Looking Behind The Headlines

                                                 From The Ramparts

                                               Junious Ricardo Stanton

                                          Looking Behind The Headlines

“There are clear parallels between the 2014 oil price drops and the Cold War ones. Even US attempts to drag Russia into a conflict in Ukraine parallel the US objective of dragging the Soviets into Afghanistan. There are several US adversaries that will be affected by the 2014 oil price drops: Ecuador, Iran, Venezuela, and Russia. Russia, however, may be the main target just like the USSR was the main one during the Cold War even though Iraq and Iran were targeted too.” Oil Prices and Energy Wars: The Empire of Frack versus Russia by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya http://www.globalresearch.ca/oil-prices-and-energy-wars-the-u-s-empire-of-frack-versus-russia/5418051

            Most people in the US are so busy enjoying the sudden respite from high gas pump prices they have not given any thought why prices are falling so unexpectedly. But there are reasons for the drop in oil process that may have disastrous geopolitical consequences down the road. There is much mischief afoot and as usual the US is one of the main trouble makers. In September US Secretary of State John Kerry visited King Abdulla of Saudi Arabia. Many market watchers believe following Kerry’s visit the Saudis not only agreed to cut oil prices they also promised to step up production and influence other OPEC cartel members to go along with the policy.

            Market watchers are suggesting this doesn’t make sense; since lowering prices and boosting production goes against the supposed law of supply and demand pricing. There is heavy speculation the move was proposed and pushed by Washington as a way to further destabilize the Russian economy since Russia is one of the world’s leading exporters of both natural gas and oil. The price per barrel drop adversely impacts Russia. Nevertheless, the policy in the short term adversely affects Saudi, Arabia costing them billions.

“The IMF said Saudi Arabia’s government spending might exceed its income – almost entirely from oil revenue – in 2015. This public deficit could increase to 7.4 percent of gross domestic product by 2019. The break-even oil price required to balance the state budget is $91 for 2015, but the price is currently lower than that. Still, the price tumble is disproportionally more damaging to Russia and Iran. Russia, already coping with Western sanctions over Ukraine, is heavily dependent on its oil revenue and President Vladimir Putin is well aware of the destabilization of Russia that falling energy prices can inflict. That said, Russia is a lot better prepared than it was in the 1980s and 1990s and thus is in a position to endure for some time. Iran will suffer, too, but probably not enough to make it flinch in its various confrontations with the United States and the West. Iran’s economy is weak, especially under sanctions over its nuclear program and from the costs of several proxy wars in the region that are draining its budget. But Iran has historically weathered economic hardship and has recently demonstrated its resilience when it comes to priorities, such as defending its Shiite allies in Syria and Iraq. On the other hand, the Saudis know Western allies will appreciate the decision to keep prices low and thus give oil-importing countries a financial break. When the U.S. consumers save on oil imports, which still represent about a third of the net oil that America uses that means they have more money in their pockets for other purchases.” Saudi Arabia’s Oil Politics on Syria http://consortiumnews.com/2014/11/03/saudi-arabias-oil-politics-on-syria/

         Make no mistake; economic sanctions are a hostile act, tantamount to an act of war. The US and EU have in effect initiated economic warfare against Russia and the BRICS (Brazil China Russia India and South Africa) coalition because they will not kowtow to US hegemony or the Bank of International Settlements loan shark monopoly. Russia responded by seeking other markets for Russian oil and gas like China, India and Vietnam. “Once the agreement is signed it will help fulfill a target for raising Vietnam-Russia bilateral trade to US$7 billion in 2015 and US$10 billion in 2020. The statement was made by Doan Duy Khuong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) at the Vietnam-Russia Business Forum in Hanoi on October 6. Khuong said businesses from the two countries play a leading role in promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation, helping to consolidate and develop friendship ties. In recent years, economic, trade, industry and investment cooperation between the two countries have been developing strongly. Two-way trade turnover hit nearly US$4 billion last year and nearly US$2 billion in the first seven months of this year.” http://english.vov.vn/Economy/Trade/Vietnam-Russia-target-US7-billion-in-bilateral-trade-by-2015/282190.vov

