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  • Russia forms Gas Cartel with Arabs

    There is a growing feeling in Europe that Moscow is consciously working towards the establishment of a "gas cartel," stretching from Algeria to Central Asia, to use as a political and economic weapon in its dealings with Europe.

    Although the officials of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which was created in May 2001, claim it to be a talking-shop only and not a cartel-in-the-making, the Europeans are quite wary of its proceedings.

    In a recent report by Nato’s economic committee, there is a detailed description of how Moscow has been trying to a draw Algeria, Libya, Qatar and central Asian countries into a Russian-backed cartel, "Opec for gas," which will straddle about two-thirds of the world’s total gas reserves and wield huge control over the gas market.

    During the three-day tour that took him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, Putin consciously worked in the direction of increasing cooperation among the major gas producers, and even openly broached the possibility of the so-called gas-cartel.

    "Who said that we rejected the idea of creating a gas cartel? We haven’t rejected anything. I said that it was an interesting proposition. Are we going to create this cartel, do we need it, that’s another discussion," he said while responding to media reports about Moscow’s controversial role in concocting a gas cartel.

    Putin’s visit to Qatar, which has the world’s third largest gas reserves after Russia and Iran, was indirectly focused on selling the cartel idea. Whereas, in Saudi Arabia, his main intent was to project Russia as a potential and reliable partner who could provide "cost-effective" military hardware, as well as technological support in the field of telecommunication.

    Apart from offering to build the much-desired civilian nuclear-energy technology in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Putin announced that Russia would launch six Saudi-made information satellites for Saudi Arabia this year.

    At the same time, he discussed the possibility of selling 150 Russian T-90 battle tanks and an unknown number of Mi 17 helicopters to Saudi Arabia.

    Furthermore, his team also signed numerous MoUs – ranging from cooperation in the fields of culture, aviation and banking — with the Saudi counterparts.

    On the last leg of his tour, with a view to making Russia’s presence felt in the Palestinian issue, Putin went to Jordan to exchange ideas on the subject with King Abdullah II.

    Washington’s influence in the Middle East is a blatant reality with which Moscow has been living for decades — though with a visible uneasiness. Putin’s visit was a direct attempt to make inroads there and take full advantage of Washington’s current predicament in Iraq, which has drastically shaken America’s image as a dependable guarantor of security and stability in the region.

    The Bush administration’s growing precariousness on the question of its Iraq policy has indubitably created unprecedented anxiety among its close, traditional allies in the region.

    In such a shaky scenario, where President Bush is finding it hard to assuage the genuine apprehensions of the regional leaders Putin, being a shrewd player, has made a move to carve a role for Russia in the Middle East political arena.

    To achieve this, Putin is even ready to swallow the involvement of some Arab countries’ alleged support to the Chechen fighters.

    In fact, during his Middle East yatra, he kept on chanting the unusual mantra of Russia’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious complexion, and the role of Russian Muslims in the development of the country.

    In its capacity as a member of the Quartet — along with the US, the European Union and the United States — Russia has been involved in the Middle East process, but its involvement has always been eclipsed by the belligerent attitude of Washington, which has close ties with both Tel Aviv and the Arab capitals.

    President Bush’s fiasco in Iraq, and his desperation to "show" some progress on the Palestinian issues in the last half of his stint have certainly provided an opportunity to Vladimir Putin to jump into the fray and encroach upon the Americans’ influence in the Middle East.

    The apparent success of his recent Middle East visit indicates that Putin’s strategy is working well.

    _____

    Dr Imran Khalid is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.

  • Climate change now a global security issue

    But China’s deputy ambassador, Liu Zhenmin, was blunt in rejecting the session. His nation’s economy is growing fast and still depends heavily on coal and other fossil fuels that scientists say are contributing to climate change.

    “The developing countries believe that the Security Council has neither the professional competence in handling climate change, nor is it the right decision-making place for extensive participation leading up to widely acceptable proposals,” he said.

    Russia, China, Qatar, Indonesia and South Africa, among others, also said the Security Council was not the place to take concrete action, though no resolution is expected.

    Pakistan argued against the debate on behalf of 130 developing nations, with many saying the Council was encroaching on more democratic bodies, like the 192-member United Nations General Assembly.

    Other developing nations, like Peru and Panama and small island states, among the most threatened by climate change, agreed with Britain. So did Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “Projected changes in the earth’s climate are thus not only an environmental concern,” Mr. Ban said. “And, as the Council points up today, issues of energy and climate change can have implications for peace and security.”

    The United States, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases that spur climate change, opposes mandatory caps on emissions but has instead pushed alternative fuels and energy efficiency.

    The acting American ambassador, Alejandro D. Wolff, said the issue must be dealt with in a way that does not effect economic growth and development.

