http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=oil Wed, 22 May 2013 15:14:18 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=oil Wed, 22 May 2013 06:14:27 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=606_1369217332 MortenHj Libyans thank the filthy US for their destruction of their country. You "liberated" it like you want to do with Syria, this is the face of your proxy army trained by the cia from the very start. The US had to release Al-Qaeda on Libya, they were just to envious of the great social state they had. Now its just another funnel of corruption and destruction going to the banks and oil companies. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=606_1369217332 MortenHj Misrata gangs terrorize civilians they rounded up &amp; beaten Libya, terrorism, al-qaeda, filth, US proxy army, destroyers, gangsters, Tue, 21 May 2013 20:46:55 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c4c_1369183416 GLEISE581 SYRIA TRANSITION SUPPORT ACT INTRODUCED BY MENENDEZ, CORKER PASSES SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEEBipartisan Legislation Approved by a Vote of 15 to 3Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Bill Provides for Lethal Aid and Training to Vetted Syrian Opposition, Sanctions Weapon Sales and Petroleum Sales to the Assad Regime, While Delivering Humanitarian Assistance and Planning for a Post-Assad Syria WASHINGTON, DC - The Syria Transition Support Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Bob Corker (R-TN) passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The legislation plans for a post-Assad Syria by offering humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, limited lethal and non-lethal assistance and training to vetted Syrian groups. "The situation in Syria is critical for Syrians, for the region, and for the U.S. effort to counter extremism. More than 80,000 Syrians have died in the last two years, the number of refugees now tops 1.5 million; the conflict is spilling over into Lebanon and Iraq; and extremists groups with links to al-Qaeda are exploiting the conflict and gaining ground in a state with large chemical weapon stockpiles. The time to act and turn the tide against Assad is now. This legislation will provide critical support to the Syrian opposition through provision of military assistance, training, and additional humanitarian support." "Given the risks to the U.S. and the region from an extremist takeover in Syria, I thank my colleagues for advancing our bill that seeks a better outcome by establishing a more focused U.S. strategy without new spending or authorizing American military force. This effort has always been about more than the arming and training of vetted opposition groups; it is about shifting the momentum on the ground toward moderate forces while helping them build consensus for a new government post Assad," said Corker. "In order for the necessary political transition to take place, moderate forces must gain the upper hand, and Assad must doubt his chances of survival. This bill moves that effort down the road in a serious, measured way, so I hope it is something my congressional colleagues and the president will embrace. " The Menendez-Corker legislation includes six key elements. o Authority to provide arms, military training and non-lethal supplies to the Syrian armed opposition: Groups that have gone through a thorough vetting process by the U.S. government, meeting certain criteria on human-rights, terrorism, and non-proliferation, would be eligible. A presidential waiver is included allowing for the distribution of anti-aircraft defensive systems with strict limitations. o Creation of a $250 million transition fund each year through FY2015 drawn from funds otherwise appropriated for regional transition support: To assist the civilian opposition in early transition institution building and maintenance of existing institutions, such as preserving security institutions, preventing regional spillover, promoting government formation, supporting transition justice, and reconciliation efforts. o Sanctions on arms and oil sales to Assad: Targeting any person that the President of the United States determines has knowingly participated in or facilitated a transaction related to the sale or transfer of military equipment, arms, petroleum, or petroleum products to the Assad regime. o Broad authority for humanitarian assistance: To ensure the administration is not hampered in its efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. This section does not authorize any new or additional funding. o Administration strategy: Requiring the administration to work with Congress and keep it fully apprised of strategy towards Syria, including working through the international community and Russia to find a political settlement. o Amendment to the Syria Accountability Act: To allow for sanctions removal once a transitional government is in place and certain terrorism and WMD criteria have been met. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c4c_1369183416 GLEISE581 SYRIA TRANSITION SUPPORT ACT PASSED syria Tue, 21 May 2013 15:38:24 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=604_1369164931 Baron_Kaz After killer baby milk, puppy food, filtering oil from restaurant drains... now the latest Chinese export is "Fake eggs" made from gelatin,calcium carbonate, artificial colors. NEVER eat or feed anything made in China. And try to cut back on trade with those little buggers. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=604_1369164931 Baron_Kaz Fake eggs from China. WTF! China Wed, 15 May 2013 20:29:15 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8cd_1368664015 volker_muller55 The European Commission has carried out surprise inspections at several major oil companies over possible price manipulation in breach of EU anti-trust rules. The Commission did not name any of the companies involved in Tuesday's raids, but British energy giant BP, Shell and Norway's Statoil said that their offices had been visited. Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan reports. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8cd_1368664015 volker_muller55 EU raids <span class="highlight">oil</span> majors in 'price fixing' probe oil, collusion, EU, shell, BP, Statoil Sun, 19 May 2013 19:38:45 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9d0_1369006539 Master of Logic George Bush is a POS. Saudi Arabia needs to go. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9d0_1369006539 Master of Logic Losing Power Iraqi <span class="highlight">oil</span> flows while locals lack electricity, water Iraq, water,poverty,problems, Tue, 21 May 2013 05:16:34 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=72b_1369127668 omniradar 21 May 2013 Last updated at 00:36 Scottish independence: Scotland 'held back by UK governments'Scotland has been held back by past and present UK governments, Holyrood's SNP administration has claimed. In a paper, to be published later, it cites six areas where Westminster has pursued policies said not to have been in the best interests of Scotland. The arguments are being outlined the day after Treasury analysis suggested independence would cost savers and borrowers north of the border. Scotland's electorate is being asked to vote yes or no to independence. On Thursday, 18 September, 2014, they will answer the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" In the build up to the vote, both the Scottish and UK governments have been publishing documents that illustrate their cases. This week, the two sides are focusing on the economy and financial sectors such as banking. Continue reading the main story "Start Quote The evidence is clear - the UK government's economic policies have been holding Scotland back for generations" Nicola Sturgeon Deputy First Minister Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said a Treasury paper, titled Scotland analysis: Financial services and banking , highlighted a number of questions that needed to be answered by the Scottish government. He believed it was up to ministers at Holyrood to say what would happen to Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), mortgage products, pension funds and car insurance. Previewing the launch of a Scottish government paper, titled Scotland's Economy: the case for independence, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the Westminster system of government "is hindering Scotland's potential". She highlighted six areas including; The decision of the last two Westminster governments to cut capital spending which would have supported an additional 19,000 jobs in Scotland The UK government's failure to establish an oil fund for future generations, similar to the Norwegian fund now worth an estimated lb450bn The decision by the UK government to engage in a boom in credit and debt expansion Allowing income inequality to grow dramatically in the UK The decision to concentrate economic activity in London And the decision to pursue austerity rather than focus on growing the economy. Ms Sturgeon said: "The evidence is clear. The UK government's economic policies have been holding Scotland back for generations. "Only with the powers of independence can Scotland meet its full potential. "We already know - and the report of the Fiscal Commission Working Group has confirmed - that by international standards Scotland is a wealthy and productive country, and has the potential to be an economically successful independent nation." 'Economic mismanagement' She goes on to say that Scotland has a wealth of resources in the areas of life sciences, creative industries, ICT, oil and gas, renewable energy, food and drink, manufacturing, financial services and tourism. Ms Sturgeon believes that with the full powers of independence the Scottish government "would have the powers to do much more". Continue reading the main story "Start Quote In the absence of having any answers to difficult questions, the nationalists have reverted to negative type - it is all Westminster's fault" Alistair Darling Better Together campaign She added: "The paper the Scottish government will publish today sets out in clear, concise detail the fundamental economic strengths of Scotland across a range of diverse sectors. "Scotland can more than afford to be a successful independent country - the question everyone must ask themselves