UKRAINE - EU - US - REDISIGN ENERGY MAP OF EUROPE

Source:  ITAR-TASS

Contrast the above with the Independent's report that Merkel is secretly negotiating with Putin.

Whose press is lying?

PUTIN OBSESSED PRESS

PUTIN OBSESSED PRESS

WHITE HOUSE CONTROL OF MEDIA

Ted Rall's Site

RE- KABUL CIA CHIEF

Fired journalist:

Until last week I was working this story for Pando Daily, where I was a staff writer and cartoonist. We intended to publish the name — not to endanger him (which in any case would not have been possible since Langley had yanked him off his post), but to take a stand for adversarial media.

Journalists ought to publish news wherever they find it, whatever it is, damn the consequences. Credible media organizations don’t protect government secrets. They don’t obey spy agencies. Real journalists don’t cooperate with government — any government, any time, for any reason. My editor and I believed that, by demonstrating a little fearlessness, we might inspire other media outfits to grow a pair and stop sucking up to the government.

There is no longer a “we.” Pando fired me over the weekend, along with the investigative journalist David Sirota.

... Read rest @ Rall's blog ...
http://rall.com/tag/cia

-------------------------------------------


So much for freedom of press and freedom of speech.

Welcome to 'Democracy', Ukraine.

COUNTERPUNCH: MEDIA IGNORES CIA IN UKRAINE

Counterpunch Article Extracts July 30, 2014 Pay No Attention to that Man Behind the Curtain The Media Ignores the CIA in Ukraine by BILL BLUNDEN http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/07/30/the-media-ignores-the-cia-in-ukraine/ A few days back the Economist published an essay which dismissed the idea of fascists in Kiev as an illusory product of Russian propaganda. Are readers supposed to categorically assume that U.S. intelligence has played absolutely no role in the coup d’état? So far the bulk of the American media’s coverage of the Ukraine deftly sidesteps the CIA’s role. Yet all of the signs are there. Former CIA Officer John Stockwell explained that “stirring up deadly ethnic and racial strife has been a standard technique used by the CIA.” Students of history (e.g. Iran, Guatemala, Indonesia, Chile, and Nicaragua) will also recognize many of the hallmarks of a covert destabilization operation. Senator John McCain sharing a stage with Oleh Tyahnybok [Svoboda] in the early days of the coup CIA director Brennan’s discreet visit to the Ukraine (buried near the end of a Reuters brief) taped phone call where Victoria Nuland essentially selects who would replace the deposed president disproportionate number of high-level officials in the new government linked to neo-fascist groups CIA has a well-documented history of supporting authoritarian regimes. If the far-right represents only a small contingent of the Ukrainian electorate, as we’ve been told by allegedly credible sources like Timothy Snyder, how exactly did they end up with so many powerful government slots? A report by FAIR provides unsettling details: “The new deputy prime minister, Oleksandr Sych, is from Svoboda; National Security Secretary Andriy Parubiy is a co-founder of the neo-Nazi Social-National Party, Svoboda’s earlier incarnation; the deputy secretary for National Security is Dmytro Yarosh, the head of Right Sector. Chief prosecutor Oleh Makhnitsky is another Svoboda member, as are the ministers for Agriculture and Ecology” Media’s penetration by the intelligence community ... May ... White House ... accidentally leaked the name of the CIA station chief in Afghanistan to roughly 6,000 reporters. The White House asked reporters to dutifully “zip it” and that’s exactly what they did. ... one reporter who dared to cross the line and mention the station chief’s name and in print, Ted Rall, was summarily fired before he got the chance. Never mind that this sort of information is all over the Internet. [US-NATO EXPANSION INTO UKRAINE] Karl Rove aptly crystallized the prevailing mindset: ... The empire has its sights on expansion. Despite promises made to Gorbachev decades ago by then Secretary of State James Baker that NATO wouldn’t expand into former Soviet countries, that’s exactly what’s been underway.  Putin can see this happening and if he’s meddling in the Ukraine it’s only because he’s following the CIA’s lead. Note:  this is not complete article - go to article link above to view entirety.

So what would be the chances of CIA not being involved?

That leopard ain't changing its spots.

This is only portions of the article.  Link to it - here - if interested.

INDEPENDENT UK - Alleged secret German-Russian 'land for gas' negotiations

Independent Article

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/land-for-gas-secret-german-deal-could-end-ukraine-crisis-9638764.html

Independent claims they can reveal Merkel and Putin had been working on a secret deal to 'broker a peaceful solution' and to end tensions over Ukraine.

