Should we all be really, really worried?

[BinaryGirl]

I saw this article this morning and confirmed it later with 95 similar stories as per Google News:

_http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/30/business/main4057490.shtml

Iran Ends Oil Transactions In U.S. Dollars

(AP) Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer, has completely stopped conducting oil transactions in U.S. dollars, a top Oil Ministry official said Wednesday, a concerted attempt to reduce reliance on Washington at a time of tension over Tehran's nuclear program and suspected involvement in Iraq.

Iran has dramatically reduced dependence on the dollar over the past year in the face of increasing U.S. pressure on its financial system and the fall in the value of the American currency.

Oil is priced in U.S. dollars on the world market, and the currency's depreciation has concerned producers because it has contributed to rising crude prices and eroded the value of their dollar reserves.

"The dollar has totally been removed from Iran's oil transactions," Oil Ministry official Hojjatollah Ghanimifard told state-run television Wednesday. "We have agreed with all of our crude oil customers to do our transactions in non-dollar currencies."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the depreciating dollar a "worthless piece of paper" at a rare summit last year in Saudi Arabia attended by state leaders from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Iran put pressure on other OPEC countries at the meeting to price oil in a basket of currencies, but it has not been able to generate support from fellow members — many of whom, including Saudi Arabia, are staunch U.S. allies.

Iran has a tense relationship with the U.S., which has accused Tehran of using its nuclear program as a cover for weapons development and providing support to Shiite militants in Iraq that are killing American troops. Iran has denied the allegations.

Iranian oil officials have said previously that they were shifting oil sales out of the dollar into other currencies, but Ghanimifard indicated Wednesday that all of Iran's oil transactions were now conducted in either euros or yen.

"In Europe, Iran's oil is sold in euros, but both euros and yen are paid for Iranian crude in Asia," said Ghanimifard.

Iran's central bank has also been reducing its foreign reserves denominated in U.S. dollars, motivated by the falling value of the greenback and U.S. attempts to make it difficult for Iran to conduct dollar transactions.

U.S. banks are prohibited from conducting business directly with Iran, and many European banks have curbed their dealings with the country over the past year under pressure from Washington.

However, the U.S. has been wary of targeting Iran's oil industry directly, apparently worried that such a move could drive up crude prices that are already at record levels.

Iranian analysts say Tehran can withstand U.S. pressure as long as it can continue its oil and gas sales, which constitute most of the country's US$80 billion in exports.


_http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=iran+opec+euro+&btnG=Search

Please someone tell me that I'm just being paranoid because I'm having a very hard time seeing this as anything but a catalyst for a war against Iran; which would have such a devastating impact on the US and the globe that we the people would be under serious and imminent economic and social danger from all fronts. I don't think I need to reiterate the constant drumbeat for war against Iran by Washington and Tel Aviv that would have dire consequences for everyone on earth. I'm still under the impression that this was one of the major catalysts for going to war against Iraq and that only by the grace of some sane, non-psychopathic people in US intelligence agencies that we have averted war so far.

Russian FM warns military action on Iran 'disastrous'
_http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hTvtSNN2PiGCCkwQkTl6-HXd4SJA

Putin promises Iran continuity in relations
_http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080430/wl_nm/russia_iran_putin_dc

"Hostile" Iran Sparks U.S. Attack Plan
_http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/29/eveningnews/main4056941.shtml

I have to stop because I see nothing good from any of this. I think that there is enough of a volume people on this planet who will actively resist this war to cause commotion on a grand scale (although that could pose to be a catalyst for another problem in of itself). On KPFK (Los Angeles Pacifica Radio) the other day they were talking a lot about the ILWU longshoreman workers strike that is to take place tomorrow. I really hope that that will be successful due to the economic impact that it will likely have to business.

_http://www.labornet.org/news/0000/nopaz.htm

_http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/03/01/18482849.php

Maybe I just need to vent but what's everyone's opinion on this? I'm really concerned about this development.

-Binary

 

[JonnyRadar]

hi BinaryGirl,

Please someone tell me that I'm just being paranoid

well, imho a little paranoia is healthy, provided it is balanced with some rational and objective analysis. but no, i don't think you're being paranoid.

that we the people would be under serious and imminent economic and social danger from all fronts.

we already are and have been. the economy is ready to go (i mean really go) any day now. we've got tent cities and "american refugees" going to canada. truckers holding up for miles at a stretch on the freeway. over 1 million home foreclosures in the next two months predicted (i'm a little shaky on that number, but i think it's close), and the dollar taking a plunge like it's free-falling with no parachute. the point is, thinking that the war will be what brings the imminent danger down on our heads is a bit short-sighted, imho. the danger's comin' down no matter what, at this point. it seems to be a matter of being psychologically prepared for what is to come.

