Page 1 of 21 1234511 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 312

Thread: Don't blame the oil 'speculators'

  1. #1 | Top
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Convington, La
    Posts
    22,763
    Thanks
    2,261
    Thanked 543 Times in 432 Posts
    Groans
    1,642
    Groaned 623 Times in 562 Posts

    Default Don't blame the oil 'speculators'

    Don't blame the oil 'speculators'
    A campaign in Congress to punish traders for record oil prices reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of how futures markets work.

    NEW YORK (Fortune) -- "Make no mistake about it," U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said Monday while chairing a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. "Excessive speculation in commodity markets is having a devastating effect at the gas pump that is rippling through our entire economy."

    Here's a suggestion: The next time a Congressional committee wants to hold a hearing on how "speculators" are driving up oil prices, each committee member should first be required to demonstrate - preferably in their opening remarks - a basic understanding of the mechanics of futures trading.

    Even better, they should be required to explain in detail how it is that investors who never take delivery of a single barrel of crude - and thus never remove a drop of oil from the open market - are causing record high oil prices.

    If there were such a requirement, I guarantee we'd never again see a circus like the one Stupak presided over Monday.

    "Do I think [Washington politicans] understand the role of futures markets - how they facilitate price discovery and the transference of risk?" asks former U.S. Commodities Futures Trade Commission chief economist Gerald Gay. "No, they're clueless - at least most of them."
    Bad public policy

    If our representatives did understand the oil markets, they'd know that the true telltale sign of a speculative bubble is not rising trading volumes but rising oil inventories. Speculators would be hoarding oil - building up inventories either in anticipation of higher prices or as part of a scheme to drive prices there. Yet according to the Department of Energy, U.S. oil inventories are now at below-average levels. U.S. oil stocks stand at 309 million barrels, versus 330 million in June 2005.

    So far, lawmakers have introduced nine different bills targeting oil speculators, though for the most part their prescriptions have been milder than their over-the-top rhetoric .

    Bashing futures traders may well be good politics, but it's stupid public policy. By providing a mechanism for locking in prices, the futures market makes it easier for oil companies to make costly investments in new production - which is the key to lowering prices at the pump.

    Futures trading also discourages hoarding in an otherwise tight market. Without speculators willing to take the other side of so many futures contracts, oil refiners and other end-users might be inclined to ramp up their spot-market purchases and store more oil as a hedge against further price increases.

    And, of course, any increased draw on current supplies would lead to even higher oil and gasoline prices. Indeed, without a futures market, I believe we'd be decrying oil at $200 a barrel oil instead of oil at $135.
    What do you think? Are 'speculators' scapegoats?

    A more basic misconception in Washington involves what these so-called speculators are really buying. They're not buying oil, they're buying futures, and this is a crucial distinction. A futures contract is an agreement between a buyer and a seller to deliver a set amount of oil - typically 1,000 barrels - at a specific price on a specific date. The value of that contract rises and falls, depending upon market conditions, right up until the date of delivery.

    Thing is, the pension funds, index funds, hedge funds and other so-called speculators almost never take delivery of any oil. The typical investment fund will buy, say, the August oil future and then sell it days before it comes due - typically rolling over the proceeds into the next month's contract.

    "For speculators to be propping up the price of oil, they somehow have to be taking physical oil off the market," says energy markets expert Craig Pirrong, a finance professor at the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business.

    Pirrong points out that when the federal government decided to bolster cheese prices in the 1970s, it did so by purchasing warehouses full of cheese and keeping it off the market. "Well, where's the cheese now?" Pirrong asks. "Where's all the oil that the speculators have held off the market?"

    Even if you believe there's no way that oil trading volumes could be soaring without influencing oil prices, remember that influence then has to run two ways.

    If an index fund is indirectly driving up spot oil prices every time it buys a future, then the converse must be true, too - there must be an equal and opposite downward push on spot prices every time that future is sold. In other words, futures market critics can't have it both ways.