Aim is twofold:

1. Stabilise Ukraine borders; and
2. Secure new energy agreement (gas) to lift Ukraine economy.

The deal supposedly hinges on:

1. UN and international community recognising Crimean independence.
2. Russia withdrawing financial aid to East Ukraine independence supporters.
3. If I understand correctly, East Ukraine to receive some 'devolved' (delegated) powers.
4. Ukraine agreeing not to join NATO.
5. Russia agreeing not to 'block or interfere' with Ukraine's newly signed trade agreement with the EU.
6. Russia offering a long-term Gazprom future gas supply agreement.  Ukraine expected to run out of gas by winter, which would be 'ruin' economically and socially.
7. Russia to compensate Ukraine with $1 billion financial package for loss of rent Ukraine would have received from Russia stationing its fleets at Crimean ports, to the independence vote in March.

The deal is supposedly still on the table and the only negotiation hitch holding things up is the MH17 investigation.

The deal disclosure sounds like garbage to me.

For starters, the Russians deny financing the East Ukraine independence supporters.

Cannot see how the Russians could 'block' or 'interfere' with an EU trade agreement, that broke US-controlled and IMF reamed Ukraine has signed up for.

The Gazprom deal doesn't sound right either.  Ukraine hasn't paid their gas bill.  From what I read elsewhere, they were told by the US not to.  Russia cut off the supply.  But all this gas drama is then playing into US hands.  And let's not forget who has plenty of shale gas:  US.  And US is bent on selling Europe infrastructure and gas.  So there's no way I believe there's a Gazprom gas deal being negotiated.

The billion dollar 'compensation' to non-paying gas customer, Ukraine, sounds laughable.

Look forward to seeing how this piece of news pans out.  LOL

Che Guevara - Hasta la Victoria Siempre

Che Guevara

C H E  G U E V A R A (1928–1967)   Ernesto 'Che' Guevara      Born Argentina ... Basque and Irish descent. Referring to Che's "restless" nature, his father declared "the first thing to note is that in my son's veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels". Declassified CIA report: "Che is fairly intellectual for a Latino." Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist ... Radicalised by the poverty, hunger, and disease in South America. Saw capitalist exploitation of Latin America by the United States. CIA-assisted overthrow of Guatemala's social reforms President Árbenz solidified Guevara's political ideology. Collaborated with Fidel Castro with aim of overthrowing US-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Pivotal role in the victorious two-year guerilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime. 1967 Félix Rodríguez, a Cuban exile turned CIA ... operative, advised Bolivian troops during the hunt for Guevara in Bolivia. About 30 minutes before Guevara was executed, Félix Rodríguez attempted to question him about the whereabouts of other guerrilla fighters who were currently at large, but Guevara continued to remain silent. Rodríguez, assisted by a few Bolivian soldiers, helped Guevara to his feet and took him outside the hut to parade him before other Bolivian soldiers where he posed with Guevara for a photo opportunity where one soldier took a photograph of Rodríguez and other soldiers standing alongside Guevara.  Guevara was asked by one of the Bolivian soldiers guarding him if he was thinking about his own immortality. "No," he replied, "I'm thinking about the immortality of the revolution." Guevara was shot nine times ... five times in his legs, once in the right shoulder and arm, once in the chest, and finally in the throat.  [Did not want a clean kill because wanted appearance of death in battle.] ... Guevara's body was lashed to the landing skids of a helicopter and flown to nearby ... where photographs were taken of him lying on a concrete slab ... witnesses were called to confirm his identity ... After a military doctor amputated his hands ... hands were preserved in formaldehyde to be sent to Buenos Aires for fingerprint identification. (His fingerprints were on file with the Argentine police.) They were later sent to Cuba. Cuba ... Ministry of the Interior building where Guevara once worked, is a 5-story steel outline of his face. Under the image is Guevara's motto, the Spanish phrase: "Hasta la Victoria Siempre" (English: Until Victory, Forever). ... Fidel Castro ... addressed a crowd of one million mourners: "If we wish to express what we want the men of future generations to be, we must say: Let them be like Che!  If we wish to say how we want our children to be educated, we must say without hesitation: We want them to be educated in Che's spirit!  If we want the model of a man, who does not belong to our times but to the future, I say from the depths of my heart that such a model, without a single stain on his conduct, without a single stain on his action, is Che!" [Source - Wikipedia- here.]

