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Middle East Meltdown Could Mean Oil at $300 a Barrel, Pump Prices of $9.57 a Gallon
moneymorning.com [Editor’s Note: U.S. oil prices yesterday (Tuesday) hit their highest levels since September 2008 as investors reacted to fears that Middle East tumult would spread from Libya to such key Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as Iran and Saudi Arabia. But never fear: Even if the Middle East melts down and oil prices soar, there are moves you can make to hedge away your risk. We have two suggestions for you here.] By Martin Hutchinson, Contributing Editor, Money Morning The unrest in the Middle East oil patch is roiling the global oil markets on an almost daily basis. 
The events in Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Oman and other countries are also forcing us to ask that long-dreaded question: What happens if the countries throughout the Middle East region fall to radical governments? The answer is both stunning and surprising. In an absolute worst-case scenario – if the entire Middle East falls under radical control – we could be looking at $300-a-barrel oil and pump prices of $9.57 a gallon. Definitely a stunner. Here’s the surprise: Even such a worst-case outcome would Read more…
Kuwait is the Spear Pointing at the Heart of Saudi Arabia
Despite the reassurances and promises of change and trinkets for the masses, the front page news continues to reflect that Bahrain is the most dangerous situation for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The reasoning is that the Shi’a will spread their unrest into the Eastern Provinces along the rich oil producing regions of the nation and interrupt the flow of oil operations and embolden the Iranian regime to create mischief against their historic foe. In my opinion, this is a reach as the spear pointing towards the heart of the Kingdom is in Kuwait, a nation which has escaped the mainstream media’s attention up until this point in time.
The reason Bahrain is so key can best be summed up by the United States military interests in the region based there. Unfortunately for the media, the true story is the same one people realized in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Kuwait is the key to destroying the stranglehold the Saudi royal family has held on the Persian Gulf and the revolutionary movements of the region have understood this for twenty years now. When the Iraqi regime was crushed by the U.S. this decade the focus shifted from expelling the various monarchies in the Gulf region to using terror to expel the American “occupiers” as our nation was so labeled. When the strategy of state sponsored and funded terrorism failed, the revolutionaries and 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…
Why the World Must Watch Europe
Beyond the EU Debt Crisis
The continent’s financial crisis gave rise to bailouts, infighting and demands for sweeping financial reform. Could there still be a bright future over the horizon for the European Union?
Amid the shift in global superpowers, two names come up as heavyweight world championship opponents: China and the United States.
The constant media exposure and speculation could be likened to a pay-per-view boxing matchup.
In one corner: the world’s largest energy consumer—with a 1.3-billion-strong population—endlessly stockpiling natural resources—and holding nearly $900 billion in United States’ debt.
In the other: longtime democratic world champion—largest economy—and leader in manufacturing.
China is the clear favorite, but the U.S. is still in the running. On its way down from unmatched superpower, it is still a formidable opponent, with its manufacturing sector out-producing China by 40 percent.
Yet America is weighed down by a $14 trillion federal debt and rampant Read more…
A National ID Card For American Citizens? Get Ready – The Real ID Act Goes Into Effect On May 11
For a moment, imagine a future where you are not able to drive a car, get on a plane, get on a train, vote, enter a federal building, open a bank account or get a job without a national ID card. You don’t think that could ever happen in America? Well, you might want to brush up on the Real ID Act because it is going to go into effect on May 11, 2011 unless something is done to stop it. When I first learned this, I was absolutely stunned. After all, wasn’t the Real ID Act supposed to be “dead”? A few years ago state legislatures across the nation were in an uproar over this law. The Department of Homeland Security was forced to delay implementation of it several times. But now it is back. You see, this is what the federal government often does. They will try to push something very unpopular through, and if they meet resistance they will “play dead” until the uproar has died down and then they will come right back and implement it anyway. This is what is happening with the Real ID Act.
As of May 11, all driver’s licenses across the United States will be required to Read more…
Omani Forces Break Up Demonstration
Omani forces have dispersed demonstrators who were blocking the road to a port in the northern industrial city of Sohar, where protests earlier this week turned deadly.
Reuters news agency quotes witnesses as saying one person was injured Tuesday when security forces fired warning shots into the air. Witnesses said tanks were also deployed.
The protesters had taken to the Read more…
Iran Seeks Missile Components in Norway, Official Says
Norway yesterday said it had thwarted a number of attempts by Iran to obtain from small domestic firms components suited for incorporation in nuclear-armed missiles, Reuters reported (see GSN, Feb. 10).
(Mar. 1) – Iran‘s Sajjil 2 missile lifts off in a 2009 test. The Middle Eastern nation has unsuccessfully sought potential missile components from Norway on several recent occasions, a top Norwegian security official said yesterday (Vahi Reza Alaee/Getty Images).
Entities targeted by Iran deal in “special components that can … be used in weapons of mass destruction, for building missiles,” Norwegian Police Security Service General Director Janne Kristiansen said. The United States and several European powers suspect Iran’s nuclear program is geared toward weapons development, a contention consistently denied by Tehran (see related GSN story, today).
Iran has focused in the past 12 months on acquiring Read more…
Global warming means more snowstorms: scientists
Climate change is not only making the planet warmer, it is also making snowstorms stronger and more frequent, US scientists said on Tuesday.
Workers remove snow from a runway at O’Hare International Airport on February 3, in Chicago, Illinois. Climate change is not only making the planet warmer, it is also making snowstorms stronger and more frequent, US scientists said on Tuesday.
“Heavy snowstorms are not inconsistent with a warming planet,” said scientist Jeff Masters, as part of a conference call with reporters and colleagues convened by the Union of Concern Scientists.
“In fact, as the Earth gets warmer and more moisture gets absorbed into the atmosphere, we are steadily loading the dice in favor of more extreme storms in all seasons, capable of causing greater impacts on society.”
Masters said that the northeastern United States has been coated in heavy snowfall from Read more…
VERY INTERESTING” LEAK”- Resurfaced-The Map of the “New Middle East”
“Hegemony is as old as Mankind…” -Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. National Security Advisor
The term “New Middle East” was introduced to the world in June 2006 in Tel Aviv by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who was credited by the Western media for coining the term) in replacement of the older and more imposing term, the “Greater Middle East.”
This shift in foreign policy phraseology coincided with the inauguration Read more…
Need Versus Greed
NEW YORK – India’s great moral leader Mohandas Gandhi famously said that there is enough on Earth for everybody’s need, but not enough for everybody’s greed. Today, Gandhi’s insight is being put to the test as never before.
The world is hitting global limits in its use of resources. We are feeling the shocks each day in catastrophic floods, droughts, and storms – and in the resulting surge in prices in the marketplace. Our fate now depends on whether we cooperate or fall victim to self-defeating greed.
The limits to the global economy are new, resulting from the unprecedented size of the world’s population and the unprecedented spread of economic growth to nearly the entire world. There are now seven billion people on the planet, compared to just three billion a half-century ago. Today, average per capita income is $10,000, with the rich world averaging around $40,000 and the developing world around $4,000. That means that the world economy is now producing around $70 trillion in total annual output, compared to around $10 trillion in 1960.
China’s economy is growing at around 10% annually. India’s is growing at Read more…
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