is whether we can afford not to be independent given the scale of economic mismanagement by Westminster." However, the head of the Better Together campaign, Alistair Darling, said the the SNP paper was "long on grievances about the past, but it is very short on Scotland's future". He added: "What was billed as an economic framework for independence has turned out to be a list of objections with barely any mention about how leaving the UK would have any impact on them. "In the absence of having any answers to difficult questions, the nationalists have reverted to negative type. It is all Westminster's fault. "What is most striking is that even the nationalists don't seem to know why they want independence. Their high point is air passenger duty. Is that worth breaking a 300 year old union with our biggest and most important trading partner? "They must know that in a currency union, it is highly unlikely that Scotland would be able to undercut the rest of the UK." http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=72b_1369127668 omniradar Scottish independence: Scotland 'held back by UK governments' Scotland Mon, 20 May 2013 11:12:51 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d13_1369061584 m16carbine How do you say 'Quagmire' in Farsi? By THANASSIS CAMBANIS, May 2013, Foreign Policy Magazine ARSAL, Lebanon - For more than a year, leaders in Lebanon have anxiously eyed the murderous civil war in Syria, wondering whether it would leap across the border and engulf the small, fractious country. And yet, it is Lebanon that now has jumped decisively into the fray, with Hezbollah's help apparently crucial to the Syrian regime 's strategy and survival. Uniformed Hezbollah fighters openly patrol the northern reaches of Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, fighting on either side of the increasingly porous border with Syria. Rocket and mortar teams target Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters a few miles away, and Lebanese Hezbollah infantry fighters crisscross the "Shiite villages" surrounding the city of Qusayr just across the border in Syria, which now forms one of the pivot points of the conflict. The fighting around Qusayr has brought into the open the parlor game over whether Iran and Hezbollah are active combatants in Syria's war. In an April 30 speech, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah hinted at greater involvement from the Lebanese paramilitary group in Syria, warning that the regime had "real friends" who would prevent Syria from "fall into the hands" of the United States and Israel. The thunder of artillery fire in the mountains flanking the Beqaa Valley, like the spate of no-longer-hidden Hezbollah funerals , make clear that Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors have crossed a Rubicon. They are now fully vested factions in the Syrian civil war, and they're committed to an open and escalating fight. Not 20 miles from Hezbollah's position as the crow flies, FSA fighters flee across the border to the Sunni village of Arsal, nestled north in the Beqaa Valley in the mountains separating Lebanon and Syria. They make no distinction between the Syrian army, Hezbollah, and Iran -- because, they say, they get shot at by all three. "We could have common interests with Hezbollah, but they're attacking us. Now there are grudges, which we will have to settle after the war," said Shehadeh Ahmed Sheikh, 24, a self-described mortar man in the FSA. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor of an unfinished home in Arsal. Sheikh had brought with him 16 members of his extended family after their house in Qusayr had been destroyed earlier that week; as we talked, they squatted around him in the dwelling, which they had been assigned to by Arsal's mayor. Like many Sunnis in the area, he referred to Hezbollah, whose name means "the Party of God" in Arabic, as Hezb al-Shaitan -- "the Party of Satan." By supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the hilt, Hezbollah and Iran are risking their hard-won reputation as stewards of an anti-Israel and anti-U.S. alliance that transcends sect and nationality. Syrian combatants increasingly understand the war in sectarian terms: On one side there is the Sunni majority; on the other side, other sects and a small group of Sunnis that have made common cause with the Alawite regime. Western diplomats estimate that a few thousand Hezbollah fighters are involved in the Syrian fighting. Close observers of the group, which carefully guards its operational structure, say that they mistrust any precise numbers. But if Hezbollah has sent hundreds, or even a few thousand, of its best-trained fighters to Syria, that deployment certainly represents a significant percentage of its fighting force. During its 2006 war with Israel, the highest estimate of Hezbollah fighters killed was about 700, with the group's own official death toll closer to 300. Sunnis are increasingly framing the conflict as a sectarian jihad. The influential Lebanese Salafi cleric Ahmad Al-Assir has set up his own militia , suggesting his fighters would be just as willing to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon as they