    Most industrial nations, including the European Union, agreed with Britain. As did Papua New Guinea, head of the Pacific small island states, which fear they may disappear under rising oceans levels as the earth warms up.

    “The dangers that the small island states and their populations face are no less serious than those nations threatened by guns and bombs,” Ambassador Robert Guba Aisi of Papua New Guinea told the Council.

    Italy’s deputy foreign minister, Vittorio Craxi, said members should support Mr. Ban’s effort to create a new United Nations Environmental Organization to coordinate action on climate change.

    “It is clear that climate change can pose threats to national security,” said Ambassador Kenzo Oshima of Japan. “In the foreseeable future climate change may well create conditions or induce circumstances that could precipitate or aggravate international conflicts.”

  • Kennedy law to control US debt still valid

    United States Notes’ were issued as an interest-free and debt-free currency backed by silver reserves in the U.S. Treasury. We compared a ‘Federal Reserve Note’ issued from the private central bank of the United States (the Federal Reserve Bank a/k/a Federal Reserve System), with a ‘United States Note’ from the U.S. Treasury issued by President Kennedy’s Executive Order.

    They almost look alike, except one says ‘Federal Reserve Note’ on the top while the other says ‘United States Note’. Also, the Federal Reserve Note has a green seal and serial number while the United States Note has a red seal and serial number.

    President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 and the United States Notes he had issued were immediately taken out of circulation. Federal Reserve Notes continued to serve as the legal currency of the nation. According to the United States Secret Service, 99% of all U.S. paper ‘currency’ circulating in 1999 are Federal Reserve Notes.

    Kennedy knew that if the silver-backed United States Notes were widely circulated, they would have eliminated the demand for Federal Reserve Notes. This is a very simple matter of economics. The USN was backed by silver and the FRN was not backed by anything of intrinsic value.

    Executive Order 11110 should have prevented the national debt from reaching its current level (virtually all of the nearly $9 trillion in federal debt has been created since 1963) if LBJ or any subsequent President were to enforce it. It would have almost immediately given the U.S. Government the ability to repay its debt without going to the private Federal Reserve Banks and being charged interest to create new ‘money’.

    Executive Order 11110 gave the U.S.A. the ability to, once again, create its own money backed by silver and realm value worth something.

    Again, according to our own research, just five months after Kennedy was assassinated, no more of the Series 1958 ‘Silver Certificates’ were issued either, and they were subsequently removed from circulation. Perhaps the assassination of JFK was a warning to all future presidents not to interfere with the private Federal Reserve’s control over the creation of money.

    It seems very apparent that President Kennedy challenged the ‘powers that exist behind U.S. and world finance’. With true patriotic courage, JFK boldly faced the two most successful vehicles that have ever been used to drive up debt:

    1) war (Viet Nam); and,

    2) the creation of money by a privately owned central bank. His efforts to have all U.S. troops out of Vietnam by 1965 combined with Executive Order 11110 would have destroyed the profits and control of the private Federal Reserve Bank.

    —————————————————————

    Executive Order 11110

    AMENDMENT OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 10289 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN FUNCTIONS AFFECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY. By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, it is ordered as follows:

    SECTION 1. Executive Order No. 10289 of September 19, 1951, as amended, is hereby further amended – (a) By adding at the end of paragraph 1 thereof the following subparagraph (j): ‘(j) The authority vested in the President by paragraph (b) of section 43 of the Act of May 12, 1933, as amended (31 U.S.C. 821 (b)), to issue silver certificates against any silver bullion, silver, or standard silver dollars in the Treasury not then held for redemption of any outstanding silver certificates, to prescribe the denominations of such silver certificates, and to coin standard silver dollars and subsidiary silver currency for their redemption,’ and (b) By revoking subparagraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph 2 thereof. SECTION 2. The amendment made by this Order shall not affect any act done, or any right accruing or accrued or any suit or proceeding had or commenced in any civil or criminal cause prior to the date of this Order but all such liabilities shall continue and may be enforced as if said amendments had not been made.

    JOHN F. KENNEDY
    THE WHITE HOUSE,
    June 4, 1963

    ——————————————————————-

    Once again, Executive Order 11110 is still valid. According to Title 3, United States Code, Section 301 dated January 26, 1998:

    Executive Order (EO) 10289 dated Sept. 17, 1951, 16 F.R. 9499, was as amended by:
    EO 10583, dated December 18, 1954, 19 F.R. 8725;
    EO 10882 dated July 18, 1960, 25 F.R. 6869;
    EO 11110 dated June 4, 1963, 28 F.R. 5605;
    EO 11825 dated December 31, 1974, 40 F.R. 1003;
    EO 12608 dated September 9, 1987, 52 F.R. 34617

    The 1974 and 1987 amendments, added after Kennedy’s 1963 amendment, did not change or alter any part of Kennedy’s EO 11110. A search of Clinton’s 1998 and 1999 EO’s and Presidential Directives has also shown no reference to any alterations, suspensions, or changes to EO 11110.

