Tag Archives: Russia

Sierra Club Says Saudis Their ‘Best Ally’ in Fighting Keystone

Posted on by

House of Saud

[The new Best Friends of the Sierra Club. Eco-Fascists, anyone?]

Sounds kind of strange to you?

It sounded kind of strange to me.

Although, it would be a “given” that the Sierra Club would oppose Keystone XL pipeline, which would help to make the US even more independent from Blood Oil and Conflict Oil directly from the Middle East and other trouble nations.

From the WashingtonFreeBeacon.com:

Sierra Club: Saudi Arabia ‘Our Best Ally’ in Keystone Fight

by Lachlan Markay

Leading environmentalist group heaps praise on Arab monarchy’s attempt to undermine U.S. oil production.

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to “drown” American energy producers make the oil-rich theocracy a crucial ally of the environmentalist movement, according to a leading green group.

The House of Saud, the kingdom’s royal family, is “our best ally in the fight against Keystone XL,” according to Paul Rauber, the senior editor of Sierra, the bi-monthly magazine published by the Sierra Club, a leading environmentalist group.

President Barack Obama has threatened to veto legislation expediting approval of the pipeline. However, Rauber said that the government of Saudi Arabia has done more to scuttle Keystone.

“Environmentalists are depending on President Barack Obama’s veto pen to block the project—at least until the State Department issues its final ruling in the matter,” Rauber wrote. “But we have another, even more potent ally in the fight: the House of Saud.”

As a leading member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Saudi Arabia has strongly opposed cuts in production that would buoy the plummeting price of crude oil.

The idea is to make oil so cheap that American producers can’t extract it economically. The current surge in U.S. oil production is a result of expensive extraction techniques—hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling—that could be cost-prohibitive if oil prices fall much further.

According to Rauber, OPEC’s efforts may also render the Keystone pipeline moot by forcing prices too low for the expensive refining process of heavy Canadian “oil sands” crude.

We already know that Russia, Iran and Venezuela are claiming that the drop in global oil prices are the result of a vast American conspiracy.  Russia, Iran and Venezuela depend mightily on the profits from oil sales and need it to keep their countries functioning and keep their current leaders in power.  Gwynne Dyer in Hurriet of Turkey calls this strategy “fiendishly clever” on the part of the US.

There’s one problem.  Russia, Iran and Venezuela aren’t glimpsing the big picture.  And Saudi Arabia is big enough, wealthy enough and canny enough to play the Long Game.

The Long Game is this: Saudi Arabia hasn’t slowed oil production on its end for a very important reason.  The US is now the world’s leading producer of oil and could become even bigger.  Fracking was the difference.  But to make fracking possible, oil has to come in at roughly $85 a barrel in order to make the investment worthy.  Fracking is complicated and expensive.

All Saudi Arabia has to do, to keep a chokehold on fracking, is not turn the faucet off or down.  Keep up production.  Oil falls below $85 and fracking becomes unprofitable for companies in the US.  Workers have already been laid off and some wells shut down.

The winner?  Saudi Arabia.  They can afford to sit while a few billion dollars percolate.

And?  Oh yeah.  That cheap oil?

Gonna go up again.  Mark my words.

In the meantime: a tip of the fedora to the good, old Sierra Club.

Fucktards.

BZ

 

 Share

Crimean P.M. mocks Obama in faked Russian uniform on Twitter

Posted on by

Obama in a Russian UniformFrom the WashingtonTimes.com:

So the prime minister of Crimea has a sense of humor — and he unleashed it at the White House on Monday, sending out a mocking Photoshopped photograph of President Obama wearing a Russian military uniform.

And the accompanying translated text — take or leave a couple of pronouns — that’s attributed from Sergey Aksyonov, as reported by The Huffington Post: “Interestingly, after the success of the company in returning Crimea, Barack is getting the rank of colonel?”

And who said Russians have no sense of humor?

BZ

 

 Share

Violence in Kiev: anti-government demonstrations leave 18 dead so far

Posted on by

A repeat of Tianamen Square?

Kiev Clashes and ViolenceFrom BBCNews.com:

Ukraine: Deadly clashes around parliament in Kiev

Violent clashes have erupted during anti-government protests in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, with at least nine people, including two policemen, dead.

In the worst violence in weeks, police used rubber bullets and stun grenades as thousands of protesters marching on parliament.

A deadline set by the security forces for the violence to end has passed with no immediate sign of police action.