    There's something else politicians conveniently overlook: futures trading requires two to tango. For every investor who is betting oil prices will go up, there also needs to be an investor willing to take the opposite side of that bet.

    In the past, there have been times when the overwhelming majority of speculators were "longs" betting on higher prices, while their commercial-trader counterparts - i.e. traders working for oil refiners, airlines, and other end-users of oil - were the "shorts" betting prices would fall.

    But as New York Mercantile Exchange Chairman James Newsome explained to Stupak's Congressional committee, today's speculators are evenly split between shorts and longs. Moreover, the percentage of futures contracts held by speculators (as opposed to commercial traders) "actually decreased over the last year," Newsome told the subcommittee, "even at the same time that [oil] prices were increasing."

  2. #2 | Top
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    205
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    1. The real reason of high oil price

    No question the oil price is caused by speculators. Who are those speculators? The financial group which control US economy. They have to do so to avoid an economic collapse. The direct reason for the oil to jump from $90/barrel to $138 is because Iran abandons US dollars as oil trade currency. To block that petro-dollar going back to US, they have to raise the oil price. From this point of view, Iran war is unavoidable.

    Here is an article I wrote two years ago

    437. Manipulate oil price (9/20/2006)

    After Bush took the presidency, he created a huge budget deficit, and a huge trade deficit as well. The deficit will cause a big inflation. So Federal Reserve has to raise the interest rate to deal with it. In June 2006, the overnight interest rate was raised to 5.25%. The Federal 10 years treasury bill was 5.25% too. The 30 years fix mortgage rate reached its recent high: 6.93%. Although this rate is still low viewed from history, it touches off a down turn of the real estate market. Because the price of house is stretched too tight that a tiny increase of the mortgage rate will cause a big change.

    Feds hold a large quantity of houses in my case, they tried their best to keep the property value. What we saw are: Federal Reserve stops its step to raise the interest rate. Oil price declined. The rate of bonds goes down. So does the mortgage rate. From June to September, the bench mark rate of Federal funds stays at 5.25%. The rate of 10 year treasury note drops to 4.73% from 5.25%. The 30 years mortgage rate is 6.44% now.

    Today you only pay 4.73% interest rate for a ten years long term loan but have to pay 5.25% rate for an overnight loan. Does that mean there will be no inflation within ten years? Or even mean there is a deflation? With common sense you know it's impossible as long as the oil price doubled in one year. All these were done by Feds to protect their property value so you saw these strange phenomenon.

    1. Oil price.
    The result of a big trade deficit is that foreign countries hold a large amount of US dollar. When US has not enough goods or assets to exchange these dollars back, it has to think of a way to make these countries to keep the dollar instead of dumping it. One way is to push up the oil price.

    A country which consumes one million barrel of oil a year has to keep 30 million dollars in bank (when oil price is at 30 dollars/ barrel) Then how much should it reserve if the oil price jumped from 30/barrel to 60/barrel? It has to double its dollar reserve to 60 millions. So large amount of dollars were locked up in bank as oil payment (Dollar is the appointed currency in oil trading.)

    Now you know why the oil price jumped so high. It is used to solve the deficit problem of US. To delay the US financial crisis. Who benefit from it?
    (1) Oil export country.(Though much of them are Islamic countries which US dislike. There is no choice.)
    (2) Speculator (mostly oil groups). They bought in large quantity of future contracts in a short period. Say, from 30/bar to 60/bar, the average price paid was 45/bar. Then when the market was steady at 60/bar to 75/bar, they sold it at average of 67.5/bar. Their profit is 22.5/bar.
    (3) Federal Reserve and US economy. Federal Reserve can avoid to pay a high interest rate in order to lure the dollar in. US can avoid a financial crises.

    The loser is always the average people. They have to take the final cost - a higher gas price.

    But it's a double side sword. High oil price will also cause inflation to force the rising of interest rate. When it endangers real estate market, then we saw a dramatic decline of oil price. (from 75/bar/Aug 3 to 60/bar/Sept 19, a 20% decline in 6 weeks.) After all, the interest of Feds, is above everything else.