Over the years, Che Guevara was just a cool-looking t-shirt to me.

'He was a revolutionary' was enough for me.  

The detail wasn't important enough for me to remember -- it was all vague and foreign.

Today, focusing on the detail of the man's life, I'm really moved.

Not a lot moves me emotionally.  But this did.

He wasn't an economist.  He saw inequity.  He wasn't a cosseted politician.  He was an Independence Fighter.  He wasn't a theorist.  He was a Realist.  

He put his life on the line, despite the odds.

He was instrumental in training men who thwarted a $13.1 million US-sponsored CIA invasion of Cuba (see also Cuban oil refineries US-controlled corporations:  Shell, Esso and Standard Oil).

He could have chosen an easy path in life, but he died in pursuit of higher aims for his people.

Che Guevara was Dr. Ernesto Guevara, Independence Fighter; not some wayward stirrer.

History has proved that Che Guevara did not live, or die, in vain.

C O U R A G E

C H E  G U E V A R A

(1928–1967)

IMT - Trotskyism

Alan Woods is a 'political theorist'.

Curious about him because he got a mention in an economics article relating to Venezuela.

Described as 'one of the leading members of 'International Marxist Tendencies' (IMT).

Wikipedia:

The International Marxist Tendency adheres to orthodox Trotskyism, emphasising the education of cadres of workers and youth.

The IMT manifesto makes demands such as "the end to privatisation and the abandonment of market economics", "the nationalisation of privatised companies without compensation" and "the reintroduction of the state monopoly of foreign trade".

The IMT has spread to parts of Latin America, where it now has groups in Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil and El Salvador. At the end of 2002 it promoted the launching of the solidarity campaign at Hands Off Venezuela, which is now active in 30 countries and has had resolutions passed within the trade union movements in Britain, Canada, Italy and other countries.

So that is:

• education and training of labour force.
• end to privatisation.
• abandonment of 'market economics' - supply and demand market / prices determined in free price system (contrast fixed price system - govt set price).
• nationalisation of privatised companies without compensation.
• reintroduction of state monopoly of foreign trade.

2009 dispute IMT leadership and leaderships of it's groups in:

• Spain
• Venezuela
• Mexico

In 2010 these (or portions) broke with IMT and established new international body, 'Corriente Marxista Revolucionaria':

• Spain
• Venezuela
• Mexico (part)
• Columbia

Thereafter break aways form 'Towards a New International Tendency' in:

• Sweden
• Poland
• Britain

Iranian section splinters off to form Marxist Revival ('with co-thinkers in Britain'), over IMT position on Venezuela's 'friendly relations with Iranian regime'.

Sounds like keeping everyone happy and united ain't easy.

Not really sure what this is all about.  Suppose it is some kind of interest/lobby group of supporters of 'orthodox Trotskyism'.

What is 'Trotskyism'?

Marxist theory:

Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky identified as an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, and supported founding a vanguard party of the working-class, proletarian internationalism, and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working-class self-emancipation and mass democracy. Trotskyists are critical of Stalinism, as they oppose the idea of Socialism in One Country. ... [wikipedia]

So they don't just want socialism in one nation; it's a worldwide effort?

International revolution

According to classical Marxism, revolution in peasant-based countries, such as Russia, prepares the ground ultimately only for a development of capitalism since the liberated peasants become small owners, producers and traders which leads to the growth of commodity markets, from which a new capitalist class emerges. Only fully developed capitalist conditions prepare the basis for socialism.

Trotsky agreed that a new socialist state and economy in a country like Russia would not be able to hold out against the pressures of a hostile capitalist world, as well as the internal pressures of its backward economy. The revolution, Trotsky argued, must quickly spread to capitalist countries, bringing about a socialist revolution which must spread worldwide. In this way the revolution is "permanent", moving out of necessity first, from the bourgeois revolution to the workers’ revolution, and from there uninterruptedly to European and worldwide revolutions.

I'm getting lost now.  Don't know enough to grasp this stuff.

Worldwide anything doesn't seem a realistic goal.  

Also, nothing is 'permanent'.  All empires crumble.

Really surprised to see Iran get a mention.  

I don't associate the Middle East with socialism, although Latin America and socialism compute because of all those cool pics of  Che Guevara.  LOL

Wondering what happens to revolutionaries when they attain their goals and no longer have the fun of the chase.  

Are they content?  Or is there always some other chase to be had?  

Is everyone chasing their own idea of nirvana?


