The prospects for a climate change treaty coming out of December’s Copenhagen Summit just got slimmer: (AP) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday that the world’s poor nations will not sacrifice their development in negotiations for a new climate change deal. The issue of how to share the burden of fighting global warming has divided the developing and industrialized worlds as they prepare to negotiate a replacement to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol at a December summit in Copenhagen.

Surprising news out of Russia today – Mikhail Gorbachev has come out with some pretty harsh words about the recent regional elections earlier this month. Of course, Gorbachev had displayed his share of criticism, but it had always been tempered by kind words for Putin and his running of the Party United Russia. You can watch an interview here – and don’t worry, there are subtitles.  This is a development well worth paying attention t in the future.

Russia ready to abandon dollar in oil, gas trade with China RIA Novosti Russia is ready to consider using the Russian and Chinese national currencies instead of the dollar in bilateral oil and gas dealings, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. The premier, currently on a visit to Beijing, said a final decision on the issue can only be made after a thorough expert analysis. “Yesterday, energy companies, in particular Gazprom, raised the question of using the national currency.

In a word, cool: BATH, Maine - The Navy’s need for speed is being answered by a pair of warships that have reached freeway speeds during testing at sea. Independence, a 418-foot warship built in Alabama, boasts a top speed in excess of 45 knots, or about 52 mph, and sustained 44 knots for four hours during builder trials that wrapped up this month off the Gulf Coast. The 378-foot Freedom, a ship built in Wisconsin by a competing defense contractor, has put up similar numbers.

by morbidlife666 (Posted Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:18 pm) ghostofedna wrote: I’m very surprised to see how clean and well-lit the Russian supermarkets are. It seems to me that I remember photos of people standing out in the cold for hours and hours, just to get a roll of toilet paper. That Vladamir Putin fellow sure has done a good job with the country. Too bad it’s not so nice now here in the USA…. Thats what you get from this vid? Fantastic. What the fuck is wrong with people these days.

(SRI) - Kazakhstan plans participate in the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline project, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev told the Turkish parliament during an official visit on Thursday. Earlier in the day Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Kazakhstan may supply the pipeline Turkey’s Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts with crude. “Our Kazakh colleagues expressed their readiness for joint work to [...]

Straight from the horse’s mouth: Published on Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Reuters Pickens says US Firms ‘Entitled’ to Iraqi Oil by Tom Doggett WASHINGTON - Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens told Congress on Wednesday that U.S. energy companies are “entitled” to some of Iraq’s crude because of the large number of American troops that lost their lives fighting in the country and the U.S. taxpayer money spent in Iraq. Financier T.

An interesting opinion piece today by Vladimir Ryzhkov in the Moscow Times sees one of the last bastions of media freedom - Ren TV - looking like it may have to fight for its independence.  The increasingly popular station, the only one in Russia to offer a critical interpretation of the Sayano-Shushenskaya dam disaster and cover the Dissenter’s Marches in Moscow and St Petersburg, may be fettered by management ‘ restructuring’.

An interesting opinion piece today by Vladimir Ryzhkov in the Moscow Times sees one of the last bastions of media freedom - Ren TV - looking like it may have to fight for its independence.  The increasingly popular station, the only one in Russia to offer a critical interpretation of the Sayano-Shushenskaya dam disaster and cover the Dissenter’s Marches in Moscow and St Petersburg, may be fettered by management ‘ restructuring’.

Nothing like speaking truth to power, huh? Maintaining his stature as one of the most forceful defenders of the Bush Administration’s defense policies former Vice President Dick Cheney accused President Obama of committing “libel” against CIA interrorgators on Wednesday Mr. Cheney’s criticized the Obama White House in a wide-ranging address on foreign policy matters for abandoning commitments to allies in Poland and the Czech Republic in favor of the Russians, sacrificing American intelligence officials to satisfy the political left and “dithering” on taking action in Afghanistan, among other things.