I think that there is enough of a volume people on this planet who will actively resist this war to cause commotion on a grand scale (although that could pose to be a catalyst for another problem in of itself).

this is very true. the "commotion on a grand scale" will give the PTB the excuse they need to implement measures that have been put in place over the last fifty years, and probably longer. tried on any orange jumpsuits lately? imho, they're sizing them up now. a mass revolt of some kind would seem to fit the bill like a glove - for you see, those who have not taken the time to know themselves and their own machines will become just as enraptured with anti-government fervor as those who will become enraptured with pro-government fervor, and if all goes the way it's seeming to go, the two sides will clash with more than ideologies.

I'm really concerned about this development.

i hear you, but it's certainly not a recent development. the war drums have been banging on iran for the last year at least. now we see stories that iran is "attacking american institutions" like the barbie doll (blech), and this ridiculous nationalistic foaming at the mouth is only going to increase. the gov't doesn't need the american public's support for another war, precisely because, imho, they don't care who supports or opposes the war. people are kept thinking about themselves, and themselves alone, and whether they're waving a flag or a protest sign, they're going to find out soon enough that the PTB will do what they will do, and they will continue to feed off of us as we continue to supply them with more and more hatred, division, strife, stress, worry, and all manner of negative feedback-looping that we can muster as 3D machines who do not yet know we are machines.

so, is a war on soon? probably, but that's just my opinion based on what i see. and in the end, engaging in predictions such as this does absolutely no good without keeping an open mind and preparing the best one can for all possibilities. we (or i should say i) can easily become obsessed with what "may" happen in the future. the problem is that closes off doors to other avenues, and mires one in conclusions and definitions, which is where "they" want us - stuck in a loop, reacting to their stimuli the way "they" want us to.

that's my two cents, for what it's worth. :/

 

[webglider]

If the dollar is so devalued as to be almost worthless, how could the U.S. pay for a war with such a debased currency?

If the effects of such a devaluation take effect in the United States, wouldn't the hardships it would cause serve as a catalyst to wake everyone up?

If the countries that hold United States dollars were to dump all their dollars at the same time, wouldn't that thwart the plans for war on Iran?


I don't see any scenario as good, but I see the possibility of war as the worst of all.

I don't know if my analysis is anywhere near correct, but these thoughts are the first ones that crossed my mind after reading this post.

 

[BinaryGirl]

Hi Jonny,

I've been following the drumbeat for pretty much as long as it's been on the table so I hear you there. What shocked me wasn't that any one country put out more propaganda but that this actually DID happen just recently. That's my cause for 8|

we already are and have been. the economy is ready to go (i mean really go) any day now. we've got tent cities and "american refugees" going to canada. truckers holding up for miles at a stretch on the freeway. over 1 million home foreclosures in the next two months predicted (i'm a little shaky on that number, but i think it's close), and the dollar taking a plunge like it's free-falling with no parachute. the point is, thinking that the war will be what brings the imminent danger down on our heads is a bit short-sighted, imho. the danger's comin' down no matter what, at this point. it seems to be a matter of being psychologically prepared for what is to come.

Completely agree with the first part but I don't think that this is going to just be an Us vs. Them war like the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan. Russia has made it very clear that a war against Iran will be a war against Russia and I think the atmosphere internationally has shown Washington/Tel Aviv as engaging in imperialism against the peoples of the world without regard to domestic or international treaties. I know what you're saying but I just see this as a much "bigger thing"...or as I said a catalyst for a much "bigger thing".

this is very true. the "commotion on a grand scale" will give the PTB the excuse they need to implement measures that have been put in place over the last fifty years, and probably longer. tried on any orange jumpsuits lately? imho, they're sizing them up now. a mass revolt of some kind would seem to fit the bill like a glove - for you see, those who have not taken the time to know themselves and their own machines will become just as enraptured with anti-government fervor as those who will become enraptured with pro-government fervor, and if all goes the way it's seeming to go, the two sides will clash with more than ideologies.

...and in the end, engaging in predictions such as this does absolutely no good without keeping an open mind and preparing the best one can for all possibilities. we (or i should say i) can easily become obsessed with what "may" happen in the future. the problem is that closes off doors to other avenues, and mires one in conclusions and definitions, which is where "they" want us - stuck in a loop, reacting to their stimuli the way "they" want us to.

that's my two cents, for what it's worth. :/

I hear you, but in a sense we are all very reactive to the 'PtB' because we all fit somewhere in their system. Of course this speaks to the very nature of a pathocracy for the sole benefit of those in power rather than having a government for normal human beings and by normal human beings. It's to the will of the people who support the system to appreciate that we all basically want the same things out of life (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and all that) and to engage in a system that supports that. My boss is ideologically 'pro-neocon agenda' but when I talk to him, he agrees with everything I say when I phrase it that way.