 

WTO TALKS - INDIA STAYING STRONG

WTO talks down to the wire, India holds out fe Bureau | New Delhi | Published: Jul 31 2014, 01:08 IST Even as Thursday’s deadline for signing the protocol for the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) at the WTO loomed large, India remained obdurate, asserting that the pact — expected to ease customs rules and potentially add $1 trillion to the world economy — could not be a done deal till it saw progress on the food security issue. Visiting the US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker, however, sounded optimistic about finding a solution to the vexed issue “over the next couple of days”. Secretary of state John Kerry, before starting for India on Wednesday morning, had expressed the hope that India’s opposition to TFA would wither away, adding that this was a test case for the country’s commitment to advance liberalisation of global trade and investment. Kerry arrived in India in the evening on a three-day visit. ... http://www.financialexpress.com/news/wto-talks-down-to-the-wire-india-holds-out/1275271

WTO (World Trade Organisation).

Re:  adoption of free trade facilitation protocol for Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

WTO is negotiating an easing of 'customs and rules'.

WTO says 'public stockholdings' of food/grain must not exceed 10% of grains produced by a country. 

But this is on the basis of a 1986-1988 stockholdings 'base price', and India is challenging on the basis of rising INFLATION.

Hey, I learnt about inflation. 

So the WTO 10% (dollar?) figure doesn't take into account rising inflation and India is like a trade union for food/grain reserves, asking for the reserve to be brought up in step with inflation?

Fair call, India.

India points out that there's a potential $1 TRILLION to the world economy coffers.  Go India! 

India standing firm:  insists no shift in its stand.

India wants TFA implemented ONLY as part of SINGLE UNDERTAKING ... INCLUDING the PERMANENT SOLUTION ON FOOD SECURITY.

For Food Security Against Food Security WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION vs FOOD SECURITY INDIA CHINA CUBA PAKISTAN BOLIVIA VENEZUELA

Deadline is on 31 July 2014.  Support of two-thirds of member countries is required to implement the TFP.

India suggested a postponement of adoption of TFP and outlined steps towards resolution by a date in December.

*Note:  there is a couple of other issues at stake. Bali Package (a big one) ... and LDC.

Bali Package is yet another trade agreement 'to lower trade barriers'.

LDC issues relate to Least Developed Country ... it's a United Nations designation of a country (I think) on the basis of:

lowest indicators of socio-economic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world.  [wikipedia]

So there is some formula the UN apply for rankings of countries on socio-economic development.

Formula:  (1) Poverty assessment (2) Human Resource assessment (ie the labour force) (3) Economic Vulnerability ... eg. are exports stable etc.

Gee, sounds like estimating the quality of cattle.

All this stuff is worked out by economists and I guess it affects the trade deals that countries are party to and, I think, the concessions that countries may receive.

As I'm new to looking at politics and economics, this information is best double-checked.  LOL.

This is just my take at the moment.

Stand firm India ... world economy wants those trillions.

PS ... Love how John Kerry wants India's opposition to 'wither away'.  Bet he does.  LOL.

GAZA - BOLIVIA MAKES A STAND - DECLARES ISRAEL: TERRORIST STATE

Declaring Israel a 'terrorist state,' Bolivia's president ends free entry for Israeli visitors Published July 30, 2014 Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia – Bolivia's leftist president has declared Israel a "terrorist state" because of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, and his government will now require Israeli citizens to obtain a visa to visit the Andean nation. President Evo Morales already broke off diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 2009, calling Israel's treatment of Palestinians "a genocide." The action announced Wednesday will especially hit young Israelis, who often travel for extended periods, with South America a popular destination. Other South American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, have recalled their ambassadors from Israel in protest over the fighting in Gaza. Source - Fox News - here.

As it states, President Evo Morales has strongly spoken out -- and spoken out before.

Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru have withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel.

That's a pretty strong message from Morales.


--------------------------------------
GET A LOAD OF THIS!


President Evo Morales

Widely regarded as the country's first democratically-elected president to come from the indigenous population, his administration has focused on the implementation of leftist policies, poverty reduction, and combating the influence of the United States and transnational corporations in Bolivia. A democratic socialist, he is the head of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) political party.

July 2013 flight diversion
Main article: Evo Morales grounding incident

On 2 July 2013, Bolivia's foreign minister said that the diversion of Morales's presidential plane ... when Portuguese, French, Spanish and Italian authorities denied access to their airspace due to suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board the aircraft, had put the president's life at risk. France apologized for the incident the next day.  The presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela, Morales's political allies in the region, gathered to demand an explanation of the incident.