            The motives behind US bellicosity and sanctions have not been lost on either Russia or China. They are planning for peace and war. They both are reaching out to other nations solidifying trade deals while at the same time boosting their military spending and military capabilities. Both China and Russia are testing US and NATO defenses and cooperating together in war exercises. “Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered military forces in the country’s east to carry out a major exercise to test their preparedness, a day after announcing a push to develop new offensive weapons. This is a second major drill of combat readiness since June when the conflict in eastern Ukraine was already raging. The previous drill in the Volga region and the Urals involved 65,000 troops. In May, Russia and China held a joint naval exercise in the East China Sea. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on state television on Thursday that the ‘combat alert’ in the eastern military district, which encompasses eastern-most territories including those bordering on China and Japan, was issued at 10 a.m. Moscow time, or 0600 GMT. Russia news agencies later quoted Shoigu as saying that the seven-day drill will test the defense of Russia’s sea border. As part of the exercise Russia’s Pacific fleet will repel the enemy’s naval attack.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vladimir-putin-orders-military-exercise-response-nato-ukraine/ 

            Russian planes and Chinese submarines have been spotted off US coasts and Russian planes and ships are being positioned in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Let’s hope saner heads prevail and the US backs off it present course.

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            Pray for PEACE both around the world and here at home. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, America needs a revolution in values. The Untied States is devolving into a vampire society indiscriminately sucking blood everywhere; at home and abroad. We are becoming more and more violent, morally desensitized and losing what’s left of our sacredness and humanity. The government is a main source of the violence but pop culture and the values shaping apparatus (education, religion and media) are in overdrive promoting violence, incivility and war. All life particularly Black life is minimized.

            It’s no wonder police misconduct is off the hook. The situations in Ferguson, Cleveland and New York are merely the tip of the iceberg. The police are not just abusing people of color; they now have all citizens in their crosshairs. “Across the country, heavily armed Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams are forcing their way into people’s homes in the middle of the night, often deploying explosive devices such as flashbang grenades to temporarily blind and deafen residents, simply to serve a search warrant on the suspicion that someone may be in possession of a small amount of drugs. Neighborhoods are not war zones, and our police officers should not be treating us like wartime enemies. However, the ACLU encountered this type of story over and over when studying the militarization of state and local law enforcement agencies. This investigation gave us data to corroborate a trend we have been noticing nationwide: American policing has become unnecessarily and dangerously militarized, in large part through federal programs that have armed state and local law enforcement agencies with the weapons and tactics of war, with almost no public discussion or oversight. Using these federal funds, state and local law enforcement agencies have amassed military arsenals purportedly to wage the failed War on Drugs, the battlegrounds of which have disproportionately been in communities of color. But these arsenals are by no means free of cost for communities. Instead, the use of hyper-aggressive tools and tactics results in tragedy for civilians and police officers, escalates the risk of needless violence, destroys property, and undermines individual liberties.” War Comes Home Excessive Militarization of American Policing https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/jus14-warcomeshome-report-web-rel1.pdf

            The problem is we have been brainwashed and conditioned to go along with this madness, to put our heads in the sand and hope it doesn’t visit us or our family. The moral rot is metastasizing throughout the whole society on every level and class. The US has become a full fledged banana republic/police state. The key to changing conditions in our neighborhoods and larger society is changing our minds, one person at a time, “be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”  See and think of yourself as a divine being, an extension of an ALL WISE INTELLIGENT CREATOR/SPIRIT and connected to all there is. We are all interconnected and interdependent; this is a universe, ONE SONG.

If we really wanted to, if we really made PEACE, HARMONY and JUSTICE our intention we could alter and change our reality (world) into one that is far better and more humane. The question is do we think it is possible and how badly do we want it?

                                                            -30-