How Iran is using ‘ghost ships’ to flout Donald Trump’s oil sanctions

It sounds like something out of a pirate story, but the normally staid world of international trade has been beset by a flotilla of ghost ships in recent weeks, and they’re weighed down by several million barrels of trouble for U.S. foreign policy. Iran is one of the world’s biggest oil suppliers, and according to official records, the […]

Saudi Arabia admits Khashoggi killed in Istanbul consulate

Saudi Arabia has, for the first time, admitted that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. An announcement on Saudi media claimed Khashoggi died during a brawl between him and those he went to the consulate to meet. Eighteen Saudi nationals have been arrested in connection with the death and at […]

Saudi Royal Family Considering Replacement For Crown Prince bin Salman

The major French daily Le Figaro on Thursday published a bombshell story which reports the Saudi royal family is actively considering a replacement to crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) as next in line to succeed his father King Salman as the kingdom finds itself under the greatest international pressure and scrutiny it’s faced in its modern history […]

Oil weapon has proved a double-edged sword

The oil shocks of 1973/74 and 1979/80 are now mainly remembered for the disruption and hardship they caused in the major oil-consuming countries. FILE PHOTO: Oil pours out of a spout from Edwin Drake’s original 1859 well that launched the modern petroleum industry at the Drake Well Museum and Park in Titusville, Pennsylvania U.S., October […]

An Oil Pipeline That Can Potentially Stabilize Three Asian Powers

Both the Indians and Russians had high hopes from the recent visit of President Vladimir Putin to Delhi. Surprisingly, it wasn’t about the much hyped S400 Air Defense System deal signed between the countries for a whopping $5.1 billion. The chutzpah was regarding another strategic asset, which has been derailing the Indian growth story and […]

High-ranking Saudi intel officer oversaw botched interrogation of missing journalist

A Saudi mission to interrogate and possibly abduct journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul was organized by a high-ranking officer with the General Intelligence Presidency, Saudi Arabia’s main intelligence service, three sources familiar with the case told CNN. One of those sources describes the officer involved as close to the inner circle of Crown Prince Mohammed […]

Did Saudis, CIA Fear Khashoggi 9/11 Bombshell?

The macabre case of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi raises the question: did Saudi rulers fear him revealing highly damaging information on their secret dealings? In particular, possible involvement in the 9/11 terror attacks on New York in 2001. Even more intriguing are US media reports now emerging that American intelligence had snooped on and were aware of […]

Oil priced $400 in yuan, Russian military base – Saudi insider says kingdom mulls 30 anti-US moves

If the US imposes sanctions on Saudi Arabia, it will “stab its own economy to death” the head of Al Arabiya said. Riyadh may become friends with Iran, trade its oil in yuan and invite the Russian military. Saudi officials said they may retaliate against the US, if Washington delivers on a threat to impose […]

Kunstler: Lost in Space

   Speaking as a black woman… wait second! Can I do that? Well, why not. We’re now a nation consumed by make-believe, in which you can declare anything you want about yourself and insist that everyone else agree that it is so. If I identify this way, you must believe me! (Or else I will […]

Saudis Vow To Retaliate With ‘Greater Action’ If Hit With Sanctions

Nearly two weeks since Jamal Khashoggi vanished in Istanbul, the shadow of the Saudi journalist’s disappearance continues to loom ever larger. Now, President Trump is threatening “severe punishment” for Saudi Arabia if suspicions of Khashoggi’s murder are confirmed — and Saudis have vowed to retaliate in kind. “The Kingdom also affirms that if it receives […]

Could The Clash Over Khashoggi Spill Into Oil Markets?

It looks like the United States and Saudi Arabia are heading for a major spat over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and Saudi citizen who had been living in the United States. As always with questions of Saudi Arabia, this leads to concern about the oil market. If relations worsen between the […]

Ex-US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: ‘This Is the Worst Moment in US-Saudi Relations Since 9/11’

<span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span>   Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Robert Jordan said on MSNBC today, “I think this is the worst moment in U.S./Saudi relations since 9/11.” The discussion, of course, centered around the disappearance and likely murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He hasn’t been seen […]

Ban Saudi Oil

Alfred Eisenstaedt Egyptian Fishing Boats. Suez Canal near Port Said 1935  According to Middle East Eye, Richard Branson, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Economist editor-In-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, New York Times, Financial Times, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshah, Viacom CEO Bob Bakish and AOL founder Steve Case have all withdrawn from Saudi […]

Donald Trump Is Rerouting the World’s Oil Tankers

U.S. President Donald Trump is redirecting global oil flows. West African and Latin American producers are sending ever-growing volumes of crude to China. America’s exports to the Asian country have slumped in favor of its neighbors. There’s an urgent global need to find replacement barrels for Iran’s, whose exports might just collapse next month. The […]

Saudi Writer Was Killed and Dismembered in Istanbul Consulate by Hit Squad Deployed by Saudi Leadership

Top Saudi leaders deployed a 15-man hit squad to lie in wait for dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi inside Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul, The New York Times said in an explosive story. Among the assassination team was a forensic expert who brought a bone saw to dismember Khashoggi’s body after killing him, the Times reported on […]

A $240 Per Gallon Gas Tax To Fight Global Warming?

