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News Briefs 08-02-06

By Jameskeon

A journey into the mind of Schopenhauer. Post your thoughts.

Quote of the Day:


Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.

Schopenhauer

Jameske
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33 Comments

  1. Iran won’t run
    Hi,

    Its a pity prisonplanet quotes a nutcase like Zhirinovsky, that said, the fact that this danish newspaper is run by the wife of a fullblown bilderberger makes one think, just as the sudden plentiful availability of danish flags is another telltale sign of another set-up by ‘those that never have enough’.

    What was completely missing in the article is the main reason why the US wants to attack Iran, namely Iran is in the proces of setting up a bourse to trade energy quoted in euros. This means people will/ must pay with euros to get iranian gas/oil , defacto establishing an alternative, others can/will follow suit, traders go where the money is.
    The oilprice hike this year kept the dollar afloat as countries all of a sudden had to buy twice as many dollars then before.

    The Iranians play a dangerous game here, they could very well bring the giant to its knees with the collapse of the way beyond overpriced dollar, but at what cost to their citizens ? My guess is they will renounce this nuclear business at the end of this month, undercutting ‘ them who have never enoughs’ support, and wave their new and clean euro oil bourse in the face of eager europeans and russians, hugo chavez will certainly sell part of his oil in euros..any sound oilexporter would…result a collapse in the demand for dollars..

    So what pretext will Bush and his mob of neoconmen create to nuke the iranians to kingdom come ? Your guess is as good as mine, though i feel another show of homeland incompetance needs be avoided, therefore europeans are in greater danger than the US citizens here. And whilst performing wholesale state terrorism..why not make a bundle, euro-oilindustry regions better beware.

    ” do unto others as you would have them do unto you “

    1. Didn’t Saddam want to do that?
      I think I remember that Saddam had the same idea about trading in euros.
      It seems to me that Iran is unlikely to renounce this nuclear business.There is a lot of anger there and I don’t blame them.
      Bush and friends are probably working on a reason to nuke them just in case they do.
      So it will happen one way or another.

      shadows

  2. Iran
    I have been wondering for month’s why the Iranian bourse has had so little press coverage it is clearly going to have a massive impact on the petrodollar and the American economy

    Bhc

  3. Reply to Bhc
    >>I have been wondering for month’s why the Iranian bourse has had so little press coverage it is clearly going to have a massive impact on the petrodollar and the American economy.

    I think it would be more accurate to say that it would have a massive impact – if it was allowed to develop. As these news reports from the past week clearly indicate, one way or another, it won’t be allowed. Reading between the lines… The creation of a PetroEuro is an economic declaration of war so, as The X-Files’ Smoking Man said, any counterattack must be equal to the threat – crash Iran’s bourse, impose sanctions, create anti-Moslem and anti-Iranian sentiment, or whatever else it takes.

    January 30th article
    Western media is paying little attention to Iran’s oil bourse, which is expected to open on March 20 using a euro oil-trading mechanism. …
    Iran gave the Asian Capital Partners and the Future Bank of Bahrain permission to invest 100 million euros each in the Iranian stock market. …Iran also authorized three private Lebanese investors to invest up to 50 million euros…
    The new euro-based oil trade could become a competitor to the two leading oil exchanges …but a number of international issues facing Iran will require a resolution before the undertaking becomes a success.

    Febuary 5th article
    Iran’s benchmark share index slumped through key psychological support at 10,000 points on Sunday, a day after being reported to the U.N. Security Council over concerns it is building atomic weapons, traders said. …
    “The drop is mainly because of the existing concerns in the market over the nuclear standoff with the West,” broker Hamid Hosseini said. …”If a positive trend does not emerge, we will see further falls.” …
    It is unclear whether a divided Security Council could impose sanctions on Iran, the world’s No. 4 oil exporter.

    February 7th blog
    So what has the U.S. and the West gained from taking Iran’s case to the U.N.? Perhaps a more important question to ask is why Iran’s “six-point” proposal to the EU-3 on January 30th, before the IAEA vote, was rejected out of hand as “nothing new” when reports indicate (since the media hasn’t found it necessary to examine the proposal, it’s hard to find a detailed description of it) that included in the offer was a two-year freeze on enrichment while negotiations would be underway.

