[Aaron]

Placeholder for comments & discussions of our current editorial offering.

Editorial by William Clark

[julianj]

An excellent and thoughtful article.

It sets a high standard for other, forthcoming editorials.

Congrats to William and the Editorial Team.

Julian

[rkerver]

Its excellent to see an Editorials column appear and to inaugurate that with William Clark's Oil Currency Geopolitics. I hope this receives wide readership because it goes a long way elucidating what's been happening with world economics and politics. The column gives prominent voice to the necessary amid the inane. Can we coax Richard Heinberg to include his keynote address at the upcoming conference Second U.S. Conference on "Peak Oil" and Community Solutions?

I gave a copy of William Clark's recent book Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar to Cindy Sheehan Saturday night at Boston University. She spoke with other members of " The Bring Them Home Now Tour," Gold Star Families for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Veterans For Peace. It was my small contribution to the war protest movement in its current incarnation. My hope was that it would help promote a better understanding of why we are at war right now so that we as a nation can make a huge correction and prevent the escalation of this war. That escalation is even now occurring, as the rogue Bush/Cheney Administration threaten both Iran and Venezuela, and hence our own foundations as a nation. I hoped to bring focus back on Cindy Sheehan's original question back in Crawford, the WHY of this war, because that understanding is most essential. I do not believe that Cindy and her cohort understand the WHY and are therefore pressing for changes in the wrong place and will ultimately fail to prevent the escalation of our war with Iraq to the next set of targets.

For the essential understanding, in William Clark's own words <from editorial, emphasis added>:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')As outlined in Petrodollar Warfare, my analysis of current U.S. geostrategic, monetary, and energy polices suggests that the 21 st century will be much different from the previous century, with one possible exception. The first half of the 20th century was filled with unprecedented levels of violence and warfare on a global scale (15 million killed in WW I, 55 million in WW II). The first two decades of the 21st century present challenges that could also result in the unleashing of another period of catastrophic human suffering and destruction. In the post-nuclear age, this must not be allowed to transpire. In order to avoid such a terrible fate in this new century, American citizens, more than any others, must accept and undertake sacrifices for the betterment of humanity; we must once again begin living within our means relative to both fiscal and energy policies. It is my hope the beginning of the 21st century may be crafted by the international community into a more energy sustainable, economically stable, and less violent period than the opening decades of the previous century. Humanity and morality demand nothing less."

[deconstructionist]

William Clark...

YOU DA MAN!!!

I have linked to several of William Clark's articles from my blog, and I will continue to do all I can to spread the word of truth via the Internet while the American propaganda machine continues to barf huge amounts of misinformation and half-truth all over the people. Eventually, more and more people will become tired of being barfed upon with bad information and realize that the unfiltered truth is both available and empowering.

[Petrodollar]

Thanks Aaron, and too everyone else who has commented on my essay.
I hope this editorial will help inform others, and perhaps stimulate some thought-provoking discussion about these complex issues.

-W.Clark

BTW, I made a few minor typos in the original submission , but I hope they will be corrected in the near-term...

[MrBean]

Oil bourse not to use euros in Iran: TSM chief

Well to be exact, the stock market chief does not say that the bourse will not use euro under any circumstances, just that decisions on such details have not yet been made.

Don't know anything about the news media or how important the guy interviewed is.

[Petrodollar]

Mr Bean,
Thanks for the article. The Iranians are being very, very guarded about this issue - percisely for the reasons I have stated in my essays - petroeuros encroach upon dollar hegemony, and we all know what happened to Saddam... I think the article's title is a little misleading. Here's the obfuscated non-answer when a direct question was asked...

"Iran's stock market chief dismissed reports that the proposed oil bourse will use the euro as official currency for petroleum transactions, stressing that the Stock Exchange Council has not made such a decision.

Heydar Mostakhdemin-Hosseini, who heads the board of directors of the council, told ISNA that the council has agreed in principle to the establishment of a petroleum exchange, stressing, however, that the details of the project have yet to be discussed."

....Well, this source also did not state they were going to use the dollar for the oil bourse, which is regarded as the standard oil transaction currency. In fact, Tehran has already required euros for their oil sales to the EU and from their Asian (ACU) customers since mid-2003. So, Iranian spokespersons are quite nuanced in their statements...but it would make no sense to denominate in dollars given everything they have said and done over the past 3 years...here's some history:

"The decision-making in connection to the continuation of [oil] transactions in dollars is being considered in a committee set up by the Central Bank of Iran."

– Seyyed Mehdi-Mir-Moezzi, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Co., August 2002


...here's a few more statements from the summer of 2002...

Iran's proposal to receive payments for crude oil sales to Europe in euros instead of U.S. dollars is based primarily on economics, Iranian and industry sources said.

But politics are still likely to be a factor in any decision, they said, as Iran uses the opportunity to hit back at the U.S. government, which recently labeled it part of an "axis of evil."

The proposal, which is now being reviewed by the Central Bank of Iran, is likely to be approved if presented to the country's parliament, a parliamentary representative said.

"There is a very good chance MPs will agree to this idea ...now that the euro is stronger, it is more logical," the parliamentary representative said.

http://www.iranexpert.com/2002/economic ... august.htm

...and here's what has been said in 2003, when they began payments in the euro...

However, Dr Mojarrad made it clear that Iran would prefer the payments to be denominated in euros, though invoiced in dollars. In fact, Iran has been in the forefront on insisting that payments settlements among the ACU member countries be permitted in alternative currencies including the euro. All payments settlement between the ACU members is currently done in dollars.

