Are These Gas Fields Israel’s Next Warzone?

Are These Gas Fields Israel’s Next Warzone? HT: Daily Beast

Rumors of war could become the reality as Israel vies with the other nations of the Levant for control of the huge riches beneath the sea.

When Israel looks at the greatest threat to its long-term hopes for the future, these days it’s looking out to sea. The old issues are on the table, of course: Iran’s nukes, the Palestinians, the Syrian slaughterhouse next door and growing regional instability.

But if there’s a place where a sudden, out-of-control war is likely to erupt, it’s probably not going to be called the Sinai, the Golan, the West Bank (or Judea and Samaria). It’s going to be called Leviathan, Dalit or Karish—the vast fields of natural gas and oil discovered in the deep waters between Israel and Cyprus over the last five years.

Who controls that wealth is likely to dominate the economic future of the region for generations to come. The Israelis know it. So do their allies, their rivals and their enemies. And tensions are mounting by the day.

 “All the elements of danger are there,” says Pierre Terzian, editor of the oil industry weekly Petrostrategies: there is competition for huge resources, there are disputed borders, and, not to put too fine a point on it, “this is a region where resorting to violent action is not something unusual.”

The United States government is watching warily, trying to broker diplomatic settlements and, so far, failing. No longer inclined to be the region’s policeman on land or in the air, much less at sea, Washington is scaling back its presence in the Middle East while just about everyone else is increasing theirs.

The biggest threat to these projects will could be Turkey. Under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, its relations with Israel have gone from warm to cold, and just recently have begun once again to thaw.

Turkey—and the northern half of Cyprus, occupied by its troops since 1974—have been largely left out of the Levant Basin boom. Ankara has been accused of saber rattling to intimidate would-be investors in the Aphrodite field that belongs to the internationally recognized government of Cyprus on the southern half of the island. But Turkey would also like to be the conduit for a pipeline taking Levant Basin gas to Europe, and that won’t happen unless Cyprus and Israel want it to. So that has tempered Erdogan’s truculence a bit. Hmmm....remember those frigates Turkey wanted from the US?They surely would come in handy for those gas fields.Read the full story here.

Related:

US frigate donation to Obama's BFF Erdogan ‘Sunk’. 

'Big trouble' brewing for little Israel? Russia preparing to develop Gaza gas field.

Not so 'Kosher' after all.

'Big trouble' brewing for little Israel? Russia preparing to develop Gaza gas field.(Al-Monitor).

In a significant political and economic development, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Jan. 23 with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting came as a prerequisite to officially sign an investment agreement aiming to develop the Gaza offshore gas field in the Mediterranean Sea.

It is only logical to assume that this step will raise the ire of Israel. The latter does not appreciate the role Russia plays in the region, especially since Israel has never come to an agreement with Russia.

AFP reported that there were talks of investing $1 billion to develop the Palestinian gas field. It is known that the two fields explored offshore of Gaza in the Mediterranean are called Gaza Marine 1 and 2.

In 1999, the Palestinian Authority granted the British Gas Group the exclusive rights to explore gas. In 2000, the company announced that it discovered gas and was seeking to develop the field in partnership with Consolidated Contractors Company and the Palestinian Authority.

However, the eruption of the second Palestinian intifada, in addition to Ariel Sharon assuming the premiership of the Israeli government and his refusal of funding the Palestinian Authority through gas revenues, has impeded the finding of markets to produce and subsequently develop this field. Back then, the Israeli government sought to buy gas from Egypt to avoid buying gas from the Palestinian field.

Ever since that time and until recently, the British Gas Group, in addition to the British and US governments and the former quartet envoy to Palestine Tony Blair, have attempted in vain to find solutions to the issue of the gas field.

When the split between Hamas and Fatah occurred in 2007, and dealing with the Gaza government became prohibited, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah was no longer powerful. This would then increase the frustration of the British Gas Group, leading the company to stop its communications aiming to sell gas and to shut down its offices in Israel a year after that.

However, three months ago, the Financial Times mentioned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had granted his approval to develop the field. The newspaper noted that Netanyahu had given the green light to the development of the field hoping to create joint economic interests between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. 

At the time, Israeli sources noted that Netanyahu has probably started to believe that Gaza Marine constitutes a source of natural gas, which compensates for the loss of Egyptian gas.