    February 7th article
    Denmark says it holds Iran responsible after its Tehran embassy was attacked by hundreds of people protesting about cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. …
    The attacks came as Iran said it was cutting all trade ties with Denmark.
    The anti-Danish protests have been repeated across the Muslim world… Many Muslims are angry at the publishing of cartoons of Muhammad in a Danish paper.
    Islamic tradition explicitly prohibits images of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad.

    February 7th article
    Denmark’s PM has described the row over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad as a “global crisis”, as he called for Muslims to refrain from violence. Anders Fogh Rasmussen said extremists seeking “a clash of cultures” were exploiting the dispute over the images, which first appeared in Denmark.”

    I agree with Rasmussen that ‘extremists seeking a clash of cultures’ are exploiting the dispute over the Muhammad cartoon, but unlike him, I suspect the ‘extremists’ are the ones who planted the cartoon, since a very predictable Moslem backlash was exactly what was needed to foment an equally predictable anti-Moslem backlash in support of war, sanctions, or whatever. This editorial at World News Daily sums the situation up pretty well: Will Iran’s ‘petroeuro’ threat lead to war?

    1. The Giant Leech
      Hi,

      Meanwhile sour puss Rice (surprise,surprise !)has blamed iran and syria for the rioting, what rioting is that then sourpuss ?..A few thousand hotheads, millions stayed home..yes but they don’t count. It’s the inverse of the anti bush marches in the us, tens/hundreds of thousand marched but nobody mentioned them…
      I’m not sure what it takes to work at a western news desk these days, i suspect having a deep throat is a prerequisite for a career in whoring for those that never have enough.
      As for the iranian oil-bourse ? Another hot potato those whores ignore on their masters command. Journalists and politicians these days, once the protectors of freedom and democracy, have switched sides and are now defenders of those that never have enough.. for some their own skin aswell i might add. In short betrayel of a most despicable kind.

      Still there’s time yet, if more and more media, blogs , and on line responses mention this oil bours, it might trigger some respons and prevent the next war. A war that will bring in russia, china and force a split in the eu, as vazal states like the UK, Poland, Italy and the Netherlands will find themselves juxtaposed to Spain, Belgium and France. Germany will be split as they know fullwell that an euro bourse is very beneficial financially, alas (mentally) they are still an occupied nation…

      Basicly it comes down to financial interests, those with a lot of dollars aswell as us stock and real estate are understandibly wary to risk their assets..However this ‘game’ has been going on for too long. It’s time for the world to rid itself of that giant leech called the USA. 500 billion dollars worth it bleeds the world economy this year, think of what the rest of the world could do with that money… specially on the back of a sudden reduction in real term debt (denoted in dollars)for much of the developping world. Sure, for a year or 2 the uncertainties will have everybody on edge, but with the strong emerging megamarkets of china , india and russia the world will find out quickly enough they can do without US customers. In short it would be very, very beneficial for the world to rid itself of the giant leech that has bleeding the world dry these last 50 years.

      So there you have it, the iranian david is well placed to strike down the goliath. Not with nukes but with the goliaths own weapon, money, or in this case the sudden lack of it. A us-scenario that could follow spells such a crises it’s too daunting to contemplate for this US administration, better throw some nuclear dice in a far off country and count on the fear reflex of the world, if it fails..too bad.
      Meanwhile, us banks have been instructed by the fatherland gestapo to refuse anyone access to their accounts in case of a crises, for those that might object hundreds of internmentcamps are in the process of being set-up, yes uncle sam wants you !..On your knees, eyes wide shut, and mouth open so the crapmachine can feed you.

      To end on a positive note, a small reminder ‘wreckingball’ Bush ruined every company he headed.

      ” do unto others as you would have them do unto you “

      1. Someone needs to slip Bush a mickeyfinn
        or even something a little heavier.
        Jesus I hate reading about what they are doing to the US, but I know it is true.
        My old darling is in hospital after a big stroke and he cries when I tell him the news these days.
        He said he fought the Fascists once but is unable to do so again.
        Or he would.

        shadows

        1. Progress
          On the contrary, civilization will progress…just not necessarily in a direction that will meet with everyone’s approval, certainly not that of some Islamic extremists. Islam may be as noble as any great religion in its tenets but it’s also singularly prone to misinterpretation, because of those who take the Koran out of context and because of the great number of Muslims who know nothing about the Koran save what their imams tell them. There’s a vast well of cannon fodder who can be easily directed; the power of the few over the many can’t be over-estimated in this respect.

