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Russian Oil Gets Guarantees Over Iraq from Putin
posted 16 June 2007
first published 2002 by TheMoscowTimes.com

Putin has assured LUKoil,the nations largest oil pro- ducer,that its valuable assets in Iraq will be protected whether or not Saddam Hussein is driven from power, LUKoil president Vagit Alekperov told the Financial Times in a interview published Friday.

Putin considers Russias interest in the oil-rich nation a top priority,Alekperov said.

I have been hearing guarantees from the Russian government,he was quoted as saying,adding that even if the Iraqi regime fell, as US President Bush wants,the law is the law,the state is still there.

LUKoil,which is 14% owned by the state,has a 68% stake in a consortium to develop Iraqs giant West Kurna oil field,with reserves of 20 billion barrels. Some 6 billion has been invested in the field, the news paper reported.

Iraq,which has one of the worlds largest crude reserves, has been prohibited from exporting at capacity since the Gulf War more than 16 years ago.

The United States and Britain have been pressuring Russia and the other two permanent members of the UN Security Council; China & France; for a new resolution to sanction the use of force against Iraq if it doesnt offer weapons inspectors unfettered access.

Bush warned Sunday that war may be unavoidable.

Iraq has been trying to secure stronger support from Russia by promising some 40 billion in economic cooperation over the next five years.

A 6 member delegation from Baghdad was in Moscow last week to pitch a buy Iraq campaign.The group addressed more than 100 business people,State Duma deputies & Foreign Ministry officials,touting the ben- efits of cooperating with Iraq.

But by far the most lucrative attraction to Iraq for Russia is oil. We have interests in the oil sector of Iraqi economy, Mikhail Margelov,an adviser to Putin and the chairman of the international affairs committee of the Federation Council,was quoted by news agencies as saying Saturday.

Margelov said Russia should be a equal partner in any privatization of Iraqs oil sector if Bush takes military action against Saddam.

In the Financial Times interview, Alekperov said: Yes, of course,when asked if he had received assurances that oil was at the top of Moscows agenda in negotiations with the United States.

LUKoil's West Kurna has immense potential value,but only if UN sanctions are lifted.LUKoil vice president Leonid Fedun has said the company could extract up to 30 million tons of oil from the field within 3 years if sanctions are lifted.

Experts say Moscow is using its position on the Security Council as a bargaining chip to win guarantees from Washington that its commercial interests will be protected in the event of a change of leadership. As permanent member of the council,Russia can veto any resolution on Iraq.

At best Russia will probably abstain at Security Council vote,said Stephen O'Sullivan,head of research at United Financial Group. I really do not think they'd want to vote against. I think they want to assure that by allowing it to go ahead their not causing themselves any damage.

Yevgeny Gavrilenkov,chief economist at Troika Dialog, said Russia is likely to put its economic interests above any political interests.

Russia does not have clearly defined geopolitical priorities regarding Iraq,while economic interests are much more transparent and thus likely to dominate in the foreseeable future,he said,adding that Saddam was not a figure with whom we can have a political alliance.

The government still hopes to collect between 7 to 9 billion in Soviet-era debt,in part for arms sales. Russian companies have earned about 4 billion per yr through the UN oil-for-food program,including top 10 oil company Tatneft,which has a license to drill for Iraqi oil.

In addition,Russia and Iraq have been discussing a five-year 40 billion economic cooperation program.

However, before providing any firm guarantees to companies such as LUKoil,Russia would have to feel fairly secure in its position with the US government, experts said.

I'm sure the Russian govt wont be giving any more solid guarantees than its able to receive itself, O'Sullivan said.

There have been lots of fine words from the Unites States,but not many deeds up to now,he added,referring to Congress hesitance to revoke the outdated Jackson-Vanik amendment tying Russias trade status to emigration policies despite Bush's urging.

Gavrilenkov took a cautious approach about Russias ability to guarantee commercial rights in a post-Saddam Iraq.

The Russian Federation plays an important role regarding Iraq, but clearly not a primary role and there are a lot of other players involved,he said.

A LUKoil spokesman would not elaborate on Alekperov's comments,saying: The company president's statements were comprehensive.
http://tinyurl.com/2czxtl

Swarm of Quakes Hit Hawaii - Crater Collapse Possible
17 Jun 2007
by Mitch Battros - Earth Changes Media

About 70 shallow earthquakes in 2 hours occurred beneath the upper east rift zone of Kîlauea early this morning. The swarm began at 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 17 and is ongoing. Some quakes are in the mid 3's magnituds. The earthquakes are centered 1 km (1 mile) southwest of Mauna Ulu and are concentrated between 1.5 and 3 kilometers (1-2 miles) deep. As of 4:30 a.m., ten of the quakes had magnitudes greater than 3 and were felt by nearby residents.
All data so far is consistent with the event being a shallow intrusion of magma. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is watching the situation closely and has deployed field crews to the scene.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has taken the following precautionary measures: Chain of Craters road is closed. Crater Rim Drive is closed between Jaggar museum and the Thurston lava tube parking lot. NPS personnel are sweeping both roads to evacuate visitors.
(newsletter earthchangesmedia.com)