    To keep in mind that when the oil price went up this year, it's not that oil supply was in shortage. And when the oil price drops recently, it's not that there is less demand. It's not a market economy any more. It's an artificial manipulating market.

    Greenspan knew it. But he could only say what he was allowed to say.
    Quote, "The former Fed chief also detailed how investors, rather than users of oil, have come to set the price of oil through purchasing futures contracts."

  3. #3 | Top
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    71,650
    Thanks
    6,590
    Thanked 12,126 Times in 9,657 Posts
    Groans
    14
    Groaned 503 Times in 476 Posts
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    They do hoard supply to drive up prices. They use envrionmentalist idiocy to get government to keep it off limits (hoarded underground), I.e. anwr.

  4. #4 | Top
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    205
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    2. How US takes advantage on Petro-dollars? It is a long term loan without interest.

    US printed some paper in green, call it dollar. US buys clothes, shoes from other countries with dollars. Other countries then buy food, planes from US with the dollars they earned. That's normal trade. But petrol dollar is different. When US pay dollar for some merchandise from other country, the other country use it as payment in oil trading. Since oil trading needs large amount of money, and dollar is apointed as trading money, huge amount of money are reserved in bank for oil trading. That is petro-dollar. That's how US turns a piece of paper into a long term non interest loan bill.

    It is just like US bought a house from Japan for one million dollars. Japan keeps that money in bank as payment for oil. Normally, US has to pay monthly mortgage for that house. But with petro dollar, US enjoys a house almost free. All its cost is the printing of green paper. US doesn't have to pay a penny of interest, as long as the principle. How long is that long term loan? As long as the dollar is appointed oil trading currency.

    But now is different, Iran refuses to accept dollars. Japan has to change it into other currency. Theoretically, US has to take it back by merchandise. But US can't. It has a trade dificit already. US also has no enough gold or foreign currency reserve to exchange the petro- dollar back. What it does is to push up the oil price - let other countries to absorb the petro-dollar Japan dumped in the market.

    US is a rich country. Partly because it enjoys a long term non interest loan. As oil trading is a big business, what a huge amount of money is locked in it? Or in another word, what a big debt US has had? Since US spent too much and hasn't save something, when others want it to pay the debt, a trick to avoid payment is to push up the oil price. And the next step, as we all see, is to justify an excuse to have a war on Iran.

  5. #5 | Top
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    205
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    3. It's not supply and demand. It's US manipulating the oil price by oil reserve and future contract.

    (1) Quote, "The former Fed chief also detailed how investors, rather than users of oil, have come to set the price of oil through purchasing futures contracts." Though Greespan use "investors" instead of "speculators".

    (2) From supply side:

    08-03-05. OPEC to maintain current production; blames US for economic ’mismanagement’
    Published: Wednesday, March 5, 2008 * 3:03 PM ET
    Canadian Press: William Kole, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
    OPEC President Chakib Khelil told reporters the global market is being affected by what he called "the mismanagement of the U.S. economy," and that America's problems were a key factor in the cartel's decision to hold off on any action.

    "If the prices are high, definitely they are not due to a lack of crude. They are due to what's happening in the U.S.," Khelil said. "There is sufficient supply. There's plenty of oil there."
    Though Khelil uses "US economy" instead of "speculators".

    (3) From demand side:

    Quote, "Shell CEO says record oil not due to shortage
    Thu May 22, 2008 5:24pm BST
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt...32289720080522

    (4) What US Senate Committee found:

    Quote, "The real reason why oil prices are rising

    June 02, 2008
    ...........
    The finding of US Senate Committee in 2006
    In June 2006, when the oil price in the futures markets was about $60 a barrel, a Senate Committee in the US probed the role of market speculation in oil and gas prices. The report points out that large purchase of crude oil futures contracts by speculators has, in effect, created additional demand for oil and in the process driven up the future prices of oil.......
    The report further estimated that speculative purchases of oil futures had added as much as $20-25 per barrel to the then prevailing price of $60 per barrel. In today's prices of approximately $130 per barrel, this means that approximately $100 per barrel could be attributed to speculation!...