These fields would help avoid a gas crisis, before the Leviathan gas field begins to produce gas in 2017, at the earliest. Some economic experts noted progress in the stance of Netanyahu, which is attributed to his desire not to place the Israeli economy under the mercy of Tamar-Leviathan partners, especially that the driving force behind them are the American Noble Energy and the Israeli Delek.

The official Russian news agency Itar-Tass noted that the Russian energy giant Gazprom wishes to produce 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas as part of its process to invest the field. It also worth mentioning that the Russian engineering company Technopromexport is studying the feasibility of investing in the process of oil exploration in a small land field located near the city of Ramallah.

AFP, however, explained that the progress of communications — in terms of the two deals — is not yet clear, as well as the launching of the work.

It is important to note that according to economic estimations, the reserve of Marine Gaza can hold up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas, noting that its development will need three to four years and will cost around a billion dollars. The revenues of this field are estimated at $6 to $7 billion a year, throughout many years. A part of the said revenues will be given to the Palestinian Authority in the form of taxes and fees. This is supposed to render the authority independent from donor countries.

Abbas announced in Moscow that he is dealing with Russia as a major power, which has to play a key role in the Middle East. He added, “We are happy to see that Russia is an active and influential power on the international arena.” Abbas old Itar-Tass, “We would like to see Russia playing a leading role in the Middle East, since it is a major power.”

This issue prompts the following question: Is this development related to the fact that the deadline of US-brokered negotiations is imminent?

It is only normal for the Palestinian Authority not be satisfied with the US stance, which constantly refuses any pressure exerted on Israel to implement international resolutions. Could Russia, however, enter the area of Israeli economic influence, without coming to an agreement with the government of Netanyahu?

Hmmmm....Just what Gaza needed more money to buy arms, Between Turkey and Russia it seems Israel's gas future might get 'Squeezed'.

Obama's BFF Erdogan sends ‘stern warning’ to Cyprus over gas reserves, how long before he go's after Israel's Gas deposits?

Obama's BFF Erdogan sends ‘stern warning’ to Cyprus over gas reserves, how long before he go's after Israel's Gas deposits?.(RT).

Meanwhile, Turkey has warned Greek Cyprus against using hydrocarbon reserves off the island to overcome its debt crisis without the consent of Turkish Cypriots. Ankara says such a move could result in an end to efforts to reunite Cyprus’ Turkish and Greek zones.

Turkey has contacted the US and plans to take the issue to the European Union, Today’s Zaman reported.
 Ankara “had to issue a stern warning” regarding attempts to offer natural resources in exchange for foreign loans, a Turkish official said on Sunday. Turkey has repeatedly warned the Greek Cypriot government against unilateral moves to extract natural gas and oil reserves off Cyprus, saying that Turkish Cypriots also have a say on the reserves.
The dispute recently escalated when reports surfaced that hydrocarbon exploration rights were part of Russia-Greek Cyprus talks last week over a possible deal which includes Russian financial help. However, the talks did not produce an agreement. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubt on the inclusion of hydrocarbon reserves as a loan deal, saying there are concerns surrounding commercial viability and questions stemming from Turkish objections. Hmmmm....He's completely unleashed now that he knows he can get way with anything.Read the full story here.

Germany warns Cyprus its banks may NEVER reopen as Russia 'offers to write off debt if Gazprom get access to untapped oil fields'.

Germany warns Cyprus its banks may NEVER reopen as Russia 'offers to write off debt if Gazprom get access to untapped oil fields'.(DM).Germany's warning came after Cyprus's parliament overwhelmingly rejected a proposed levy on bank deposits as a condition for a European bailout of 10 billion euros (£8.6bn) last night.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was up to the Cypriot government to come up with an alternative proposal but it was fair to expect savers with deposits over 100,000 euros (£86,000) to contribute to the bailout.

Moscow is now a massive ally for Cyprus - Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris said he had not reached a deal at a first meeting today with his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov, but talks there would continue.

... Russia's finance ministry said Nicosia had sought a further 5 billion euros, on top of a five-year extension and lower interest on an existing 2.5 billion euro loan.

Moscow was angered that the European Union did not consult it over the proposed levy.

President Vladimir Putin called the decision to seize money from savers’ bank accounts as ‘unfair, unprofessional and dangerous’.

Representatives of the Russian energy giant submitted the proposal to the office of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday evening.