Latest Earthquakes in the World - Past 7 days: http://tinyurl.com/9odru


Hawaii Volcano: More Than 100 Quakes Per-Hour
Mon, 18 Jun 2007
By Mitch Battros - Earth Changes Media
June 18th 2007

Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH - Aviation Color Code ORANGE - The earthquake swarm in the upper East Rift Zone of Kîlauea that started early Sunday morning is continuing but at a lower rate. Most of the earthquakes are located between Pauahi and Makaopuhi craters at depths of about 1.5-3 km. About 10 to 15 small earthquakes per hour are being recorded in this area compared to more than about 100 per hour Sunday morning. Seismicity in the summit area consists of strong tremor.

Tiltmeters in the summit area are recording steady deflation, totaling about 37 microradians since early Sunday. GPS receivers in the area of most intense seismic activity continue to show widening across the rift zone in near Makaopuhi crater; preliminary data indicate widening of more than 40 cm (15 inches). A tiltmeter on Pu`u `O`o is also showing steady deflation.

Intermittent faint glow is only occasionally visible from the East Pond vent in the crater of Pu`u ``O`o, much less than is typical of the crater. On Sunday afternoon, HVO observers noted many rockfalls from the south wall of Pu`u `O`o cone and collapse of the crater floor around the vents. The lava level in East Pond vent dropped several meters in late morning.

All data indicate that an intrusion of magma started in the Mauna Ulu area early Sunday morning and moved slowly 5 km (3 miles) east along the rift zone during the day. The intrusion is continuing at this time.

Fieldwork and an overflight of Pu`u `O`o and the flow field is scheduled for Monday morning to evaluate changes, if any, to the ongoing eruption of Pu`u `O`o.
(newsletter earthchangesmedia.com)

Cheney hawks pushing for Iran strikes
posted Sunday, 17 June 2007
US administration debates new Iran strategy: report
Published: Friday June 15, 2007

An internal debate is underway in the administration of US President George W. Bush on whether the current diplomatic approach toward Iran has any hope of halting the country's nuclear program, The New York Times reported on its website Friday.

Citing unnamed senior administration officials, the newspaper said the debate has pitted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her deputies against the few remaining hawks inside the administration, especially those in the office of Vice President Richard Cheney.

Cheney's aides are pressing for greater consideration of military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, the report said.

One year ago, Rice spokes in favor of the United States joining forces with Europe, Russia and China to press Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

But since then, Iran has installed more than a thousand centrifuges to enrich uranium, and the International Atomic Energy Agency predicted that 8,000 or so could be spinning by the end of the year.

Those numbers are at the core of the debate over whether Bush should warn Iran’s leaders that he will not allow them to get beyond some yet-undefined milestones, leaving the implication that a military strike on the country’s facilities is still an option, the paper said.

Friends and associates of Rice say she has increasingly moved toward the European position that the diplomatic path she has laid out is the only real option for Bush, The Times said.

But conservatives inside the administration have continued in private to press for a tougher line, making arguments that their allies outside government are voicing publicly, the report said.

Only a few weeks ago, one of Cheney’s top aides, David Wurmser, told conservative research groups and consulting firms in Washington that Cheney believed that Rice’s diplomatic strategy was failing, and that by next spring Bush might have to decide whether to take military action, according to The Times.

The issue was raised at a closed-door White House meeting recently when the departing deputy national security adviser, J. D. Crouch, told senior officials that Bush needed an assessment of how the stalemate over Iran’s nuclear program was likely to play out over the next 18 months, The Times reported.

In response, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns told the group that negotiations with Tehran could still be going on when Bush leaves office in January 2009, the paper said.

The hawks in the room were deeply unhappy but not surprised by Burns’s assessment, which they interpreted as a tacit acknowledgment that the administration had no "red line" beyond which Iran would not be permitted to step, according to the report.
http://tinyurl.com/2xnpck

Gulf Arabs won't be base for attack on Iran: Saudi
Sun Jun 17, 3:36 AM ET

Gulf Arab countries will not be used as a launch pad for any military attack on Iran, a powerful Saudi royal was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz said Iran had no interest in striking its oil-producing Arab neighbors if it comes under attack from the United States.

"I think the brothers in Iran are totally aware that ... Iran will not be a source of harm for their neighbors and brothers ... These countries (Arab neighbors) will not be a source of harm for Iran," he said in remarks late on Saturday carried by state news agency SPA.

"Respect and consideration are mutual. I speak for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (relations) with Iran and for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)," he added, referring to Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Nayef urged Iran to hand over militants suspected of plotting against the kingdom.

Iran extradited a number of Saudi suspects to the kingdom in the past. Some of the suspects have been released after being cleared.

He also called on Tehran not to meddle in Iraqi affairs.

Sunni Saudi Arabia had accused Iran of backing Shi'ite death squads killing Sunnis in Iraq, and of backing an opposition front led by Hezbollah in efforts to bring down the Sunni-backed government in Lebanon.