Aftermath

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asserted that "a head of state and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability"

France apologized for the incident immediately.   The Spanish ambassador to Bolivia apologized two weeks later, citing inappropriate procedures.  The Italians have made no such apology.

On July 3, Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, acknowledged that the U.S. had been "in contact with a range of countries across the world who had any chance of having Mr. Snowden land or even transit through their countries". 

On September 20, Evo Morales announced a lawsuit against the U.S. government for "crimes against humanity" for repeatedly blocking presidential flights, after an incident in which authorization for an overflight of Puerto Rico by President Maduro of Venezuela was delayed, although U.S. authorities said that they were entitled to three days' advance notice. Maduro had been en route to arrive in Beijing for bilaterial talks with the People's Republic of China.

In the aftermath of the incident, eight Latin American countries – Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela – voiced their concerns to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who asserted that "a Head of State and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability".   Ban also emphasized that it is important to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

[wikipedia]

VIVA BOLIVIA!

Venezuela - Economic Hassles Puzzle

Venezuela

• Top end South America
• (officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Do *not confuse with Bolivia)
• Colonised by Spain 1500s
• First to declare independence (1811 ... secured 1821)
• One of the most urbanised countries of Latin America
• ... world's largest oil reserves and [has] been one of the world's leading exporters of oil.
• Previously an underdeveloped exporter of agricultural commodities such as coffee and cocoa, oil quickly came to dominate exports and government revenues.
• 1980s oil glut = external debt crisis + long-running economic crisis
• (inflation peak @ 100% 1996)

[Source - Wikipedia - here]

------------------------------------------

Forbes Article - here.

Noticed high inflation in Venezuela, and having discovered 'hyperinflation' in the little tutorial, thought I'd check out Venezuela.

So their economy ... is what?  Either a depressed economy or a war economy, judging by tutorial? 

Background:

President Hugo Chavez (Socialist) died 2013. 

Venezuela is described as a 'South American oil giant' and the article indicates this isn't the worst economic period it's experienced. 

IMF makes an appearance. Inflation 'running rampant', according to IMF. Low economy growth. Economy shrinkage.

... devaluation of the currency in the case of Venezuela represents a reallocation of resources from the private to the public sector, which is practically the only exporter thanks to oil giant PDVSA.

If IMF has something to say, then there's most likely an IMF debt involved.

Moving onto the 2010 Article -  

Economist - 'Towards State Socialism' - here:

Article's dated, but it seemed to have good information.

GDP 'contracting' (less production); 'currency supply problem' mentioned. 

 Possible 'deepening' of recession mentioned. 

So, Venezuela's is a depressed economy.

Article indicates:  Decline in oil shipments associated with decline in oil export. There's also a decline in oil prices.  

[Don't understand how you can sit on oil but have a decline.]

The Economist

Chavez the socialist president (1999-2013) had progressively been nationalising everything:

... seizing everything from steel companies and bottle makers to housing schemes. When workers have protested, he has deployed the national guard against them. The government has justified the confiscations by saying that it was breaking up monopolies or stopping breaches of labour or environmental rules. But the aim appears to be to move decisively against what Mr Chávez calls “the oligarchy”...

2007/2008 Chavez government took over the private oil sector (and more) -- or what there was of it.

Economist reports that:

any bank which declined to “co-operate with national development” by assigning credit according to government priorities would also be taken over.

[Don't suppose they attract much investment, then?  Wouldn't most businesses shut shop?]

Country appears partly 'nationalised' (ie national/state property vs private property) -  some industry in govt hands and rest private hands. 

Govt portion GDP did nothing since the late 1990s .

Oil boom 2004-2008.

Nationalised companies are producing less than when they were in private hands.

To gain 'food sovereignty', most of the food industry has been nationalised, but (the Economist reports) there's been a steep increase in imports.

Couple of exceptions: milk company and telecommunications company ... have done well.

What tends to happen:

... once companies are in state hands their staffing levels rise, prices fall and they become dependent on government subsidies.

Construction industry damaged by slump in materials production since nationalisation.

'Housing schemes' slowed or stopped.  

Govt won't allow developers to ask for prices in line with inflation rises (as at 2010 article @ 30% -- now over 60%).

Govt took over what was already largely govt controlled oil industry:  production of crude and refined products dropped.

