U.S. carrier crosses Hormuz amid rising Gulf tensions

A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group sailed through the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday more than a month after Iran warned a different carrier — USS John C. Stennis — not to return to the Gulf as Iranian navy boats sailed by. Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, used for a third of […]

The hidden war Iran may wage on the oil market, according to Gary Sick

Gary Sick’s views on Iran have a lot of critics, who tend to view him as an apologist for the Iranian regime. (Here’s another example.) It’s not new: his New York Times piece on the “October surprise” was a sensation when first penned during the 1980 Presidential campaign (Wikipedia has a balanced summary of the theory […]

Noam Chomsky: American decline in perspective

Significant anniversaries are solemnly commemorated — Japan’s attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, for example.  Others are ignored, and we can often learn valuable lessons from them about what is likely to lie ahead.  Right now, in fact. At the moment, we are failing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President John […]

Bahrain Authorities Block Anniversary Protests ‎

Activists in Bahrain say authorities have made arrests and prevented protesters from gathering at a landmark roundabout in the capital, Manama, on the first anniversary of the country’s pro-democracy uprising. Extra police and military forces were patrolling Manama and its suburbs on Tuesday, while many major roads were shut to prevent activists from marching back […]

Gunfights in Saudi Arabia Show Spread of Iran Tensions

Armored anti-riot vehicles cluster outside the police station in Awwamiya in Saudi Arabia’s oil- producing eastern region, where unrest is turning violent. “We have enough police force to deal with any criminal or prohibited situation,” says Brigadier-General Yousef al-Qahtani as he drives through the town. In nearby al-Qatif, graffiti scrawled on a cemetery wall criticizes […]

BP fines paid for spill may disappear into federal black hole

Barrels of bile were spilled in weeks leading up to the Florida primary. But that’s just a clean-up on aisle three compared to the epic five million barrels of crude oil that paralyzed the Gulf Coast states a couple of years ago. Well, BP’s bill is coming due and almost nine of 10 Floridians think […]

Masked men’ battle Saudi troops, 1 dies

One person was killed and three wounded when security forces exchanged gunfire with “masked men” in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich east, the official SPA news agency reported yesterday. Activists and witnesses said the casualties came when security forces opened fire on a Shiite demonstration in the Qatif district of the kingdom’s Eastern Province. “A security force […]

Chris Martenson: Why Our Currency Will Fail

The idea that the very same economic forces that are currently plaguing Greece, et al., are somehow not relevant to the United States’ circumstances does not hold water.  As goes the rest of the world, so goes the US. When we back up far enough, it is clear that money and debt are there to […]

Will Iran Be Attacked? Paul Craig Roberts

Aaron Dykes talks with economist, columnist, blogger and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration, Paul Craig Roberts, about the faltering economy, the impending attack on Iran, and other topics. Washington has made tremendous preparations for a military assault on Iran. There is speculation that Washington has called off its two longest […]

The politics of peak oil

Both Murray/King and Macdonald are using data from the EIA, so I’m not sure why there’s a discrepancy. It’s not clear which EIA data set the former are using, but Macdonald notes that because EIA doesn’t update its multiple data sets uniformly, he always uses the most recent Monthly Energy Review. (I did not spot […]

Iran deploys 15,000 troops to help Syria’s Assad

Prominent Syrian lawmaker says the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force has recently arrived in the country to help manage Assad’s regime brutal suppression of a 11-month-long popular unrest. A top Iranian military official is activily aiding the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad in suppressing popular unrest throughout the country, a […]

Obama administration outlines Arctic energy policy initiatives

Obama administration officials announced a series of initiatives that they said are aimed at bringing the best available science to energy-related decisions in the Arctic. The initiatives include development of an Arctic environmental emergency response mechanism by this summer, they told the Alaska Forum on the Environment in Anchorage. “We must draw on the best […]

Americans talk about an Israeli strike on Iran, but prepare own offensive

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has been outspoken about a possible Israeli offensive against Iran taking place as of April and one American TV channel theorized simplistically Friday, Feb. 3, about Israel’s tactics. At the same time, no US source is leveling on the far more extensive American, Saudi, British, French and Gulf states’ preparations […]

Iran will cut oil exports to some European countries

Iran’s oil minister said that the Islamic state would certainly cut its oil exports to “some” European countries, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday. “Our oil exports will certainly be cut to some European countries … We will decide about other European countries later,” Fars quoted Rostam Qasemi as telling a news conference. […]

Iran warns of retaliation over oil sanctions

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday Iran would retaliate over Western-backed oil sanctions and any threat of attack, after U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was cited as saying he feared a possible Israeli strike as early as April. Khamenei’s defiant speech to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution was the […]

