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Most others would refer to this as a bid to secure Georgian Oil reserves. TEXAS TEA IN GEORGIA
In light of the USA's invasion of Iraq, and subsequent securing of Iraq Oil going to Russia for its own interests, was this inevitable? Will Khazakstan be next?
I suppose it's pointless to point out that Iraq is part of OPEC, it's oil is sold on the open market, and the US is NOT getting any sweetheart deals is pointless?
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I suppose it's pointless to point out that Iraq is part of OPEC, it's oil is sold on the open market, and the US is NOT getting any sweetheart deals is pointless?
Ah! But Russia was getting a sweetheart deal from the Iraqi Government ...now it is subject to $150 a barrel pricing thanks to the USA "freeing up the oil to market forces".
What the USA is getting is a Russia more vulnerable to the Oil Curve - the big picture being to make it harder for Russia to maintain a well fueled Warmachine without exploiting those Siberian reserves. US companies are cuing to exploit Siberian Oil...and this has all the Halmarks of George W. arranging things so his Private intersts can pick up Siberian Oil.
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I suppose it's pointless to point out that Iraq is part of OPEC, it's oil is sold on the open market, and the US is NOT getting any sweetheart deals is pointless?
Never mind that.
Russia is the second largest oil producing and exporting country after Saudi Arabia.The Georgian oil resevers are not neglible compared to Russian demand, processing, production, and export, they are utterly irrelevant.
The only relevance Georgia has to oil is the pipeline from Azerbaijan that crosses Georgia. Russia has no need to seize that, and would suffer significantly more if it did.
Oh, and another note:
90% of the population of South Ossetia has Russian citizenship, but they are not ethnic Russians. They are Ossetians, and the province is part of Georgia.
If you want any relevant international connection, it is to the US and NATO support of the unilateral Kosovo declaration of independence at the expense of long time Russian client Serbia, and Russia's extreme displeasure with that. Russia had threatened unilateral recognition of South Ossetia's (and Abkhazia's) independence. Likewise this will spill over to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan. (Hence why Azerbaijan is so noticeable in supporting Georgia's territorial integrity, as well as the pipeline issue.) You can also see the clear Russian hypocrisy when it comes to the Chechen independence movement.
Of course that all goes back to the taint that has been with the entire UN since its founding, with their two-faced simultaneous assertion of local self-determination and member state territorial integrity. The incompatability of those two policies has been a joke since the UN was founded, being expressed exclusively by raw power rather than anything even vaguely resembling the rule of law. It has always been nothing but a matter of time before this nonsense bit the world in the ass. The only question is whether it will spread, as there is no reason to expect the career hypocrites and purveryors of realpolitik infesting the UN will manage to rouse themselves to address the issue with any sincerity, no matter how many die this time around.
So yet again the precendent is confirmed. Self-determination and territorial integrity are based on how many guns you have and how many guns your patrons are willing to carry to help you.
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I suppose it's pointless to point out that Iraq is part of OPEC, it's oil is sold on the open market, and the US is NOT getting any sweetheart deals is pointless?
Never mind that.
Russia is the second largest oil producing and exporting country after Saudi Arabia.
The Georgian oil resevers are not neglible compared to Russian demand, processing, production, and export, they are utterly irrelevant.The only relevance Georgia has to oil is the pipeline from Azerbaijan that crosses Georgia. Russia has no need to seize that, and would suffer significantly more if it did.
Oh, and another note:
90% of the population of South Ossetia has Russian citizenship, but they are not ethnic Russians. They are Ossetians, and the province is part of Georgia.
If you want any relevant international connection, it is to the US and NATO support of the unilateral Kosovo declaration of independence at the expense of long time Russian client Serbia, and Russia's extreme displeasure with that. Russia had threatened unilateral recognition of South Ossetia's (and Abkhazia's) independence. Likewise this will spill over to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan. (Hence why Azerbaijan is so noticeable in supporting Georgia's territorial integrity, as well as the pipeline issue.) You can also see the clear Russian hypocrisy when it comes to the Chechen independence movement.
