Geopolitics / International

• From the Battlefield to the Boardroom: Operation Jellyfish

  We don’t normally publish press releases at OilPrice.com – but felt the below by Jellyfish would be of great interest to visitors. Regular readers are aware that we follow trends in the energy, finance and geopolitical arena’s and the impact they have on economies and companies worldwide. We are aware that good Information and Intelligence are vital to competing effectively in today’s international business environment, yet with increasing global geopolitical tension, growing competition for resources and rapid commodity price inflation, companies nowadays are faced with challenges quite unlike those seen in the past. We predict companies like Jellyfish will be…

• India-Pakistan Talks Positive for American Interests in the Region

  The dialogue that occurred on March 28-29 between India and Pakistan signaled a positive shift in posture between the two countries after almost two and a half years of stalled talks. While very few in the international community see any chance of a compromise on the Kashmir issue, a thawing of relations between the two countries must be seen as a positive for American interests in the region. If the two countries can begin to cooperate on issues of terrorism and intelligence and see that they both share common enemies, they will see each other as allies and not existential…

• The Race for Arctic Energy Resources

  Soon ships will be able to sail across an open Arctic Ocean during the summer months. The low humming of freight vessels will be a regular sound. The reduced presence of massive multi-year sea-ice is rapidly becoming a reality as the thicker and older ice is being exported from the region. The thinner and more fragile seasonal sea-ice layer, partly replacing the old and thicker ice, is no match for modern icebreakers or even strengthened freight containers. A Norwegian cargo-ship has already traversed the Northeast Passage: faster than expected and without encountering any major challenges. The increased shipping in the…

• More about Libya

  Many years ago in Chicago, a man that I knew and heartily disliked, married to a beautiful actress and dancer, abandoned his bed in the middle of the night, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, put on his clothes, and left his apartment for the purpose of making  a ‘citizen’s arrest’. Exactly why he regarded that nuthouse behaviour as meaningful is something that I never found out, nor was I interested in finding out, nor was I interested in where he went to carry out this sacred mission, although I knew where he did not go. He did not go…

• Geopolitical Summary: Conflicts, Protests, Oil Exploration and Drug Trafficking

  Conflict Rages on in Ivory Coast as Ouattara Forces Prepare for Abidjan OffensiveTensions in Syria as Government Resigns Amid Ongoing ProtestsIs Russia’s North Caucasus Rebel Network Leader Doku Umarov Dead?Colombia: ANH Signs 60 Contracts to Boost Oil Exploration ActivitiesEcuador: “Operation Karpatos” Brings Down International Drug-Trafficking RingVenezuela: Chávez negotiating for long-term credit with China Conflict Rages on in Ivory Coast as Ouattara Forces Prepare for Abidjan Offensive The United Nations has evacuated its civilian staff from Ivory Coast as clashes between forces loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo and insurgents supporting Alassane Ouattara intensifying in the aftermath of November 2010 elections, for…

• The Fourth Global Wave of Democratization

  Until November 1989 a “Wall of Shame” separated Eastern and Western societies. The mere sight of its watchtowers and barbed wire were enough to make anyone’s blood run cold. Then a little over 20 years ago an unstoppable crowd tore it to pieces in just a few weeks. The Egyptians have just destroyed another type of ‘wall,’ that of fear and resignation. On every street corner the “Mukhabarat” (General Intelligence Service or “police state”) had put up a ‘wall’ which prevented many potential young protesters from rebelling and enjoying freedom of speech. On February 10, Hosni Mubarak missed his last…

• The Extraordinary Events in the Middle East and the Coming Global Tsunami

  The extraordinary events in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are the initial high tides of an eventual tsunami that will impact the world that globalists have so fervently promoted for decades, in ways not necessarily to their liking. The first wave has struck and is now retreating from the shore, but will shortly return with redoubled force, and what and who will be swept away and what will be left standing is anyone’s guess. Per usual, America’s intelligence agencies on which $60 billion a year is lavished, or $200 for every man, woman and child in the U.S., have given zero…

• Weekly Geopolitical Summary: Russian Oil Firms to Start Exploring in Bosnia

  In this weeks issue: - Foreign Investment for Disputed Nagorno-Karabakh? - Russian, Serbian Oil Firms to Start Exploring in Northern Bosnia- Suicide Bomber Kills 31 at Pakistani Army Base in Punjab- A Step Forward for Indian Air Force Garud Special Ops  - Uzbekistan Hits Up Washington for More Military Transport Money- Two Security Officials Arrested Over Killings of Protesters in Albania ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Foreign Investment for Disputed Nagorno-Karabakh? Austrian, Czech and Slovak businessmen are apparently showing interest in investment opportunities in Azerbaijan’s Armenian-occupied breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to local news reports. A group of businessmen from the countries visited the Nagorno-Karabakh capital, Stepanakert, on 4 February…

• 2011: Transition to a New Global Order

  Three issues will dominate international relations in 2011: the United States’s relations with Europe, the emerging powers, and various countries of the global south; the ongoing international financial crisis (particularly acute in the north Atlantic area); and violence both along acute fracture-lines (such as the Pakistan-Afghanistan and Mexico-US borders) and within various states (such as Yemen and Somalia). The powers that commanded the international stage since the 1950s -  especially the United States, Britain, and France - no longer have the ability to lead (and in the case of the now defunct USSR, no longer exist). The WikiLeaks release of…

• What have we Learned from Julian Assange and Wikileaks

  Who would have ever thought that diplomatic cables would be so widely read?  Despite what some may have hoped, the cables don’t bring copious shame on the United States (unless you were already convinced of the country’s venality).  Indeed to many, the cables released by WikiLeaks sparkle with craftsmanship, optimism, wit, and intelligence.  At a time when war dominates international headlines, we often fail to remember the efforts of diplomats and so—for raising awareness, among other things—we should be thankful for the spotlight directed by Julian Assange and WikiLeaks at the often concealed labors of our diplomatic corps. As wise…