Even the Church of Cyprus offered to help. 'The entire wealth of the Church is at the disposal of the country ... so that we can stand on our own two feet and not on those of foreigners,' Archbishop Chrysostomos said after meeting Anastasiades early today. The Church of Cyprus is a major shareholder in Cyprus's third-largest domestic lender, Hellenic Bank.

It is also rumoured that the Kremlin is privately offering to help bail out Cyprus in exchange for the right to use a naval base in the Greek part of the island.Hmmmm.......Would be very welcome now that Tartus is 'sinking'.Read the full story here.


Update: Cyprus Fails to Obtain Kremlin Aid.(MT).

Sarris did not manage to negotiate a Russian bailout despite a 1 1/2 hour meeting with his counterpart, Anton Siluanov.

"We had a very good first meeting, very constructive, very honest discussion," he told journalists afterward, Bloomberg reported.

Sarris subsequently attended a second meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Siluanov and Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak. An undisclosed source told Russian newswires that negotiations had not yielded any results and would continue Thursday.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is due to visit Moscow on Thursday for scheduled talks.

"We understand how difficult the situation is, and we'll continue negotiations to find the solutions that will help us obtain Russia's support," Sarris said, adding that the Cypriot delegation would remain in Moscow "until we reach any agreement." Read the full story here.

Israel firms invest in US company Noble Energy search off Greek Cyprus.

Israel firms invest in US company Noble Energy search off Greek Cyprus.(HD).Israeli firms Delek and Anver signed an agreement on Monday to acquire a 30 percent stake in exploration rights for gas and oil off Greek Cyprus's southern shore carried out by US company Noble Energy.
Commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis told reporters that the signing provided a "new era of Cyprus-Israeli strategic cooperation which includes economic and political dimensions".
Noble Energy Inc was the first to drill when awarded Block 12 after Greek Cyprus launched its energy search in 2007. In December 2011, Noble said it had discovered gas reserves of up to 8 trillion cubic feet (226.5 billion cubic metres), with an estimated value of 100 billion euros.
This would satisfy domestic needs for decades and could enable Greek Cyprus to become a regional player by exporting gas to Europe from 2019.
Delek Drilling and Anver Oil and Gas Exploration own majority rights in Israel's own large gas finds in the nearby Leviathan and Tamar fields.
The latest deal move comes less than a week after Greek Cyprus signed an agreement with French energy giant Total to conduct exploratory drilling for gas and oil in two blocks off its southern shore.
Turkey has protested strongly against Nicosia's energy search, branding it illegal and beginning its own exploratory drilling off the breakaway north of the island.
Ankara has warned that companies involved in the Greek Cyprus process could be shut out of Turkey's energy investment.
Sylikiotis said that having countries such as France, the United States, Israel and Italy involved in the island's hydrocarbon exploration acted as a "political shield" against Turkish threats.Hmmmm....Waiting for Erdogan's 'reaction' about this latest event.Read the full story here.

Israel’s Emergence As Energy Superpower Making Waves around the world.

                                                    Full scale map here.


Israel’s Emergence As Energy Superpower Making Waves around the world.(CriticalAnalyst).Back to regular programming. A fascinating and rather optimistic article by Walter Russel Mead in the American Interest posits that Israel looks likely to emerge as an energy superpower in the near future, with all the political ramifications associated with this status.

Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir famously lamented that Moses led the children of Israel for forty years of wandering in the desert until he found the only place in the Middle East where there wasn’t any oil.But could Moses have been smarter than believed? Apparently the Canadians and the Russians think so, as both countries are moving to step up energy relations with a tiny nation whose total energy reserves some experts now think could rival or even surpass the fabled oil wealth of Saudi Arabia. [emphases mine. -Ed].The prospect of huge oil reserves in Israel comes on top of the recent news about large natural gas discoveries off the coast that have been increasingly attracting attention and investor interest. The apparent gas riches have also been attracting international trouble. Lebanon disputes the undersea boundary with Israel (an act somewhat complicated by the fact that Lebanon has never actually recognized Israel’s existence), and overlapping claims from Turkey and Greece themselves plus both Greek and Turkish authorities on Cyprus further complicate matters. Yet despite these tensions, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s surprisingly cordial visit last week, Gazprom and Israel have announced plans to cooperate on gas extraction.This suggests at a minimum that Turkish efforts to block gas development in the region will face opposition from Russia as well as from Israel. Gazprom and other Russian companies are also likely to do well in any gas exploration deals developed with the strongly pro-Moscow (and very cash hungry) Greek Cypriot government.The stakes are not small: the offshore Levantine Basin (which Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Israel and even Gaza will all have some claim to) is believed to have 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and “considerable” oil. Drillers working in Israeli waters have already identified what look to be 5 billion barrels of recoverable oil in addition to over a trillion cubic feet of gas. (US firms were involved in these finds.) Israel’s undersea gas reserves are currently estimated at about 16 trillion cubic feet and new fields continue to be rapidly found.