    *What is interesting to note is that the US strategic oil reserves were at approximately 350 million barrels for a decade till 2006. However, for the past year and a half these reserves have doubled to more than 700 million barrels. Naturally, this build-up of strategic oil reserves by the US (of 350 million barrels) is adding enormous pressure on the oil demand and consequently its prices.

    http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jun/02mrv.htm

  6. #6 | Top
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    205
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    4. Oil price goes up when Iran abandon Dollar as its oil trade currency. Time table:

    (1) (Intention period)

    In the end of 2006 and early 2007, the oil price was about $60/barrel. When Iran expressed its intention to use the euro for foreign transactions.

    It was about $70/barrel in early July/07. In six months, it rose 10 dollars per barrel.

    06-12-18. Iran scraps Dollar, takes on Euro
    Mon. 18 Dec 2006
    Iran Focus

    Tehran, Iran, Dec. 18 - Iran's central bank will begin to use the euro for foreign transactions, replacing the long-established dollar system, government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham told reporters during his weekly press conference on Monday.

    http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/new...p?storyid=9533

    (2) Practising period.

    From early July 2007 to the end of January 2008, in seven months, oil price rose from $60/barrel to $95/barrel. In this period, Iran completed its oil trading from dollar to foreign currency.

    Quote, " Iran wants yen
    July 13/2007 (Bloomberg) -- Iran asked Japanese refiners to switch to the yen to pay for all crude oil purchases, after Iran's central bank said it is reducing holdings of the U.S. dollar."

    (3) Expand to future deal.

    Early February 2008 to 7/4/2008, oil price was pushed up from $95 to $147 a barrel. That's a $50 dollars inflation in five months. Why I start this period from Februry 2008? Because Iran's Bourse innaugurated on Feb.17. When the oil customers of Iran have to buy the future contract by reserving more foreign currency in the bank, US has to push up the price, let other OPEC customers absorb the Petro-dollars dumped by Iran customers.

    Quote, "Iran Oil Bourse to deal blow to dollar

    Fri, 04 Jan 2008
    The long-awaited Iranian Oil Bourse, a place for trading oil, petrochemicals and gas in various non-dollar currencies, will soon open.

    Iran's Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari told reporters the bourse will be inaugurated during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (February 1-11) at the latest.

    Some expert opinions hold inauguration of the bourse cold significantly devalue the greenback.

    http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?i...onid=351020103

    08-03-01. Iran shifts oil sales away from dollar
    Sat, 01 Mar 2008
    Deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company for international affairs says Iran has completely dropped dollar in its oil sales.

    In an interview with The Financial Times, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard said that over the past three months, Iran has received 75 percent of the proceeds from its oil sales in euros and the remaining 25 percent in the Japanese currency, yen.

    http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id...onid=351020102

  7. #7 | Top
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    205
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    High oil price (5) (7/29/08)

    In Oil (4) I talked about Iran intended to turn the oil trading from dollar into euro in December 2006. Did Iran deliberately do that? Read the following information:
    468. Follow up to #467, #461 and #462 (2/20/07)

    On 1/15 and 1/20, I wrote #461 and #462, alleged that US had set up a Euro trap for Iran: If the December plot started, Euro would collapse due to the collapse of WANTA fund and the shortage of oil supply to the Europe. Iran not only would be bombed, but also suffered a huge loss in finance. On 2/1, an article proved the correctness of my analysis.

    Re: "The War on Iran
    Thursday, 01 February 2007
    By Stephen Gowans

    In Paulson’s view, Iran is still a major player globally, and needs to suffer the same pariah treatment. (New York Times, September 17, 2006) In October, US Treasury Department officials banned US banks from facilitating transactions involving Iran’s state-owned Bank Saderat. In January, the ban was widened to include another Iranian bank, Bank Sepah.