already are to travel to Syria to fight alongside the rebels there. Supporters of the regime and Hezbollah point out that the rebellion tolerates Sunni fundamentalist extremists whereas Assad and Hezbollah rely on a time-tested alliance of minorities, including Alawites, Christians, Druze, and Shiite Muslims. The propaganda of both sides has sharpened a narrative of the Syrian conflict as a struggle between Sunni extremists and old-style authoritarians, who at least protect the minorities they exploit. Deadly identity politics have taken root, and people on both sides of the conflict see it more and more as a matter of survival. Sheikh, the young Sunni fighter, planned to return to battle as soon as he settled his family: "We cannot go back to the way things were before" On the eve of the uprisings just three short years ago, many Arab analysts observed half-jokingly that the most influential state in the Arab world wasn't Arab at all -- it was Iran, awash in oil revenues and ready to lavish cash on a region in the throes of an increasingly hot Sunni-Shiite cold war. Sunni monarchs and dictators fretted about a "Shiite Crescent" linking Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Hezbollah. Tehran, for its part, strutted triumphantly across the Arab stage, bragging about an unstoppable "Axis of Resistance" oiled with ideological fervor and the supreme leader's bank account. What a difference a few uprisings can make. Today, Iran's involvement in Syria has all the makings of a quagmire, and certainly represents the Islamic Republic's biggest strategic setback in the region since its war with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ended in 1988. Syria's conflict has begun to attract so much attention and resources that it threatens to end the era when Iran could nimbly outmaneuver the slow-moving American behemoth in the Middle East. Iran -- already reeling from sanctions -- is spending hundreds of millions of dollars propping up Bashar al-Assad's regime. In the murky arena of sub rosa foreign intervention, it's impossible to keep a detailed count of the dollars, guns, and operatives the Islamic Republic has dispatched to Syria. Westerners and Arab officials who have met in recent months with Syrian government ministers say that Iranian advisers are retooling key ministries to provide copious military training, including to the newly established citizen militias in regime-controlled areas of Syria. "We back Syria," Iranian General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan reiterated on May 5. "If there is need for training we will provide them with the training." In private meetings, Iranian diplomats in the region project insouciance, suggesting that the Islamic Republic can indefinitely sustain its military and financial aid to the Assad regime. To be sure, its burden today is probably bearable. But as sanctions squeeze Iran and it comes under increasing pressure over its nuclear program, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) might find the investment harder to sustain. The conflict shows no signs of ending, and as foreign aid to the rebels escalates, Iran will have to pour in more and more resources simply to maintain a stalemate. If this is Iran's Vietnam, we're only beginning year three. The cost of Tehran's support of Assad can't entirely be measured in dollars. Iran has had to sacrifice most of its other Arab allies on the Syrian altar. As the violence worsened, Hamas gave up its home in Damascus and its warm relationship with Tehran. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government has also adopted a scolding tone toward Iran on Syria. On Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy's first visit to Tehran, he took the opportunity to blast the "oppressive regime" in Damascus, saying it was an "ethical duty" to support the opposition. Gone are the days when Iran held the mantle of popular resistance. Popular Arab movements, including Syria's own rebels, now have the momentum and air of authenticity. Iran's mullahs finally look to the Arab near-abroad as they long have appeared at home -- repressive, authoritarian, and fierce defenders of the status quo." Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Iran's commitment to Assad has put the crown jewel of its assets in the Arab world, Hezbollah, in danger. Just a few years ago, a survey found that Nasrallah was the most popular leader in the Arab world. Along with other members of the "resistance axis," Hezbollah mocked the rest of the Arab world's political movements as toadies and collaborators, happy to submit to American-Israeli hegemony. Today, however, it has sacrificed this popular support and enraged Sunnis across the Arab world by siding with a merciless dictator. Hezbollah used to try to cultivate allies from all sects, so that it wouldn't seem to be pursuing a purely Shiite agenda, but it now appears in the eyes of the Arab world to have cast its lot -- hook, line, and sinker -- with a brutal minority regime in Syria over a popular, largely Islamist movement. A Pew survey last year found that the group's popularity was declining in predominantly Sunni countries such as Egypt and Jordan, while