Of course that all goes back to the taint that has been with the entire UN since its founding, with their two-faced simultaneous assertion of local self-determination and member state territorial integrity. The incompatability of those two policies has been a joke since the UN was founded, being expressed exclusively by raw power rather than anything even vaguely resembling the rule of law. It has always been nothing but a matter of time before this nonsense bit the world in the ass. The only question is whether it will spread, as there is no reason to expect the career...
You so need to be writing for TIME magazine...I suppose Russia needs a Buffer zone. I always thought the difference with the Chechens was that they had supplied the Sadam Hussein regime in Iraq with Fiberoptic comms (uses to provide Iraq with a fiberoptic early warning system out of Mosul) they stole when they took those telecom employees who had been contracted to put in the Phones back in the 90s hostage. They were pissed at Turkey because they had laundered the money and brokered the deal.
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Russia has a habit of making mischief in the areas it used to control. It supports and props up a breakaway region in South Ossetia (and Abhazia (sp?)) in Georgia, which are supposedly independent but are in fact totally reliant on Russia for their survival. I would need no buffer zone if it acted like a normal country instead of trying to resurrect the Soviet empire by stealth.
...and this has all the Halmarks of George W. arranging things so his Private intersts can pick up Siberian Oil.Ah yes, George W. Bush - stupid moron, excpet when we need him to be an evil genius so we can pin some crazy conspiracy on him.
This is a good point. Why is it that every bad thing that happens around the globe is caused by the American Government or GWB? I mean, seriously, if I went on record saying that Vladimir Putin was orchestrating the Iraq War to drive the price of oil up so that Russia's oil export cash would increase I would be laughed out of the room.
I don't think Russia needs any 'arrainging' to do what they want. They are feeling an economic renaissance now that their GDP is surging, and once again Moscow dreams of a larger presence on the world stage, and looks back on its hegmonic days with rose-colored glasses.
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...and this has all the Halmarks of George W. arranging things so his Private intersts can pick up Siberian Oil.
Ah yes, George W. Bush - stupid moron, excpet when we need him to be an evil genius so we can pin some crazy conspiracy on him.
Well, we know it couldn't be the Russians.
"No one who speaks Russian could be an evil man."
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You so need to be writing for TIME magazine...I suppose Russia needs a Buffer zone. I always thought the difference with the Chechens was that they had supplied the Sadam Hussein regime in Iraq with Fiberoptic comms (uses to provide Iraq with a fiberoptic early warning system out of Mosul) they stole when they took those telecom employees who had been contracted to put in the Phones back in the 90s hostage. They were pissed at Turkey because they had laundered the money and brokered the deal.
Actually it is because you work for Russia.
Georgia launched that offensive against South Ossetia because you planted a false report about Russian weakness that encouraged them to move to resolve their internal crisis.Russia then acted based on a report by you to them that it would allow yourself and other Russian agents to destabilize the west by spreading Great Lies on the internet, distracting and dissipating the Western Response until Russian supported Abkhazian and other forces from the Caucasus were able to exterminate another significant chunk of the Georgian population. That of course is based on another report you submitted to them, advising that they could engage in large scale ethnic cleansing without suffering international backlash if they used proxies to achieve it.
As for your constant references to Bush, that relates to an incident many years ago when Bush embarassed you at a college, showing your professor that you had failed to do a homework assignment properly. You failed that course, and you have dedicated your life to getting revenge on him ever since.
A twisted tale to be sure.
There. A conspiracy theory that has as much relation to reality as any of Yellowdingo's. Everyone comment and expand on it so he can feel fully involved.
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...and this has all the Halmarks of George W. arranging things so his Private intersts can pick up Siberian Oil.Ah yes, George W. Bush - stupid moron, excpet when we need him to be an evil genius so we can pin some crazy conspiracy on him.Well, we know it couldn't be the Russians.
"No one who speaks Russian could be an evil man."
I KNEW it was really them British double-naught agents what did that polonium poisoning.
Yeah they might get to fighting over the breakaway province of Chattahoochee. I hear the ethnic fighting there gets hotter than a hoochie coochie.
I like Harry Turtledove.
My aunt has a Horse farm in Georgia, about 40 miles from Atlanta. She raises Clydesdale and helps out rescued animals. I hope the Air strikes don't target her farm....