          Witness: T.E. Lawrence set out, a long time ago, in “7 Pillars of Wisdom” the conditions necessary for fighting a winning insurgency; chief among them is at least the tacit support of the general populace. One easily sees this in action in Iraq today. Iraq’s population is better than 50 million, last I remember hearing about it, and the number of insurgents is vastly less. (And, as an aside, did you know that no country on Earth had a higher proportion of people with doctoral degrees among its population?) If every person not engaged in the insurgency immediately reported every person seen with a RPG or an AK-47 the insurgency would be rolled up like a cheap carpet so fast it would make one’s head spin. This hasn’t happened, this is unlikely ever to happen, for reasons too obvious to detail here…the US has lost, it simply hasn’t recognized it yet. To put it in a nutshell, the US is operating in Headless Chicken mode.

          A war has started. Not with the “liberation” of Iraq or of Afghanistan, not with the First Gulf War, but long ago, long before Lawrence’s days in Arabia, before even the Crusades. Islam, as some Muslims would like to observe it, is antithetical to freedom as most secular Westerners define the term. Leaving dogma aside for the moment, radical Islam aims for world domination, preferably through war, and the non-Muslim reaction will be confused at best. As such, I will make a prediction: at some point in the not-distant future, we’re going to look back on the furore over a few cartoons as the Good Old Days…because it’s going to be Islam versus The World and Islam will lose, but not until the world sees a conflict that will make the Crusades look like a dog-and-pony show.

          Much beauty will be lost, much blood will be spilled…but that’s often the way of Human affairs and I can’t see a practical way around it unless all religious fundamentalists become willing to expel the cancer eating at their hearts.

          It was the rabbi Hillel who said, three decades before Christ, “Do not unto others what is hateful to thee. That is the whole Law; the rest is commentary.” A simple enough concept, but we’ve so often screwed it up; we are a staggeringly stupid species. It sometimes seems as though every instance of beauty is off-set by the vilest insanity; it’ll surprise the heck out of me if my words here survive long enough to be viewed as quaint speculation.

          I’m sorry if I’ve gotten on my soap-box; I do tend to get pedantic after a few martinis…but even more I hope that we grinning primates might come to our senses before the actions of a relative few destroy all that is best within some of our highest aspirations, for what is religion but an attempt to touch the infinite, and what higher aspiration could there be?

          Peace be unto you, and unto us all, even the more misguided among us; let us explore Life and revel in its infinite mysteries rather than finding new ways and reasons to turn eachother into the dust from which we came…Life to us all.

          Cheers

    3. Sigh
      I suspect the ‘extremists’ are the ones who planted the cartoon

      Do you honestly think Islam is incapable of conspiracies, Kat? Seriously, open your eyes. Western Capitalist Democracies aren’t the only ones capable of obfuscation, conspiracies and manipulating world events. You’re a fool if you don’t think so.

      Muslims need to just chill out, and we need to stop making excuses for their bad behaviour. Seriously, it was a bloody CARTOON. No one would bat an eyelid if the cartoon parodied the Catholic Church. Everyone laughs when Mel Brooks parodies the Jews. Muslims need a sense of humour, and to learn to cool down and not react with violence and death-threats every time they disagree with someone.

      Yeah, Bush is an a**hole, but screaming hysterically and threatening to kill everyone in Denmark is a bit extreme ….

      if you want someone to blame, throw a rock in the air and you’ll hit someone guilty. There are powers at work in this world a lot worse and a lot more powerful than Bush’s America. Bush is stupid, but he’s not that stupid. And you’re no better if you think all of the world’s problems originate with corrupt Western Capitalist Democracies.

      Right, that’s it from me. I’ve had enough of the ridiculous over-reaction to one little cartoon. EVERYONE needs to chill out and just grow the f*** up. It’s embarrassing, no wonder extraterrestrials are avoiding the Earth right now. Sorry Kat, it’s nothing personal, but the insane reactions to the cartoons is just ridiculously infantile.