    When Iran sells oil to a customer in Germany, the German customer asks a European bank to deposit US dollars into an Iranian bank account. The European bank then arranges for the transfer of US dollars from a US bank to an Iranian bank account in Europe. Paulson’s ban prohibits US banks from transferring funds if Bank Saderat and Bank Sepah are involved. (New York Times, October 16, 2006) With oil sales denominated in US dollars, the aim is to impede Iran’s ability to sell oil. The way around the US manoeuvre is to sell oil in Euros, something Iran has already begun to do. (New York Times, January 10, 2007)

    This would seem to be a simple enough way of beating the US at its own game. It also raises questions about the prudence of compelling Iran to switch to Euros, since a change to Euros, if adopted by a number of oil-exporting countries, would push down the value of the US greenback. US investment banker John Hermann, a comptroller of currency in the Carter administration, wonders whether the US is shooting itself in the foot. (New York Times, October 16, 2006)

    http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/261/52/

    In October, US blocked the financial transaction between US banks and major Iran bank which forced Iran to turn on to Euro instead of Dollar in oil trading. Two months later, if the December plot succeeded, Iran would suffer a big loss in finance. The US investment banker John Hermann wonders whether the US is shooting itself in the foot then. He wouldn't have that puzzle if he reads my messages."

    It's no others but US himself who forced Iran to turn on Euro. In December 2006 they set up a Euro trap. But the plot went soured. Since the process is irreversible, and the Feds is unwilling to raise the interest, to save the dollar, they have to push up the oil price. We the people have to eat the bad fruit planted by the Feds.

    Someone or a group inside the government created a situation to make war on Iran.

  8. #8 | Top
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    205
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    6. Media's mind control (oil price 6) (8/12/08)

    You may have noticed that all the information I referred to were from internet. The only mainstream newspaper in my area is San Jose Mercury. There is none news about Iran turns onto Euro and Japanese yen instead of dollar in oil trading, let alone the news that US treasury department banned the transactions between US banks and Iran's. There is no news about the Iranian Oil Bourse which was inaugurated on February 17, 2008 in a video conference ceremony from Tehran. The Iran oil trading transactions are made in Iranian rial and other major currencies since. This news is very important since it is a big turning point in US policy. Many big events were caused by this inauguration of Iranian Oil Bourse. I'll talk about it later.

    The news which filled in tv screen and newspaper page are: Iran's speed boat charg at US vessel; Iran had missile test; Iranian training militias in Iraq; Iran rejects nuclear proposal; Nuclear program could result in more sanctions...... Iran is tarnished as a terrorist.

    The similar tactic was seen before Iraq war when Saddam Hussain was described as a major threat to US. The false flag for Iraq is WMD; for Iran is its nuclear program. The real reason are the same: Both Iraq and Iran abandoned US dollars as currency in oil trading.

    Saddam turned on to Euro in oil trading in 2000. In the end of that year, Bush got the seat of US president in a controversial election. When Clinton left the White House, he also left with a historical surplus in budget. There was no reason Demo would lose the 2000 president election. But what inside group needed was a war. In negotiation behind the curtain, Bush won the deal. He sold his soul to a devil by promising an unjust war - Iraq war. He was granted president. Of course, to justify the war, they prepared a false flag terror attack. Six months after Bush's inauguration, WTC changed hands. (Silverstein got the lease in July, 01) If you want to plant explosive in the building covertly without being aware by anyone else, you had to control the ownership of the building. Eight months later, we saw 911 attack.

    The media waved the terror intimidation on people, targeted at Iraq then and now at Iran. Media censored every word on 911 truth even though there are a lot of flaws in this false flag attack and rarely talk about the story how Iran abandoned dollars as its oil trading currency. This is how the inside group control public's opinion by media. They wash your brain with the information they want you to know and censor the truth they want to hide from you. With media they play people as fools.

    Media used to censor the news of US military threat on Iran, here is the recent one:

    Quote, "Massive US Naval Armada Heads For Iran

    Thursday, August 7, 2008
    The lead American ship in these war games, the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN71) and its Carrier Strike Group Two (CCSG-2) are now headed towards Iran along with the USS Ronald Reagon (CVN76) and its Carrier Strike Group Seven (CCSG-7) coming from Japan.

