A record 3.4 million gas and electricity accounts were in debt even before the April price hike, new figures quietly released by Ofgem reveal.
A goods yard in Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave that has become increasingly isolated since the start of Ukraine warFinance ministers are the pangolins in the world of international diplomacy, solitary animals and predatory, unlike foreign ministers who are like glowworms, mesmerising and gorgeous animals that create light through their tail. While the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attending G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali a week ago staged a dramatic walkout when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rose to speak, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen simply sat through the speech by Russian minister Anton Siluanov at the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs that began in Bali on Friday.
There is confusion among mainstream economists and policy-makers on whether the major economies are heading for a recession, or are already in a recession; or will avoid one altogether. The majority view, at least in the US, is the latter. This optimistic view argues that, while inflation rates are high, they will start to fall over the next year, enabling the Federal Reserve to avoid hiking its policy interest rates too much to the point where it could restrict investment and spending. At the same time, the US unemployment rate is very low and the ‘labour market’ remains strong. Such a scenario hardly suggests a recession. Who ever heard of a slump where there is full employment?, the argument goes.
2 November 2019 — Indian Punchline
The vessel “Audacia” laying pipes for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea off the island of Rügen. File photo
Amidst the excitement over the killing of the ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, a development of much impact on international security passed by when Denmark made the innocuous announcement on October 30 that it would permit the proposed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to pass through its exclusive economic zone.
14 July 2014 — Global Research
When the special interests who created and direct the agenda of the European Union disagree with member states, the true nature of this supranational enterprise becomes painfully apparent – one of dictatorial special interests pursing regional policy that benefits none of its individual member states. No example of this can be clearer than the dispute that has emerged over the construction of Russia’s South Stream natural gas pipeline set to run through Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and Italy.
11 July 2014 — Counterpunch
“The unipolar world model has failed. People everywhere have shown their desire to choose their own destiny, preserve their own cultural identity, and oppose the West’s attempts at military, financial, political and ideological domination.” – Vladimir Putin
“While the human politics of the crisis in Ukraine garner all the headlines, it is the gas politics that in many ways lies at the heart of the conflict.” – Eric Draitser, Waging war against Russia, one pipeline at a time, RT
6 June 2014 — New Eastern Outlook
Once the current and illegitimate authorities in Kiev, in their most insolent manner, ceased hiding the fact that they were being backed by the United States, they immediately began reneging on their payment obligations for Russian gas supplies. It became obvious that the motivation behind Washington’s provocation in the Ukrainian crisis, along with their EU satellites, was to weaken Moscow and pursue their global military and political objectives with an even more ambitious goal – the redistribution of the global gas market; a market where Russia still holds a leading position. The option to use Saudi Arabia and plummeting oil prices, as President Reagan and the Saudi King did 30 years ago with the USSR , failed during Obama’s recent visit to Riyadh. For this reason Washington has now begun a large-scale offensive on the gas front. However, the American arsenal of features for these purposes is very limited.
27 May 2014 — Stop Imperialism
Eric Draitser of StopImperialism.org provides his analysis of the impact of the recent energy deal signed between Russia and China. He notes that the deal can, at least in part, be seen as a counter-measure to US attempts to isolate Russia following the incorporation of Crimea into the Russian Federation. However, he also points the fact that the talking points coming from the US regarding increasing gas exports to Europe to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian energy are repeated mostly for demagogic reasons. Draitser explains that the global shift to a multi-polar world is happening more rapidly than anyone imagined, precisely due to the arrogance and hubris of Washington and the West. Continue reading
21 May 2014 — Asia Times
A specter is haunting Washington, an unnerving vision of a Sino-Russian alliance wedded to an expansive symbiosis of trade and commerce across much of the Eurasian land mass – at the expense of the United States.
3 May 2014 — WashingtonsBlog
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says that JP Morgan has massively manipulated energy markets in California and the Midwest, obtaining tens of millions of dollars in overpayments from grid operators between September 2010 and June 2011.
12 April 2014 — Michael Hudson
Hundreds of pro-Russian protesters have seized public buildings in Eastern Ukrainian cities. They’re demanding referendums to secede from Ukraine in order to become a part of Russia. Ukrainian officials have blamed Putin for this continued unrest, but it should be noted that Ukraine is a major transit route for natural gas exports to Europe from Russia, and now Russia is warning Ukrainian officials that they need to pay back the $2.2 billion debt owed to the Russian natural gas company Gazprom. German and French officials are also working towards a quick implementation of a $14-18 billion International Monetary Fund loan package to the Ukraine.
29 March 2014 — Global Research
Fracking will be “good for our country,” was a statement made by British Prime Minister David Cameron at a recent Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague according to the UK based news agency The Guardian. Cameron believes that the fracking industry will have the public’s support since reliance on Russia’s energy sources will be halted if sanctions are imposed due to the political crisis in the Ukraine. The Obama administration is also proposing a joint US-EU trade deal with its European partners that would reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia’s energy resources. The Guardian reported Cameron’s statement regarding shale gas fracking in Europe:
26 November 2004 — Online Journal
Special Report
Cold War crisis in Ukraine Control of oil, key Grand Chessboard ‘pivot’ at stake
By Larry Chin Online Journal Associate Editor
28 February 2014 — New Eastern Outlook
From Syria to Sochi, Poland to Pussy Riot, diplomatic and geopolitical conflicts between Russia and the West have come to dominate the headlines. However, behind these issues lies the fundamental economic competition that must frame any analysis of the politics and interaction between the two. Continue reading
7 November 2013 — Our Kingdom
The British public support nationalisation and price controls. They are losing their faith in free market capitalism, and political parties will do well to capture the radical mood of the public. Continue reading
4 November 2013 — Change:How?
[How indeed? I’m not sure what to make of this stuff frankly. The major sponsor is the Observer newspaper! They seem to come out once a year, talk a lot and then disappear until the next crisis comes along. It’s all slick PR stuff, no doubt pro bono work from a mind-fucker but what does it all mean and does it lead anywhere? I mean really, “pin the blame on Cameron”? But not on capitalism? Burn your energy bill? I despair WB]
1 October 2013 — Global Research
21 August 2013 — Global Research
‘Water, water everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.’ — Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
At long last Britain is discussing and objecting to fracking – or we would be if the general public had access to accurate information. As it is, Prime Minister David Cameron is going all out to promote a country-wide embrace of shale gas.
14 August 2013 — Route Magazine and Global Research
Many US shale companies that have been beating the drums of shale “revolution” are now facing oil and gas well depletion. In February 2013 the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) warned that “diminishing returns to scale and the depletion of high productivity sweet spots are expected to eventually slow the rate of growth in tight oil production”. It was a cautious but intriguing statement.
1 August 2013 — WashingtonsBlog
You’ve heard bad news about Fukushima recently. But it’s worse than you know.
The Wall Street Journal notes that radiation levels outside the plant are likely higher than inside the reactor: Continue reading
The New Dark Age 