The new Israeli-Russian agreement is part of a conscious strategy by the Israeli government to use its nascent energy wealth to improve its embattled political position. With Italy reeling under the impact of big wrong-way bets on Iran, Rome may also begin to appreciate the value of good ties with a closer and more dependable neighbor. Another sensible target for Israeli energy diplomacy would be India: the two countries are already close in a number of ways, including trade and military technology, and India is eager to diversify its energy sources.

Gas is one thing, but potential for huge shale oil reserves under Israel itself, however, is a new twist. According to the World Energy Council, a leading global energy forum with organizations and affiliates in some 93 countries, Israel may have the third largest shale oil reserves in the world: something like 250 billion barrels. [...] If the estimates of Israeli shale oil are correct, Israel’s gas and shale reserves put its total energy reserves in the Saudi class, though Israel’s energy costs more to extract. Many obstacles exist and in a best case scenario some time must pass before the full consequences of the world’s new energy geography make themselves felt, but if production from the new sources in Israel and elsewhere develops, world politics will change.

[...]

the ability of the Arab governments to influence political opinion in Europe and the rest of the world is likely to decline as more oil and gas resources appear — and as Israel emerges as an important supplier. We could be heading toward a time when the world just doesn’t care all that much what happens around the Persian Gulf — as long as nobody gets frisky with the nukes.

Another big loser could be Turkey.

[...]

But if Israel really does emerge as a great energy power, and a Russia-Greece-Cyprus-Israel energy consortium does in fact emerge, Turkey will feel like someone who jilted a faithful longtime girlfriend the week before she won a huge lottery jackpot. More, Turkey’s ambitions to play a larger role in the old Ottoman stomping ground of the eastern Mediterranean basin will have suffered a significant check.

If the possibility of huge Israeli energy discoveries really pans out, and if the technical and resource problems connected with them can actually be solved, the US-Israeli relationship will also change. Some of this may already be happening. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s evident lack of worry when it comes to crossing President Obama may reflect his belief that Israel has some new cards to play. An energy-rich Israel with a lot of friends and suitors is going to be less dependent on the US than it has been — and it is also going to be a more valuable ally.

[..]

An Israel with vast energy endowments may be less coolly received in certain circles than it is today.

In the meantime, we wonder if there was an 11th, hitherto undiscovered commandment on those tablets at Sinai: Thou shalt drill, baby, thou shalt drill.

I hope Mead is not being overly optimistic, and pray that his words go from his keyboard to G-d’s ears.

Happily, I found several articles supporting Mead’s proposition.

Arutz Sheva: Israel is capable of producing 250 billion barrels of oil according to Dr. Harold Vinegar of Israel Energy Initiative Ltd.

Bret Stephens in the WSJ also quotes Dr. Vinegar and remarks upon the possibility of the delicious irony of Israel becoming an oil giant.

The Jerusalem Post reported back in March on how Israel could revolutionise the global energy market, not only thruogh its oil and shale reserves but through its technologically creative, ecologically-sound shale extraction methods.

And in case anyone is worried about the Palestinians making a grab for Israel’s shale oil,Israel Matzav reports that “G-d has the last laugh” as there are virtually no shale deposits in Judea and Samaria.

Israel as an energy superpower? It’s the epitome of cognitive dissonance. May it come speedily in our days, Amen.

Hmmmm......The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it." ~ Jeremiah 30:1-24.

                                          So G_d isn't an Englishman after all?

Israel Discovers New Giant Off-Shore Oil and Gas Field.

                                               Picture source here.


