Ok, I have taken some time off from blogging to take care of other things, but things are starting to heat up again so, I thought I would chime in again.
We know things in the economy are slowly sliding down hill. People are watching the hosing bubble burst and think that this is pretty bad.
Well, that ain't the half of it. Today, the "fit hit the shan." Things are about to get down right ugly for us here in the good ol' U.S. of A. Today, Iran announced that it would require Japan to pay for its oil imports in Yen instead of U.S. dollars.
This might not sound so disturbing to the average person. But it should scare the snot right out of you. The dollar has already slid tremendously in the past year. Now, it is going to crash. The one thing that holds up the dollars value is the fact that all oil is bought and sold in U.S. dollars. This means that all the countries around the world must hold quite a bit of U.S. currency in order to buy oil. Russia is also thinking about converting to the Euro since it has better buying power.
Our economy is going to take huge hit with this. As more and more countries switch away, things will get worse and worse and we will see the same type of stagflation that we saw in the late 70's.
Why is Iran hitting Japan? Because it is one of the biggest U.S. allies that does not have sway on the UN security council.
Iran Asks Japan to Pay Yen for Oil, Start Immediately (Update3)
By Megumi Yamanaka
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Iran asked Japanese refiners to switch to the yen to pay for all crude oil purchases, after Iran's central bank said it is reducing holdings of the U.S. dollar.
Iran wants yen-based transactions ``for any/all of your forthcoming Iranian crude oil liftings,'' according to a letter sent to Japanese refiners that was signed by Ali A. Arshi, general manager of crude oil marketing and exports in Tehran at the National Iranian Oil Co. The request is for all shipments ``effective immediately,'' according to the letter, dated July 10 and obtained by Bloomberg News.
The yen rose on speculation for an increase in demand for the currency, the result of Japan's annual 1.24 trillion yen ($10.1 billion) of oil imports from Iran. Central bankers in Venezuela, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have said they will invest less of their reserves in dollar assets because of the weakening currency.
``What else can Japan do but to accept the request, once the oil producer sent its wish?'' said Hirofumi Kawachi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``The tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, and it's Iran's measure to hedge risk.''
A spokesman for Iran's oil ministry in Tehran said he could neither confirm nor deny that the letter had been sent. Most Japanese oil refiners have until now used U.S. dollars to pay Iran for oil, said the spokesman, who declined to be identified by name because of government policy.
Yen Advances
The yen advanced to 122.07 per dollar at 2:30 p.m. in New York, from 122.42 late yesterday.
Iran is cutting its U.S. dollar reserves to less than 20 percent of total foreign currency holdings, and will buy more euros and yen as tensions with the U.S. increase, Central Bank Governor Ebrahim Sheibany said on March 27.
Full story
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Friday, July 13, 2007
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The Nut Job Convention
There is a world meeting today of the world's leading nut jobs in Iran. Hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud "Mommy Didn't Hug Me Enough" Ahmadinejad, world intellectual featherweights convened the first annual "Holocaust? What Ev" convention to deny the deaths of millions of Jews during the Nazi era.
Disturbing enough was the attendance of former Grand Wizard of the KKK, David Duke, but what really got me was the number of Jews in attendance.
At one point, Ahmadinejad said that Israel will go the way of the Soviet Union and that there should be elections among "Jews, Christians and Muslims so the population of Palestine can select their government and destiny for themselves in a democratic manner." I guess he forgets that Israel is the only real democracy in the middle east.
Ahmadinejad, while being completely insane, is not politically unsavvy. I have to wonder if there is a motivation behind this conference other than just pure blinding hatred. At first, I thought that it could be a wedge issue to try to split the U.S. from its allies. Anti-semitism is still somewhat stronger in Europe than it is in the U.S., especially in Russia. But if this was his plan, it was sure to backfire, as has proven to have happen. Strong rebukes from all over the world have landed at the Iranian President's door mat. Any indication that he had made to the effect that his nuclear program is "peaceful" is contradicted by this, along with many of his comments that Israel should be wiped off the map.
Unfortunately, just like we are stuck with Bush, Iran is stuck with Ahmadinejad. When military options are nil, the only other path is diplomacy.
