Cidersomerset
9th January 2015, 10:54
It would be nice if Letterman read out the top 10 of news items below...
I posted quite a lot of articles from Davids headline page for one thread, but one
story seemed to be connected to the next to make up a bigger picture......
CdsQAXIyzzk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 things the media won’t be talking about after the Paris terror attack
new Friday 9th January 2015 at 07:11 By David Icke
http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/get-attachment-286.jpg
=======================================================
I don't know this web site a , but David is using it so that's good enough for me.
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/newbannercharliehebdo.jpg
10 things the media won’t be talking about after the Paris terror attack
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/parisshootingfp.jpg
The Paris terror attack has sucked up all the oxygen in the room, nothing else will be discussed.
1. Today’s 9/11 Truth press conference
Representatives Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) spoke at a press
conference today about the need to declassify the 28 pages of the 9/11 report,
which implicates terror aid and funding from Saudi Arabia and possibly other
countries. 2015 will be the year of 9/11 Truth and this is 0.1% of it.’
OkTyWOSd-sw
2. Resolution to end the occupation of Palestine failed by one vote.
The December 30th vote would have called for Israeli military forces to end the
occupation within 3 years.
WTF News
The resolution failed by one vote, receiving eight “yes” votes and two “no” votes
with five nations not casting a vote. The 2 no votes unsurprisingly came from the
United States and Australia.
France, China, Russia, Jordan, Chad, Luxemburg, Argentina and Chile voted for it.
AP
Until shortly before the vote, council diplomats had expected the resolution to get
nine “yes” votes. But Nigeria, which was believed to support the resolution,
abstained. Its ambassador, U. Joy Ogwu, echoed the U.S. position saying the
ultimate path to peace lies “in a negotiated solution.”
Nigeria isn’t alone in failing to vote for it, Britain, Rwanda, Nigeria, Lithuania, and
South Korea also abstained.
The American objection was explained by U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power, saying
there needed to be a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and Palestine and
should not be forced by a rigid timetable. “We voted against this resolution not because
we are comfortable with the status quo,” Powers said before defending the situation.
Powers then said “peace must come from hard compromises that occur at the
negotiating table,” as if the process so far has been honest and productive. The
resolution was reduced to a political game with Powers calling it a “staged confrontation
that will not bring the parties closer” because it didn’t account for the “security
concerns” of Israel.
Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said that they may return to the Security Council
because 5 new members are joining in 2015 and could be more friendly to the effort.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that they will continue their
efforts join the International Criminal Court, allowing charged to be brought against
Israel for war crimes.
The pressure on Israel to end the occupation of Palestine has become more targeted as
the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement grows. In Europe, Sweden voted to
recognize Palestine and France passed a non-binding show of support for a Palestinian state.
Related: UEFA rejected Israel as Host for 2020 European Championships
3. Rand Paul backs bill to cut US aid as UN accepts Palestinian bid to International Criminal Court
Days after Israel freezes Palestine tax funds over the ICC bid which would allow
Palestinians to bring charges over Israeli war crimes?
Earlier today…
WTF News
Retaliation against Palestine has come from the United States as well with Senator Rand
Paul (R-KY) that would freeze about $440 million in US aid to Palestine as a response to
the Palestinian ICC bid.
Free Beacon
Paul reportedly introduced the bill just hours before he was to meet with top Jewish donors.
Paul has been seeking to bolster his standing in Jewish circles, where some leading
voices remain skeptical of his isolationist foreign policy views.
This is the second time that Paul has taken the lead to eliminate aid to the Palestinians.
The senator spearheaded a bill in April to cut off U.S. aid to the PA in response to its
formation of a unity government with the terror group Hamas.
Unlike the current piece of legislation, last year’s bill would have made U.S. aid
contingent on the unity government explicitly recognizing Israel’s right to exist.
Doug Stafford, a senior Paul adviser, told the Free Beacon that the United States has no
business funding “an anti-Israel propaganda trial” at the ICC.
“The Palestinian Authority received well over $400 million last year to peacefully interact
with Israel,” Stafford said. “Currently, the Palestinian Authority is trying to join the anti-
American International Criminal Court and they are claiming war crimes by Israeli
soldiers. Sen. Rand Paul does not think American tax dollars should be used to fund an anti-Israel propaganda trial.”
