Saturday, November 12, 2011

As Economic Wars Continue, Greece Turns to Iran for Oil #peakoil #currencywars #energywars #peakdebt

Greece's creditors are pulling financing for everything including oil, but energy is the DNA of capitalism and that means the Greek economy can NEVER payback the bailout money and MUST default. The rug is being pulled out from under them... USA stirs up angst over Iran and Greece goes to them for oil...meanwhile there are shortages of fuel all around the globe.. this is peakoil and economic war

Amplify’d from arabnews.com

Greece turns to Iranian oil as default fears deter trade

Outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou waves to the media as he leaves the presidential palace in Athens. (Reuters)














By REUTERS







Published: Nov 11, 2011 23:35
Updated: Nov 11, 2011 23:43

LONDON: Greece is relying on Iran for most of its oil as traders pull the plug on supplies and banks refuse to provide financing for fear that Athens will default on its debt.

Traders said Greece has turned to Iran as the supplier of last resort despite rising pressure from Washington and Brussels to stifle trade as part of a campaign against Tehran’s nuclear program.

The near paralysis of oil dealings with Greece, which has four refineries, shows how trade in Europe could stall due to a breakdown in trust caused by the euro zone debt crisis, which is threatening to spread to further countries.

“Companies like us cannot deal with them. There is too much risk. Maybe independent traders are more geared up for that,” said a trader with a major international oil company.

“Our finance department just refuses to deal with them. Not that they didn’t pay. It is just a precaution,” said a trader with a major trading house.

“We couldn’t find any bank willing to finance us. No bank wants to finance a deal for them. We missed some good opportunities there,” said a third trader.

More than two dozen European traders contacted by Reuters at oil majors and trading houses said the lack of bank financing has forced Greece to stop purchasing crude from Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in recent months.

Greece, with no domestic production, relies on oil imports and in 2010 imported 46 percent of its crude from Russia and 16 percent from Iran. Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan provided 10 percent each, Libya 9 percent and Iraq 7 percent, according to data from the European Union.

“They are really making no secret when you speak to them and say they are surviving on Iranian stuff because others will simply not sell to them in the current environment,” one trader in the Mediterranean said.

Leading Greek refiner Hellenic Petroleum denied having any difficulty in buying crude and declined to comment on the exact breakdown of oil supplies. Greece’s second biggest refiner Motor Oil Hellas declined to comment.

Greece’s four refineries, belonging to Hellenic and Motor Oil, together can process around 400,000 barrels per day. That figure has fallen to around 330,000 bpd in recent months due to maintenances and upgrades.

“Our crude slate is broadly unchanged over the last few months and we are always viewing to optimise our refining operations,” a Hellenic spokesman said.

“Our supply agreements are based on purely commercial considerations, no other factors interfering,” he said.

Shipping data obtained by Reuters showed four cargoes taking crude from the Middle East outlet of Sidi Kerir on the Egyptian Mediterranean to Greece in September. Three sailed in October. Traders said all carried Iranian Heavy crude and more was coming in November.

“Iran is the only one who might be working on an “open credit” basis right now, given its own difficulty in selling crude,” one trader said.

Imports of Iranian oil to the United States are subject to sanctions but are still fully legal to Europe and Asia. The European Union said this week it may consider oil sanctions against Iran within weeks, after a UN agency said Tehran had worked to design nuclear bombs.

Iran denies trying to build atom bombs and an Iranian official, who declined to be named, said Tehran has no difficulty in selling its oil.

However, shipping sources said that interest in Iranian crude, which is cheaper than competing Russian grades but politically sensitive, has prompted the country to continue storing crude in the Red Sea, to make it available for swift delivery.

The rest of the oil industry drastically cut crude storage last year after forward prices for crude moved to a discount to prompt, making such operation loss-making.

Iran is storing crude in four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) in the Red Sea.

Read more at arabnews.com
 

Friday, November 11, 2011

Founding Fathers of the United States Were Radical Revolutionaries #ows

 #OWS is primarily made up of people who believe that the country is in dire need of massive reform in many areas.