Holocaust deniers' meeting spurs outrage
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria - A gathering of Holocaust deniers in Iran touched off a firestorm of indignation Tuesday across Europe, where many countries have made it a crime to publicly disavow the Nazis' systematic extermination of 6 million Jews.
The European Union's top justice official condemned the conference as "an unacceptable affront" to victims of the World War II genocide. British Prime Minister Tony Blair denounced it as "shocking beyond belief" and proof of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's extremism.
"I think it is such a symbol of sectarianism and hatred toward people of another religion. I find it just unbelievable, really," Blair said in London.
"I mean to go and invite the former head of the Ku Klux Klan to a conference in Tehran which disputes the millions of people who died in the Holocaust ... what further evidence do you need that this regime is extreme?" he added.
David Duke, an ex-Klan leader and former Louisiana state representative, was among those at the two-day conference. Although organizers touted it as a scholarly gathering, the meeting angered many in countries such as Austria, Germany and France, where it is illegal to deny aspects of the Nazi Holocaust.
In Washington, the White House condemned Iran for convening a conference it called "an affront to the entire civilized world."
The conference drew especially sharp condemnation in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country repudiated it "with all our strength."
"We absolutely reject this. Germany will never accept this and will act against it with all the means that we have," Merkel told reporters. She stood alongside visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who denounced the meeting as "unacceptable" and a "danger" to the Western world.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy was interrupted by applause from lawmakers when he told parliament in Paris that the conference showed a resurgence of "revisionist" theories "which are quite simply not acceptable."
(Full Story)
Disturbing enough was the attendance of former Grand Wizard of the KKK, David Duke, but what really got me was the number of Jews in attendance.
At one point, Ahmadinejad said that Israel will go the way of the Soviet Union and that there should be elections among "Jews, Christians and Muslims so the population of Palestine can select their government and destiny for themselves in a democratic manner." I guess he forgets that Israel is the only real democracy in the middle east.
Ahmadinejad, while being completely insane, is not politically unsavvy. I have to wonder if there is a motivation behind this conference other than just pure blinding hatred. At first, I thought that it could be a wedge issue to try to split the U.S. from its allies. Anti-semitism is still somewhat stronger in Europe than it is in the U.S., especially in Russia. But if this was his plan, it was sure to backfire, as has proven to have happen. Strong rebukes from all over the world have landed at the Iranian President's door mat. Any indication that he had made to the effect that his nuclear program is "peaceful" is contradicted by this, along with many of his comments that Israel should be wiped off the map.
Unfortunately, just like we are stuck with Bush, Iran is stuck with Ahmadinejad. When military options are nil, the only other path is diplomacy.
Holocaust deniers' meeting spurs outrage
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria - A gathering of Holocaust deniers in Iran touched off a firestorm of indignation Tuesday across Europe, where many countries have made it a crime to publicly disavow the Nazis' systematic extermination of 6 million Jews.
The European Union's top justice official condemned the conference as "an unacceptable affront" to victims of the World War II genocide. British Prime Minister Tony Blair denounced it as "shocking beyond belief" and proof of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's extremism.
"I think it is such a symbol of sectarianism and hatred toward people of another religion. I find it just unbelievable, really," Blair said in London.
"I mean to go and invite the former head of the Ku Klux Klan to a conference in Tehran which disputes the millions of people who died in the Holocaust ... what further evidence do you need that this regime is extreme?" he added.
David Duke, an ex-Klan leader and former Louisiana state representative, was among those at the two-day conference. Although organizers touted it as a scholarly gathering, the meeting angered many in countries such as Austria, Germany and France, where it is illegal to deny aspects of the Nazi Holocaust.
In Washington, the White House condemned Iran for convening a conference it called "an affront to the entire civilized world."
The conference drew especially sharp condemnation in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country repudiated it "with all our strength."
"We absolutely reject this. Germany will never accept this and will act against it with all the means that we have," Merkel told reporters. She stood alongside visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who denounced the meeting as "unacceptable" and a "danger" to the Western world.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy was interrupted by applause from lawmakers when he told parliament in Paris that the conference showed a resurgence of "revisionist" theories "which are quite simply not acceptable."
(Full Story)
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