Sen. Paul has been trying very hard to improve his image in relation to Israel since the
2012 US Presidential campaigns where his father Rep. Ron Paul was seen as falling
short in terms of effort at arguing his positions.
randzion
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/randzion.png
The extreme measures, amounting to economic warfare, have been justified by the US
and Israel under the familiar reason that Palestinian authorities are attempting to
sabotage the peace process by seeking out membership to a peaceful international
treaty which would allow them to present their multiple cases in a respected court of
law. Given that the United States (nor Israel) is not a part of the ICC as it has not been
ratified by the US Congress, the conflict of interest is clear. Both countries have stated
that they wish for the negotiations to continue outside of this because it is not
conducive to a two-state solution, rationale which seems to defy logic in light of the
international law mechanisms available.
The tension in the region has been increasing after multiple isolated incidents of
violence on both sides of the border and a curious incident where rocks were thrown at
US officials and their security by Israelis. The incident reportedly included the US
security forces “brandishing” guns at the Israelis, though it is unclear exactly what
happened. This was disputed by many and there were also reports that the Israeli
crowd had weapons including clubs and axes.
In typical fashion, now Israel is proceeding to charge Palestinians with war crimes.
Jerusalem Post
Israel is looking at ways to prosecute senior Palestinians for war crimes in the United
States and elsewhere in response to Palestinian steps to join the International Criminal
Court, an Israeli official said on Saturday.
The Palestinians delivered to UN headquarters in New York on Friday documents on
joining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other global treaties,
saying they hoped to achieve “justice for all the victims that have been killed by Israel, the occupying power.”
Maybe they have, but clearly not on the scale of the Israeli military and secret services.
4. How did a Sandy Hook victim end up mourned as dying in the recent Pakistan school attack?
Self explanatory (unless you are not been aware of the ongoing Newtown fraud)
It is an unsolved mystery how Noah Pozner’s photo was seen at a memorial in Pakistan
posnerfb
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/posnerfb.jpg
5. Pedophile Scandal
The recent pedophile scandals have been hidden but now bigger names are being
mentioned, like United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew.
Daily Mail
Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein allegedly tracked down young girls he abused
Billionaire is said to have promised to ‘look after’ them if they kept quiet
Those who did not cooperate with him were harassed, court papers claim
Scale of the alleged cover-up was revealed as files became public
Came as Duchess of York sprang to defence of her ex-husband, Andrew
The Prince is accused of having sex with Epstein’s under-age ‘sex slave’
Yet vital evidence that could put Andrew in the clear is likely to stay secret
Duke of York fiercely denies all accusations made by Virginia Roberts
Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz moves to sue lawyers representing alleged
teen ‘sex slave’ for defamation, but they sue him first NY Daily News
Dershowitz denies it – NY Times.The firestorm has now pulled in Bill Clinton, which
could be a message to Hillary suggesting that she not run for president because of
the multiple skeletons in the Clinton closet.
More on the target, Jeffrey Epstein, who is connected to many celebrities and politicians.
Daily Mail
She spent the next four years with Epstein. For three of those years, she was
under Florida’s age of consent – 18.
‘Basically, I was training to be a prostitute for him and his friends who shared his
interest in young girls,’ she says.
That stage of his alleged abuse started after two years when he asked Miss Roberts
to fly to his Caribbean island and make a friend of his ‘feel how you make me feel’.
She says she was given to men, aged from their 40s to their 60s, either on the
Island or on Epstein’s New Mexico ranch. In interviews with The Mail on Sunday
after the settlement of the original legal action, Miss Roberts claims she met Prince
Andrew three times.
6. Oil price crash worse since Lehman, second worst in last 28 years
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/oilcrashjan2015-700x347.jpg
oilcrashjan2015
Part of an interview featured on Zero Hedge with James Stafford of OilPrice.com
and Arthur Berman discusses some of the real reasons beyond the geopolitical
tension like Ukraine and Saudi influence. Supply and demand, and ultimately the
Economic Collapse…
OP: The Current Oil Situation – What is your assessment?
Arthur Berman: The current situation with oil price is really very simple. Demand is
down because of a high price for too long. Supply is up because of U.S. shale oil
and the return of Libya’s production. Decreased demand and increased supply
equals low price.
As far as Saudi Arabia and its motives, that is very simple also. The Saudis are
good at money and arithmetic. Faced with the painful choice of losing money
maintaining current production at $60/barrel or taking 2 million barrels per day off
the market and losing much more money—it’s an easy choice: take the path that is
less painful. If there are secondary reasons like hurting U.S. tight oil producers or
hurting Iran and Russia, that’s great, but it’s really just about the money.