A new U.N. report suggests a $240 per gallon gas tax equivalent is needed to fight global warming. The U.N. says a carbon tax would need to be as high as $27,000 per ton in the year 2100. If you think that’s unlikely to ever happen, you’re probably right. A United Nations special climate report […]

Is Saudi Arabia The Middle East’s Next Failed State?

Reports are growing that Muhammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s hyperactive crown prince, is losing his grip. His economic reform program has stalled since his father, King Salman, nixed plans to privatize 5 percent of Saudi Aramco. The Saudi war in Yemen, which the prince launched in March 2015, is more of a quagmire than ever […]

Why American Democracy Was So Easy To Destroy

As I perused the headlines today, I was amused and saddened — a strange feeling — to see endless articles lamenting the death of democracy in America. They are perfectly right, of course — American democracy is taking its last few breaths, fighting for life. Now, those of how’ve studied and lived through social collapse have been warning of precisely such […]

India will keep buying Iranian crude despite the threat of US sanctions

U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s crude oil exports come into force from November 4, with Washington ratcheting up the pressure on governments and companies around the world to slash their Iranian oil imports to zero. However, Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India would continue to purchase Iranian crude in November, according to Reuters. Pradhan also […]

Is The U.S. Using Force To Sell Its LNG To The World?

The Trump Administration trade policy is nowhere so clear as in the energy area. For years it was thought that the younger Bush Administration was one of the most energy industry friendly in history. But the Trump Administration has gone far beyond that. Hiring Ray Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, as U.S. Secretary of […]

Journalist Murdered in Saudi Consulate

Fears are growing over missing Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi, after Turkish officials said they believed he had been murdered. Mr Khashoggi, a Saudi national, went missing after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday. A Turkish official told the BBC that initial investigations indicated he was murdered there. Saudi Arabia has denied the […]

Federal Reserve prepares for next crisis, bets it will begin like the last

The Federal Reserve painted a picture of the U.S. economy that was almost too good to be true at its last meeting, with inflation seen contained in the near future despite the lowest unemployment rate in 20 years. FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve building is pictured in Washington, DC, U.S., August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File […]

Saudi Crown Prince Slams Obama, Praises Trump, Claims Aramco IPO Is Back On

The on-again, off-again, never-in-doubt, will-never-happen IPO of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco is back on… for 2021, according to prince Mohammad bin Salman. In a broad-based interview with a number of Bloomberg reporters on Wednesday night at a royal compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud spoke about his […]

Kunstler: Fishtailing into the Future

The opening chapters of Michael Lewis’s new book, The Fifth Risk, detail the carelessness of the Trump transition team in the months leading up to his swearing-in as president. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie led the team, with its binders full of possible agency chiefs, before he was summarily canned by Steve Bannon, who […]

Trump Says Saudi King Wouldn’t Last ‘Two Weeks’ Without US Support

Trump says he told Saudi king that the US military is protecting him and the monarch would not last without US backing. Trump called King Salman on Saturday to discuss efforts to maintain supplies to ensure oil market stability [Pablo Martinez/AP Photo] US President Donald Trump said close ally Saudi Arabia and its king would […]

America and Russia, Part One: Stirrings in the Borderlands

To my mind, one of the main sources of collective stupidity in modern American society is our pervasive bad habit of short-term thinking. It’s embarrassingly rare for anyone in American public life to stop and say aloud, “Hold it. What’s going to happen if we keep on doing this for more than a few more […]

Denmark to ban petrol and diesel car sales by 2030

Denmark announced on Tuesday (2 October) that it will ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines by 2030 and hopes to have one million electric and hybrid cars on the roads by then. In a speech to parliament, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that “diesel and petrol cars in Denmark must […]

The SPR rumor is dead, long live the SPR rumor

When Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producing countries decided against a broad increase in crude output in Algiers last month, chatter began that the US was mulling a release from its government-owned oil stocks. When the Algiers meeting wrapped up, Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters that the market was balanced and that […]

Kunstler: Imaginary Monsters and the Uses of Chaos

The Kavanaugh hearing underscored another eerie condition in contemporary USA life that offers clues about the combined social, economic, and political collapse that I call the long emergency: the destruction of all remaining categorical boundaries for understanding behavior: truth and untruth, innocent and guilty, childhood and adulthood, public and private. The destination of all this […]

Trump Gets Oil Traders’ Attention Over Call With Saudi King

Donald Trump spoke on the phone Saturday with King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, days after the U.S. president’s latest criticism of OPEC over high oil prices. The pair discussed efforts to maintain supplies to ensure the stability of the oil market and growth of the global economy, plus the strategic partnership between the […]

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