The Gnomes of Washington by Charles Goyette LewRockwell.com All the chatter that accompanied gold hitting new highs this month made it hard not to think of “the gnomes of Zurich.” With that richly evocative image of sinister forces behind the pound sterling’s woes, Harold Wilson, the British Labour Party figure (and eventual prime minister) skillfully deflected attention from the British economic policies and policy-makers actually to blame.

All The Better To Eat You With… You Tube has a video of David Rothkopf speaking a few months ago about his book, “The Superclass” at Middlebury College in Vermont.  Chris Ortiz picked it up on the Chalcedon Blog ( View it here.) and Covenant News as well.  It is an interesting video that provides lots of startling statistics on the huge and growing disparity of wealth in the world.

   Generally it is not a good thing to lie. We teach little children not to do it and we should be able to expect our nation’s leaders not to do it. But last night as the Center For Security Policy held it’s annual “Keeper of the Flame Dinner” it became quite obvious that they do lie. Of course this is nothing new. We would have to be childish ourselves not to know that politicians lie and even more naïve not to expect it. But to what extent is the current administration lying and what are they lying about.

UPDATE: Wells Fargo released their earnings yesterday, October 21st. The Wall Street Journal commented on Wells’ earnings by writing, Wells Fargo Leads Stocks Into The Red : Wells Fargo led stocks lower after a bearish analyst note triggered a selloff that took down J.P. Morgan Chase and other financial shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 92.12 points, or 0.9%, to 9949.36, marking its second decline in a row. J.P.

* State oil co KNOC to buy Harvest Energy Trust for $1.7bln * Deal also includes assumption of C$2.3 bln in debt * Biggest energy deal gains reserves, Come-by-Chancerefinery * KNOC to borrow $1.65 bln for Korea’s largest energy deal * Govt says likely to buy one more oil firm this year (Changes dateline, adds byline, more details and quotes) SEOUL/NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - South Korea ended afrustrating losing streak in overseas resource deals with theagreed $1.7 billion takeover of Canada’s Harvest Energy Trust(HTE_u.TO) (HTE.N), securing oil and gas reserves but alsotaking on an aging refinery in need of significant investment.

The enormous tragedy of the dream in the peasant’s bent shoulders WWII seems to be in vogue; just today Chris Carter wrote a weird little post on Red Alert declaring that John Key reminds him of Benito Mussolini : Just saw the most awful sight. John Key was posing outside on the 9th Floor Beehive balcony for a photo op. He looked just like Mussolini at the Piazzo Navona. I couldn’t resist leaning out my window and calling out to John that he resembled Mussolini.

Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach has suggested that the ruble could return to its 2008 high and reach 23 against the dollar next year, if oil prices continue going strong, spelling problems for exporters .  The Duma has passed the budget in a first vote, with it receiving 315 votes to go with United Russia’s 315 deputies.  Vladimir Putin has met with business leaders from Germany, its biggest trading partner : German businesses are apparently faring well in Russia, despite

Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach has suggested that the ruble could return to its 2008 high and reach 23 against the dollar next year, if oil prices continue going strong, spelling problems for exporters .  The Duma has passed the budget in a first vote, with it receiving 315 votes to go with United Russia’s 315 deputies.  Vladimir Putin has met with business leaders from Germany, its biggest trading partner : German businesses are apparently faring well in Russia, despite

Silvio Berlusconi has been accused of squandering a chance to help the Middle East peace process after apparently snubbing the King of Jordan in favour of a party with his old friend Vladimir Putin.

The Peak Oil Crisis: More Reports The main conclusion of the British report is that there is a “significant risk” that conventional oil production will peak before 2020, and that forecasts which delay the event beyond 2030 are based on assumptions that are “at best optimistic and at worst implausible.” This is a nice balance between warning of trouble just ahead and not seeming overly alarmist. One suspects that a lot of effort went into crafting the phrase.