Just because some of the founding fathers had slaves and were Episcopalian and there were no women allowed in the group doesn't mean we have to be that way now.
Amplify’d from en.wikipedia.org

Founding Fathers of the United States

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some other key contribution. Within the large group known as the "Founding Fathers", there are two key subsets: the "Signers of the Declaration of Independence" (who signed the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776) and the Framers of the Constitution (who were delegates to the Federal Convention and took part in framing or drafting the proposed Constitution of the United States). A further subset is the group that signed the Articles of Confederation.[2]




The Committee of Five presenting their draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Congress on June 28, 1776. Painting by John Trumbull. Trumbull's painting can also be found on the back of the U.S. $2 bill.[1]


Some historians define the "Founding Fathers" to mean a larger group, including not only the Signers and the Framers but also all those who, whether as politicians, jurists, statesmen, soldiers, diplomats, or ordinary citizens, took part in winning American independence and creating the United States of America.[3] American historian Richard B. Morris, in his 1973 book Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries, identified the following seven figures as the key Founding Fathers: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.[4]
The newspaper publisher Warren G. Harding, then a Republican Senator from Ohio, coined the phrase "Founding Fathers" in his keynote address to the 1916 Republican National Convention. He used it several times thereafter, most prominently in his 1921 inaugural address as President of the United States.[5]

[edit] Collective biography of the Framers of the Constitution

In the winter and spring of 1786-1787, twelve of the thirteen states chose a total of 74 delegates to attend what is now known as the Federal Convention in Philadelphia. Nineteen delegates chose not to accept election or attend the debates; for example, Patrick Henry of Virginia thought that state politics were far more interesting and important than national politics, though during the ratification controversy of 1787-1788 he claimed, "I smelled a rat." Rhode Island did not send delegates because of its politicians' suspicions of the Convention delegates' motivations. As a sanctuary for Baptists, Rhode Island's absence at the Convention in part explains the absence of Baptist affiliation among those who did attend. Of the 55 who did attend at some point, no more than 38 delegates showed up at one time.[6]
These delegates represented a cross-section of 18th century American leadership. Almost all of them were well-educated men of means who were leaders in their communities. Many were also prominent in national affairs. Virtually every one had taken part in the American Revolution; at least 29 had served in the Continental Army, most of them in positions of command. Several of the latter were instrumental in establishing the Society of the Cincinnati in 1783. Scholars have examined the collective biography of them as well as the signers of the Declaration and the Constitution.[7]

[edit] Political experience

The framers of the Constitution had extensive political experience. By 1787, four-fifths (41 individuals), were or had been members of the Continental Congress. Nearly all of the 55 delegates had experience in colonial and state government, and the majority had held county and local offices.[8]
  • The ones who lacked congressional experience were Bassett, Blair, Brearly, Broom, Davie, Dayton, Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, Mason, McClurg, Paterson, Charles Pinckney, Strong, Washington and Yates.
  • Six (Carroll, Dickinson, Gerry, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, and Sherman) had affixed their signatures to the Articles of Confederation.
  • Two, Sherman and Robert Morris, signed all three of the nation's basic documents.
  • Dickinson, Franklin, Langdon, and Rutledge had been governors.

[edit] Occupations and finances

The 1787 delegates practiced a wide range of high and middle-status occupations, and many pursued more than one career simultaneously. They did not differ dramatically from the Loyalists, except they were generally younger and less senior in their professions.[9] Thirty-five had legal training, though not all of them practiced law. Some had also been local judges.[10]


  • At the time of the convention, 13 men were merchants: Blount, Broom, Clymer, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Shields, Gilman, Gorham, Langdon, Robert Morris, Pierce, Sherman, and Wilson.

  • Seven were major land speculators: Blount, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Gorham, Robert Morris, Washington and Wilson.

  • Eleven speculated in securities on a large scale: Bedford, Blair, Clymer, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Franklin, King, Langdon, Robert Morris, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Sherman.

  • Twelve owned or managed slave-operated plantations or large farms: Bassett, Blair, Blount, Butler, Carroll, Jenifer, Jefferson, Mason, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Rutledge, Spaight, and Washington. Madison also owned slaves, as did Franklin, who later freed his slaves and was a key founder of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Alexander Hamilton was opposed to slavery and, with John Jay and other anti-slavery advocates, helped to found the first African free school in New York City. Jay helped to found the New York Manumission Society, Hamilton was an officer, and when Jay was governor of New York in 1798 he signed into law the state statute ending slavery as of 1821.

  • Broom and Few were small farmers.

  • Eight of the men received a substantial part of their income from public office: Baldwin, Blair, Brearly, Gilman, Livingston, Madison, and Rutledge.