Saudi Arabia met with Russia before the November OPEC meeting and proposed
that if Russia cut production, Saudi Arabia would also cut and get Kuwait and the
Emirates at least to cut with it. Russia said, “No,” so Saudi Arabia said, “Fine,
maybe you will change your mind in six months.” I think that Russia and maybe
Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria and Angola will change their minds by the next OPEC
meeting in June.
We’ve seen several announcements by U.S. companies that they will spend less
money drilling tight oil in the Bakken and Eagle Ford Shale Plays and in the Permian
Basin in 2015. That’s great but it will take a while before we see decreased
production. In fact, it is more likely that production will increase before it
decreases. That’s because it takes time to finish the drilling that’s started, do less
drilling in 2015 and finally see a drop in production. Eventually though, U.S. tight
oil production will decrease. About that time—perhaps near the end of 2015—world
oil prices will recover somewhat due to OPEC and Russian cuts after June and
increased demand because of lower oil price. Then, U.S. companies will drill more in 2016.
OP: How do you see the shale landscape changing in the U.S. given the current oil
price slump?
Arthur Berman: We’ve read a lot of silly articles since oil prices started falling about
how U.S. shale plays can break-even at whatever the latest, lowest price of oil
happens to be. Doesn’t anyone realize that the investment banks that do the
research behind these articles have a vested interest in making people believe that
the companies they’ve put billions of dollars into won’t go broke because prices
have fallen? This is total propaganda.
….
And they say that they will be fine at $60 oil prices? Are you kidding? People need
to wake up and click on Google Finance to see that I am right. Capital costs, by the
way, don’t begin to reflect all of their costs like overhead, debt service, taxes, or
operating costs so the true situation is really a lot worse.
So, how do I see the shale landscape changing in the U.S. given the current oil
price slump? It was pretty awful before the price slump so it can only get worse.
The real question is “when will people stop giving these companies money?” When
the drilling slows down and production drops—which won’t happen until at least
mid-2016—we will see the truth about the U.S. shale plays. They only work at high
oil prices. Period.
OP: What, if any, effect will low oil prices have on the US oil exports debate?
OP: Given technological advances in both the onshore and offshore sectors which
greatly increase production, how likely is it that oil will stay below $80 for years to come?
Arthur Berman: First of all, I’m not sure that the premise of the question is correct.
Who said that technology is responsible for increasing production? Higher price has
led to drilling more wells. That has increased production. It’s true that many of
these wells were drilled using advances in technology like horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing but these weren’t free. Has the unit cost of a barrel of oil gas
gone down in recent years? No, it has gone up. That’s why the price of oil is such a
big deal right now.
Domestic oil prices were below about $30/barrel until 2004 and companies made
enough money to stay in business. WTI averaged about $97/barrel from 2011 until
August of 2014. That’s when we saw the tight oil boom. I would say that
technology followed price and that price was the driver. Now that prices are low, all
the technology in the world won’t stop falling production.
Many people think that the resurgence of U.S. oil production shows that Peak Oil
was wrong. Peak oil doesn’t mean that we are running out of oil. It simply means
that once conventional oil production begins to decline, future supply will have to
come from more difficult sources that will be more expensive or of lower quality or
both. This means production from deep water, shale and heavy oil. It seems to me
that Peak Oil predictions are right on track.
Technology will not reduce the break-even price of oil. The cost of technology
requires high oil prices. The companies involved in these plays never stop singing
the praises of their increasing efficiency through technology—this has been a
constant litany since about 2007—but we never see those improvements reflected
In their financial statements. I don’t doubt that the companies learn and get better
at things like drilling time but other costs must be increasing to explain the
continued negative cash flow and high debt of most of these companies.
The price of oil will recover. Opinions that it will remain low for a long time do not
take into account that all producers need about $100/barrel. The big exporting
nations need this price to balance their fiscal budgets. The deep-water, shale and
heavy oil producers need $100 oil to make a small profit on their expensive
projects. If oil price stays at $80 or lower, only conventional producers will be able
to stay in business by ignoring the cost of social overhead to support their regimes.
If this happens, global supply will fall and the price will increase above $80/barrel.
Only a global economic collapse would permit low oil prices to persist for very long.
7. Russia signs law for labeling foods containing genetically modified organisms
sustainablepulse.com
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the Russian Federation Code of
Administrative Offences into law, including a new article establishing liability for the
violation of mandatory requirements for the labeling of food products that contain GMOs.
8. Monsanto earnings
Monsanto reported a 34 percent decline in profits today (even though they called it last quarter)
AP
Monsanto said Wednesday that its earnings fell 34 percent in its first fiscal quarter
as South American farmers cut back on planting corn, reducing demand for the
company’s biotech-enhanced seeds.
U.S. farmers harvested record crops of soybeans and corn last year, sending prices
on those food staples to their lowest levels in years. That has resulted in farmers in
South America and elsewhere reducing the number of acres they dedicate to corn.
The company said lower corn plantings in the U.S. will likely reduce second quarter
results by 5 to 10 percent compared with the prior year.
Monsanto said its business was also affected by reduced cotton planting in Australia
and a shift in timing for its chemical business.
The St. Louis-based company reported a profit of $243 million, or 50 cents per
share, down from $368 million, or 69 cents per share, in the prior year period.
Earnings, adjusted to account for discontinued operations, came to 47 cents per
share in the most recent quarter.
The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts
surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 34 cents per share.
Or Monsatan period. More on this later given the ****ery in Paris today.
9. Ebola is not over.
20,000 Ebola cases later…
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ebolawhite-700x371.jpg
10. CIA Torture Report
The what? (Full report)
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hankhillhwat.jpg
Read more: 10 things the media won’t be talking about after the Paris terror attack
http://wtfrly.com/2015/01/07/10-things-the-media-wont-be-talking-about-after-the-paris-terror-attack/#.VK-qIY10znP
Washington Buries the CIA Torture Report
Friday 9th January 2015 at 06:30 By David Icke
http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/bush-Waterboarder.jpg
‘One month ago, the Senate Intelligence Committee released the 500-page
summary of its voluminous report on the torture of prisoners in secret CIA facilities
overseas, conducted between 2002 and 2007. In grisly detail, the report
documented such practices as waterboarding, systematic beatings, and hitherto
unknown tortures like “rectal feeding.” But in practice, the report has been buried,
its evidence of government criminality ignored, the perpetrators and organizers of
torture going scot-free.’
I posted quite a lot of articles from Davids headline page for one thread, but one
story seemed to be connected to the next to make up a bigger picture......
CdsQAXIyzzk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 things the media won’t be talking about after the Paris terror attack
new Friday 9th January 2015 at 07:11 By David Icke
http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/get-attachment-286.jpg
=======================================================
I don't know this web site a , but David is using it so that's good enough for me.
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/newbannercharliehebdo.jpg
10 things the media won’t be talking about after the Paris terror attack
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/parisshootingfp.jpg
The Paris terror attack has sucked up all the oxygen in the room, nothing else will be discussed.
1. Today’s 9/11 Truth press conference
Representatives Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) spoke at a press
conference today about the need to declassify the 28 pages of the 9/11 report,
which implicates terror aid and funding from Saudi Arabia and possibly other
countries. 2015 will be the year of 9/11 Truth and this is 0.1% of it.’
OkTyWOSd-sw
2. Resolution to end the occupation of Palestine failed by one vote.
The December 30th vote would have called for Israeli military forces to end the
occupation within 3 years.
WTF News
The resolution failed by one vote, receiving eight “yes” votes and two “no” votes
with five nations not casting a vote. The 2 no votes unsurprisingly came from the
United States and Australia.
France, China, Russia, Jordan, Chad, Luxemburg, Argentina and Chile voted for it.
AP
Until shortly before the vote, council diplomats had expected the resolution to get
nine “yes” votes. But Nigeria, which was believed to support the resolution,
abstained. Its ambassador, U. Joy Ogwu, echoed the U.S. position saying the
ultimate path to peace lies “in a negotiated solution.”
Nigeria isn’t alone in failing to vote for it, Britain, Rwanda, Nigeria, Lithuania, and
South Korea also abstained.
The American objection was explained by U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power, saying
there needed to be a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and Palestine and
should not be forced by a rigid timetable. “We voted against this resolution not because
we are comfortable with the status quo,” Powers said before defending the situation.
Powers then said “peace must come from hard compromises that occur at the
negotiating table,” as if the process so far has been honest and productive. The
resolution was reduced to a political game with Powers calling it a “staged confrontation
that will not bring the parties closer” because it didn’t account for the “security
concerns” of Israel.
Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said that they may return to the Security Council
because 5 new members are joining in 2015 and could be more friendly to the effort.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that they will continue their
efforts join the International Criminal Court, allowing charged to be brought against
Israel for war crimes.
The pressure on Israel to end the occupation of Palestine has become more targeted as
the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement grows. In Europe, Sweden voted to
recognize Palestine and France passed a non-binding show of support for a Palestinian state.
Related: UEFA rejected Israel as Host for 2020 European Championships
3. Rand Paul backs bill to cut US aid as UN accepts Palestinian bid to International Criminal Court
Days after Israel freezes Palestine tax funds over the ICC bid which would allow
Palestinians to bring charges over Israeli war crimes?
Earlier today…
WTF News
Retaliation against Palestine has come from the United States as well with Senator Rand
Paul (R-KY) that would freeze about $440 million in US aid to Palestine as a response to
the Palestinian ICC bid.
Free Beacon
Paul reportedly introduced the bill just hours before he was to meet with top Jewish donors.
Paul has been seeking to bolster his standing in Jewish circles, where some leading
voices remain skeptical of his isolationist foreign policy views.
This is the second time that Paul has taken the lead to eliminate aid to the Palestinians.
The senator spearheaded a bill in April to cut off U.S. aid to the PA in response to its
formation of a unity government with the terror group Hamas.
Unlike the current piece of legislation, last year’s bill would have made U.S. aid
contingent on the unity government explicitly recognizing Israel’s right to exist.
Doug Stafford, a senior Paul adviser, told the Free Beacon that the United States has no
business funding “an anti-Israel propaganda trial” at the ICC.
“The Palestinian Authority received well over $400 million last year to peacefully interact
with Israel,” Stafford said. “Currently, the Palestinian Authority is trying to join the anti-
American International Criminal Court and they are claiming war crimes by Israeli
soldiers. Sen. Rand Paul does not think American tax dollars should be used to fund an anti-Israel propaganda trial.”
Sen. Paul has been trying very hard to improve his image in relation to Israel since the
2012 US Presidential campaigns where his father Rep. Ron Paul was seen as falling
short in terms of effort at arguing his positions.
randzion
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/randzion.png
The extreme measures, amounting to economic warfare, have been justified by the US
and Israel under the familiar reason that Palestinian authorities are attempting to
sabotage the peace process by seeking out membership to a peaceful international
treaty which would allow them to present their multiple cases in a respected court of
law. Given that the United States (nor Israel) is not a part of the ICC as it has not been
ratified by the US Congress, the conflict of interest is clear. Both countries have stated
that they wish for the negotiations to continue outside of this because it is not
conducive to a two-state solution, rationale which seems to defy logic in light of the
international law mechanisms available.
The tension in the region has been increasing after multiple isolated incidents of
violence on both sides of the border and a curious incident where rocks were thrown at
US officials and their security by Israelis. The incident reportedly included the US
security forces “brandishing” guns at the Israelis, though it is unclear exactly what
happened. This was disputed by many and there were also reports that the Israeli
crowd had weapons including clubs and axes.
In typical fashion, now Israel is proceeding to charge Palestinians with war crimes.
Jerusalem Post
Israel is looking at ways to prosecute senior Palestinians for war crimes in the United
States and elsewhere in response to Palestinian steps to join the International Criminal
Court, an Israeli official said on Saturday.
The Palestinians delivered to UN headquarters in New York on Friday documents on
joining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other global treaties,
saying they hoped to achieve “justice for all the victims that have been killed by Israel, the occupying power.”
Maybe they have, but clearly not on the scale of the Israeli military and secret services.
4. How did a Sandy Hook victim end up mourned as dying in the recent Pakistan school attack?
Self explanatory (unless you are not been aware of the ongoing Newtown fraud)
It is an unsolved mystery how Noah Pozner’s photo was seen at a memorial in Pakistan
posnerfb
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/posnerfb.jpg
5. Pedophile Scandal
The recent pedophile scandals have been hidden but now bigger names are being
mentioned, like United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew.
Daily Mail
Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein allegedly tracked down young girls he abused
Billionaire is said to have promised to ‘look after’ them if they kept quiet
Those who did not cooperate with him were harassed, court papers claim
Scale of the alleged cover-up was revealed as files became public
Came as Duchess of York sprang to defence of her ex-husband, Andrew
The Prince is accused of having sex with Epstein’s under-age ‘sex slave’
Yet vital evidence that could put Andrew in the clear is likely to stay secret
Duke of York fiercely denies all accusations made by Virginia Roberts
Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz moves to sue lawyers representing alleged
teen ‘sex slave’ for defamation, but they sue him first NY Daily News
Dershowitz denies it – NY Times.The firestorm has now pulled in Bill Clinton, which
could be a message to Hillary suggesting that she not run for president because of
the multiple skeletons in the Clinton closet.
More on the target, Jeffrey Epstein, who is connected to many celebrities and politicians.
Daily Mail
She spent the next four years with Epstein. For three of those years, she was
under Florida’s age of consent – 18.
‘Basically, I was training to be a prostitute for him and his friends who shared his
interest in young girls,’ she says.
That stage of his alleged abuse started after two years when he asked Miss Roberts
to fly to his Caribbean island and make a friend of his ‘feel how you make me feel’.
She says she was given to men, aged from their 40s to their 60s, either on the
Island or on Epstein’s New Mexico ranch. In interviews with The Mail on Sunday
after the settlement of the original legal action, Miss Roberts claims she met Prince
Andrew three times.
6. Oil price crash worse since Lehman, second worst in last 28 years
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/oilcrashjan2015-700x347.jpg
oilcrashjan2015
Part of an interview featured on Zero Hedge with James Stafford of OilPrice.com
and Arthur Berman discusses some of the real reasons beyond the geopolitical
tension like Ukraine and Saudi influence. Supply and demand, and ultimately the
Economic Collapse…
OP: The Current Oil Situation – What is your assessment?
Arthur Berman: The current situation with oil price is really very simple. Demand is
down because of a high price for too long. Supply is up because of U.S. shale oil
and the return of Libya’s production. Decreased demand and increased supply
equals low price.
As far as Saudi Arabia and its motives, that is very simple also. The Saudis are
good at money and arithmetic. Faced with the painful choice of losing money
maintaining current production at $60/barrel or taking 2 million barrels per day off
the market and losing much more money—it’s an easy choice: take the path that is
less painful. If there are secondary reasons like hurting U.S. tight oil producers or
hurting Iran and Russia, that’s great, but it’s really just about the money.
Saudi Arabia met with Russia before the November OPEC meeting and proposed
that if Russia cut production, Saudi Arabia would also cut and get Kuwait and the
Emirates at least to cut with it. Russia said, “No,” so Saudi Arabia said, “Fine,
maybe you will change your mind in six months.” I think that Russia and maybe
Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria and Angola will change their minds by the next OPEC
meeting in June.
We’ve seen several announcements by U.S. companies that they will spend less
money drilling tight oil in the Bakken and Eagle Ford Shale Plays and in the Permian
Basin in 2015. That’s great but it will take a while before we see decreased
production. In fact, it is more likely that production will increase before it
decreases. That’s because it takes time to finish the drilling that’s started, do less
drilling in 2015 and finally see a drop in production. Eventually though, U.S. tight
oil production will decrease. About that time—perhaps near the end of 2015—world
oil prices will recover somewhat due to OPEC and Russian cuts after June and
increased demand because of lower oil price. Then, U.S. companies will drill more in 2016.
OP: How do you see the shale landscape changing in the U.S. given the current oil
price slump?
Arthur Berman: We’ve read a lot of silly articles since oil prices started falling about
how U.S. shale plays can break-even at whatever the latest, lowest price of oil
happens to be. Doesn’t anyone realize that the investment banks that do the
research behind these articles have a vested interest in making people believe that
the companies they’ve put billions of dollars into won’t go broke because prices
have fallen? This is total propaganda.
….
And they say that they will be fine at $60 oil prices? Are you kidding? People need
to wake up and click on Google Finance to see that I am right. Capital costs, by the
way, don’t begin to reflect all of their costs like overhead, debt service, taxes, or
operating costs so the true situation is really a lot worse.
So, how do I see the shale landscape changing in the U.S. given the current oil
price slump? It was pretty awful before the price slump so it can only get worse.
The real question is “when will people stop giving these companies money?” When
the drilling slows down and production drops—which won’t happen until at least
mid-2016—we will see the truth about the U.S. shale plays. They only work at high
oil prices. Period.
OP: What, if any, effect will low oil prices have on the US oil exports debate?
OP: Given technological advances in both the onshore and offshore sectors which
greatly increase production, how likely is it that oil will stay below $80 for years to come?
Arthur Berman: First of all, I’m not sure that the premise of the question is correct.
Who said that technology is responsible for increasing production? Higher price has
led to drilling more wells. That has increased production. It’s true that many of
these wells were drilled using advances in technology like horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing but these weren’t free. Has the unit cost of a barrel of oil gas
gone down in recent years? No, it has gone up. That’s why the price of oil is such a
big deal right now.
Domestic oil prices were below about $30/barrel until 2004 and companies made
enough money to stay in business. WTI averaged about $97/barrel from 2011 until
August of 2014. That’s when we saw the tight oil boom. I would say that
technology followed price and that price was the driver. Now that prices are low, all
the technology in the world won’t stop falling production.
Many people think that the resurgence of U.S. oil production shows that Peak Oil
was wrong. Peak oil doesn’t mean that we are running out of oil. It simply means
that once conventional oil production begins to decline, future supply will have to
come from more difficult sources that will be more expensive or of lower quality or
both. This means production from deep water, shale and heavy oil. It seems to me
that Peak Oil predictions are right on track.
Technology will not reduce the break-even price of oil. The cost of technology
requires high oil prices. The companies involved in these plays never stop singing
the praises of their increasing efficiency through technology—this has been a
constant litany since about 2007—but we never see those improvements reflected
In their financial statements. I don’t doubt that the companies learn and get better
at things like drilling time but other costs must be increasing to explain the
continued negative cash flow and high debt of most of these companies.
The price of oil will recover. Opinions that it will remain low for a long time do not
take into account that all producers need about $100/barrel. The big exporting
nations need this price to balance their fiscal budgets. The deep-water, shale and
heavy oil producers need $100 oil to make a small profit on their expensive
projects. If oil price stays at $80 or lower, only conventional producers will be able
to stay in business by ignoring the cost of social overhead to support their regimes.
If this happens, global supply will fall and the price will increase above $80/barrel.
Only a global economic collapse would permit low oil prices to persist for very long.
7. Russia signs law for labeling foods containing genetically modified organisms
sustainablepulse.com
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the Russian Federation Code of
Administrative Offences into law, including a new article establishing liability for the
violation of mandatory requirements for the labeling of food products that contain GMOs.
8. Monsanto earnings
Monsanto reported a 34 percent decline in profits today (even though they called it last quarter)
AP
Monsanto said Wednesday that its earnings fell 34 percent in its first fiscal quarter
as South American farmers cut back on planting corn, reducing demand for the
company’s biotech-enhanced seeds.
U.S. farmers harvested record crops of soybeans and corn last year, sending prices
on those food staples to their lowest levels in years. That has resulted in farmers in
South America and elsewhere reducing the number of acres they dedicate to corn.
The company said lower corn plantings in the U.S. will likely reduce second quarter
results by 5 to 10 percent compared with the prior year.
Monsanto said its business was also affected by reduced cotton planting in Australia
and a shift in timing for its chemical business.
The St. Louis-based company reported a profit of $243 million, or 50 cents per
share, down from $368 million, or 69 cents per share, in the prior year period.
Earnings, adjusted to account for discontinued operations, came to 47 cents per
share in the most recent quarter.
The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts
surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 34 cents per share.
Or Monsatan period. More on this later given the ****ery in Paris today.
9. Ebola is not over.
20,000 Ebola cases later…
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ebolawhite-700x371.jpg
10. CIA Torture Report
The what? (Full report)
http://wtfrly.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hankhillhwat.jpg
Read more: 10 things the media won’t be talking about after the Paris terror attack
http://wtfrly.com/2015/01/07/10-things-the-media-wont-be-talking-about-after-the-paris-terror-attack/#.VK-qIY10znP
Washington Buries the CIA Torture Report
Friday 9th January 2015 at 06:30 By David Icke
http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/bush-Waterboarder.jpg
‘One month ago, the Senate Intelligence Committee released the 500-page
summary of its voluminous report on the torture of prisoners in secret CIA facilities
overseas, conducted between 2002 and 2007. In grisly detail, the report
documented such practices as waterboarding, systematic beatings, and hitherto
unknown tortures like “rectal feeding.” But in practice, the report has been buried,
its evidence of government criminality ignored, the perpetrators and organizers of
torture going scot-free.’