Iran's oil and gas exports destined mostly for Europe are already denominated in euros. Iran produces about 3.5 barrels and is the second largest oil exporter among the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). About 30 per cent of the Iran's oil exports are destined for European markets. The other two large consumers of Iranian Oil are India and China. Even in the case of Indian only a small quantum of the oil imports come through the ACU mechanism.

As a result of the large exports to Europe, Dr Mojarrad said 60 per cent of Iran's foreign reserves were held in the form of euros. Iran's current foreign exchange reserves are estimated to be equivalent to $20 billion.

But, he added, the switch to the euro, which as done during the last few months had helped the country to negate the effects of a depreciating dollar and falling international oil prices. He said that if the country had continued its receipts in US dollars, it would have meant large losses, which would have translated into domestic inflation. This was because large volumes of its imports are also sourced from Europe. The Iranian central bank was keen to avert that situation and had consequently adopted the euro-denominated payments to ensure that the losses were minimised. The country had also resorted to managing its reserves to minimise the effects of the depreciating dollar, he added.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bli ... 380500.htm

My opinion? Iran will remain very, very quiet about this until it opens this bourse in 2006, hoping to avoid US antagonism in the meantime. Thanks for the article, it appears the Iranians are trying not to discuss their oil bourse until it is open....

[Aaron]

New Editorial

[backstop]

Pfeffer's article seemed to me spot on apart from one point of rhetoric -

"neoliberalism will show itself for what it truly is: fascism. "

This statement unhelpfully obscures present role of neo-liberalism, which IMHO is as the requisite pseudo-intellectual mask concealing fascism from public recognition.

regards,

Backstop

[Wildwell]

1/2 million people had to move out of the city in 3 days or so, some have said, but how would have mass transit have coped? The answer is, very well. This happens in just one hour in London every morning and in many other cities.

The mark of a civilised society is indeed a multi-modal transport system, not least because citizens should never be forced to buy a consumer product, eve n if they could afford it, use it, or wished to take part in compulsory purchase of other products.

[Curmudgicus]

I was with this until the last sentence. Who exactly are the Neo-liberals who are against public transportation? I have encountered plenty of Neo-cons who don't want to pay for it, but no liberals yet.

Am I missing something here? The classical definitions of liberal and conservative have gone out of the window these last six years. I could use a definition of terms.

Thanks.

[EnviroEngr]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Petrodollar', 'T')hanks Aaron, and too everyone else who has commented on my essay.
I hope this editorial will help inform others, and perhaps stimulate some thought-provoking discussion about these complex issues.

-W.Clark

BTW, I made a few minor typos in the original submission , but I hope they will be corrected in the near-term...

[EnviroEngr]

The relevant Editorial is here:
http://peakoil.com/static/editorial/Oil ... litics.htm

[Aaron]

re: Follow the Leader

I say it's political suicide to suggest sacrifice now, to prevent future disasters.

Jimmy Carter anyone?

We do get the government we deserve.

[Revi]

I agree completely with Pfeiffer in his latest editorial, Follow the Leader. We can't wait for some distant federal government to save us from the peak oil crisis. Start saving yourself now! Get a solar panel, a charge controller, a few batteries, a fusebox and rig yourself up an emergency 12 volt DC light system with LED lights. Get yourself a bicycle. Store some beans and rice. Get a woodstove with it's own flue. Find a bunch of pallets to feed it. If you have a yard, grow a garden. Action now will save lots of pain later. After watching New Orleans flood and swelter do you think the government is going to be able to handle the crisis coming this winter or next? I'm not betting on it. Neither should you. It's later than you think.

[abbcampbell]

Bravo!!!

I'm both surprised and delighted by Mr. Pfeiffer's recent editorial, "Laying the Groundwork."

I had been working under the aparrant misunderstanding that Mr. Pfeiffer had more than less given up hope for society in general. Whether this represents a change in his thinking, or I was simply wrong, I don't know. Nor do I really care.

Hat's off to you, Mr. Pfeiffer! We often hear from the more pessimistic folks that the problem with humanity is that they don't comprehend exponential growth. Could it be that neither side understands it, and that sometimes it works to our advantage?

Can we avert disaster? Darned if I know. Darned if anyone else does either. It's really Pascal's wager again, isn't it? We have everything to gain by taking the wager, and nothing to lose.

[Revi]

Pfeiffer's latest editorial Laying the Groundwork is exactly where I am at in this peak oil thing. I know it's an almost impossible task to convince people that there is even a problem, and that action may come too late. We have to do something, and do it soon. The more we prepare ourselves and our neighbors the easier it will be when change comes.

[abbcampbell]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Revi', 'I') know it's an almost impossible task to convince people that there is even a problem, ...

[V-Tek]

I too like the idea of getting some solar panels and a windmill. The
garden is the next logical step. The only problem is when your neighbor
comes over and steals your food. Or possibly the community, who
never considered a garden, sees just how much you have. Then it
becomes a problem of securing ones land, property, food from those
who bent on taking it! You could create a commune in an effort
to provide for a small community, but then you'll have to protect it
as well. Living in a nation where gun control is obviously lacking,
one might find that those with guns take, and thus a great domino
effect will take place. Sounds medieval doesn't it?

[Curmudgicus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('V-Tek', 'I') too like the idea of getting some solar panels and a windmill. The
garden is the next logical step. The only problem is when your neighbor
comes over and steals your food. Or possibly the community, who
never considered a garden, sees just how much you have. Then it
becomes a problem of securing ones land, property, food from those
who bent on taking it! You could create a commune in an effort
to provide for a small community, but then you'll have to protect it
as well. Living in a nation where gun control is obviously lacking,
one might find that those with guns take, and thus a great domino
effect will take place. Sounds medieval doesn't it?