  • Three had retired from active economic endeavors: Franklin, McHenry, and Mifflin.

  • Franklin and Williamson were scientists, in addition to their other activities.

  • McClurg, McHenry, and Williamson were physicians, and Johnson was a college president.

[edit] Family and finances


A few of the 1787 delegates were wealthy, but many of the country's top wealth-holders were Loyalists who went to Britain. Most of the others had financial resources that ranged from good to excellent, but there are other founders who were less than wealthy. On the whole they were less wealthy than the Loyalists.[11]

[edit] Demographics


Brown (1976) and Harris (1969) provide detailed demographic information on each man.


  • Most of the 1787 delegates were natives of the Thirteen Colonies. Only 9 were born elsewhere: four (Butler, Fitzsimons, McHenry, and Paterson) in Ireland, two (Davie and Robert Morris) in England, two (Wilson and Witherspoon) in Scotland, and one (Hamilton) in the West Indies.

  • Many of them had moved from one state to another. Seventeen individuals had already lived or worked in more than one state or colony: Baldwin, Bassett, Bedford, Dickinson, Few, Franklin, Ingersoll, Hamilton, Livingston, Alexander Martieno, Luther Martin, Mercer, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, Read, Sherman, and Williamson.

  • Several others had studied or traveled abroad.

The Founding Fathers had strong educational backgrounds at some of the colonial colleges or abroad.[12] Some, like Franklin and Washington, were largely self-taught or learned through apprenticeship. Others had obtained instruction from private tutors or at academies. About half of the men had attended or graduated from college. Some men held medical degrees or advanced training in theology. Most of the education was in the colonies, but several were lawyers who had been trained at the Inns of Court in London.

[edit] Longevity and family life






Death age of the Founding Fathers.



For their era, the 1787 delegates (like the 1776 signers) were average in terms of life spans.[10] Their average age at death was about 67. The first to die was Houston in 1788; the last was Madison in 1836.

Secretary Charles Thomson lived to the age of 94. Johnson died at 92. John Adams lived to the age of 90. A few—Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Williamson, and Wythe—lived into their eighties. Either 15 or 16 (depending on Fitzsimons's exact age) died in their seventies, 20 or 21 in their sixties, eight in their fifties, and five only in their forties. Three (Alexander Hamilton, Richard Dobbs Spaight and Button Gwinnett) were killed in duels.

Most of the delegates married and raised children. Sherman fathered the largest family: 15 children by two wives. At least nine (Bassett, Brearly, Johnson, Mason, Paterson, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Sherman, Wilson, and Wythe) married more than once. Four (Baldwin, Gilman, Jenifer, and Alexander Martin) were lifelong bachelors.

[edit] Religion


Lambert (2003) has examined the religious affiliations and beliefs of the Founders. Of the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, 49 were Protestants, and three were Roman Catholics (C. Carroll, D. Carroll, and Fitzsimons). Among the Protestant delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 28 were Church of England (or Episcopalian, after the American Revolutionary War was won), eight were Presbyterians, seven were Congregationalists, two were Lutherans, two were Dutch Reformed, and two were Methodists.

A few prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical Christians, such as Thomas Jefferson[13][14][15] (who created the so-called "Jefferson Bible") and Benjamin Franklin.[16] A few others (most notably Thomas Paine) were deists, or at least held beliefs very similar to those of deists.[17]

[edit] Post-convention careers


The 1787 delegates' subsequent careers reflected their abilities as well as the vagaries of fate.[18] Most were successful, although seven (Fitzsimons, Gorham, Luther Martin, Mifflin, Robert Morris, Pierce, and Wilson) suffered serious financial reverses that left them in or near bankruptcy. Two, Blount and Dayton, were involved in possibly treasonous activities. Yet, as they had done before the convention, most of the group continued to render public service, particularly to the new government they had helped to create.