The Peak Oil Crisis: Election 2012

If current trends continue, gasoline prices and U.S. energy policy seem destined to play a larger role in the political debate prior to the November elections than ever before. Gasoline on the East Coast is already within striking distance of all-time highs and most prognosticators are talking about the likelihood of $4+ gasoline before summer. […]

China and UAE ditch US Dollar, will use Yuan for oil trade

The US dollar is fast losing out its reserve currency status with China aggressively replacing the dollar with the Yuan as a currency for bi-lateral trade. The latest is an agreement signed between the China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will use the Yuan for oil trade. The deal is worth around $5.5 […]

Kunstler: Jive Talkin

Well, he had to get up there and say something. In this particular winter of our discontent, the wispiest nostrums and baldest lies will do. America is not interested in reality. America is a nine-hundred pound man imprisoned in a fetid trailer bedroom begging for one more case of Little Debbie Cocoa Cremes before the […]

EU Sees No Need to Regulate Shale Gas

There is no need for new legislation to regulate shale gas exploration in the European Union, according to a study published Friday that proposed the bloc adopt a low profile on the controversial issue. The study, carried out by a consultant and authorized by the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, says that existing legislation […]

Iran to stop oil exports to “some” countries soon

Iran’s oil minister said on Sunday the Islamic state would soon stop exporting crude to “some” countries, the state news agency IRNA reported. “Soon we will cut exporting oil to some countries,” Rostam Qasemi was quoted by IRNA as saying. Benchmark Brent crude prices rose to around $111.50 a barrel on Friday on expectations Iran’s […]

Iran says oil may hit $150/bbl on EU ban

Oil prices could rise as high as $150 a barrel because of the European Union ban on imports of Iranian crude, the country’s deputy oil minister was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency on Sunday. “Although a precise prediction cannot be made on oil prices, it seems we will witness a $120 […]

Iran to restart IAEA nuclear talks

UN nuclear inspectors are due to begin three days of meetings in Tehran on Sunday – the first such talks for over three years Iran is due to open talks with UN nuclear inspectors on Sunday in an attempt to allay their suspicions of a covert Iranian weapons programme, the first such discussions in more than […]

Oil industry sees China winning, West losing from Iran sanctions

As the European Union prepares to ban Iranian oil and the United States turns the screw on payments, oil executives and policymakers say China and Russia stand to gain the most and Western oil firms and consumers may emerge the biggest losers. Iran will continue to sell much the same volume of oil – 2.6 […]

BP exempted from US ban on Iran oil

BP Plc, UK, and EU have reportedly convinced US lawmakers to exempt a BP-led project from the newly- proposed Washington sanctions on Iran. This is a clear indication that the West is pushing for stricter embargoes on Tehran without harming its own economy. US senators have discussed provisions that could bar companies like BP from […]

SOTU: ‘American Energy’ Key to Boosting U.S. Job Creation

It wouldn’t be a State of the Union address without an energy pitch aimed at reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil or how to boost the economy with job creation. President Barack Obama delivered plans for both during Tuesday night’s address to the American people. Onshore & Offshore Drilling Obama said he is determined to […]

Peak oil & environmental degradation deniers own the podium

EU plans to place sanctions on Iran oil; a reflection of state of global economy?             When I first heard of EU plans to stop buying crude oil from Iran, I was baffled.  The IEA was projecting oil demand growth of 1.3 mb/d for 2012, and even with the expected Libyan oil coming back on […]

Paying the Bills. Review: The Frugal Superpower

Is the US too broke to continue its global empire? Photo: Kenteegardin via Flickr. For some, the distinction between coolly rational foreign policy theorists and messianic interventionists out to remake the world in America’s image is enticing. Lively, endless debate ensues. Did our not-fully engaged engagement in Egypt and Libya get it right, or did […]

EU bans Iranian oil, Tehran responds with threats

The European Union banned imports of oil from Iran on Monday and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at deflecting Tehran’s nuclear development programme. In Iran, one politician responded by renewing a threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, an oil exporting route […]

US aircraft carrier enters Strait of Hormuz without incident

A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway. The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln completed a “regular and routine” passage through the strait, a […]

Tepco to be nationalised for 10 years

* Govt body expected to inject 1 trln yen in Tepco -Kyodo * Tepco expected to move into black in 2013 business year-Kyodo * Utility may be forced to let outside directors run firm-Kyodo TOKYO, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Tokyo Electric Power Co will in effect be nationalised for at least 10 years and is […]

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