      1. Jesus Christ Rick
        Are you living in a vacuum these days?
        Catholics have parodied their own religious figures for years.You can’t tell me that some of the images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary are not parodies.
        That’s the difference here.
        Muslims do not make images of Mohammed.
        Any images of Mohammed.
        So for anyone to make images at all is nasty but I guess excusable,because you must have freedom of speech even if that freedom hurts others, but to make those sort of images is wrong.

        Could you tell me exactly who in the world is worse than George W.Bush?
        He even refused to swear to tell the truth at the inquiry into the WTC business.
        Why?
        I mean the President of the US is always seen as the most powerful man in the world.
        Which country has as much power?
        Which country has done as much damage around the world?
        Which country thinks it’s own shit does not stink?

        The answers to all the above of course is Bush and America.

        Now I don’t hate Americans as I know some people think, but I sure as hell hate the way some of them carry on.
        And what’s more I think you are over-reacting.

        shadows

        1. Carry on
          I’m not a Muslim, so I can make images of Mohammed if I want to. As far as I know, Denmark is not an Islamic State either. Mohammed is an historical figure, and I as an artist reserve the right to draw his image. All the hot-heads screaming hysterically about it need to build a bridge and get over it.

        2. Images
          “Muslims do not make images of Mohammed.
          Any images of Mohammed.”

          That turns out not to be the case…there is no prohibition against depicting him before he became “the Prophet.”…at least in so far as some Shi’ites are concerned, which makes the matter at least arguable in the greater context.

          As well, I must take exception to another comment, the one summarized by: “Which country thinks it’s own shit does not stink?”

          Shadow, there is no country on Earth to which that comment does not apply to some extent, and in a fair number of cases to at least as great an extent. China, as one example…on the one hand it wants to be regarded as an ancient and honourable civilization, on the other it quite recently had no problem with machine-gunning children to stifle dissent, i.e., the Tien’Anmen massacre. There are exceptions to the rule, Iceland, for example, but Iceland will never be influencing events on any global scale.

          With all due respect, generalization may not be a great idea when applied to specific instances and the population of the US cannot be regarded as a monolithic whole…as one example, there are Americans who rabidly support the current occupation of Iraq; there are also those who just as stolidly oppose it.

          In my humble opinion, if there ever was a case that cried out for Humanity to look for common cause rather than what separates us, the state of current events would be that case…of all potential reasons for us to kill eachother, surely arguments over whose collection of fairy tales is better must be the most fatuous.

          Again, I wish you Peace.

          Cheers

          1. Well said, Binno
            And I hear you.

            Yes I was being a bit over the top about the US.I guess I get angry with the government because the country has the capacity to be so great.Whereas I don’t see that about China.

            shadows

      2. Who benefits?
        I agree that Western Capitalist Democracies aren’t the only suspects. My point was that whoever planted/published the cartoon had to have a motive. Since the Muslim response was predictable, I asked myself who might benefit from that response, and how.

        Here’s one way Muslims might benefit: Opportunists Make Use of Cartoon Protests: Individuals, Groups and Governments Vent Anger Over Issues Unrelated to Defense of Islam.

        Satisfied?

        Kat

        1. The world is but a stage
          So if you’re in the market for conspiracies, how do you know that it wasn’t a Socialist Anarchist group manipulating both Islam AND the West? As I said, there are other forces behind the curtains of this world, manipulating the players on the stage and duping the audience.

          And sometimes it’s as simple as an obscure Danish newspaper printing a cartoon parody of Mohammed and fundamentalist Muslims, and the whole world over-reacts with hysteria. No more, no less.

          1. for what it’s worth…..
            Rick I agree with everything you have said.
            Your head is in no sand!
            The game plays out…..we feel the effects.
            But people really need to look a lot closer and harder to see the real threat.

            The smoke screen is thichening. And most are fooled.

            DISCLAIMER: I wrote this….no one else….