[edit] Legacy


According to Joseph J. Ellis, the concept of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. emerged in the 1820s as the last survivors died out. Ellis says "the founders," or "the fathers," comprised an aggregate of semi-sacred figures whose particular accomplishments and singular achievements were decidedly less important than their sheer presence as a powerful but faceless symbol of past greatness. For the generation of national leaders coming of age in the 1820s and 1830s – men like Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun – "the founders" represented a heroic but anonymous abstraction whose long shadow fell across all followers and whose legendary accomplishments defied comparison. "We can win no laurels in a war for independence," Webster acknowledged in 1825. "Earlier and worthier hands have gathered them all. Nor are there places for us ... [as] the founders of states. Our fathers have filled them. But there remains to us a great duty of defence and preservation."[19] The last remaining founders, also called the "Last of the Romans",[20] lived well into the nineteenth century; for example, Andrew Jackson served in the Revolutionary War, eventually became President, died in 1845, and is now sometimes considered a founding father.[21]

[edit] List of the Founding Fathers










[edit] Signers of the Declaration of Independence






[edit] Delegates to the Constitutional Convention


[edit] Signers of the Constitution



[edit] Delegates who left the Convention without signing



[edit] Convention delegates who refused to sign












[edit] Signers of the Articles of Confederation



The following people signed the Articles of Confederation:





[edit] Other founders


The following people are referred to in the cited reliable sources as having been fathers or founders of the United States.

Read more at en.wikipedia.org

Economic and Currency Wars Escalate in EU, Confidence Erodes

Its all about confidence and the infinite growth paradigm is crumbling under the weight of too many people, too much debt, too much stuff, and a deteriorating climate.

Amplify’d from www.cnbc.com

65% Chance of Banking Crisis by End of Month: Researchers

By: Patrick Allen
CNBC EMEA Head of News

There is a 65 percent chance of a banking crisis between November 23-26 following a Greek default and a run on the Italian banking system, according to analysts at Exclusive Analysis, a research firm that focuses on global risks.

Having tested a number of assumptions in a scenario modeling exercise, the Exclusive Analysis team warned it is becoming less and less likely that EU leaders will simply “muddle through” and have made some bold calls with clear timelines on when the euro zone will be thrown into a major financial crisis.

The most likely outcome according to their analysis is a sudden crisis in which the US, UK and BRICs nations





refuse to provide funding via the IMF for the euro zone. In a world where predictions are made with no time lines, the paper makes some bold predictions which can be held to account over the next three weeks.

In the worst case scenario, Exclusive Analysis expects the governments of Greece and Portugal to collapse due to a lack of consensus on how to handle the debt crisis leading to social unrest. German opposition to handing more funds to the EFSF





rises, leading Germany’s parliament to actually reduce the money available to the bailout fund.

“In face of that, China and the other BRICs give clear signals that they will not support the bailout fund. The EFSF turns to the ECB





, which refuses to print out the amount of money the former needs to bailout the PIIGS. In face of the EU's failure to boost the EFSF, the European banks refuse to accept the 50 percent haircut on the Greek debt. Both the IMF





and the ECB suspend payments to Greece,” said the report released on Tuesday evening.

Between November 18-22, French debt, under Exclusive Analysis' most likely scenario, is downgraded leading to the interbank lending market freezing up with new governments in Greece and Italy “faced down by protestors in their attempts to implement more austerity”.

Civil unrest follows in Spain following the election of a new government which pushes through even tighter austerity measures, and Portugal announces it cannot meet financial targets putting its bailout cash from the IMF and ECB at risk.

“Increased fear that these economies will default creates bank runs in Greece and Portugal and a downgrade of French sovereign debt from AAA to AA. EFSF is subsequently downgraded to AA+” said the report.

“The spreads applied to the debt of all PIIGS increase with yields on Italian bonds





reaching 7.3 percent. In a second contagion effect, depositors in Spain and Italy fear a banking crisis in their own countries, which end up creating a series of bank runs and a collapse of the interbank credit market as banks know that most of their counterparts are at risk. Greece defaults.”

This doomsday scenario comes to a head between November 23-26 when Greece leaves the euro to print money and rescue its banking sector. The new currency falls quickly and depositors lose out as their investments are converted into the new local currency.

“The government default on the sovereign debt





and the banks default on their foreign debt, which causes a banking crisis across Europe. Italian bond yields rise and exceed 7 percent and the country faces bank runs, in face of which the government freezes deposits and defaults on the sovereign debt”.

So far so scary. For those looking for some hope, the Exclusive Analysis report predicts a 25 percent chance that the EU will continue to muddle through. In this scenario new politicians in Greece, Italy and Spain are given some breathing room by voters to find new solutions to the crisis until the end of the year. Portugal still fails to meet its fiscal targets, putting its bailout cash at risk, and French debt is still downgraded on prospect of Greek debt default.

“However, the new governments in Italy, Spain and Greece are given a honeymoon period by protestors and euro zone counterparts, which prevents a market rout.”

