LivingLife Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Nothing in the papers yet but was on the TV news tonight. This really worked well in the apartheid years seeing we control the Cape sea route. Yeah there is stuff we could have done to screw you guys back by disallowing any US destined ships to pass through the Cape sea route. This pisses me off as countries like Japan are exempt from these US threats. In the old days of sanctions we exchanged armaments to the Iraq/Iran conflict and got the oil we needed albeit we had mild rationing. This also led to the oil from coal plants Sasol which ironically were built by yank companies (Fleur). It is not enough for SA so we import as we export petroleum to the north of us. Perhaps the rumours of the US wanting to make war with Iran are not unfounded and this is a mere heads up under a false premise of sanctions. It is not like we are dependant on the US for anything. Very few cars here from the US as that market was well filled up by the Japs and EU with the last sanctions and they have the majority market share still with Chinese, Korean and Indian stuff starting to make their way in as cheaper cars. The only thing I can think of is grain imports from the US and Argentina will happily fill that void id push came to shove. Just a pity our government does not tell the US to take a hike and side with the eastern block countries where we do most of our trading anyway. We might lose out on Hollywood and US soapies but that is no show stopper anyway. Fucking ironic, the last time sanctions were forced on us was also under a DP leadership aka Clinton and all the times the RP were in power, not so much. I guess the US really need another war to boost their economy and I also guess folk will support it as any quick fix is better than nothing eh? If a conflict is on the cards, one wonders just what Russia is going to do with their vested interests in Iran? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephie Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Ugh. I wish people would realize that war costs more than it's worth. Sorry for the asshole things my government does. I do what I can when I vote. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConureDelSol Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 ...what is Sa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephie Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 ...what is Sa? South Africa....right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingLife Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Yup, I suppose RSA is the more correct abbreviation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I get that you are mad about something but not what. Sorry it hasn't made the news here yet. Can you spell out what event or change or what happened? I'm looking at CNN Africa news and World News Headlines Africa page and neither one of them mentions South Africa at all. A scan of both pages came up with nothing. Either I'm getting that tailored/personalized internet problem or else it hasn't made the news yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingLife Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 http://mg.co.za/article/2012-03-22-south-africa-suspends-iran-oil-imports/ South Africa has suspended almost all of its oil imports from Iran and intends to abide by a United States request to significantly drop its supplies from the state, a senior diplomat said on Thursday. "[To my knowledge], no Iranian oil is flowing into our country," Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim told a news conference. "If there is any, it is very little." South Africa is on a state department list of 12 countries that buy Iranian oil and could be subject to US sanctions unless they significantly cut purchases. Impact study Earlier this week the government formed a task team to study any impact that reduced oil imports from Iran could have on the country. "We have formed a task team to look at a variety of scenarios and the best way to respond should we be called to do so," the energy department's deputy director general for hydrocarbons and energy planning, Tseliso Maqubela, told the Mail & Guardian on Sunday. The task team's establishment follows continued threats by the US that countries buying oil from Iran may be barred from accessing US financial services through the Federal Reserve Bank. See the difference here, in the 80's the ZAR was stronger than the USD and we could pretty much tell the US to fuck off. We did sort out the apartheid shit but that was on the cards and playing out before the US took out its limp dick and wiggled it in our faces to try and accelerate the process of transition in place. The years leading up to NM's release from prison and full democracy was preceded by inclusion of previously coloured and Indian (Asian) folk in government. Blacks only got the vote in '94. Plus back then we produced the majority of the world's gold 58% till Chile and China overtook us reducing our contribution to 38% and now roughly 20%. Now the SA gold interests stretch all the way across Africa exporting our expertise in deep mining (> 3km down) but behind the scenes, the US, UK and now AUS are still firmly in place actually running this industry. MM, the link I saw was this http://citizensnewsdaily.com/2012/03/21/exemptions-in-iran-oil-sanctions/ The US government will not impose sanctions on Japan and 10 European Union nations that have reduced their oil imports from Iran. Follow this link: Exemptions in Iran oil sanctions There is more to this than meets the eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 USA, the empire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackpudd1n Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I await the day when the US suddenly realises that they are not as important, or as special, nor as needed, as they think they are. That's all you ever hear about: my rights, my constitution, blah, blah, blah. What about the rest of the world? What about my right to live in my own country under my own country's laws, and not America's? What about the right of all nations to be independent, what's the term I thinking of? Oh, that's right, self-determination. Or does the principle of self-determination only apply to America and whomever America deems to be allowed self-determination? America. The nation that fought for independence from colonialism in order to slowly colonise the world. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephie Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I await the day when the US suddenly realises that they are not as important, or as special, nor as needed, as they think they are. That's all you ever hear about: my rights, my constitution, blah, blah, blah. What about the rest of the world? What about my right to live in my own country under my own country's laws, and not America's? What about the right of all nations to be independent, what's the term I thinking of? Oh, that's right, self-determination. Or does the principle of self-determination only apply to America and whomever America deems to be allowed self-determination? America. The nation that fought for independence from colonialism in order to slowly colonise the world. Couldn't have said it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Yup, I suppose RSA is the more correct abbreviation. Regional State of America? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 America. The nation that fought for independence from colonialism in order to slowly colonise the world. One of life's many lost ironies. It's for these reasons the only politics in the US I care about are its foreign policy. And to coin a Legion term, US fp sucks ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingLife Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Having been born and grown up in a late colonial era, I saw first hand the hypocrisy of the US. In Rhodesia, the late Ian Smith told the UK to take a hike and we lasted 15 years with support from the then Vorster led RSA. It really was not about a black white issue as it was one of idealism. The two freedom fighter armies ZANU and ZIPRA were supported by the Chinese and Russians respectively and this was at the height of the cold war. The US did not apply sanctions as we were seen to be fighting a common enemy although the US stuff like cars stopped as by then the Japs were making stuff far cheaper and demand for the US stuff dried up. Our munitions came from France and SA plus SA was our fuel supplier. We were land locked and needed SA primarily for fuel. Limited sanctions were being levelled at SA and SA had no problems finding what they needed via covert sources. Of course we could pay in gold back then. The common enemy was communism and as such the US did not exert too much pressure. A communist led govt in the 80's would have screwed the US trade up b/c of the Cape sea route. Once the Red Menace faded, the rules changed. If the US take on Iran, then Russia comes into play again and do we see a confrontation back like in Korea, Vietnam et al. where those too were pseudo battlefields between the super powers. What the US may not realise, sentiments have changed and the EU (excluding the UK who has their dick firmly up the US ass [this the sentiment of folk in the UK too]) sentiment has changed and will probably side with Russia (if push comes to shove) seeing they share the same continent. It this aspiration to empire of the US that I vehemently oppose. It will be interesting to see if the US will follow through on their threats. Strong arm tactics they are using against Iran business "allies" shows just how low and desperate they are. Well back in the good old days, the oil tankers were always queuing up at SA docks to offload oil, I cannot see any difference. Even if it means we source it via a 3rd party, Iran will still be able to sell their oil, not like the world has too many options. These conspiracy theories of US /Israel expansion to a new Israel to Iran kinda gets legs with shite like this. The world is a bit more complex than in the '80s. Putin (who still runs Russia IMO being party chairman and all) has no real love for the US (Have they had the elections yet Vigile?) has been pretty outspoken concerning Iran IIRC. Daily Maverick South Africa and Iran maintain a good relationship and have done so for many years. Relations extend into many fields and Iran is still South Africa's major supplier of crude oil. Senior South African government officials take the view that this special relationship with Iran allows for a frank exchange of views on all issues, including questions related to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as pesky issues of human rights. Like all “special” cross-border relationships, South Africa’s relationship with Iran is a symbiotic one – a win-win situation in cruder terms. South Africa gets oil and Iran makes a friend, deftly undermining international sanctions and concerted efforts to isolate Tehran. (Source) Mail and Guardian (Online) Elizabeth Trudeau, spokesperson for the US Embassy in South Africa, said the US continues to have discussions with countries around the world on this issue, including South Africa. But she said they would not discuss the details of any of those discussions. The focus needs to be drawn back on why the US has imposed sanctions on the oil-rich country. "The international community has supported us. Iran needs to be more transparent about its nuclear programme. This is not hard stuff, Iran knows what it has to do," Trudeau said. (Source) The papers are still pretty quiet and commentaries. Our price of fuel goes up 46c a litre next week. If this all comes down to Iran developing Nuclear weapons, the idea that they would engage in a MAD war with Israel is ludicrous. Do they really need to develop them or simply do what Israel did and import them? Does this become another NATO/Cuban missile crisis? IMO, the underlying issue is OIL and nothing else. In the second article, Iran was selling their shit at a discounted price and as such bypassing the Oligarchs running the OIL industry. Oh well, the evangelicals are all probably getting wet pussies and woodies as this heralds the Armageddon scenario and the cloud surfing with jeebus. The transatlantic carrier pigeons informing the US that WWII was over, probably never made it I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Patriotism in the US equates to pollution for the rest of the world. If it weren't