    The Federal Reserve Bank, a.k.a Federal Reserve System, is a Private Corporation. Black’s Law Dictionary defines the ‘Federal Reserve System’ as: ‘Network of twelve central banks to which most national banks belong and to which state chartered banks may belong. Membership rules require investment of stock and minimum reserves.’

    Privately-owned banks own the stock of the FED. This was explained in more detail in the case of Lewis v. United States, Federal Reporter, 2nd Series, Vol. 680, Pages 1239, 1241 (1982), where the court said: "Each Federal Reserve Bank is a separate corporation owned by commercial banks in its region. The stock-holding commercial banks elect two thirds of each Bank’s nine member board of directors."

    The Federal Reserve Banks are locally controlled by their member banks. Once again, according to Black’s Law Dictionary, we find that these privately owned banks actually issue money:

    "Federal Reserve Act Law which created Federal Reserve banks which act as agents in maintaining money reserves, issuing money in the form of bank notes, lending money to banks, and supervising banks. Administered by Federal Reserve Board (q.v.)".

    "The privately owned Federal Reserve (FED) banks actually issue (create) the ‘money’ we use. In 1964, the House Committee on Banking and Currency, Subcommittee on Domestic Finance, at the second session of the 88th Congress, put out a study entitled Money Facts which contains a good description of what the FED is: "The Federal Reserve is a total money-making machine. It can issue money or checks. And it never has a problem of making its checks good because it can obtain the $5 and $10 bills necessary to cover its check simply by asking the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving to print them."

    Any one person or any closely knit group who has a lot of money has a lot of power. Now imagine a group of people who have the power to create money. Imagine the power these people would have. This is exactly what the privately owned FED is!

    No man did more to expose the power of the FED than Louis T. McFadden, who was the Chairman of the House Banking Committee back in the 1930s. In describing the FED, he remarked in the Congressional Record, House pages 1295 and 1296 on June 10, 1932:

    "Mr. Chairman, we have in this country one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal reserve banks. The Federal Reserve Board, a Government Board, has cheated the Government of the United States and the people of the United States out of enough money to pay the national debt.

    The depredations and the iniquities of the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal reserve banks acting together have cost this country enough money to pay the national debt several times over. This evil institution has impoverished and ruined the people of the United States; has bankrupted itself, and has practically bankrupted our Government.

    It has done this through the maladministration of that law by which the Federal Reserve Board, and through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it."

    Some people think the Federal Reserve Banks are United States Government institutions. They are not Government institutions, departments, or agencies. They are private credit monopolies which prey upon the people of the United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers. Those 12 private credit monopolies were deceitfully placed upon this country by bankers who came here from Europe and who repaid us for our hospitality by undermining our American institutions.

    The FED basically works like this: The government granted its power to create money to the FED banks. They create money, then loan it back to the government charging interest. The government levies income taxes to pay the interest on the debt. On this point, it’s interesting to note that the Federal Reserve Act and the sixteenth amendment, which gave congress the power to collect income taxes, were both passed in 1913.

    The incredible power of the FED over the economy is universally admitted. Some people, especially in the banking and academic communities, even support it. On the other hand, there are those, such as President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, that have spoken out against it. His efforts were spoken about in Jim Marrs’ 1990 book "Crossfire":

    Another overlooked aspect of Kennedy’s attempt to reform American society involves money. Kennedy apparently reasoned that by returning to the constitution, which states that only Congress shall coin and regulate money, the soaring national debt could be reduced by not paying interest to the bankers of the Federal Reserve System, who print paper money then loan it to the government at interest.

    He moved in this area on June 4, 1963, by signing Executive Order 11110 which called for the issuance of $4,292,893,815 in United States Notes through the U.S. Treasury rather than the traditional Federal Reserve System. That same day, Kennedy signed a bill changing the backing of one and two dollar bills from silver to gold, adding strength to the weakened U.S. currency.

    Kennedy’s comptroller of the currency, James J. Saxon, had been at odds with the powerful Federal Reserve Board for some time, encouraging broader investment and lending powers for banks that were not part of the Federal Reserve system. Saxon also had decided that non-Reserve banks could underwrite state and local general obligation bonds, again weakening the dominant Federal Reserve banks.

    In a comment made to a Columbia University class on Nov. 12, 1963, ten days before his assassination, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy allegedly said:

    "The high office of the President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the American’s freedom and before I leave office, I must inform the citizen of this plight."

    In this matter, John Fitzgerald Kennedy appears to be the subject of his own book… a true Profile of Courage

  • Kyocera to Double Solar Capacity

    "The U.S. is experiencing phenomenal public interest in, and acceptance of, solar electricity," said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar, Inc., the operating headquarters for Kyocera’s solar energy business in the Americas and Australia. "The majority of Americans want clean energy developed into an affordable, mainstream resource. Kyocera, with its 32-year commitment to this effort, is aggressively adding capacity both at our North American facilities and globally to meet this ever-increasing demand. We are all proud to be a part of the solution to our global climate and energy crisis."

    Kyocera Mexicana, S.A. de C.V., which produces finished solar photovoltaic modules for the Americas and Australia, will increase capacity from its present 35MW to 150MW. The production area will expand tenfold with the addition of a second two-story facility in the Tijuana Industrial Park, representing an investment of approximately 4 billion yen (about $33 million) in new facilities and equipment. The new plant is expected to be completed before the end of March 2008.

    Kyocera Solar Europe s.r.o., which produces solar modules for the European market, will also increase capacity to 150MW. By the end of March 2011, Kyocera will likewise invest approximately 4 billion yen (about $33 million) at this site in the Czech Republic, adding equipment and a new manufacturing facility to double the present production area.

    Kyocera (Tianjin) Solar Energy Co., Ltd., which serves the Chinese market, will increase its manufacturing capacity to 90MW by the end of March 2011. In the process, the company will invest approximately 1 billion yen (about $8.3 million) to add equipment and increase its existing production area by 50 percent.

    Kyocera Corporation, Ise Plant, which produces solar modules and systems for the Japanese market, will expand capacity to 110MW with an investment of approximately 1 billion yen (about $8.3 million). In addition, Kyocera Corporation, Yohkaichi Plant, which produces all of the raw solar cells used by the other four production sites for their local assembly into finished solar modules, will increase its capacity to 500MW, with an investment of approximately 20 billion yen (about $165 million) by the end of March 2011.

    "The U.S. is experiencing phenomenal public interest in, and acceptance of, solar electricity," said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar, Inc., the operating headquarters for Kyocera’s solar energy business in the Americas and Australia. "The majority of Americans want clean energy developed into an affordable, mainstream resource. Kyocera, with its 32-year commitment to this effort, is aggressively adding capacity both at our North American facilities and globally to meet this ever-increasing demand. We are all proud to be a part of the solution to our global climate and energy crisis."

    Increased solar energy production will help offset the negative effects of electricity generated by fossil fuels including carbon dioxide, a suspected contributor to global warming; nitrous oxide, which has been linked to the destruction of the Earth’s ozone layer; and sulfur dioxide, the principal contributor to acid rain.

    Solar energy is Kyocera’s fastest growing business. As a measure of growth, the combined output of all Kyocera solar energy manufacturing from 1975 to 2006 totaled approximately 760 megawatts of solar modules. This result, in terms of "greenhouse gases avoided," is equivalent to the environmental impact of approximately 220 square miles of healthy forest.1 While that achievement took 32 years to attain, Kyocera’s planned production capacity by 2011 will be comparable to giving the Earth 220 new square miles of forest about every 18 months.

    As another metric, the 500-megawatt capacity would allow Kyocera to build complete 3.5-kilowatt solar electric generating systems for 142,800 new homes each year.

  • NZ Technology to cut solar prices by ten

    According to Dr. Campbell, the green solar cells are more environmentally friendly than silicon-based cells as they are made from titanium dioxide — a plentiful, renewable and non-toxic white mineral obtained from New Zealand’s black sand. Titanium dioxide is already used in consumer products such as toothpaste, white paints and cosmetics.

    "The refining of pure silicon, although a very abundant mineral, is energy-hungry and very expensive. And whereas silicon cells need direct sunlight to operate efficiently, these cells will work efficiently in low diffuse light conditions," Dr. Campbell says.

    "The expected cost is one-tenth of the price of a silicon-based solar panel, making them more attractive and accessible to home-owners."

    The Centre’s new director, Professor Ashton Partridge, says they now have the most efficient porphyrin dye in the world and aim to optimize and improve the cell construction and performance before developing the cells commercially.

    "The next step is to take these dyes and incorporate them into roofing materials or wall panels. We have had many expressions of interest from New Zealand companies," Professor Partridge says.

    He says the ultimate aim of using nanotechnology to develop a better solar cell is to convert as much sunlight to electricity as possible.

    "The energy that reaches earth from sunlight in one hour is more than that used by all human activities in one year," said Partridge.

    The solar cells are the product of more than 10 years research funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.