In January and February, Greece defaults but the fallout is contained as a new deal on 70 percent haircuts is agreed. Spanish and Italian bond yields hit 7 percent.

“Civil disorder continues in Portugal and Spain, reducing their ability to implement austerity packages. Sovereign ratings in Spain and Italy are downgraded and the prospect of rescue feels imminent as far as analysts are concerned,” warns the report in its muddle-through scenario.

“However, the UK and US governments reduce their objections to the use of IMF resources to fund the EFSF, which, together with a Greek default, improves market conditions and halts the rise in yields on the Italian and Spanish debts.”

With Spain and Italy entering IMF programs, the debt crisis rubbles on in 2012 and 2013 before things turn nasty as Greece defaults and recreates the drachma.

“Markets close to Italy and Portugal again towards end-2012 and civil unrest resume, starting off a second cycle of crisis and speculation about the future of the euro zone.”

If that is the muddle-through scenario, then we are in for a very nasty end to 2011 and years of euro zone debt crisis. But Exclusive Analysis does predict a 10 percent chance that the crisis is resolved.

In this good news scenario Greece still defaults before the end of the year, but “stronger political leadership in other PIIGS contains the fallout”.

“New governments in Italy, Spain and Greece are given a honeymoon period by protestors as they attempt to implement more austerity; a real sense of national unity is constructed with respect to the crisis.”

The new governments are seen as more credible and the US, UK, IMF and BRICs agree to make more funds available to the EFSF.

“The new ECB head is persuasive of the need for the ECB to purchase more bonds from national governments. Greece defaults in November, but under the new technocratic government the process is orderly and banks agree to accept 70 percent haircut on their credit. France recapitalizes its banks and suffers a sovereign downgrade,” said the report.

In the first two months of 2012 France and Germany reach an accommodation on ECB lending and fiscal rules which means the ECB becomes a lender of last resort in return for statuary limits on the amount the so-called PIIGS can borrow, a condition demanded by Germany.

“Market conditions improve and PIIGS bond yields decrease following these successful negotiations. Italy and Spain are emboldened by their lower yields and by the Franco-German pressure to negotiate a restructuring of their debt with creditors with a view to smoothing and lengthening the maturity profile.”

Exclusive Analysis will join Worldwide Exchange at 10:10 BST/5:10 ET to discuss the report and will be joined on set by Jim Rogers of Rogers Holdings.
Read more at www.cnbc.com
 

Monday, November 7, 2011

Chronology of The American Imperialism

1776 - Independence, Rejection of taxation without representation, rejection of monopolies, seeking independence from foreign rule

1780-1860 - Manifest Destiny - precursors of predatory capitalism - Acquiring Land on the New Continent (Decimation of the indigenous population)
1860- Civil War (not just about slavery from a race perspective - it was twisted economix)
- Greenbacks and debt to fund the war                                                                    
1860-1870 - Reconstruction
1868 - Assassination of Lincoln by Southern Banking Interests
1869 - Dawn of Petroleum Age
1890's - Bank of the United States
1898 - Spanish American War- Acquiring New Territory Abroad (Cuba, Phillipines), False Flag of USS Maine
1900 - Industrial Revolution, Human Capital (Slavery, Servitude)
1907 - Market Crash
1911 - Standard Oil Breakup - Pecora Commission
19xx - Henry Ford Gives into Rockefeller - Petroleum and Internal Cumbustion over Diesel and Biofuels and Electric cars
1913 - Federal Reserve Act, Wilson, Rothechild,
1914-1917 - WW1 - Carving up the Middle East for Oil
1920's - Roaring 20's
1929 - Stock Market Crash Driven by Predatory Capitalist
1930-1939 - Great Depression
19xx - Hemp for Victory Campaigns
1933 - Prohibition if Alcohol (to kill biofuels), Prohibition of Weed - driven by Cotton Industry
1933 Gold confiscation - debt to fund WW2
1950 Birth of Consumerism, Banana republics in Latin America, CIA & Protection of "Liberty" as codeword for destruction of other national sovereignty and democracies
1960's Cold War, Population Control, Civil rights, MLK, Vietnam (False Flag)
1970's gold standard, US peak oil, oil crisis, conservation, on the right track,
1980- 2010 - Distraction , The Overseas Oil Boom,
2012 - all kinds of shit, too tired to write more.