Read it... if you dare....

Who's the stupid..??



While our media is filled with stories on the Bush administration and Iran, they almost invariably focus on the Iranian nuclear program (or European negotiations and U.S. non-negotiations about the same). You could read our press for weeks at a time ? if you didn't stray onto the business pages ? and not be aware that Iran sits on a sea of oil and natural gas. In fact, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that, for long stretches, a typical newspaper reader or prime-time TV news viewer, or, for that matter, an NPR listener, would have just about no way of knowing that our world runs on oil. Of course, our local gas stations are informative enough on the subject these days, so this reality is lost on few people. Still, the sort of piece that hit the front page of the British Financial Times the other day ? IMF warns on risk of "permanent oil shock" ? is not normally a front-page commonplace for us.

This has a certain importance when, in the British and Israeli press and on the Internet, rumors and reports abound that either the Bush administration or the Israeli government (in coordination with Bush officials) or both are planning air attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities as early as this June (with hopes of an oil-regime change in Tehran); or when the Washington Post reports on months of Iranian air-space infringement and air-defense testing on the part of American unmanned aircraft, and Seymour Hersh reports on American Special Forces (or Kurdish agents) moving in and out of Iran, again possibly in preparation for future attacks. (By the way, an interesting counter-argument against the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iran appeared in the Asia Times recently.)

It's strange that, when it comes to news articles on Iran, oil plays just about no role whatsoever; that, as was true with Iraq before the invasion of 2003, it is little short of a taboo subject. Fortunately, we have Michael Klare, whose book Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Oil (as I've said before) is an indispensable volume for understanding our moment. Below, Klare does what should be done in our mainstream press ? he seriously considers the role of Iran's oil and natural gas reserves, and other energy-related matters in the Bush administration's Iran planning. ~ Tom


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Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran

By Michael T. Klare

As the United States gears up for an attack on Iran, one thing is certain: the Bush administration will never mention oil as a reason for going to war. As in the case of Iraq, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) will be cited as the principal justification for an American assault. "We will not tolerate the construction of a nuclear weapon [by Iran]," is the way President Bush put it in a much-quoted 2003 statement. But just as the failure to discover illicit weapons in Iraq undermined the administration's use of WMD as the paramount reason for its invasion, so its claim that an attack on Iran would be justified because of its alleged nuclear potential should invite widespread skepticism. More important, any serious assessment of Iran's strategic importance to the United States should focus on its role in the global energy equation.

Before proceeding further, let me state for the record that I do not claim oil is the sole driving force behind the Bush administration's apparent determination to destroy Iranian military capabilities. No doubt there are many national security professionals in Washington who are truly worried about Iran's nuclear program, just as there were many professionals who were genuinely worried about Iraqi weapons capabilities. I respect this. But no war is ever prompted by one factor alone, and it is evident from the public record that many considerations, including

Hey everyone...

You know Q...it has always amazed me how lazy and stupid the westernised way of life thinks.

The maths is simple...

Combustion engine + oil = destruction of the earth

I used to rack my brain for a reason why it is that governments do not push for cleaner forms of energy and travel or try to rid the world of combustion engines...but the answer is simple...

Governments need votes to stay in power and man in his current state is the laziest he has EVER been...hence the governments tow the line and give them what they want.

People sing the praises of the democratic world but fail to see what the system actually is all about.
Firstly we are not citizens...we are PUNTERS plain and simple and as punters WE are the ones with the power NOT the governments.

Having said that...Election campains which are in truth only a month or two in lenght is the ONLY time you get what you want out of a government...and even then it is merely a verbal or writen excuse...because as soon as they have been elected they then actually do have all the power back again...

None of this is realised...and life as it IS always goes on regarldless...yet still we cry like babies and point the finger at the Government when our lives are not what we ouselves expect them to be.

People need to wake up man...realise their true potential...realise WHAT they ARE...!!!

Hello Q! this is in addition to your above article.

Soruce:http://www.ipcs.org/whatsNewArticle1.jsp?action=showView&kValue=1702&status=article&mod=b

Article: Iran Oil, US Spoil, India Foil: Burgeoning India-Iran relations
by
Beryl Anand
Research Scholar, Center for West Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.

...It was in 1989 that Dr Ali Shams Ardekani, later Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, and R. K. Pachauri jointly developed a proposal for import of natural gas from Iran to India through a pipeline stretching overland across Pakistan. India expects the $ 4.5 billion India-Iran gas pipeline to be completed by 2009-end. The thaw in India-Iran relations has allowed Indian companies to make some inroads into Iran. Recently, Indian Oil Corporation reached an agreement with the Iranian firm Petropars to develop a gas block in the gigantic South Pars gas field, which holds the largest natural gas reserves in the world.

A hitch cropped up when Condoleezza Rice, during her recent visit to India said, "Washington is opposed to the $ 4 billion pipeline deal with Iran, a nation the Bush Administration is trying to force to abandon its nuclear programme." Though perturbed initially, India brushed off US concerns and has asserted that it would go ahead with the landmark pipeline deal "without any compromise". Adding to it is Mani Shankar Aiyer's remark that "the multifaceted relation with Iran can't be compromised for any third party concern." Interestingly, the US has offered "broad energy dialogue" to India to discuss nuclear energy cooperation possibilities. Israel is quiet as long as the connection does not become overtly military in nature...."

I drive 35,000 per year I am now driving a 2005 Ford expedition it get an average of 13.2 miles per gallon. I plan to use my share of gas and oil. and Durrie's. Last time I was in England petro was .79P per liter what is it now? Petro here is around .50P per liter. After Bush becomes king of Iraq and Emperor of India and Iran I am sure the price will go down. You know how us americans are today the middle east tomorrow the world.

India welcomes Emperor Bush! Take the oil,take the cotton.In return give us all the Food Stamps & Welfare.

I like that Big Dad, you seem to have a wild and crazy side to your personality.

I like that Big Dad, you seem to have a wild and crazy side to your personality.

Hey everyone...

To laugh is a great feeling and there are many funny things in life that are worth laughing at and plenty worth laughing off...

The size of your petrol tank and insinuating world domination are niether funny nor clever OJ...niether a lughing at nor a laughing off matter...

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit there is...it does nothing but state the obvious to help the sarcastic person feel better about what they actually feel bad about.

Keep laughing OJ...but please read my new post on the misc board about the current state of global warming while you do...and by the way if you are really interested petrol here is now 89p per litre...

The government tax petrol heavily here to intise public transport usage, car pooling and less frequent car use...wether it works or not is another story. What may I ask does any US state or the government in general do there to discourage excessive combustion pollution...—

I have read it al and I dont care.