"Creed does not justify intervention in Iraqi affairs," he said.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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Rescue Robot Tests To Offer Responders High-tech Help
Main Category: Public Health News
Article Date: 13 Jun 2007 - 9:00 PDT

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) engineers are organizing the fourth in a series of Response Robot Evaluation Exercises for urban search and rescue (US&R) responders to be held on June 18-22, 2007, at Texas A&M's "Disaster City" training facility in College Station, Texas. These events, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, test robot performance on emerging standard test methods using actual training scenarios for emergency responders. The results will be used to refine the test methods, and in developing usage guides that match specific kinds of US&R robots to particular disaster scenarios.

This exercise will use two Disaster City training scenarios. A simulated structural collapse of a municipal building will allow responders to deploy robots to search for victims and assist in "rendering the structure safe" for responders to extricate those victims. This will require robots to face a variety of challenges as they traverse complex and confined spaces within the structure's semi-collapsed walls, sloping floors, rubble and voids while searching for victims. The robots will be deploying high-tech sensors such as laser scanners to capture the size and shape of interior voids to help structural engineers set up shoring supports.

Responders also will use robots to investigate a "train wreck/derailment" involving a passenger train and an industrial HAZMAT tanker train carrying unknown substances. The unknown hazards of the incident will require emergency responders to direct work from a distance of 150 m (500 ft) initially. This scenario will require robots to traverse railroad tracks, wreckage and debris to map the scene, look in windows to locate victims, find hazardous leaks and identify tanker placards describing their contents. Some robots also may take samples of unknown substances for analysis, all while being remotely controlled from a safe distance. This exercise will focus on ground robots that are highly agile, human-portable, or even throwable, and robots that can circumnavigate a large area from a remote operator station. The robots will feature a variety of sensors, including color cameras, two-way audio transmitters, thermal imagers, chemical sensors, 3D mapping systems and GPS locators paired with geographic information systems (GIS).

Robot developers and vendors benefit from these exercises by learning firsthand what emergency responders need to perform their roles safely and effectively, and by getting feedback about their systems during mock deployments. The emergency responders benefit by getting to work with a wide variety of high-tech solutions within their own deployment scenarios and to guide robot developers toward answering their needs. Both communities will benefit from the emerging standard robot test methods being developed as a result of these exercise, which will provide a means of measuring and comparing robot performance to help responders understand the trade-offs of particular devices, and also help measure and compare operator proficiency in performing critical task through remote control interfaces.
http://tinyurl.com/2fgjhd

Pentagon considered 'gay bomb' - documents
By Jerome Bernard in Washington
15jun07

THE Pentagon once considered the creation of a hormone weapon that would turn enemy soldiers into homosexuals who'd rather make love than war, according to government documents.

The US air force's Wright Laboratory in Ohio had asked in 1994 for $US7.5 million to develop a bomb containing a powerful aphrodisiac chemical that would cause "homosexual behaviour" to affect "discipline and morale in enemy units".

The document, obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act, is now drawing scorn and ridicule on the web.

The Department of Defence played down the proposal, which was unearthed by the Sunshine Project, an organisation based in Texas and Germany that monitors research and development of biological weapons.

"The DoD never 'investigated' such a concept, rather one individual provided a short concept paper with a wide variety of examples that was rejected," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Brian Maka said.

Lt-Col Maka pointed out the idea was one of several proposals for non-lethal weapons, including a chemical product that would make enemies highly sensitive to sunlight, or another that would make bees particularly aggressive and prone to attack humans.

But Edward Hammond, of the Sunshine Project, insists the Pentagon is not being truthful. "These statements are untrue. The proposal was not rejected out of hand. It has received further consideration," he said on the group's web page.

Mr Hammond says the concept was included in a promotional CD-ROM on non-lethal weapons in 2000 and was submitted to the National Academies of Science the following year.

Bloggers are now having a field day with the love weapon.

"If we have a spare gay bomb, why not drop one in the mountains of Afghanistan," asked one blogger, who described himself as a black homosexual living in Washington.

"The idiot who came up with the idea really should be bitchslapped and forced to listen to Judy Garland records for the rest of his life," Ed Brayton wrote on the Huffington Post website.

But not everyone is amused.

"My sense is that the story speaks to the Pentagon's outdated ideas about sexuality, and about the relationship between sexuality and being a good soldier," said Aaron Belkin, a political analyst at the University of California in Santa Barbara.

"To suppose that spraying someone with a chemical can make them gay is ludicrous, and to suppose that making someone gay will turn them into a bad soldier is ludicrous as well," Mr Belkin said.

In March, General Peter Pace, the chairman of the armed forces' joint chiefs of staff called homosexuality "immoral" in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that stirred renewed controversy and rekindled debate over legislation allowing homosexuals in the military as long as they don't discuss their sexual orientation.

A Democratic motion calls for a reform of the, so called, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" legislation adopted in 1993 under then-president Bill Clinton.
http://tinyurl.com/22f7yn