I was pretty scared earlier and I still am, I don't know what's going to happen but I don't think it's going to be good. Remember John Titor? I recall something being written about a tyrannical NWO system being implemented in 2008/2009 but that it only lasts a short time. I'm not suggesting that this was actually a view of the future BUT I would like to believe this because there are so many people (right now anyway) who seem to depend on this system of control for their survival but have very little allegiance to it collectively. I think there will come a time in the very near future where we will collectively "shake off" this system and create a system for human beings and by human beings with checks in place to ensure that this will not happen again. Years ago I heard someone call it moving from the Black Sun Epoch to the Light Sun Epoch.

 

[D69]

If the dollar is so devalued as to be almost worthless, how could the U.S. pay for a war with such a debased currency?

hmm , easiest scenario that i am thinking of is simply let people feel harder life and then unleash campaign against iran i mean like "hey ! its their fault what u r feeling now !"
...twisted minds of politicians...

 

[PepperFritz]

I'm having a very hard time seeing this as anything but a catalyst for a war against Iran....

I think identifying it as a potential "catalyst for a war against Iran" is incorrect. That implies that Iran's action could CAUSE such a war. But as you point out, the American government has been banging the war drums against Iran for some time now. And as demonstrated in Iraq, once it has decided that it wishes to to go war with a given country, this same government is prepared to do so on the flimsiest of pretexts.

If you had said that you are seeing this as a potential EXCUSE for a war against Iran, I would have agreed with you. If the U.S. government is determined to go to war with Iran, it will jump on ANY excuse to do so, and there is NOTHING that Iran could do, or not do, that would change that course of action. The Iranian government knows that, and I suspect it is merely taking steps to prepare itself for that eventuality.

 

[FireShadow]

If the dollar is so devalued as to be almost worthless, how could the U.S. pay for a war with such a debased currency?

Being new to this site and forum, I may be under a false impression, but...

My immediate thought was that with over a 9 trillion dollar deficit, the U.S. is not paying for the wars we already have going on! It is all on credit!

If my understanding is correct, then there are international banking concerns that own us and if they want more war, they will simply keep loaning more money to us...it probably would not even matter to them if everything really crashes. In fact, it seems that is what "they" are going for - more deaths, more suffering, more negativity to feed "them".

Another thought is that it would be cheaper if they put us in work camps...

I have spent some time trying to make sense of things...to no avail. Nothing seems to make sense by trying to apply "the old rules" of things like "how can they afford it, etc..." If this is truly the End Game, then "all bets are off" - they are not playing to keep a status quo anymore, but instead are playing for "all the marbles". And, so far, the only explanation that I have found that does explain our current situation is that it is an End Game (of some sort).

It has occurred to me that for a very long time, we were given "cycles of good times" and "cycles of bad times". We have been given an understanding of how "our system works" - sort of like a game (of chess if you like) where you lull your opponent into believing they understand the way you operate (let the people believe in "the system") until time to make your move.

I have heard friends and family calm themselves with such thoughts as "things have been bad before, and got better. It is just the way the world is". "They can't afford another war right now, so it isn't going to happen". They use the rules (of the system that they have learned) to try to predict future events. I don't think those rules apply so much anymore.

Goodness. I have begun to sound quite cynical! Sometimes, I think I am just being paranoid, too. But, I once read a quote (can't remember who said it) that perhaps the question is not whether I am paranoid, but whether I am paranoid enough.

 

[ziggystarlust]

I would be very worried if I lived in LA at this time...period! Anything else is superflous.

 

[JonnyRadar]

What shocked me wasn't that any one country put out more propaganda but that this actually DID happen just recently.

i am wondering, could the propaganda be all the stories that are coming out about this? i don't mean to say it's not happening, rather that the intense media coverage and constant headlines of warnings and hostility... well like you said, it's scary. i think that for those with a nationalist mindset that particular flavor of fear serves as a rally cry of sorts. it's like a subtle trigger for the feeling that someone else is out to get us and we better crush them quick before they threaten our "culture."

what i mean to say is that the way the media chooses to cover these events creates more of a feeling of panic, more fear, more anger, and so on... so iran changing to euros, yea, it's the logical thing to do since the dollar's not looking so hot - but americans will take it as an affront to national interests, which can easily (and i think it has) escalate into a perception of a threat to national security. it's hard to imagine the iranians actually want to go head to head with the american war machine. as far as the funding goes, the PTB can fake up as much money as they want right up until the whole house of cards collapses...