Lebanese Sunnis and Christians also increasingly soured on the party. In the border town of Hermel, usually secretive Hezbollah fighters have openly mobilized. They fight on both sides of the border, protecting a ring of Shiite villages in Syria that connect Damascus to the Alawite heartland. An untold number of Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Syria -- so many that the movement has stopped keeping the funerals secret and has even released videos of some of the martyrs. "We bury our martyrs in the open," Nasrallah said in his recent speech. "We are not ashamed of them." Hezbollah positions in Hermel were shelled on May 12, and the Sunni jihadist Nusra Front reportedly claimed responsibility . In their rhetoric, Lebanese politicians have sought to downplay the sectarian nature of the fight in Syria, and there are plenty of individuals who say they have chosen sides out of interest or ideology, rather than sect. Yet to most of its participants, the conflict has taken on an undeniably sectarian hue: an almost entirely Sunni rebellion, against a regime supported by the majority of Syria's other sects. "There's no difference between Hezbollah, the army, and the Syrian regime," scoffed Mustafa Ezzedine, a driver in Arsal who was recently dragged into the conflict as a literal hostage, kidnapped because he was a Sunni Muslim by a Shiite clan that wanted one of its own kidnapped members released. It doesn't matter that among his guests at a recent, lazy hashish-fueled afternoon tea was a member of that same rival clan: sectarian politics have little regard for personal views. For residents of the Beqaa Valley, the war in Syria has already drifted across the border, and they fear it could get worse quickly. The regional stakes are high as well. On at least one occasion, the Syrian conflict has cost an Iranian military commander his life. In mid-February, a shadowy IRGC officer responsible for overseeing Iranian reconstruction projects in Lebanon who went by the names Hessam Khoshnevis and Hassan Shateri was killed on the road from Damascus to Beirut. Iran put out the story that Israel assassinated their man, but Western and Arab officials told me they had seen reliable intelligence reports that it was a Syrian rebel ambush. A who's who of Lebanese politicians paid condolences at the Iranian embassy, and Hezbollah's number two, Naim Qassem, delivered a long tribute to the fallen IRGC offer at a memorial service in an underground theater in Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. It was the latest sign that Hezbollah is willing to risk everything in supporting the Syrian dictator -- and that Iran just may ask its Lebanese ally to fight to the end, or go down with the ship. "We would be nothing without Iran!" Qassem thundered in his tribute. "Others hide the foreign funds they receive. We proudly open our hands to Iran's gifts. What the resistance needs, they provide." http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d13_1369061584 m16carbine How Do You Say 'Quagmire' in Farsi? hezbollah, fsa, saa, syria, syria civil war, iran Sun, 19 May 2013 08:42:56 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c75_1368964942 pheenus Yet another short chip from Werner Herzog 's excellent documentary ' Happy People: A Year in the Taiga .' Springtime in the Taiga. Russian trappers and Ket natives alike are getting ready for the coming winter, though it's still only early days. Some Ket men build a dugout canoe the old fashioned way, an unfortunately dying art. Plenty of fishing and building from all of them - Spring and Summer is short in Siberia, but the Winter is long, so everybody rushes to get things in order. Lacking proper insect repellant, the resourceful residents of the Taiga make their own in an ancient manner by producing a tar/oil from birch bark that mosquitoes despise. So the trapper's skis don't get quite finished yet, but they're finished in time for winter. DMCA notice - This content is posted under the Fair Use provision(s) in accordance with DMCA as well as other applicable laws, and the provisions for Fair Use set forth under said law(s). I do not seek monetary gain from sharing this content with my fellow LiveLeakers, I only seek to educate. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c75_1368964942 pheenus Siberian native builds a dugout canoe, and more from Taiga. Narrated by the incomporable Werner Herzog. trappers, ket, taiga, springtime, spring, fish, fishing, canoe, boat, why do men have nipples Sun, 19 May 2013 06:19:17 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ece_1368958264 livelurked Belaya Kalitva - Russia 9 may 2013----a freight train carrying gasoline, fuel oil, propane derails and explodes. 