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Latest Articles: International News
Putin Ratchets Up Anti-U.S Rhetoric as Kremlin Race Grows
Post Date: 2012-01-27 12:31:14 by Brian S
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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is stepping up rhetoric against the U.S. as his campaign for the March 4 presidential election intensifies after the biggest protests against his rule. The U.S. “wants to control everything” and takes decisions unilaterally on key questions, Putin said on a campaign stop yesterday in the Siberian city of Tomsk, 3,100 kilometers (1,900 miles) east of Moscow. “Sometimes I get the impression the U.S. doesn’t need allies, it needs vassals.” Putin, 59, is seeking a new term in the Kremlin amid the biggest challenge to his 12-year rule after fraud allegations at parliamentary polls sparked mass protests. The Russian leader, who has ...
Tail Events, Isolation, New Normal Of Hyper Monetary Inflation
Post Date: 2012-01-26 18:40:28 by Capitalist Eric
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The year 2012 has started out in strange ways. While celestial forces augur for rare tail events, the assurance of man-made events that stretch far into the extreme tail of probability are not only very likely but will be of a type to reflect the change in the global balance of financial power. The Paradigm Shift mentioned over the course of the last two to three years is at work, having moved into a higher gear. The gold is moving from the West to the East, along with the power. We will not see the process reverse in our lifetime. The sanctions set against Iran have been devised by a former global leader nation that is beset by insolvency, fraud, and lost integrity. The backfire has ...
The Demise of the Petrodollar
Post Date: 2012-01-26 15:14:40 by Capitalist Eric
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Rumors are swirling that India and Iran are at the negotiating table right now, hammering out a deal to trade oil for gold. Why does that matter, you ask? Only because it strikes at the heart of both the value of the US dollar and today's high-tension standoff with Iran. Tehran Pushes to Ditch the US Dollar The official line from the United States and the European Union is that Tehran must be punished for continuing its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. The punishment: sanctions on Iran's oil exports, which are meant to isolate Iran and depress the value of its currency to such a point that the country crumbles. But that line doesn't make sense, and the sanctions will not ...
Better Place Launches Electric Fleet in Israel
Post Date: 2012-01-26 11:18:24 by jwpegler
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In four years, the electric-car company Better Place has traveled from startup to starting line. Last week, a fleet of 100 electrically powered Renault Fluence ZE sedans set out in a caravan along Israeli highways, signaling the start of the company's efforts to reach a wide swath of consumers. The cars are fueled by 225-kilogram lithium-ion batteries with a range of 160 kilometers. The batteries can be recharged at home or swapped for fully charged ones at a network of robotic battery-switching stations that Better Place has built throughout Israel to let owners extend their cars' range. The switching stations, plus apps that guide a driver to them, are what make Better ...
Iranian Lawmakers To Take Up Bill Banning Oil Sales To Europe In Retaliation For Embargo
Post Date: 2012-01-25 18:56:41 by Brian S
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TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s parliament will begin debating a draft bill requiring the government to immediately halt oil exports to Europe, a prominent lawmaker said Wednesday, as Tehran weighs its options following the European Union’s decision to stop importing oil from the country. The EU embargo, announced on Monday, was the latest attempt to try to pressure Iran over a nuclear program the United States and its allies argue is aimed at developing nuclear weapons but which Iran says is for purely peaceful purposes. It came just weeks after the U.S. approved, but has yet to enact, new sanctions targeting Iran’s Central Bank and, by extension, its ability to sell its oil. ...
India to pay gold instead of dollars for Iranian oil
Post Date: 2012-01-25 16:15:09 by Hondo68
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Iranian oil for India India is the first buyer of Iranian oil to agree to pay for its purchases in gold instead of the US dollar, debkafile's intelligence and Iranian sources report exclusively. Those sources expect China to follow suit. India and China take about one million barrels per day, or 40 percent of Iran's total exports of 2.5 million bpd. Both are superpowers in terms of gold assets. By trading in gold, New Delhi and Beijing enable Tehran to bypass the upcoming freeze on its central bank's assets and the oil embargo which the European Union's foreign ministers agreed to impose Monday, Jan. 23. The EU currently buys around 20 percent of Iran's oil ...
U.S. Raid in Somalia Frees American, Dane as President Obama Hails Courage of Special Forces
Post Date: 2012-01-25 12:54:44 by Brian S
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U.S. Special Forces troops flew into Somalia on a nighttime helicopter raid early Wednesday, freed an American and a Danish hostage and killed nine pirates in a mission that President Barack Obama said he personally authorized. The Danish Refugee Council confirmed that the two aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, were freed and "are on their way to be reunited with their families." Buchanan, 32, and Thisted, 60, had been working with a de-mining unit of the Danish Refugee Council when they were kidnapped in October. A pirate who gave his name as Bile Hussein told The Associated Press he had spoken to pirates at the scene of the raid and they ...
EU Oil Embargo: Sanctions Benefit Iran's Revolutionary Guards
Post Date: 2012-01-24 19:09:25 by Brian S
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The so-called oil weapon has been part of the arsenal of international power politics ever since the 1970s. In 1973, the oil-exporting countries in the Middle East cut back daily production in a bid to force the West to abandon its support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Iran was among the states involved in that embargo. Now, almost four decades later, oil is again being used as a weapon -- with the roles reversed. On Monday, European Union foreign ministers agreed to ban the import of petroleum and petrochemical products from Iran from July 1, 2012. New investments in Iranian oil companies will no longer be permitted, nor can equipment and technology necessary for the oil ...
Gold for Oil: India and Iran Ditch Dollar
Post Date: 2012-01-24 12:53:12 by Brian S
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According to a new and yet unconfirmed report, India bought oil from Iran using gold. India certainly has the gold resources to fund the oil, while Iran is under pressure by the West, due the continuation of its nuclear program. There were reports that officials have been floating this idea for some time, and now, as the EU finally decided upon an oil embargo on Iran, more details became available, yet still pend confirmation. Oil is priced in US dollars, and bypassing the greenback posed challenges for both parties. Two banks are reportedly involved in this deal: India’s state owned UCO Bank and Turkey’s state owned Halkbank. Both banks don’t have any business with the US ...
George Soros on the Coming U.S. Class War
Post Date: 2012-01-24 12:35:45 by Brian S
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The situation is about as serious and difficult as I've experienced in my career.' by John Arlidge | January 23, 2012 12:00 AM EST You know George Soros. He’s the investor’s investor—the man who still holds the record for making more money in a single day’s trading than anyone. He pocketed $1 billion betting against the British pound on “Black Wednesday” in 1992, when sterling lost 20 percent of its value in less than 24 hours and crashed out of the European exchange-rate mechanism. No wonder Brits call him, with a mix of awe and annoyance, “the man who broke the Bank of England.” Soros doesn’t make small bets on ...
Nearly Half Of Israelis Won't Receive Gas Masks
Post Date: 2012-01-23 17:06:57 by Brian S
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Unprepared: The Home Front Command is poised to run out of gas masks within months, leaving nearly half of the Israeli population without protective kits, Ynet learned Monday. Last week, IDF Planning Directorate Chief Major-General Amir Eshel alluded that Syria's biological and chemical weapons could fall into the hands of Hezbollah if President Bashar Assad's regime collapses, raising concerns over Israel's preparedness for a possible unconventional attack. Related articles:Syrian 'chemical, biological' weapons concern Israel 'Turkey finds chemical weapon ingredients on Iranian trucks' Dempsey in Israel, calls for bolstered communication IDF data ...
Former Intelligence Minister Urges Iran's Preemptive Action on EU Oil Embargo (cut them off now)
Post Date: 2012-01-23 13:58:02 by Brian S
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TEHRAN (FNA)- Former Iranian Intelligence Minister Ali Falahian called on Tehran authorities to stop oil supply to the European Union member states before the bloc decides on banning oil imports from Iran. Speaking to FNA on Monday, Falahian pointed to an upcoming meeting of the EU member states to decide an oil ban against Iran, and said European states need a 6-month time to find alternative sources for Iranian oil. "The best way for us is to stop oil exports before the 6-month deadline (announced by the EU) comes to an end and the oil embargo plan comes into effect so that crude prices go up and Europeans' US-driven plans for sanctioning our country's oil fall flat," ...
Russia Alarmed By EU Ban On Iranian Oil, Sanctions
Post Date: 2012-01-23 13:04:08 by Brian S
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(Reuters) - Russia expressed "regret and alarm" on Monday over the European Union's ban on Iranian oil and other economic sanctions, saying Tehran will not make concessions on its nuclear program when faced with increasing Western pressure. "It is obvious that what is happening here is open pressure and diktat, an attempt to 'punish' Iran for its intractable behavior," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement after EU nations agreed the measures. "This is a deeply mistaken line, as we have told our European partners more than once. Under such pressure Iran will not agree to any concessions or any changes in its policy," it said. Foreign Minister ...
Who Wants War With Iran?
Post Date: 2012-01-21 17:15:08 by buckeroo
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On Sept. 21, 1976, as his car rounded Sheridan Circle on Embassy Row, former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier was assassinated by car bomb. Ronni Moffitt, a 25-year-old American women who worked with Letelier at the leftist Institute for Policy Studies, died with him. Michael Townley, an ex-CIA asset in the hire of Chile’s intelligence agency, confessed to using anti-Castro Cubans to murder Letelier, in what was regarded as an act of terrorism on U.S. soil. Which raises a question: Are not the murders of four Iranian scientists associated with that nation’s nuclear program, by the attachment of bombs to their cars in Tehran, also acts of terrorism? Had the Stalin- or ...
Iran-Russia Trade In Domestic Currencies -Iran Envoy
Post Date: 2012-01-20 13:16:18 by Brian S
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Jan 20 (Reuters) - Iran and Russia have started using their domestic rial and rouble currencies in bilateral trade instead of the U.S. dollar, Iran's envoy to Moscow said on Friday, after the United States imposed new sanctions on the Middle East state. "(Trade) is based on our national currencies," said Iranian ambassador to Russia Seyed Sajjadi. "We started this work long ago. Iranian businessmen are buying products in Russia and are using the rouble as (payment) currency ... The U.S. dollar has no (economic) support base," he said speaking at a news conference. Iran is seeking to boost trade after the United States imposed additional sanctions in late December ...
France Deplores 'Assassination' Of Troops As It Threatens To Pull Out Of Afghanistan
Post Date: 2012-01-20 10:42:44 by Brian S
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Alain Juppé, France's foreign minister, said the unarmed soldiers had been victims of an "assassination," and President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered an immediate review of security for troops training Afghan soldiers. The killings during a training exercise at the Gwan military base in Kapisa province followed a similar attack last month when an Afghan soldier shot and killed two members of the French Foreign Legion. Friday's attack wounded a further 15 and brought the total French death toll in the Afghan campaign to 82. The Afghan attacker was captured alive. Scores of Nato troops have been shot dead in recent years by their Afghan partners raising fears of ...
Russia Vows To Block Western Intervention In Syria
Post Date: 2012-01-18 17:51:08 by Brian S
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BEIRUT (AP) – Syria's powerful allies in Russia vowed Wednesday to block any Western attempts to intervene militarily in Syria as Damascus fights off an increasingly chaotic 10-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad. The support came as Assad was showing fresh confidence that he can ride out the uprising with the help of a small — but influential — set of friends in Russia, China and Iran. Iran also gave Syria another boost Wednesday. According to Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency, with the commander of Iran's Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, said Assad's government enjoys public support and won't collapse. --clip The comments by ...
Canadian Company To Reapply For Pipeline Permit
Post Date: 2012-01-18 17:22:26 by Brian S
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(01-18) 13:45 PST HOUSTON (AP) -- The Canadian company seeking to build a Canada-to-Texas pipeline says it will reapply for a permit after President Barack Obama announced he had rejected the current proposal. TransCanada's CEO and president Russ Girling says Obama's announcement on Wednesday was not entirely surprising. He says the company plans to reapply for a presidential permit for the proposed 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline. Obama says he turned down the proposal because Congress gave him a 60-day deadline that did not allow for a thorough review of the project. He made clear the company was free to reapply for the permit. TransCanada says it is working with officials in ...
Israel-Us Military Exercise Postponed For Lack Of Money
Post Date: 2012-01-18 13:11:42 by Brian S
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Israel has postponed joint military maneuvers with the US, which were supposed to begin in the Negev in the next few months, due to budgetary constraints, JTA reports (from an Israeli source) and "The Atlantic" reports (from senior Pentagon officials). According to these reports, it was Israel that initiated the postponement of the maneuvers and not the US, as the Israeli media had claimed. Operation Austere Challenge 12 was going to be the largest US-Israeli joint exercise in history. The purpose of the maneuvers was to practice ballistic missile defense scenarios, and 5,000 soldiers from both countries' armies were to participate in them. Assistant Secretary for ...