    They are joining two existing USN battle groups in the Gulf area: the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN72) with its Carrier Strike Group Nine (CCSG-9); and the USS Peleliu (LHA-5) with its expeditionary strike group.

    Likely also under way towards the Persian Gulf is the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) and .....

    http://europebusines.blogspot.com/20...-for-iran.html

    Will we see a big operation in near future? (Before we see the end of Olympic Games in China and the finish of Georgia war for Russia)

  9. #9 | Top
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    61,320
    Thanks
    7,144
    Thanked 8,821 Times in 6,166 Posts
    Groans
    5,805
    Groaned 1,532 Times in 1,444 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AssHatZombie View Post
    They do hoard supply to drive up prices. They use envrionmentalist idiocy to get government to keep it off limits (hoarded underground), I.e. anwr.
    It seems that AssHat has found a kindred spirit in this conspiracy theory bot.
    "Do not think that I came to bring peace... I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34

  10. #10 | Top
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    205
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    7. The big events relate to the Iran oil Bourse (8/22/08)

    (1) Undersea cable cuts.

    Iran's oil Bourse was planed to open during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (February 1-11) at the latest. It finally inaugurated on Feb. 17. What caused the delay? The communication problem - in a week or so, there were five under sea cable cuts.

    2/3/08. Quote, "US Crashes Internet In Middle East After Saudi Threat, Russia Responds With Air Forces

    By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

    February 3, 2008
    Reports circulating in the Kremlin today are painting a grim picture of just how desperate US War Leaders have become as their economy continues its freefall towards total bankruptcy by their crashing of Global Internet access for the Middle East’s banking centers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Iran, UAR, Turkey and Kuwait.

    The significance to the severing of these cables is the Middle East Banking Centers being denied access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), based in Brussels and which carries up to 12.7 million messages a day containing instructions on many of the International transfers of money between banks, lies in Saudi Arabia, or any other Middle East Nation, being unable to change their previously, before loss of communication, encoded currency instructions from being changed.

    http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1067.htm

    2/4/08. Conspiracy Theories and Cut InterTube Cables”

    “February 4, 2008 - Fourth Undersea Fiber Optic Cable Cut. Cable linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates was damaged on Sunday, February 3, causing more telecommunication disruptions.

    This month, Iran was supposed to open its own bourse, trading oil and oil futures in Euros and other currencies, but not the dollar. Delinking oil from the dollar would protect Iran from Bush's spendthrift invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the resulting collapse of the US dollar.

    http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?I...ry=Environment


    2/6/08. Submarine Cables, Subsidiares and Subversion
    The Iranian oil bourse was going to be a stock market for petroluem, petrochemicals and gas. What’s the big catch here? The exchange planned on being ran with currencies excluding the U.S. dollar. ...... So, obviously, the U.S. is not going to be happy about this. The biggest piece of information linking this to the recent damages is the proposed location of the bourse: the island of Kish. This is the island that is RIGHT NEXT TO at least two of the cuts that have recently occurred:
    Some of you may suddenly be thinking to yourselves that this sounds familiar. That’s because the last person who decided to stop using the U.S. dollar for trading oil was a man by the name of Saddam Hussein in the fall of 2000.
    [UPDATE: To further add to this argument, this would not be the first time the U.S. would have disrupted submarine cables to further themselves in times of war or conflict. (Operation Ivy Bells <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ivy_Bells>) (Previous NSA Submarine Wiretaps <http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-529826.html?legacy=zdnn>)]
    http://www.ilovebonnie.net/2008/02/0...nd-subversion/

    2/9/08. 5th cable cut fuels allegations of isolating Iran

    Leslie D`Monte & Rajesh S Kurup / Mumbai February 9, 2008
    Conspiracy theories of deliberately cutting communication lines to West Asia, primarily Iran, gained ground in the media and blogs as reports of another undersea cable cut - the fifth successive one in just a week's time - started emerging in cyberspace. While the extent of Iran's isolation was unclear, many blogs alleged that the cable cuts and outages in West Asia were a ploy by an intelligence agency to disrupt Iranian commerce, targeting an emerging petroleum exchange that the country was shortly hoping to roll out.

    http://www.business-standard.com/com...&autono=313112

    If a store refuses to accept someone's cheque due to his bad credit record, can that man intrude into the store and kill the manager and occupy that store? That's what US did to Iraq.

