and down we go

[Guest guest]

an interstin side note...

iraq was plannin to go to Euro's for its oil..just before the US invaded...

 

05/22/06 " Information Clearing House " -- -- " If one day the world's

largest

oil producers demanded euros for their barrels, it would be the

financial

equivalent of a nuclear strike " . Bill O' Grady, A.G. Edwards

 

On May 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin ignited a firestorm that is

 

bound to sweep across the global economy. In his State of the Nation

speech

to parliament,, he announced that Russia was planning to make the ruble

 

" internationally convertible " so that it could be used in oil and

natural

gas transactions. Presently, oil is denominated exclusively in dollars

and

sold through the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMX) or the London

Petroleum

Exchange (LPE) both owned by American investors. If Russia proceeds

with its

plan, the ruble will go nose to nose with the dollar on the open market

 

sending several billions of surplus greenbacks back to the United

States.

This could potentially send the American economy into freefall;

triggering a

deep recession and an extended period of hyper-inflation.

 

" The ruble must become a more widespread means of international

transactions, " Putin said. " To this end, we need to open a stock

exchange in

Russia to trade in oil, gas, and other goods to be paid for in rubles. "

 

Currently, the central banks around the world carry large stockpiles of

 

dollars to use in their purchases of oil. This gives the US a virtual

monopoly on oil transactions. It also forces reluctant nations to

continue

using the dollar even though it is currently underwritten by $8.4

trillion

national debt.

 

Putin's plan is similar to that of Iran, which announced that it would

open

an oil-bourse (oil exchange) on Kish Island in two months. The bourse

would

allow oil transactions to be made in petro-euros, thus discarding the

dollar. The Bush administration's belligerence has intensified

considerably

since Iran made its intentions clear. In fact, just yesterday,

Secretary of

State Condi Rice said that " security guarantees were not on the table "

regardless of any Iranian commitment to stop enriching uranium. In

other

words, Washington will not provide Iran a " non-aggression pact " whether

it

follows UN Security Council guidelines or not.

 

Surely, this is a sign that Uncle Sam is on a fast-track to war.

 

The United States must protect its dollar-monopoly in the oil trade or

it

will lose the advantage of being the world's " reserve currency " . As the

 

reserve currency, the US can maintain its towering $8.4 trillion

national

debt and $800 billion trade deficit without fear of soaring interest

rates

or hyper-inflation. Trillions of greenbacks are constantly circulating

in

oil transactions just as hundreds of billions are stockpiled in foreign

 

banks. In effect, the Federal Reserve is issuing bad checks with every

dollar printed on the assumption that they will never reach the bank

for

collection. So far, they've been right, and as the price of oil

continues to

skyrocket, the Fed just keeps cheerily printing more worthless paper

sending

it to the 4 corners of the earth. Regrettably, if Russia or Iran goes

ahead

with their conversion plan, then the bad checks will flood back to

their

source and precipitate a meltdown.

 

America's economic supremacy depends entirely on its ability to compel

nations to make their energy acquisitions in greenbacks. If the flaccid

 

dollar is not linked to the world's most vital resource, then banks

will

dump it overnight. This extortion-racket is the system we are defending

in

Iraq, not " democracy " . It is a huckster's scam designed to perpetuate

American debt by forcing worthless currency on the developing world.

 

In a recent article by Dave Kimble, " Collapse of the petrodollar

looming " ,

the author provides the details of Russia's importance to the world oil

 

market.

 

" Russia's oil exports represent 15.2% of the world's export trade in

oil,

making it a much more significant player than Iran, with 5.8% of export

 

volumes. Russia also produces 25.8% of the world's gas exports, while

Iran

is still only entering this market as an exporter.. Venezuela has 5.4%

of

the export market. "

 

Obviously, it is not in Russia's interest to trade with its European

partners in dollars any more than it would be for the US to trade with

Canada in rubles. Putin can strengthen the Russian economy and improve

Russia's prestige in the world as an energy superpower by transitioning

to

rubles. But, will Washington allow him to succeed?

 

A growing number of nations are now focusing on the empire's Achilles'

heel,

the dollar. Venezuela, Russia, Norway and Iran are all threatening to

move

away from the greenback. Is this a spontaneous uprising or is it a new

type

of asymmetrical warfare?

 

Whatever it is, Washington is bound to be reeling from the affects.

After

all, war maybe possible with Iran or Venezuela, but what about Russia?

Would

Bush be stupid enough to risk nuclear Armageddon to protect the

drooping

dollar?

 

The administration is exploring all of its options and is developing a

strategy to crush Putin's rebellion. (This may explain why Newsweek

editor

and undeclared spokesman for the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR),

Fareed

Zacharia, asked his guest on this week's " Foreign Exchange " whether he

thought Putin could be " assassinated " ?!? Hmmm? I wonder if we'll hear

similar sentiments from Tom Friedman this week?)

 

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the secretive organization of

4,400

American elites from industry, finance, politics, media and the

military

(who operate the machinery of state behind the mask of democracy) has

already issued a tersely worded attack on Putin ( " Russia' Wrong

Direction " ;

Manila Times) outlining what is expected for Russia to conform to

American

standards of conduct. The missive says that Russia is headed in " the

wrong

direction " and that " a strategic partnership no longer seems possible " .

The

article reiterates the usual canards that Putin is becoming more

" authoritarian " and " presiding over the rollback of Russian democracy " .

(No

mention of flourishing democracy in Saudi Arabia or Uzbekistan?) The

CFR

cites Putin's resistance to " US and NATO military access to Central

Asian

bases " (which are a dagger put to Moscow's throat) the banishing of

Washington's " regime change " NGOs from operating freely in Russia

( " Freedom

Support Act funds " ) and Russia's continued support for Iran's

" peaceful "

development of nuclear energy.

 

America has never been a friend to Russia. It took full advantage of

the

confusion following the fall of the Soviet Union and used it to apply

its

neoliberal policies which destroyed the ruble, crushed the economy, and

 

transferred the vast resources of the state to a handful of corrupt

oligarchs. Putin single-handedly, put Russia back on solid footing;

taking

back Yukos from the venal Khordukovsky and addressing the pressing

issues of

unemployment and poverty-reduction. He is a fierce nationalist who

enjoys a

72% approval rating and does not need the advice of the Bush

administration

or the CFR on the best path forward for his country.

 

The US has purposely strained relations with Russia by putting more

military

bases in Central Asia, feeding the turmoil in Chechnya, isolating

Russia

from its European neighbors, and directly intervening in its elections.

 

When the G-8 summit takes place next week, we should expect a

full-throated

attack from the corporate media on Putin as the latest incarnation of

Adolph

Hitler. Watch the fur fly as the forth estate descends on its newest

victim

like feral hounds to carrion. (Putin's announcement that Russia would

be

converting to rubles HAS NOT APPEARED IN ANY WESTERN MEDIA. Like the

Downing

Street Memo, the firebombing of Falluja, or the " rigged " 2004

elections, the

western " free press " scrupulously avoids any topic that may shed light

on

the real machinations of the US government)

 

 

 

What's gonna happen when the buses don't run

and what's gonna happen when the, winter comes

what are you gonna do,

what are you gonna do

when the oil runs out?