;P
They're coming:
Holycrap, Bob...is that the same one your grandpa intercepted in his Delta Dart in 1958?
I'm like Harry Turdledove over here.
I like Turtledove, but I sure didn't like his Hitler analog Jake Featherstone ...'FREEDOM!' indeed.
Right....how about Uncle Joe? He ran into the same one in the 70's, right?
Don't worry, Fakey...your aunt's Clydesdale farm is safe. That bear's been roaring and poking around for decades. It's getting a little long in the tooth and it still rattles everyone's nerves, but just throw some old apples and junkfood its way and it leaves the camp alone.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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WOLVERINES!!!!!
Now for a cheer they are here, triumphant!
Here they come with banners flying,In stalwart step they're nighing,
With shouts of vict'ry crying,
We hurrah, hurrah, we greet you now, Hail!
Far we their praises sing
For the glory and fame they've brought us
Loud let the bells them ring
For here they come with banners flying
Far we their praises tell
For the glory and fame they've brought us
Loud let the bells them ring
For here they come with banners flying
Here they come, Hurrah!
Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The leaders and best!
Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan,
The champions of the West!
We cheer them again
We cheer and cheer again
For Michigan, we cheer for Michigan
We cheer with might and main
We cheer, cheer, cheer
With might and main we cheer!
Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan,
The champions of the West!
I suppose it's pointless to point out that Iraq is part of OPEC, it's oil is sold on the open market, and the US is NOT getting any sweetheart deals is pointless?
Never mind that.
Russia is the second largest oil producing and exporting country after Saudi Arabia.
The Georgian oil resevers are not neglible compared to Russian demand, processing, production, and export, they are utterly irrelevant.The only relevance Georgia has to oil is the pipeline from Azerbaijan that crosses Georgia. Russia has no need to seize that, and would suffer significantly more if it did.
...
I recently came upon this data:
Source: American Petroleum Institute Basis Petroleum Fact Book, 2007, Section 2, Table 4.
Estimated Proven Reserves Of Crude Oil, 2003 (billion barrels):
Saudi Arabia, 264.3*
Canada, 178.8
Iran, 132.5
Iraq, 115.0
Kuwait, 101.5
United Arab Emirates, 97.8
Venezuela, 79.7
Former Soviet Union, 77.8
Libya, 39.1
Nigeria, 35.9
United States, 21.4
China, 18.3
Qatar, 15.2
Mexico, 12.9
Algeria, 11.4
Brazil, 11.2
Norway, 7.7
India, 5.8
Oman, 5.5
Angola, 5.4
Total World, 1292.5
* (It is widely believed that Saudi Arabia substantially understates its reserve holdings.)
These reserve holdings mean that Saudi Arabia will be a factor on the world oil market so long as there is a world market for oil. If Saudi Arabia were to act as a wealth-maximizing dominant firm, it would restrict output to raise prices. But, it would then gradually give up market share as other producers expand to take advantage of the profits created by the price increase (source: James M. Griffen, “OPEC Behavior: A Test of Alternative Hypothesis,” ‘American Economic Review 75, Number 5, no. 5 (Dec 1985): 954-963.)
A variation on this theme suggests that although no single OPEC member has sufficient control of reserves to exercise control over price, OPEC, as a group, is able to act as a collusive price leader.
However, the problem of OPEC, like any cartel, is to achieve agreement on a course of action. Plus, statistical tests do not support the argument that OPEC pricing is competitive.
- Other miscellaneous stuff -
The petroleum industry is made up of four vertically related stages:
For example, in 1988, Saudi Arabia acquired half-ownership of Texaco’s U.S. refining and distribution network to ensure it has a place to sell the oil it produces.
Reference:
“The Structure of American Industry”, 12th. James Brock, Chapter 2.
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Patrick Swayze is not, never has been, and never could be a wolverine. Any group which includes him as a member and is named the wolverines is infringing on that name. The only real wolverines play for Michigan.Oops, wrong wolverines.
That's his power. He's so innocuous that you don't know how tuff he is until he's going up side your head. That's why he was totally believable as a bouncer in RoadHouse.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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That's his power. He's so innocuous that you don't know how tuff he is until he's going up side your head. That's why he was totally believable as a bouncer in RoadHouse.Patrick Swayze is not, never has been, and never could be a wolverine. Any group which includes him as a member and is named the wolverines is infringing on that name. The only real wolverines play for Michigan.Oops, wrong wolverines.
You may be onto something...
I love those old Tupolevs! The fact that they can keep flying after all those decades is a marvel of engineering, just like the B-52. Of course, the Russians just get a big kick out of flying those old tubs all over the world to test our air defense systems, rattle our nerves and provide jet fighter pilots another reason to keep a camera in the cockpit.
I think every Western made jet fighter since 1952 has intercepted those Bear bombers at least once.
...but secretly...they are harboring a hidden desire to bomb the s@!* out of a Horse Farm in Georgia ;)
"No one who speaks Russian could be an evil man."
...unless he's stroking a big fluffy white cat...
That's his power. He's so innocuous that you don't know how tuff he is until he's going up side your head. That's why he was totally believable as a bouncer in RoadHouse.
Wasn't Blade's minion (Whistler) in RoadHouse? Not sure if that was him.
Meh .. understandable mixup
...but secretly...they are harboring a hidden desire to bomb the s!*# out of a Horse Farm in Georgia ;)
Maybe they can get the Onion patches in Vidalia too.
Though they were the same character. The old grungy Biker Yoda Sensei defies the laws of time and space because he's all zen and whatnot.
He also has STR of 6. There is no way he could really fight anywhere except on camera.
Though they were the same character. The old grungy Biker Yoda Sensei defies the laws of time and space because he's all zen and whatnot.
Yeah and serves as a rugged-cowboy font of wisdom and father figure for the young cool anti hero so he doesn't have to look like a wimp when he needs advice or to ask for help.
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That's his power. He's so innocuous that you don't know how tuff he is until he's going up side your head. That's why he was totally believable as a bouncer in RoadHouse.Patrick Swayze is not, never has been, and never could be a wolverine. Any group which includes him as a member and is named the wolverines is infringing on that name. The only real wolverines play for Michigan.Oops, wrong wolverines.
He's even better in Steel Dawn. The acting (besides his, mostly) was pretty bad but it was a good post-apocalyptic type of movie and the fight scenes rocked.
<pro-Michigan song>
Wow. Never realized there was a song that praised Michigan. Now if only this state could live up to it.
Also, raise your hand if you read this thread and thought it was talking about the state and not the country.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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<pro-Michigan song>Wow. Never realized there was a song that praised Michigan. Now if only this state could live up to it.
Also, raise your hand if you read this thread and thought it was talking about the state and not the country.
Dude, it's talking about the University of. Sheesh, what are you, some sort of lilly livered Trojan?
And, for the record, Michigan > Every other state except Texas > something I wiped off the bottom of my shoe after walking through a manure and sewage plant > Texas
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That's his power. He's so innocuous that you don't know how tuff he is until he's going up side your head. That's why he was totally believable as a bouncer in RoadHouse.Patrick Swayze is not, never has been, and never could be a wolverine. Any group which includes him as a member and is named the wolverines is infringing on that name. The only real wolverines play for Michigan.Oops, wrong wolverines.
He's even better in Steel Dawn. The acting (besides his, mostly) was pretty bad but it was a good post-apocalyptic type of movie and the fight scenes rocked.
Postman spoiler:
Tom Petty was Tom Petty in the Postman. That was roxXOrZ!!! It made me feel like it was really happening.
oops....better spoiler that.
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<pro-Michigan song>Wow. Never realized there was a song that praised Michigan. Now if only this state could live up to it.
Also, raise your hand if you read this thread and thought it was talking about the state and not the country.
Dude, it's talking about the University of. Sheesh, what are you, some sort of lilly livered Trojan?
And, for the record, Michigan > Every other state except Texas > something I wiped off the bottom of my shoe after walking through a manure and sewage plant > Texas
Don't mess with Texas.
p.s. Go Gators!!!!!
I have no brother. It's me. I am from Michigan.