    If another store refuses to accept someone's cheque due to his bad credit record, can that man cut the telephone line of that store as revenge? That's what US did to Iran. Now it sends a naval armada to the Persian Gulf.

    If someone cuts the undersea cable in Hawaii and NewYork, what will US do? A war, I suppose. Now you can see who is the threat of the world.

  11. #11 | Top
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    In your mind
    Posts
    7,458
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    lol it's funny he just hijacked topspin's thread.

    Best thread hijack ever.
    There is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.

    -Oscar Wilde

  12. #12 | Top
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    My shanty
    Posts
    52,839
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    The undersea cable companies will not repeat that error of letting out news of cable cuts.

  13. #13 | Top
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    61,320
    Thanks
    7,144
    Thanked 8,821 Times in 6,166 Posts
    Groans
    5,805
    Groaned 1,532 Times in 1,444 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Epicurus View Post
    lol it's funny he just hijacked topspin's thread.

    Best thread hijack ever.
    I am laughing out loud in an embarrasing manner because I'm in the learning lab.
    "Do not think that I came to bring peace... I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34

  14. #14 | Top
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    205
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Groans
    0
    Groaned 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    8. The big events relate to the Iran oil Bourse (9/1/08)

    (2) Beside the undersea cable cuts in February, Bush regime decided to war on Iran in August. For this plan Pentagon cleaned high range military officials whom opposing the Iran war, either by firing them or eliminating by "natural disease".

    Quote, " Fallon 'may lose job over Iran war'

    Fri, 07 Mar 2008
    Admiral William Fallon, the head of the US Central Command, may lose his job for opposing President Bush's plans to wage war against Iran.

    The Navy admiral has vowed that an attack on Iran would 'not happen on his watch', calling the White House warmongering echelons 'not helpful'.

    http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id...tionid=3510203

    Fallon finally had to resign from his job in March.

    Quote, " Iran invasion critic Gen. Odom dies of 'apparent heart attack'

    01 Jun 2008- William E. Odom, a retired Army lieutenant general who was a senior military and intelligence official in the Carter and Reagan administrations and who, in recent years, became a forceful critic of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, died May 30 at his vacation home in Lincoln, Vt. An autopsy will be performed, but his wife said he had an apparent heart attack. Gen. Odom became a fixture on news programs and never altered his critical stance toward the Bush regime's policies in Iraq and Iran.
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...053102193.html

    Quote, "Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August'

    By Muhammad Cohen
    May 28,08

    NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently.

    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JE28Ak01.html

  15. #15 | Top
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Convington, La
    Posts
    22,763
    Thanks
    2,261
    Thanked 543 Times in 432 Posts
    Groans
    1,642
    Groaned 623 Times in 562 Posts

    Default

    kath must be superfreak in drag
    The stone that the builder refused
    Will always be the head corner stone

Similar Threads

  1. Blame it on the Immigrants
    By Timshel in forum Current Events Forum
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 03-07-2008, 04:42 AM
  2. Blame the Victim!
    By Damocles in forum General Politics Forum
    Replies: 58
    Last Post: 08-29-2007, 07:36 AM
  3. Who could blame them?
    By FUCK THE POLICE in forum Current Events Forum
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 03-25-2007, 05:05 PM
  4. Blame everyone but yourself... the Republican way!
    By Jarod in forum Current Events Forum
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-02-2006, 12:32 PM
  5. Who gets the blame?
    By Gaffer in forum General Politics Forum
    Replies: 34
    Last Post: 10-09-2006, 09:37 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Rules

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •