untitled What Does Putin Want? Via TheFallingDarkness.com, Foreword by the Saker: The analysis below is, by far, the best I have seen since the beginning of the conflict in the Ukraine. I have regularly posted analyses by Ishchenko on this blog before, because I considered him as one of the best analysts in Russia. This time, however, Ishchenko has truly produced a masterpiece: a comprehensive analysis of the geostrategic position of Russia and a clear and, I believe, absolutely accurate analysis of the entire “Putin strategy” for the Ukraine. I have always said that this conflict is not about the Ukraine but about the future of the planet and that there is no “Novorussian” or even “Ukrainian” solution, but that the only possible outcome is a strategic victory of either Russia or the USA which will affect the entire planet. Ishchenko does a superb overview of the risks and options for both sides and offers the first comprehensive “key” to the apparently incomprehensible behavior of Russia in this conflict.
Mises Daily | Mises Institute With the creation of the BRICS bank and now the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the major economies of the world are hoping to lay the foundation for a multi-polar financial world beyond the unilateral control of the United States. Due to the enormous size of the US economy, coupled with the reserve status of the US dollar, the United States government has long been able to achieve strategic and military goals through flexing its financial power. This power has long allowed the US government to buy allies and friends among foreign regimes, to finance proxy wars, and to threaten the growth potential of foreign economies whenever the US government deemed it necessary. Today, however, with an enormous debt and a rapidly inflating supply of dollars, the US has become vulnerable to financial warfare aimed at cutting off the US government’s ability to finance its debt and to keep price inflation under control. Military and Financial Power Financial Warfare and the Suez Crisis
Les projets de réorganisation du « Moyen-Orient élargi », par Thierry Meyssan Voici quatre ans que les États occidentaux ont lancé une vaste opération de remodelage du « Moyen-Orient élargi » qui devait placer au pouvoir, partout dans le monde arabe, la Confrérie des Frères musulmans. Ce fut d’abord le renvoi par les seuls États-Unis de Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali de Tunisie et d’Hosni Moubarak d’Égypte, tandis que l’on faisait croire aux populations qu’elles venaient de renverser ces dictateurs. Puis, ce fut les guerres d’agression contre la Libye et la Syrie, toutes deux travesties en soutien à des « révolutions démocratiques », alors qu’elles s’appuyaient sur al-Qaïda. Cependant, depuis deux ans, force est de constater que ce dispositif a atteint sa limite et qu’il ne sera pas possible d’imposer par la force un changement de régime en Syrie. Pourtant la guerre continue, extrêmement meurtrière. Pourquoi ? Nul ne sait ce que Washington et Téhéran sont convenus. Israël a déjà intégré Elles ne se font pas dans le dos des États-Unis, mais avec leur consentement.
Arabie saoudite et Russie : nouvelle prise de contact, par Boris Dolgov Le prince héritier d’Arabie saoudite, Mohammed ben Salmane, avec le président russe, Vladimir Poutine, lors du Forum économique de Saint-Petersbourg La prochaine visite en Russie du roi d’Arabie saoudite, Salmane ben Abdelaziz, pourrait devenir une étape charnière dans le développement des relations entre les deux pays. Les liens Russie-Arabie saoudite se sont créés il y a maintenant 80 ans. Notons que l’Union soviétique a été un des premiers pays à reconnaître le gouvernement saoudien indépendant et à établir des relations diplomatiques avec le Royaume en 1926. Le premier ambassadeur de l’Union soviétique à Ryad ne fut autre que Karim Hakimov, un diplomate connu pour sa passion de l’Orient. Dans le monde de l’islam, le roi d’Arabie saoudite porte le titre de « gardien des deux lieux saints » : la Mecque et Médine. Le roi actuel d’Arabie saoudite, Salmane ben Abdelaziz, est arrivé sur le trône en janvier 2015 suite à la mort du roi précédent, Abdallah ben Abdelaziz.
Que deviendra le Proche-Orient après l'accord entre Washington et Téhéran ?, par Thierry Meyssan Que peuvent bien se dire John Kerry et Mohammad Javad Zarif ? La réunion du Conseil de coopération du Golfe, le 14 mai à Camp David, était la dernière étape avant que Washington et Téhéran ne signent leur accord, le 30 juin. Les États du Golfe ne pouvaient publiquement que se féliciter de la paix retrouvée. Cependant, comme tous les protagonistes de la région, ils se demandaient qui fera les frais des clauses secrètes et cherchaient à anticiper la nouvelle donne régionale. Le président Obama a refusé de signer un traité qui garantisse le maintien des régimes actuels, tandis que les délégations du Golfe ont refusé de signer un texte qui ne garantisse que la pérennité de leurs États. Finalement les États-Unis leur ont reconnu le statut d’« alliés majeurs non-membres de l’Otan » et leur ont vendu une quantité d’armes astronomique. Que peuvent bien être les clauses de ce partage ? Le rôle des intellectuels est de permettre de comprendre le monde qui nous entoure.