52 people injured, 2 in grave condition, as a rail car is thrown into an apartment building additional footage in relation to the previously posted video http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b98_1368123228 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ece_1368958264 livelurked Train derails and explodes w/ post accident footage train, derails, accident, Belaya Kalitva , Russia Sat, 18 May 2013 18:36:56 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e98_1368915877 Setright One of our readers asked me in a comment about the difference between the "militias" and the National Defense Forces. ( http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e98_1368915877 Setright THE NATIONAL DEFENSE FORCES AND MILITIAS IN SYRIA; THEIR ROLE TODAY IN NATO'S TERRORIST WAR AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF SYRIA WORLD NEWS, MIDDLE EAST, SYRIA Sat, 18 May 2013 18:06:14 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=345_1368912135 10fold Yesterday in Texas, 78 yr. old Eleanor Fairchild was arrested - ON ELEANOR'S OWN LAND, along with Daryl Hannah. Why? TransCanada took some of Eleanor's land - by eminent domain - to build a pipeline. Yes a foreign corporation was allowed by Texas gov't. to use eminent domain AGAINST a citizen of the US." Eleanor Fairchild is a spitfire great grandmother and landowner in East Texas. She has been called an environmental terrorist for trespassing on her own property and continues to fight the construction of Keystone XL on her land. JOIN Eleanor's fight for the GOOD! Visit aboveallelsefilm.com to learn more about ABOVE ALL ELSE, a documentary film directed by John Fiege. Please help us fund the film on Kickstarter: kck.st/13qylwh ABOVE ALL ELSE is an intimate portrait of a group of landowners and activists in East Texas who tried to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is slated to carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Through their journeys, the film tells the story of how the battle over the Keystone XL pipeline has affected the larger fight against climate change. The film's characters risk financial ruin, their personal safety, and their relationships with the people they hold most dear. Their stories become both an exploration of the human spirit and a window into how social change happens in America. Great Grandmother and Texas Landowner Eleanor Fairchild Daryl Hannah and Eleanor Fairchild Defend Fairchild Farms From Keystone XL Keystone XL Protester Faces 1 year in Jail For Speaking http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=345_1368912135 10fold Texas 78 yr. Old Eleanor Fairchild was Arrested. Texas 78 yr. Old Eleanor Fairchild was Arrested. Pipeline ON ELEANORS OWN LAND Fri, 17 May 2013 10:20:29 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9b8_1368796530 omniradar The Hidden Agenda Behind Japan's Kamikaze Quantitative EasingUS$ dollars have been flooding the financial markets ever since Bernanke launched quantitative easing allegedly to turnaround the US economy. These huge amounts of US$ toilet paper are mainly in financial markets (and in central banks) outside of the United States. A huge chunk is represented as reserves in central banks led by China and Japan. If truth be told, the real value of the US$ would not be more than a dime and I am being really generous here, as even toilet paper has a value. That the US dollar is still accepted in the financial markets (specifically by central banks) has nothing to do with it being a reserve currency, but rather that the US$ is backed/supported by the armed might and nuclear blackmail of the US Military-Industrial Complex. The nuclear blackmail of Iran is the best example following Iran's decision to trade her crude in other currencies and gold instead of the US$ toilet paper. If the United States were not a military threat and a global bully that can blackmail with impunity the oil exporting countries in the Middle East, the global financial system which hinges on the US$ toilet paper would have collapsed a long time ago. The issue is why has the US$ not collapsed as it should have by now? When we apply common sense and logic to the state of affairs, the answer is so simple and it is staring at you. But, you have not been able to see the obvious because the global mass media, specifically the global financial mass media controlled mainly from London and New York, has created a smokescreen to hide the truth from you. Let's analyse the situation in a step by step manner, and apply common sense. 1. The US is the world's biggest debtor. The biggest creditors are China and Japan, followed by the oil exporting countries in the Middle East. With each passing day, the value of the US$ toilet paper is worth less and less. Like I said earlier, even toilet paper has some intrinsic value. It reaches zero value when everyone has to carry a wheelbarrow of US$ to purchase anything. 2. For the US$ toilet paper creditors, they cannot admit the fact that they have been conned by the global Too Big To Fail Banks (TBTFs) acting in concert with the FED and the Bank of England to accept US$ toilet papers. The central bankers of these countries have a reputation to preserve (not that there is in fact any reputation, for their so-called financial credibility is also part of the scam) and the political leaders that relied on them is in a bigger bind. How can the political leaders be so very stupid to trust these central bankers (who have stashed away in foreign tax havens huge US$ toilet papers as a reward for their complicity). This is the current state of affairs in plain English. They are having sleepless nights worrying if and when the citizens would wise up to this biggest con in history i.e. the promotion and acceptance of fiat currencies, the US$ being the ultimate fiat currency. 3. The global financial elites led by the FED know that this state of affairs is to their advantage and they are exploiting it to the hilt! They also know that no country or organisation has the military resources to threaten the US to stop this global ponzi scheme which has been going on since 1945 and intensified since 1971 when President Nixon de-coupled the US$ from gold. The pound sterling is another story but, it is not relevant for the purposes of this analysis. 4. Additionally, and as a result of the above-stated scam, countries were led to believe and to accept the false economic theory that export generated growth (GDP) should be the foundation of economic development, as the United States having limitless US$ toilet paper has the ability and the means to purchase the global exports, it being the largest consumer market in the world. In the result, the world's factories and their workers, including those in the developed world such as France and Germany worked their butts off to be rewarded with US$ toilet paper whose value is less than the paper and ink that produce it! The financial frolic went on for more than forty years and came to an abrupt and foreseeable end in the 2008 global financial tsunami. 5. When the party ended, the United States was up to her eyeballs in debts as a result of reckless financial speculation in the global derivatives casino and the consumption binge financed by housing mortgages. Debts must be repaid. But, the US has no means to do so. They cannot produce enough goods to earn the revenue to pay the debts because US manufacturing has been outsourced to the developing world - China became the world's number 1 factory. So, the financial elite appointed helicopter Bernanke to lead the charge for the US and the UK to use the printing press (digital or otherwise) to print more US$ toilet papers to pay off the debt. In economic jargon, this is "monetising the debt". It is outright fraud, but no one (i.e. central bankers) in his right mind would admit to this fraud as they would be hung from the lamp-posts if the truth is discovered as was the case when the Italian fascist leader Mussolini was hung by the Italian partisans. 6. Initially, central bankers confronted with this situation and having to face a restless populace embarked on a regime of competitive easing/ devaluation of their currencies. But, the price was horrendous. Inflation spiked in all these countries. But, this scheme of things did not work out as planned for the simple reason, the US$ toilet paper continued to be lower as a result of more QE by Bernanke. China realised the danger and adopted other means to overcome this situation, one of which was to enter into bilateral arrangements with her trading partners to finance trade in their respective currencies. Such agreements were entered between China and Japan, members of BRIC, Malaysia etc. This counter-measure was perceived as a threat to the continued dominance of the US$ toilet paper regime. In the result, Obama declared at the urging of the financial elites (he does not have the grey cells to think) a foreign policy shift - the Asia Pivot to prevent a further deterioration of US$ dominance. 7. When Japan entered the agreement with China, her behaviour was deemed unacceptable since Japan was under the nuclear protection of the US. Japan was caught between a rock and a hard place. It was expected that sooner or later the US would apply the squeeze on Japan to behave in a proper manner. Applying geopolitical strategies, the US towing South Korea along provoked North Korea by launching a military exercise which included flying B-2 bombers which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. North Korea responded in the manner that was expected. Japan was exposed and in like manner reacted by seeking US protection. To muddy the waters and complicate the situation, the US engineered a Idispute between China and Japan over the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands. This was followed by the installation of a new regime in Japan by the election of the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the appointment of Haruhiko Kuroda as the Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ). 8. Now comes the mechanics of US counter-measures in shoring up the artificial dominance/value of the US$ toilet paper. Japan was ordered to do its part as a quid pro quo for being protected by the US's nuclear umbrella. A new version of the Plaza Accord must be put in place - a "reverse Plaza Accord". 9. Let me explain. In the 1985 Plaza Accord, the dollar was devalued to reduce the current account deficit and to help the US recover from the recession of the early 1980s. It was a managed devaluation and the exchange value of the Dollar versus the Yen declined by 51 per cent from 1985 to 1987 - reaching yen151 per US$1 in March 1987. The dollar continued to slide till 1988. The effect of the strengthened Yen depressed Japan's exports and brought about the expansionary monetary policies that resulted in the infamous asset bubbles of the late 1980s. The G-6 countries then gathered in 1987 in Paris to arrest the slide of the dollar and to manage and stabilise the international currency markets. The end result was the Louvre Accord. In the next 18 months the dollar strengthened to yen160 per US$1. 