Article closes:

Polls suggest that most Venezuelans disapprove of the nationalisations and firmly support private property. But Mr Chávez seems to be following the advice of Alan Woods, a Welsh Trotskyist who has become an informal adviser. Mr Woods, who is better known in Caracas than Cardiff, publicly urged the president to respond to his electoral setback by “accelerating the revolutionary process”, expropriating land, banks and the main industries. Venezuelans had better brace themselves for more nationalisation, scarcity and economic decline.

So what is driving the the inflation rate?

I'd like to apply the inflation lesson, but I'm not sure I've got it.

Cost of production has risen - more employees; less efficiency; government subsidy of industry; so it's like bleeding out money and it costs more to produce the goods because bleeding out the money eats into the profits? Also, less goods are being produced. *NB also money going out on *imports*.

Checking out what the go is with the oil not moving, came across this article - Bloomberg Feb 2014 - here.

Bloomberg says:

Venezuela’s plummeting oil sales to the U.S., its biggest export market, are exacerbating a collapse in the nation’s debt securities. 

Bonds released by Venezuela 'sank'.  Sank doesn't sound too good. Don't know enough about bonds to judge why they 'sank'.  No idea what this is about.

Article goes on:

The tumble in oil exports, Venezuela’s biggest source of dollars, comes as President Nicolas Maduro faces a shortage of U.S. currency that’s caused consumer prices to soar 56 percent and foreign reserves to plunge to a decade-low of $21 billion. Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state-run oil producer known as PDVSA, is sending hundreds of thousands of barrels a day to China to repay loans totaling more than $40 billion since 2008, at a time when its production is shrinking. 

When they're not producing as much oil, they're sending it to China to repay a debt and they're losing out on US trade they otherwise would have had (?) -- and on US currency (or is that just income, as opposed to a specific currency?) because of lost sales of oil to the US, which is driving the inflation.

Think I might need to do a bit more reading on Venezuela and on bonds, foreign reserves etc. because  have no idea.  LOL.

So far, it's been fun trying to figure it out.

UKRAINE PUPPET GOVT - USING BALLISTIC MISSILES AGAINST INDEPENDENCE SUPPORTERS

Russia Concerned by Reports of Kiev Using Ballistic Missiles in Eastern Ukraine 18:27 30/07/2014 DUSHANBE, July 30 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow is concerned by reports that Ukraine’s government troops have used ballistic missiles against independence supporters in the country’s east, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko Tuesday confirmed the country’s readiness to provide access to international experts to the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane in Donetsk Region, declaring a unilateral ceasefire within a 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius. “Now, unfortunately, actions suggest the opposite: Donetsk, Luhansk and other villages in these regions are being shelled with Grad rocket launchers, artillery and tanks. On Tuesday, citing US officials CNN reported that Ukraine’s government troops used short-range ballistic missiles in the east. The weapons have a range of about 50 miles and pack warheads of up to 1,000 pounds. These missiles could have been fired from a Tochka short-range ballistic missile system (NATO Designation SS-21 Scarab), the report said. If the reports are accurate, these are “the most deadly missiles to date used in the conflict," CNN said. “All this is concerning, and everything is happening amid allegations that Russia and the militia are impeding inspectors’ access to the [Boeing] crash site,” Lavrov told a group of young Tajik diplomats. ... extract...full @... Source - RIA NOVOSTI - here.

No surprise there.  
It's a do or die.  
US wants Ukraine and European gas market.
Ukraine's been bought by US 'aid' and is under the boot of IMF.

BLAVATNIK'S WALL STREET HISTORY - SHALE REVOLUTION - UKRAINE, RUSSIA & US GRAB FOR SUPPLY OF EUROPE'S ENERGY NEEDS

Forbes

|
7/30/2014 @ 6:00AM |672 views

How One Billionaire's Bet On LyondellBasell Turned Into The Greatest Deal In Wall St. History
This story appears in the August 18, 2014 issue of Forbes.

Billionaire financier Len Blavatnik’s bet on LyondellBasell has netted him a personal profit of nearly $8 billion. He says there’s more to come.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2014/07/30/the-greatest-deal-of-all-time/?utm_campaign=forbestwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Confused Len Blavatnik (Warner Music guy) for the Black Wednesday guy that 'Broke the Bank of England' (George Soros) and I thought, no way, how could he have done it again.

If I've got this straight, some guys were selling stock in LyondellBasell; Blavatnik bought stock in LyondellBasell when everyone thought he shouldn't have and shares rose by over 50% since his last batch bought.