for the fact that largely the only ones in the US questioning the existence of secretive organizations like the CIA are academic types it might be possible to have a national debate on the topic. As it stands, flag wavers shout down any criticism. As a result, you end up with shit like the CIA covertly propping up African dictators, such as Mobutu who personally was given around $6b in US tax payer money so that he could maintain power and keep diamond production running steadily. Key word here is steadily, not smoothly, because he forced his countrymen to work in the diamond mines like slaves and every now and then he would line up dissenters in the national football stadium, peel off 10% from the crowd and shoot them in cold blood as a message to the other dissenters. And now the US is rattling its sabers with Iran and the news is reporting White House press releases and refusing to engage in any type of critical journalistic efforts and your average American is concerned about the price of gas, not the fact that his government is a cold blooded killer. People need to realize the good feelings football, their home town, and apple pie give them are great, but they don't equate to the US government or its foreign policy and being critical of the later does not in any way indicate you are spitting on the former. They also need to realize that people who live in what we refer to as the second and third world are not all anti American terrorists hell bent on attacking US or Israeli interests. Most, as in the vast, vast majority, are just human beings with similar concerns as Americans, including raising kids and earning a living. As an American citizen, I love many things about life in America and the American people. As a moral human being, I feel it's my duty to point out unquestioning support of the troops, the spies, the military spending, et al, is doing massive amounts of harm to massive numbers of innocent people around the globe and that the main purpose for these things is not defense of America, but for the defense and offense of the interests of a handful of monied organizations. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyanaprajna0 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I await the day when the US suddenly realises that they are not as important, or as special, nor as needed, as they think they are. That's all you ever hear about: my rights, my constitution, blah, blah, blah. What about the rest of the world? What about my right to live in my own country under my own country's laws, and not America's? What about the right of all nations to be independent, what's the term I thinking of? Oh, that's right, self-determination. Or does the principle of self-determination only apply to America and whomever America deems to be allowed self-determination? America. The nation that fought for independence from colonialism in order to slowly colonise the world. Absolutely agree. And, while I realize this is more of a political thread than our normal anti-xtian ranting, I think it goes even deeper than just this. Or, there are at least correlations. Think about this: one of the supposed reasons for the United States breaking away from England was for religious freedom. And what's it trying to do now? Force religion, or a specific view of it, on people now. Everything America fought against, it's trying to become. It's appalling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingLife Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 I posted this to my FB wall and in no time there were fundies, very much in the US mindset, spamming with their woo shit. Woo1. When you regulate the food, oil and power and money of a nation you control them like a puppet on a string, its yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir. Its playing games with nations and the people therin that power mad people and politician get a thrill from, but beware there is a Great King who is watching. One thing God is patient but when its time to act there is nothing to stop him and that time is here, see what the Lord will do. Woo2. Here we go . The predictions of 2012 by the mayans r comin 2 the for , people get ready 4 the time shes comin , collect seed my friends cos times r going 2 b exstreeemly hard USA control all the prostitute of the world read David Ikes the truth shall set u free mmm intresting The good ole' US evangelical woo shit is still alive and well in SA - My reply While some folk may think there is an invisible deity allowing or playing this crap all out, it is just the great white evangelical beast of the US that is power hungry and probably keen to see the end of daze played out for real in Iran and the ME. Fucking odd that the pacifist religion are so hell bent on wars and to crown it all in direct contradiction to that which jesus allegedly taught. But then I can understand the confusion as when you actually look at the NT objectively, the message is confusing. One time it is turn the other cheek and the in direct contradiction to the previously laws decreed apparently by himself, he suggests disunity of family for his sake aka hating your mother and father when this in the past was a death penalty? The reality is that this USA beast needs to be put in its place once an for all, we do not need their frigging god nor do we need their corrupt perversion of "justice" or "democracy". All they are interested in is controlling the ME oil so that in the end we all have to go through their systems to obtain it. I don't get much woo shit on my FB and most of the friend know I am an atheist and ex christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackpudd1n Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 The other thing that really pisses me off about situations like what is going on in RSA and other nations, is that America has been one of the leading advocates of globalisation- on their terms, of course. So countries buy into this idea of trading with other countries, effectively creating a global economy of co-operation, and then they decide that, oh, you can't trade with them anymore, because we decided so... What a bunch of fucking hypocrites. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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