          2. Are you the same floppy 1
            who used to post here years ago?
            Goodness it’s been a long time!
            Welcome back.

            shadows

      3. Is that true
        that the extraterrestrials are avoiding the earth at the moment?
        I hope it’s nothing I said.
        I know the Pommy UFO club closed down due to no UFOs being seen.I think it’s a damn shame.
        What can we do about it?

        shadows

    4. Words from a level-headed Islamic scholar:
      From the weekly Al Ahram:

      “Muslims might have miscalculated the manner in which they handled the crisis,” noted prominent Islamic scholar Abdel-Sabour Shahine, who suggested that instead of pursuing a boycott of Danish products, the Islamic world should have shown more tolerance, by focusing on promoting dialogue with the west, and educating them more about Islam. “The Qur’an ordains Muslims to engage in peaceful dialogue and use a more logical approach with those of different creeds.” The prophet himself, Shahine argued, was constantly subject to offence during the first years of his prophecy in Mecca, and his reactions were so tolerant that those who initially opposed him ended up becoming Muslim. “After all,” said Shahine, “we’d rather have the Danes apologizing out of conviction, rather than because they feel threatened.

      Why should the Danes have to apologise for anything? The only ones who should are the creators of the cartoon and those who published it. Blaming an entire nation for something a very very small minority is responsible for makes no sense. Otherwise, I think Muslims like Shahine should be supported and encouraged, he sounds like a cool-headed leader.

        1. Insults and egos
          Who kept publishing it, Shadows? Hrmmm, it wasn’t the Middle Eastern media who kept promoting the story over and over and over, was it? Why, yes it was! Sorry Shadows, but this isn’t a case of Danish newspapers being air-dropped throughout the Middle East. If you let the dust settle, you’ll notice that it was Islamic media rubbing the cartoon in their own faces, and the rest of the world (including tolerant, level-headed Muslims) wondering what the hell everyone’s carrying on about.

          1. WW3, out soon
            Hi Rico and all,

            Why do you go on about those silly cartoons, even from the OT its clear jahweh..allah have no sense of humor (bar a deep cynicism). The followers have even less, this has been the case throughout history , and to this day religious fundamentalists have NO sense of humor. So the current agitated respons by muslim fundis was highly predictable.
            It is such a sideshow and this disgusting hypocrasy about pressfreedom makes me want to throw up, those journalist rats have been selling out the public for years on end now..TRUTH ?..they couldnt care less. They serve their paymaster and write or show whats in their masters interest.

            Why dont you respond to bhc’s question so does this mean WW 3? Too hot to handle or even contemplate ? Well last night i was thinking and writing that Iran had the US by the balls, because this peaceful weapon ..the oil exchange in euro would certainly bring the dollar where economically it belongs…way down. For sure this would shock the system and the banks would take a major blow.. “sure the system needs a reset..but not on my watch”. So if nuking the iranians keeps ‘my’ money dry lets do it, and so western public opinion needs to be convinced of muslim..iranian extremist threat-Next a big attack somewhere in the west and the corrupt to the bone journalists (and politicians btw) will scream revenge in the same way we’ve seen those muslim hotheads scream death to the infadels. Have you forgotten the 9/11, anthrax, abu graib, and nick berg scams ? Bush and his neoconmen are evil extremists beyond belief. The pentagon, cia, nsa dogs out of control..out of their minds..honor..what a sissy concept.

            But then i read this about pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Shiite creed, the man is on par with the born again christians..bring about chaos and mayham, the end is neigh, the mahdi will come and deliver us…

            So what’s next ? Millions die, the price of oil will go thru the roof, consequently the demand for dollars follows suit..ruining everybody, the banks have another field day in credit extensions..soon they will own everything.
            Controlling every humans movement gets even closer and the world spasms..many wont take it no more, riots will trigger more riots because of the brutal way ‘those that never have enough’ have them quelled…virusses will be spread to force people to stay put..many many more will die, all because the ‘have never enoughs’ cant live with half of it, because their primitive predator mindset wants a show of force..killing for fun, to intimidate. You and i are just flies to be squased without a thought…the end (i wonder if they see one) justifies the means..any means.

            Humans devised a sane way to compete for a nations glory and skills, alas this summers worldcup in germany wont take place..most teams will withdraw. The world will be at war against itself.