The clashes came as MPs were due to debate changes to the constitution.

The proposals would curb the powers of President Viktor Yanukovych, but the opposition say they were blocked from submitting their draft, meaning no debate could take place.

Ukraine’s government had apparently been attempting to hook up more closely to Russia and Vladimir Putin.  That seemingly began to unsettle the proletariat.

Ukraine’s unrest began in November, when Mr Yanukovych rejected a deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.

The mood had calmed in recent days, but protest camps remain on the streets and the opposition – which insists the president must resign – had warned the government it risked inflaming tensions if it failed to act.

You can be guaranteed that Russian troops are in Kiev even at this very moment.  And there are explosions occurring in Kiev presently.

In the meantime, America media is silent on this.  John Kerry is silent on this.  Kerry believes that carbon is the largest threat to the world.  And Obama is — as per normal — doing two things: 1) He is monitoring, and 2) He is concerned.

Concurrently, Venezuela is falling apart by the numbers.  It is one of the major sources for our imported oil, I should offer, just behind Mexico.  Disburbance in the oil supply, anyone?

And America’s so-called “leaders” are silent and vacuous.

Putin invaded Georgia.  Will he decide to invade Ukraine?

BZ

UPDATE:

Mr Obama has weighed in.  He “condemns.”  He also “monitors.”  He is, of course, “concerned.”

 

 Share

Syria: some sources indicate US strikes to begin within 24 hours

Posted on by

Evil US vs President AssadAnd Greta Van Susteren is on early and extended.

I still say: going into Syria is completely unnecessary and wrong.  It will be a quagmire to be used against the United States.  I don’t see good things coming out of this for either the US or Israel.  Mostly, Mr Obama couldn’t care less about either one.

Syria AttackAssad knows we’re coming, he reads newspapers too.  Whatever strategic materiel may have existed in specific places — are now quite likely moved.  Just as Syria received the WMD and gas from Iraq under Saddam Hussein.  Where, for example, do you think Syria acquired the gas for their most recent play time?

When you broadcast a time and a date, Mr Obama, then people will respond.  You are apparently transparent in your transnational attacks, but opaque when dealing with domestic issues.  How nice to know.

And smacking Syria, roughly a week after the event, is like walking up to your dog — a week after he shat in your boots — and smacking him with a newspaper.  It’s pointless.

The dog doesn’t make the connection, nothing is learned, behavior isn’t corrected, and the dog begins to make plans to kill you in your sleep.

BZ

Obama & Syria

 

 Share

Pentagon Shoots Down Kerry’s Syria Airstrike Plan

Posted on by

120510-D-NI589-432There have been any number of movies portraying the American military as inept, bloodthirsty, bent on killing, incompetent, blundering, blithering idiots.

And frequently those adjectives are completely applicable to the civilian overlords of our military forces.  To wit, from Bloomberg.com:

Pentagon Shoots Down Kerry’s Syria Airstrike Plan

By Jeffrey Goldberg Jun 18, 2013 12:40 PM PT

Twenty years ago, in a debate over the war in Bosnia, Madeleine Albright, then the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, issued a challenge to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell. Albright wanted the U.S. to confront an aggressive Serbia; Powell and the Pentagon were hesitant. Albright grew frustrated: “What’s the point of having this superb military that you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?” Albright asked. Powell later said that he thought Albright was going to give him an aneurysm.

An issue of the civilian federal government simply declaring that there will be faeries and unicorns issuing from the US military.

But the response from a US Army General, Martin Dempsey, who may actually possess an intact and full set of testicles?  Read on:

Dempsey informed Kerry that the Air Force could not simply drop a few bombs, or fire a few missiles, at targets inside Syria: To be safe, the U.S. would have to neutralize Syria’s integrated air-defense system, an operation that would require 700 or more sorties. At a time when the U.S. military is exhausted, and when sequestration is ripping into the Pentagon budget, Dempsey is said to have argued that a demand by the State Department for precipitous military action in a murky civil war wasn’t welcome.

As in: we did this before.  As in: you Blithering Idiots may want to re-think doing this again.

BZ

P.S.
How to do it?  Perhaps people could actually read Popular Mechanics.

Finally: NOT interfering in Syria is not inherent “Isolationism.”  I portray it as simple common sense.

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense K.T. McFarland said:

“The cardinal rule in Washington is that if you have two enemies fighting each other, do not try to step in and stop them.”

 Share