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As UN debates Libya, Kadhafi vows to crush rebels
(AFP)
TRIPOLI — Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi said he was determined to crush the month-old uprising against him, while at the UN, proposals for a no-fly zone to ground his warplanes met stiff resistance.
And as Kadhafi’s army announced it would soon move against the rebel bastion of Benghazi, anti-aircraft batteries and heavy artillery opened up in the rebel stronghold.
“If this is a foreign plot, we will crush it; if it is a domestic plot, we will crush it,” said Kadhafi, who has repeatedly blamed Al-Qaeda and Western powers for the revolt against his four decades of rule.
Late Tuesday, Kadhafi’s army said it would soon move on the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) east of Tripoli, Libya’s second city.
A statement addressed to its residents said: “The armed forces are arriving to ensure your security, undo the injustice done to you, protect you, restore calm and bring life back to normal.
“This is a humanitarian operation being undertaken in your interests, and is not aimed at Read more…
Between Sudan and Libya, Critics See U.S. Inconsistency
Why the rush to use force against Qaddafi when Sudan has suffered more?
Actor George Clooney helped conceive a project along with John Prendergast of the Enough Project that helps track violence in Sudan.
He went on to acknowledge that in a world full of Read more…
Arab League urges no-fly zone for Libya
In a stark rebuke to one of its members, the Arab League urged the United Nations on Saturday to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.
The move came even as forces loyal to Moammar Kadafi advanced eastward toward the strategic city of Port Brega in an intensifying onslaught against out-gunned rebels, who retreated from airstrikes and rocket barrages that thundered across deserts and coastal highways.
The Libyan army has made substantial gains in recent attacks, driving insurgents from the country’s largest petrochemical refinery near Uqaylah on Saturday and routing them earlier from Ras Lanuf, about 25 miles west, and Zawiya in the west of the country. The opposition has Read more…
US could tap oil stockpiles as prices rise: Obama
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Friday said he had “tee-ed up” moves to tap emergency US oil stockpiles, as Middle East violence pushed up gas prices for hard-hit US consumers.
Trying to tamp down concern that oil prices will continue to rise on Middle East unrest, Obama said he was willing to make a rare move to open the strategic reserve, but not yet.
“We are going to try to do everything we can” to stabilize the market, Obama said.
“Everybody should know that should the situation demand it, we are prepared to tap the significant stockpile of oil that we have in the strategic petroleum reserve.”
With Americans struggling with Read more…
Details About India and China’s Plans to Stockpile Crude Oil
Energy expert Matt Badiali writes in DailyWealth that plans out of China and India to create strategic oil reserves of their own could put a floor under the price of oil for years to come:
China and India are faced with the same dilemma the U.S. faced in 1973. Neither country has enough petroleum to keep its citizens rolling for long. Both are exposed to a dangerous, economy-killing oil shock. And both are starting to build and fill strategic petroleum reserves of their own. They have no choice but to buy oil like crazy at these levels.
China has about 102 million barrels already in reserve. It plans to add another 168 million barrels of storage starting this year. It will finish its planned 500 million barrel reserve – equal to three months of imports – by 2020. To hit that mark, China will need about Read more…
Oil Should Spike Higher Following Saudi Riots and Nigerian Elections in April
The following special report on oil (LA Blog Only, leverageacademy.com/blog) discusses the oil market, providing reasons to be bullish on the commodity given unrest in the Middle East, Nigerian elections in April, and rising domestic consumption in oil producing countries, including Venezuela, Nigeria, and Iran. According to the article, the rise of oil prices could easily cause the next recession. In 2010, soft commodities outperformed energy, but that will certainly change given the political headwinds abroad and continued monetary easing in the developed world. Therefore, the Bernanke “Put,” combined with political unrest will be to blame for continued sharp price increases in the energy commodity sector.
Emerging market demand, especially in China, which now consumes nearly 10mm barrels of oil per day, will also be driving the demand side of the equation. Money supply in China was also up 19.7% in 2010, because of the rapid Read more…
Oil will go up ‘ballistically’ if unrest shifts to Saudi Arabia, says Marc Faber
INTERNATIONAL. Marc Faber the Swiss fund manager and Gloom Boom & Doom editor sees oil prices extending their bull run despite the 15% run-up this year alone.
In an optimistic scenario demand for oil will rise as the global recovery takes hold, and in a pessimistic scenario prices still go up if the Middle East unrest spreads and crude production is curtailed. In both cases, he says, you should be long energy and energy related shares.
Speaking to CNBC today, Faber said: ” I think long term you should be exposed to energy in either scenario….if you are extra bearish and believe that War World III is going to start soon, as I believe, or in an optimistic scenario”.
Addressing the fundamentals of the oil market, Faber said: “What we had over the last couple of years is essentially a reduction in demand from the developed world, the US, Western Europe and Japan, and continued growth in emerging economies.
“So, if you take a very optimistic view of the world, namely a global economic recovery, demand in the Western World will pick up and demand in the Emerging World will continue to rise strongly, so from a very optimistic point of view you should be long oil,” he recommended.
On the flip side, “in a very pessimistic scenario you have to assume that unrest will shift to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the gulf and at that stage the production is curtailed and in that case obviously oil will go up ballistically.”
Brent crude futures could hit US$200 a barrel if political unrest spreads into Saudi Arabia, Societe Generale said on Monday.
Under what the bank called Geopolitical Scenario 3, “unrest spreads to Read more…
People Of Earth: Prepare For Economic Disaster
It is not just the United States that is headed for an economic collapse. The truth is that the entire world is heading for a massive economic meltdown and the people of earth need to be warned about the coming economic disaster that is going to sweep the globe. The current world financial system is based on debt, and there are alarming signs that the gigantic global debt bubble is getting ready to burst. In addition, global prices for the key resources that the major economies of the planet depend on are rising very rapidly. Despite all of our advanced technology, the truth is that human civilization simply cannot function without oil and food. But now the price of oil and the price of food are both increasing dramatically. So how is the current global economy supposed to keep functioning properly if it soon costs much more to ship products between continents? How are the billions of people that are just barely surviving today supposed to feed themselves if the price of food goes up another 30 or 40 percent? For decades, most of the major economies around the globe have been able to Read more…
Questions Remain on Libyan Mustard Agent Stockpile
(Mar. 3) – Antigovernment activists in Libya march today in a funeral procession for one of five people killed yesterday in fighting with dictator Muammar Qadhafi’s forces (Gianluigi Guercia/Getty Images).
The U.S. intelligence community is uncertain of the exact location of Libya’s remaining chemical warfare materials, though officials say besieged dictator Muammar Qadhafi has moved to bolster the security surrounding the primary cache of mustard blister agent, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, March 2).
(Mar. 3) – Antigovernment activists in Libya march today in a funeral procession for one of five people killed yesterday in fighting with dictator Muammar Qadhafi’s forces (Gianluigi Guercia/Getty Images).
Before fighting began last month, Libya had been making Read more…
Gaddafi warns of bloodbath if West intervenes
TRIPOLI: Libyan strongman Moamer Gaddafi warned on Wednesday “thousands” would die if the West intervened to support the uprising against him, as rebels drove back an attack by his forces on an eastern town.
The chilling warning came as western powers dampened expectations of any early imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, amid a clamour from western states for action to prevent Kadhafi’s warplanes from attacking his own people.
The United States is a “long way” from deciding on whether to impose a no-fly zone, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said as two US Navy ships steamed into position off Libya.
The 22-member Arab League appeared to offer an Arab and Read more…
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