Since its bankruptcy - 4 years ago - shares in LyondellBasell have risen to return 500%.

Forbes says Blavatnik's investment ... of $10 billion [SORRY, I'M NOT GOOD AT FINANCIALS ... READ ARTICLE ... LOL] ... generated $8 billion in "mostly unrealized personal profits".

By 'mostly unrealised', I'm guessing they mean he hasn't cashed up what's due to him.

The transaction's described as 'historic'.

Here's some info about Blavatnik from Forbes:

A Ukrainian-born American citizen who grew up in Russia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1978 at the age of 21, he later got his M.B.A. at Harvard.

Blavatnik made his first fortune with a former classmate in Russia, Viktor Vekselberg, in oil and aluminum deals during the anything-goes post-Soviet days. 

Blavatnik’s biggest scores in Russia were oil company TNK-BP, a joint venture with British Petroleum that was eventually bought by Rosneft for $55 billion, and Sual, an aluminum producer that merged with the larger Rusal.

Chemical companies that had nothing to do with Russia would be his next big thing. He paid full price, putting down $1.1 billion to purchase Basell in a $5 billion leveraged buyout in 2005. Then he tried, and failed, to buy other chemical companies, including Huntsman International.

Just as my brain was about to go into snooze mode, I spotted this:

The revolution that changed everything for Blavatnik ... and LyondellBasell originated in the thin fissures of shale rock filled with oil and natural gas reserves throughout the United States. Throughout the last decade drillers pioneered new techniques of exploiting rock formations with hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to draw out the petrochemicals trapped within. As a result, the U.S. became one of the world’s largest sources of cheap natural gas almost overnight, with prices falling from highs of $13 per million British thermal units to a $3 to $4 range today. This dramatic drop in prices proved a huge boon to dozens of industries, none more so than the chemical business–and few more than LyondellBasell.

LyondellBasell is a top producer of ethylene, which it upgrades into the plastic known as polyethylene, used in everything from food packaging to trash bags and hard hats. The company operates six facilities (known as “crackers”) to produce ethylene in the U.S. and four in Europe. Profits from ethylene and its derivative chemicals and coproducts are the core of LyondellBasell’s earnings.

Ethane, refined from natural gas, and naphtha, a crude oil derivative, are the prime raw materials used to produce ethylene. Starting in 2007, U.S. drillers were finding natural gas everywhere. By 2012 the price of ethane had fallen from 90 cents per gallon to 30 cents, giving U.S. chemical producers a huge advantage over foreign competitors in Europe and Asia that are dependent on pricey oil-based naphtha as a feedstock. The gap between the two supercharged LyondellBasell’s profitability.

LyondellBasell’s decades-old crackers in Clinton, Iowa and Morris, Ill., for example, are the only ones in the Midwest–and are situated near natural gas liquid pipelines and a hub in Kansas, home of some of the cheapest ethane in America. Almost overnight they were transformed, churning out profit margins of 32 cents per pound compared to European naphtha-based ethylene, which is barely even profitable. “It’s improbable that anyone could have foreseen the full impact of the shale revolution,” says Blavatnik. “But Jim had some experience and insight through his work at ConocoPhillips that I think helped.”

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So the US presence in Ukraine isn't just about Ukraine.  It's about supplying Europe with gas.

Although this was said in this or that blog or whatever I'd come across, it hadn't really sunk in properly.

Reading this, I got a really sick feeling in my stomach because the US need for a market is tangible -- it's not just someone speculating about US motives.  It's real.

OMG!  I feel like I've just discovered another planet!

David Cameron - Immigration Raid Photo Op

Re - http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/30/david-cameron-pr-stunt-suspected-illegal-migrants?CMP=twt_gu

David Cameron's desperate immigration raid photo-op stunt's turned ... not so good.

Someone's rightfully raised whether the people nabbed will receive 'due process' given Cameron's made a publicity stunt of their case/s, photo-bombing the raid.

How desperate are the Conservatives?  

Election's a long way off, but I suppose they've got to appear favourably in the public eye in the lead-up.

Just checked and it's May 2015, so it's not that far off.  

Looks like the race has begun.

May the sneakiest, most unscrupulous, prime ministerial candidate claim victory.  :)

TRADING ECONOMICS

Found a really cool site 'Trading Economics' - here.

Love how the information is arranged.  Even though I'm not especially organised, I really love organised information.

It seems a good site for sticky-beaking into GDP and debt to GDP particulars of countries, as well as a host of other related information (I've yet to check out).

