'. the syrian conflict has certainly become a vicious war of proxies, but at some point in 2011 there was a domestic civil discontent ala 'arab sping' (a fundamentally flawed term coined in the west) that grew more bitter by the week to finally spillover...the syrian scenario being different in a way that under both assads the profoundly diverse syrian society, both ethnically and religiously, found a sort of its own uneasy but balance and tolerance. 2 brooklyn syrians (one armenian, another an assyrian) convinced me of that. of course, foreign actors jumped right in once the assad-son showed his teeth which are no different from the dental facilities typical of the region...

anyways, here's a very informative video that's right to the point of the syrian proxies..it's a recording of the doha brookings panel discussion. the panelists appear very informed, though clearly anti-assad... no saliva, no spinning - just cool, reasoned opinions on the us impotence, the saudis, the russian injection, the kurdish mess etc...and i learned a lot (both 'white men' apparently speak arabic judging by their pronouncement of arabic names)..it's about 90 mins but well worth the time.

War and peace by proxy? The impacts of outside actors on the war in Syria
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2015/12/22-event-summary-outside-actors-in-syria-alhashemi

Pyth, what even adds another level of intrigue is the Seymour Hersh article in London Review of Books, which set me right on the possiblity of potential dirty tricks from the Americans bringing down the Russian airliner.

The American and Russian militaries have maintained good relations since the cold war, and operate and relate on completely different terms than The State Department and Whitehouse and Kremlin.

we are just plebs afterall.

 

[rhubroma]

The sheik Nimr al-Nimr, sciite opposition leader of Saudi Arabia, was decapitated along with 46 others for supposedly inciting "sectarian violence." A noted opposer to the majority sunni monarchy, al-Nimr's death has triggered a vehement reaction from Iran, which said the Saudi monarchy shall pay dearly for his execution.

Saudi Arabia plays the double-handed game of being a US ally and sustainer of the jihadists.The rebel Houthi sciites of Yemen, the sciite Supreme Council of Lebenon and the Lebanese sciite Hezbollah movement, Iran's ally, have unanimously condemned the Saudi regime, adding that they retain "the USA and its allies" to be "responsible" for the executions, because they "cover the crimes of the Saudi Kingdom against its own people and those of the region." Oil can certainly permit anything, but I'm wondering what the US and Israeli reaction is to these facts.

 

[Amsterhammer]

Re:

The sheik Nimr al-Nimr, sciite opposition leader of Saudi Arabia, was decapitated along with 46 others for supposedly inciting "sectarian violence." A noted opposer to the majority sunni monarchy, al-Nimr's death has triggered a vehement reaction from Iran, which said the Saudi monarchy shall pay dearly for his execution.

Saudi Arabia plays the double-handed game of being a US ally and sustainer of the jihadists.The rebel Houthi sciites of Yemen, the sciite Supreme Council of Lebenon and the Lebanese sciite Hezbollah movement, Iran's ally, have unanimously condemned the Saudi regime, adding that they retain "the USA and its allies" to be "responsible" for the executions, because they "cover the crimes of the Saudi Kingdom against its own people and those of the region." Oil can certainly permit anything, but I'm wondering what the US and Israeli reaction is to these facts.

The biggest mass execution in 35 years...the Saudis, you say? Our biggest and absolute (word used advisedly) bestest Arab good buddies, a regional pillar of strength and stability....nothing to see here, move along.