            ” do unto others as you would have them do unto you “

      2. Bogus cartoons

        It seems that it was not the Danish cartoons that caused such hate and discontent in the Muslim world. One can view the cartoons here. But according to Cinnamon Stillwell of the San Francisco Chronicle it’s not the Danish cartoons that are inspiring the riots:

        No doubt the furor was inflamed by the spreading of three false and ridiculously over-the-top cartoons via a report handed out by a group of Danish imams touring the Muslim world and meeting with political, religious and media figures. Spokesman Akhmad Akkari actually admitted that the drawing had been added, but claimed the cartoons had been sent to him anonymously. It seems that the original cartoons were not sufficiently offensive to whip the Muslim masses into a frenzy.

        Something is Rotten Outside the State of Denmark

        1. Hypocrites
          Cowardly Christians are still trying to blame Muslims for drawing cartoons that are offensive to themselves as Muslims. Get real.

          This is not about free speech. This was a deliberate campaign of provocation, and still is by the likes of you and other pseudo-Christians posting here. Even the Vatican has called the cartoons “unacceptable provocation”.

          Flemming Rose has no problem insulting Muslims, but when it comes to insulting Christians and Jews, he is suddenly against free speech. Now he is in hiding, in fear for his life. Serves him right.

          The world will not be a safe place until we can get rid of the twin frauds of Zionism and Christianity. Multiculturalism should do the trick.

          1. Double standards
            I’m not a pseudo-Christian, and I didn’t vote for Howard in the last federal election … but geezus Lee, you need to pull your head out of the sand too. How about you pack your burqa and live in Iran or Yemen for a while? Then write back to us (if you can) about the wonderful free speech practised by Islam. I’m sure they’ll welcome your version of multiculturalism.

            Flemming Rose is a racist bigot, yes. And fundamentalist Christians and Jews are a part of today’s problems. But I just don’t get why you continually excuse fundamentalist Islam? Were you promised 40 virgins, Lee? Yes, Islam isn’t as guilty as Bush has fooled many to believe, but neither is Islam innocent.

            The fact is many Muslims are rubbing their own faces in the cartoon (or what they think is the cartoon, as they actually haven’t seen it). Just as Christians wallow in guilt like a lower class prostitute would live in a five-star hotel, and Jews milk the Holocaust for all its worth.

            You have very tinted glasses on, Lee. Take them off. Wake up. Groups such as Hezbullah used the cartoon to stir up anti-western sentiment. That’s one example. NO ONE is innocent in this whole affair (except those who didn’t actually see the cartoon, nor endorse it, which pretty makes up most of everyone with an ounce of common sense).

            I don’t know what the history is between yourself and Bill, but Bill’s point is extremely valid, since it was common knowledge BEFORE the media turned the whole situation into the hysterical mess it is now. Islamic media spread the cartoons, not just the West, and many fundamentalist Islamic groups used it for their own purposes too. Let’s not beat around the Bush here (but you can beat him up). The West, Christians, Zionists, Freemasons … they’re not the only ones capable of manipulating the media and world populations for their own ends. There’s more than one group with their finger in the pie.

            It’s a meat pie, human pie, Soylent Green, which is why I’m going vegetarian …. 😉

            And see, we’re all talking in italics now … it’s just getting sillier.

    5. IRAN
      PS Totally agree about Iran. It’s pretty obvious why Bush went for Afghanistan to the left, and Iraq to the right (well, it is if you have your atlas upside down), wedging Iran firmly in the middle. In theory, Bush should have had Iran surrounded, but he stuffed that up.

      Meanwhile Sweden and Iceland have put in place realistic plans to excorcise themselves of oil dependency within 15-20 years. Huzzah! I’m moving to Sweden or Iceland ….

  4. That lost armor’s gonna cost you
    Back to one of the compassionate conservatives’ other wars for a moment…

    In case you haven’t heard, the Pentagon is now charging US soldiers injured in Iraq for their lost body armor.

    I just found out about this thanks to Cernig over at Newshog. Cernig sure knows how to turn a phrase… “But wait..the excrement hitting the rotary air impeller gets deeper!” I couldn’t keep up with politics – and still maintain a sense of humor – without him.

    Kat

    1. I love “cernig”
      The next thing the US government will be doing is charging the soldiers in Iraq for transport there and back.
      They’re already charging them for food when they are injured and hospitalised.

      shadows

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