10. However, in the current situation, the devaluation of the US$ toilet paper was the result of massive QEs so as to enable US to monetise her debts. However, for US to continue to monetise her debts and have the world's central banks agreement to continue to hold dollar reserves, the value of the dollar must appreciate, failing which the dollar would collapse, the US defaulting on her debts, as creditors would no longer accept US$ as payment. The trick was to artificially inflate the value of the dollar without arousing any suspicions. 11. In the 1970s, following the de-coupling of the dollar from gold by President Nixon, the dollar would have collapsed in like manner as it was not backed by gold. It became pure fiat money! The trick then was to create an artificial demand for dollar which would in turn raise the value of the currency. This was effected by the proposal of Kissinger to the Arabs that if they would dollarize their oil exports, the US would guarantee their safety and survival even from the threats of Israel. When the Arabs agreed to this arrangement, every country in the world had to buy oil in US$. Countries have to exchange their currencies into US$ to buy oil. This demand for US$ strengthened the currency and prolonged the US fiat money monopoly. 12. However, this option is no longer available presently as oil is now being sold in other currencies besides the US$. The petro-dollar is no longer in dominance. In any event, the continued use of petro-dollars would spike the oil price and this would be inflationary and detrimental to the US economy as well as the world's economy in the present economic climate - i.e. deep recession. Another means must be used. 13. This is the reason for the sudden "shock and awe" monetary policy of the new Japanese regime of Shinzo Abe and Haruhiko Kuroda. My detractors will accuse me of indulging in conspiracy theories. But, the facts speak for themselves. I had said earlier, that the G-7 countries have collectively attempted to devalue their currencies but, it did not stem the slide of the US$ because Bernanke was increasing the intensity of QE since 2008. And the EU was not willing and or able to adopt a suicide policy of massive QE as Germany was well aware of such a risk having suffered the negative effects of hyperinflation. China would not kow-tow to the US and in fact together with fellow members of BRIC was adopting counter-measures to confront Bernanke's QE financial weapon. That left only one country who can be compelled to do the US bidding, to commit Hara-kiri to save and or prolong the US$ toilet paper regime - Japan! 14. And so, Japan launched its sudden massive QE and the desired effect is that now the US$ toilet paper has artificially appreciated in value vis-a-vis the Yen and less so with other currencies. This cannot be disputed by my detractors because: On May 11, the financial elites of G-7 countries explicitly agreed with this kamikaze policy of Japan. Koichi Hamada has also declared earlier that the target for this policy is to allow the dollar to rise to yen110 per US$1 and this rise would be managed in a staggered fashion in small increments (step by step approach) thereby controlling the rate of inflation in Japan which would not be allowed to exceed the agreed target rate. It is suggested that Japan can do this because it can utilise its huge dollar reserves of US$1.2 Trillion to manage the devaluation! According to Alan Ruskin, the global head of Group of 10 foreign-exchange strategy in New York at Deutsche Bank ASG, he said "I think we are opening up the door to look at 105 in the next few months and 110 by the end of the year ..." and this surely must be interpreted to mean that Koichi Hamada's strategy is definitely in play. In conclusion, it is my view that such "managed artificial appreciation" of the US$ toilet paper while effective in the short run would fail in the long run because the fundamental issues of the US economy have not been addressed and resolved. Only real economic growth can reverse the dollar's demise. Seriously, would Bernanke stop further QE when the yen exchange rate reaches yen110 by the year end? Has not Bernanke declared that QE would continue till 2015? And since Japan has drawn the Red Line at yen110, can Japan risk further damage to its economy and continue to back-stop US beyond yen110? The US$ quadrillion derivative casino is the millstone around the US and the global economy, and as long as this is not resolved, the crisis would only get worse. Like water, after sufficient heat, the boiling point would be reached. While I cannot forecast the precise date of the implosion, I am of the view that the end is near, sparked by a black swan event and then snowballed to its final devastation. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9b8_1368796530 omniradar US Dollar Collapse and Japan's Sham Currency War Collapsing Dollar.