War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields More than five years ago, Israel invaded Gaza under “Operation Cast Lead”. The following article was first published by Global Research in January 2009 at the height of the Israeli bombing and invasion under Operation Cast Lead. In the wake of the invasion, Palestinian gas fields were de facto confiscated by Israel in derogation of international law A year following “Operation Cast Lead”, Tel Aviv announced the discovery of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean “off the coast of Israel.” At the time the gas field was: “ … the most prominent field ever found in the sub-explored area of the Levantine Basin, which covers about 83,000 square kilometres of the eastern Mediterranean region.” Coupled with Tamar field, in the same location, discovered in 2009, the prospects are for an energy bonanza for Israel, for Houston, Texas based Noble Energy and partners Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration and Ratio Oil Exploration. Michel Chossudovsky, January 3, 2014 Map 1 Map 2
What’s the big deal between Russia and the Saudis? — RT Op-Edge Pepe Escobar is the roving correspondent for Asia Times/Hong Kong, an analyst for RT and TomDispatch, and a frequent contributor to websites and radio shows ranging from the US to East Asia. Born in Brazil, he's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Even before 9/11 he specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central and East Asia, with an emphasis on Big Power geopolitics and energy wars. DOHA - Amidst the wilderness of mirrors surrounding the Syrian tragedy, a diamond-shaped fact persists: Despite so many degrees of separation, the Saudis are still talking to the Russians. A key reason is because a perennially paranoid House of Saud feels betrayed by their American protectors who, under the Obama administration, seem to have given up on isolating Iran. So let’s talk about oil. Moscow for its part fully took note how Washington blocked South Stream. The King goes to Vlad
The most unconventional weapon in Syria: Wheat In the fall of 2012, fighters from the Free Syrian Army took over Eastern Ghouta, a semi-agricultural area about eight miles northeast of Damascus. Government forces responded by placing the area under siege, cutting off water, electricity, gas, medical assistance and bread. The regime’s goal was to starve the people of Eastern Ghouta into submission, and it was working: The price of bread and rice went up 50 times. Locals were living on animal feed or sometimes eating nothing at all. “They began to wage war against the people even through their daily bread,” says Majd al-Dik, an aid worker for a Syrian humanitarian group called Spring of Life. Nine months later, the Free Syrian Army mounted a military operation in a regime-controlled area called al-Matahin, the Mills, just outside Eastern Ghouta. The firefight lasted a day and a half. When they arrived, they were alarmed to see about 80 people, mostly civilians. Bread is the staple food in the Middle East. Twitter: @annia
How Russia and Iran Plan to Push Oil Prices Back above $100 by John Galt September 27, 2015 09:30 ET And in turn, Remove the United States as a Superpower in the Middle East On post super blood moon Monday, Vladimir Putin will be meeting with President Obama to discuss the ISIS crisis in the Middle East. There are many within the U.S. media who are promoting this meeting as some strange idea that the Russians are about to ask the Americans for help against ISIS. In 2014, I penned a piece reflecting the true reason ISIS was created so that the Arabian sheikdoms could establish pipelines through Iraq and Syria to permanently shift Europe’s dependency on Russian oil and natural gas over to their own private market where they can re-assert control over the world market price. Unfortunately for the people of Iraq and Syria, the West failed to provide enough material support to collapse the Syrian dictator and the war has been a giant slaughter killing over 200,000 people and displacing over millions throughout the region. Like this: Like Loading...
Cubic mile of oil The cubic mile of oil (CMO) is a unit of energy. It was created by Hew Crane of SRI International to aid in public understanding of global-scale energy consumption and resources.[1] Crane intended the cubic mile of oil to provide a visualizable scale for comparing the contributions of these diverse energy components as a percentage of total worldwide, energy use. Definition and energy equivalents[edit] The CMO is the energy released by burning a cubic mile of oil. Annual energy consumption by source[edit] 2008 worldwide renewable-energy sources. The world consumes approximately 3 CMO annually from all sources. Global energy reserves[edit] Proved oil reserves are those that can be extracted with reasonable certainty under existing conditions using existing technology. Replacement of oil by alternative sources[edit] While oil has many other important uses (lubrication, plastics, roadways, roofing) this section considers only its use as an energy source. References[edit] External links[edit]