Price of an oil terror

Fears regarding the shrinking oil supplies from the Middle East triggered by a possibility of a military conflict with Iran are the main factor that boosts the petrol prices up. That’s what Barack Obama said on TV yesterday. According to him, vain conversations about the possible war in the Middle East (backed by certain experts and politicians) should be stopped.

From Gibraltar to Peshawar

« The Army's story

 Is guns and glory

From Gibraltar to Peshawar[1].

 When they are at a loss

And chance to come across

New and unruly races

With brown or yellow faces

They chop them into little bits

of beefsteak tartare!»

Bertolt Brecht

«The Threepenny Opera»

«From the Mediterranean Sea to Hindu Kush» is how the well-known American agency STRATFOR entitled its brand-new strategic forecast for the uneasy region. It is written by the Stratfor CEO himself, Dr. George Friedman. It’s hard to say whether Dr. Friedman is familiar with the works of a great German 20^th century playwright Bertolt Brecht, but the name of his article sounds suspiciously similar to one the main songs of Brecht’s play that was written in 1928.

Oil, blood and hypocrisy

Everyone, who looks through the newspaper headlines every now and then, is certainly aware that today the world stands at the threshold of new major armed conflict that is about to grow into a full-scale war featuring nuclear states. Centre of the conflict lies at the heart of Middle and Near East, covering a part of Central Asia, too. Why the scent of war is so strong in the air of that region?

BRIBED LOYALTY: THE WAY THEY DO IT IN KABUL

Tribal leaders of Jirga have apparently been bribed in quite a haste. Instead of paychecks and “the only true currency” Karzai had to lavish them with promises that, firstly, their clans would be free from the “night clean-ups” and inspections, and, secondly, that American military wouldn’t interfere with the tribal opium trade in Pakistan, having confined themselves with the fight against major producers. I’m really desperate to know, whether American taxpayers are aware of objectives, their money are spent for?

“As far back as during his election campaign Barack Obama named Afghanistan the cornerstone of his foreign-policy concept. He has repeatedly claimed that achieving success in Afghanistan would allow solving the major part of the international terrorism dilemma”. This is a quote from my article “Afghanistan: Back to the Great Game?” that was written exactly two years ago. Today, preparing to run again, the U.S. President “is cleaning up his background”, burdened with the lost wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Voters demand results, of which there are none. Reuters has recently published an article by Missy Ryan (chief of the Mexico and Central America Bureau) named “Key Senator warns against Taliban talks, transfer”.

CHINA, CORRUPTION AND THE PEASANT UPRISING

Mysterious and obscure China is the emerging superpower #1. Major lender of the American economy that grows decrepit, it is also the main consumer of global energy resources and the owner of an increasing military might. Its economy, the most dynamic in the world, is perfectly integrated into communist ideology. During the age of global crises and total reappraisal of values certain politicians and theoreticians unwittingly lift their eyes to the East, seeking for the formula of social harmony.

MUTATION OF THE EUROPEAN CRISIS

These days European crisis is the word of the day. Scattering economies of Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Portugal demand both economic and political response from the EU governments and institutions. The matter, though, is that not everyone is ready to sacrifice national sovereignty for the United Europe. Thus, economic crisis gradually mutates into a political one.

These days European crisis is the word of the day. Scattering economies of Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Portugal demand both economic and political response from the EU governments and institutions. The matter, though, is that not everyone is ready to sacrifice national sovereignty for the United Europe. Thus, economic crisis gradually mutates into a political one.

MOVE OF BISHOP: REPUBLICANS START AND… LOSE AS OF YET

“Pre-election America 2012”

Several weeks ago Pentagon has discovered to its utter surprise that even the state-of-the-art American weapons contain “made-in-China”, i.e. apparently counterfeit, computing components. The hype is easy to understand even without going deep into technical specs of modern arms production, let alone the potential fighting capacity of an army, armed with the remarkable weapons like that.

While pre-election battles take place at Republican field, the incumbent President may sleep the sleep of just, amused by the Elephants trampling each other into mud and cutting all the more wounds of GOP would-be-occupants of the Oval Office open.