Russian Exercises In Caucasus Prepping For Iran War?
Post Date: 2012-01-17 14:12:16 by Brian S
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Russia will be holding a series of military exercises in the North Caucasus, Armenia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia this fall, reportedly in preparation for a possible U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. The exercises, called Kavkaz-2012, will be held in September and won't be tactical/operational but strategic (i.e. won't involve large numbers of troops). The exercises will, however, include officers from the breakaway Georgian territories. The focus on surveillance, air defense and logistics suggests that Russia is tailoring the exercise to prepare for a U.S.-Israel-Iran war, says Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta: As suggested by the head of the Center for Military Forecasting, Colonel ...
Sinking the Petrodollar in the Persian Gulf
Post Date: 2012-01-17 13:35:49 by Brian S
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These days, with a crisis atmosphere growing in the Persian Gulf, a little history lesson about the U.S. and Iran might be just what the doctor ordered. Here, then, are a few high- (or low-) lights from their relationship over the last half-century-plus: Summer 1953: The CIA and British intelligence hatch a plot for a coup that overthrows a democratically elected government in Iran intent on nationalizing that country’s oil industry. In its place, they put an autocrat, the young Shah of Iran, and his soon-to-be feared secret police. He runs the country as his repressive fiefdom for a quarter-century, becoming Washington’s “bulwark” in the Persian Gulf ...
Iran sending pink plastic drone to President Pantywaist
Post Date: 2012-01-17 13:22:08 by Happy Quanzaa
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U.S. drone that crashed in Iran goes miniature TEHRAN — For the American government, the crash of the RQ-170 drone in Iran was an embarrassment. For the Iranian government, it was a propaganda victory. And for at least one company, according to state radio, it could be a windfall. An Iranian firm, seeking to capitalize on the frenzy that followed the crash of the drone — and American calls to have it returned — is now producing miniaturized toy versions of the craft. Most of the toys, which come in several colors and are made of Iranian plastic, have already been snapped up by Iranian government organizations, according to the group that manufactures them. At least one ...
Ezekiel Unfolding? Putin Allies Warn Against Iran Strike
Post Date: 2012-01-16 19:07:58 by Brian S
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If Israel strikes Iran's nuclear facilities this year, it can count on fierce Russian opposition. Russia has not only helped Iran build its Busher nuclear power plant. It is also reportedly arming Syria's Assad regime in its brutal crackdown on opposition forces and is cozying up to Hezbollah and Hamas. Once Vladimir Putin--who longs to return Russia to its former Soviet-era power--reassumes the Russian presidency in March, Russia will even more openly align itself with Israel's enemies in the Middle East. And none more closely than Iran. We received a preview last week from two hawkish Putin allies. First, from Russia's outgoing ...
Asserting Its Sovereignty, Iraq Detains U.S. Contractors
Post Date: 2012-01-16 14:50:53 by Brian S
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BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities have detained a few hundred foreign contractors in recent weeks, industry officials say, including many Americans who work for the United States Embassy, in one of the first major signs of the Iraqi government’s asserting its sovereignty after the American troop withdrawal last month. The detentions have occurred largely at the airport in Baghdad and at checkpoints around the capital after the Iraqi authorities raised questions about the contractors’ documents, including visas, weapons permits and authorizations to drive certain routes. Although no formal charges have been filed, the detentions have lasted from a few hours to nearly three weeks. ...
Iran to Give ‘Firm’ Reply to Scientist Murder
Post Date: 2012-01-16 12:06:04 by Brian S
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Iran’s intelligence minister warned of a “firm response” to the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist and a senior military adviser said “every means” will be used to defend “national interests” as the country faces growing pressure to curtail its nuclear program. “The U.S., the U.K. and Mossad,” Israel’s intelligence agency, “will see the results of their actions and Iran will deliver a firm response,” Heidar Moslehi said in the capital Tehran yesterday, according to the state-run Fars news agency. Iran will use “every means” of defense if endangered, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the Iranian supreme ...
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