US debt-GDP is over 100%.  But the US economy is on top of the heap in terms of GDP.

The EU collective is next.  Followed by China, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Brazil and Russia.

Russia's debt-GDP looks to be the lowest of the pack.  

Japan, US, France and UK have the highest debt-GDP rankings.

This is embarrassing:  I've only a vague idea what inflation actually is.   

Venezuela's is off the planet. 

So what is it?  The following is info sourced from an 'Inflation Tutorial' - here.

It's the annual percentage increase in the cost of goods and services.  As inflation rises, the currency buys you less in goods and services.  

Two theories re rising inflation:

1. too few goods to meet buyer demand; or
2. rising costs of production.

In high inflation cases, domestic export products become 'less competitive' -- meaning what?  Guessing they're not as saleable as goods from countries with lower inflation rates.

So the goal must be to keep (a) production costs low and (b) production high?

So is this a never-ending loop of economic infinity to Infinity? 

Production will never be enough and profit will never be enough.  

It's a process of churning things out of the soil and out of factories so that we buy and have 'things', while those that control production have profits.

An endless loop of churning out and selling things for profits sounds pointless and probably unsustainable.  But there's no alternative. 

Gradually rising, or controlled, inflation isn't supposed to be a big deal (I think) ... as long as the wages rise corresponding to inflation.  

I'm guessing that workers then have to constantly battle for an increase in wages to keep in step with inflation.  

Where there's a strong union, that's probably easy.  But not everyone has a strong union -- or any union -- representation.  

A lack of inflation can signify a weakening economy, according to the 'Inflation Tutorial'.

Interest rates are closely associated with inflation figures.  

Reserve banks take inflation calculation data into account when calculating the figures that set interest rates.  Tutorial on that is here if anyone's real keen.

HOLY HELLFIRE BATMAN - US 5000 HELLFIRE AIR-LAND MISSILES TO IRAQ

US to supply Iraq 5000 Hellfire missiles worth $ 700 million July 30, 12:50 UTC+4 WASHINGTON, July 30. / ITAR-TASS /. The US State Department has approved the deal of 5000 Hellfire air-land missiles AGM-114 that the Pentagon will give to Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reported. The total contract amount will be $ 700 million. According to the Pentagon press release, "the missile directly supports the Government of Iraq and serves the interests of the people of Iraq and the United States”. It also noted that "Iraq will use the Hellfire missiles to help improve the Iraq Security Forces’ capability to support current ongoing ground operations." The US Defense Ministry explained that the Iraqi armed forces that already possess rockets of this type should not have problems with their use. All the necessary equipment for missile use and transportation included to the cost. An American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the production and supply of Hellfire missiles. These 5000 rockets have three versions of AGM-114 - K, N and R. http://en.itar-tass.com/world/742845l

Wall Street Journal - here. Iraq ... billions of dollars in deals for fighter jets, helicopters, armored vehicles, radar equipment and munitions. re Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the U.S. has stepped up surveillance flights over the country, and dispatched more than 700 U.S. forces there Pentagon ... expedited the sale of hundreds of Hellfires, which can be fired from planes and helicopters, to replenish Iraq's stockpile. U.S. has delivered 780 Hellfires to Iraq so far this year, including more than 450 arriving this month. Another 366 are due in August Lockheed formally delivered the first F-16 of a multibillion-dollar order from Iraq for the fighters. [Delivery of]  three more F-16s [due] this  year --  U.S. government yet to formally approve [fly] Harris Corp., the military communications specialist, said Tuesday that it had recently booked an order from Iraq for military radios ... ... part of US effort to [bolster]  the Iraqi military while the Pentagon develops proposals to counter the Islamic State.

While I was reading this, I kept thinking no wonder Assad is so confident.  Then I realised I had the wrong country and that this is IRAQ. 

Oops.  Still can't keep Middle East straight.

What I got out of this is:  war is money and plenty of it.  

As it's a reference to 'deals' and $700 mil, I take it the US isn't giving away weapons -- it's selling them.

From the Itar-Tass article, it looks like it was an all-inclusive deal (ie ancillary equipment and transportation).  

Got to wondering how they're going to pay.  Looks like a poor country.  Whenever you see pics of the Middle East, looks like a barren wasteland.

Check Wikipedia, indicates:

Oil reserves in Iraq are considered the world’s fifth-largest proven oil reserves, with 140 billion barrels

Iraq also has natural gas reserves.

So that's an official 'arms deal', I guess.