I just see this as a much "bigger thing"...or as I said a catalyst for a much "bigger thing".

indeed, good point. any war increases the chances of more conflict worldwide. but man, watching what's going on right now, it's actually hard to think of the world being in much more conflict than it already is, short of a total nuclear showdown. (or an alien ivasion/cometary impact, i suppose)

It's to the will of the people who support the system to appreciate that we all basically want the same things out of life (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and all that) and to engage in a system that supports that.

i wonder if the will of the people isn't already crushed. according to don juan, will is reserved for the most taxing situations and can only be developed after discipline, forbearance and timing. as a culture, as a whole, our country does not possess these traits even in the slightest.

I was pretty scared earlier and I still am, I don't know what's going to happen but I don't think it's going to be good.

it scares me as well. it's an interesting beast. the tendrils run deep and at certain times are triggered easily. this is how they rule us - by mass hypnosis and control of the psyche - if we give up on striving for control of our own psyche and getting a handle on fear, then their control is complete...

Remember John Titor? I recall something being written about a tyrannical NWO system being implemented in 2008/2009 but that it only lasts a short time.

found the quote from titor's website, is this what you meant?

_http://www.johntitor.com

The year 2008 was a general date by which time everyone will realize the world they thought they were living in was over. The civil war in the United States will start in 2004. I would describe it as having a Waco type event every month that steadily gets worse. The conflict will consume everyone in the US by 2012 and end in 2015 with a very short WWIII.

interesting, no civil war but i wonder if he's speaking more on a psychological level, 'cause that would kind of make sense. however "a very short WWIII" doesn't bode too well for what comes after... this is all not to mention that some comets and a few others may be gracing us with a visit soon...

when you spoke of being scared by the situation, and it is scary, this excerpt from the Cs came to mind...

Q: (L) Who were the Annunaki?
A: Aliens.
Q: (L) Where were they from?
A: Zeta Reticuli?
Q: (L) Do they come here every time the comet cluster is approaching to sap the souls energy created by the fear, chaos and so forth?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) The two events are loosely interrelated?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Is that why they are here now?
A: Close.
Q: (L) Is there a large fleet of space-ships riding a wave, so to speak, approaching our planet?
A: Yes.

 

[PepperFritz]

I have spent some time trying to make sense of things...to no avail. Nothing seems to make sense by trying to apply "the old rules" of things like "how can they afford it, etc..." If this is truly the End Game, then "all bets are off" - they are not playing to keep a status quo anymore, but instead are playing for "all the marbles". And, so far, the only explanation that I have found that does explain our current situation is that it is an End Game (of some sort).

This is my reading of the situation as well. It all seems incomprehensibly "insane", but within the context of an "End Game", it acquires a logic of sorts. Although a "logic" built on the fatal flaw of STS forces -- i.e., the "wishful thinking" that leads them to believe that they actually CAN "win all the marbles".

These ARE frightening times, but it's important to bear in mind what the C's have said, that the ultimate goal of the STS forces really is "wishful thinking" in the end, that they cannot achieve their agenda. And that they WANT us to be afraid, since they FEED on our fear and sense of panic, and it distracts us from "the Work"....

 

[cholas]

Russia has made it very clear that a war against Iran will be a war against Russia

This sounds EXCACTLY like the PTB plan which of course needs Iran/Russia(/China etc) to be the evil empire. Also sounds a bit like the fundamentalist-christian teachings of armaddedon. And a pretext towards wiping out israel/Jews. Is the plan moving right along? Very good possibility.

I would be very worried if I lived in LA at this time...period!

Being in your neck of the woods at this very moment makes me overly paranoid! It's very good to see that you are watching the signs, BinaryGirl!

I recall something being written about a tyrannical NWO system being implemented in 2008/2009 but that it only lasts a short time. I'm not suggesting that this was actually a view of the future BUT I would like to believe this because there are so many people (right now anyway) who seem to depend on this system of control for their survival but have very little allegiance to it collectively. I think there will come a time in the very near future where we will collectively "shake off" this system and create a system for human beings and by human beings with checks in place to ensure that this will not happen again.

Not to diminish the need of "seeing light at the end of the tunnel", is it possible that focusing on what sounds like a golden 3D age for us and our children might be in fact wishful thinking and not clearly seeing the larger picture?

Just a couple days ago I was having a conversation with a few "green revolutionaries" who were promoting their biodiesel, garbage-incinerating power-plants and other well-meaning albiet uninformed ways of "saving the Earth/humans". This quote came to mind:

A: Reincarnation on a 3rd density earth as a "cave person"
amidst rubble and a glowing red sky, as the perpetual cold wind whistles...

it seems to be a matter of being psychologically prepared for what is to come.

Well said JR. A "keeping your head while those around you are losing theirs"-type necessity?