Israel Discovers New Giant Off-Shore Oil and Gas Field.(INN).An Israel energy company announced Sunday it has discovered an off-shore energy field that may even surpass previous finds in terms of the possibilities of developing commercial grade oil. Israel Opportunity Energy Resources LP announced that its Pelagic licenses indicate 6.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas and 1.4 billion barrels of oil. By comparison, the previously announced Tamar and Leviathan off-shore fields contain an estimated 9 and 17 TCF of natural gas. The amount of commercial oil, if any, has not been finalized, but estimates of possible oil in the Leviathan field have been downsized to 600 million barrels. Discoveries of oil and gas have made outdated the old joke that Moses took the wrong turn from Egypt, leading Israel to sand and leaving oil for the Arabs. After being chased by Pharaoh to the edge of the “Sea of Reeds,” which often if not correctly is called the Red Sea, Moses asked Heaven to save them, and He replied to step into the sea, which then was split by winds, allowing the Jews to cross and then burying the army of Pharaoh when it followed. Stepping into the sea now can be seen in retrospect as a sign of the treasures buried under the sea. “The quantity of gas discovered in the licenses, and the high probabilities, make it the third largest offshore discovery to date,” according to Israel Opportunity chairman Ronny Halman, quoted by Globes. He added, ”This quantity guarantees Israel's energy future for decades, and makes it possible to export Israeli gas, and boost the state's revenues without worrying about gas reserves for domestic consumption."The new discoveries make it more certain of a virtual revolution in the Israeli economy, with anticipation that Israel will be energy self-sufficient in three years and soon after will be able to export gas and possibly even oil.Read the full story here.

Egypt to Hold Mediterranean Gas Exploration tender in its territorial waters in the Mediterranean Sea bordering with Israel and Cyprus.

Egypt to Hold Mediterranean Gas Exploration tender in its territorial waters in the Mediterranean Sea bordering with Israel and Cyprus.(RN).Egypt will for the first time hold a tender for gas exploration in its territorial waters in the Mediterranean Sea bordering with Israel and Cyprus, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) President Mohamed Shoaib said on Sunday. “This week Egypt will offer an international tender for prospecting 15 areas for the presence of oil and gas, including 13 sites in Egypt’s territorial waters in the Mediterranean Sea,” Shoaib said. Six sites are located in the waters bordering with Israel and Cyprus, he said. “In this portion of the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt will for the first time announce an international gas exploration tender,” he said. Preliminary data indicate that considerable gas reserves are located in the bordering areas, he said. The tender will be held during five months. Gas companies from the UK, France and Malaysia have already expressed their interest in the tender. A geological prospecting study carried out by U.S. scientists suggest that there are several gas-bearing strata in the eastern portion of Egypt’s territorial waters with overall reserves of at least 230 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, he said.Read the full story here.

President Abdullah Gül :"A Turkish secretary- general of NATO? Why not?".

President Abdullah Gül :"A Turkish secretary- general of NATO? Why not?".(TZ).President Abdullah Gül said Turks could undertake more important posts in NATO, given that the Turkish army is the second-biggest army within the alliance after the US. “Consultations with the Turkish Foreign Ministry on the eve of critical decisions, Turkish generals assuming key posts within NATO -- these have become routine developments lately,” he said at a news conference in Chicago after attending a NATO summit. “So, of course it [a Turkish secretary-general for NATO] is possible. Why not? Turkey could undertake more important responsibilities within NATO, including assuming the post of secretary-general.” Gül, however, said there have been no talks on a Turkish official becoming a candidate for the top NATO post.Gül also revealed that he had told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that Turkey might seek alternatives to reunification of the divided Cyprus if the current stalemate in UN-backed efforts to reunite the Turkish and Greek sides of the island persists. Gül said he has asked the UN secretary-general to assume a more active role. “I said this openly as well: ‘If this policy is bound not to work, you should be prepared [for the possibility] that we, through negotiations, put into action other alternatives’,” Gül said, without elaborating. Gül said the issue of relations with Israel came up during the meeting with Obama. “If someone tells us to fix our relations with Israel, we interrupt, even if this is US President Obama. We tell them to tell Israel to fix its relations with us,” he told the press conference. He said the recent establishment of a new government in Israel, supported by a record-high number of Israeli lawmakers, is a positive development because the Israeli government will at least not be able to present internal political rifts as an excuse for not taking certain foreign policy measures. “We prefer strong governments everywhere in the world,” he said.Hmmmm......Israel and Cyprus be forewarned.Read the full story here.

US gas giant Nobel works to avoid Israeli electric shortage this Summer.

US gas giant Nobel works to avoid Israeli electric shortage this Summer.(HD).Noble Energy is to hook up two small natural gas fields to Israel’s central gas supply to avoid electricity shortages over the summer due to the cut in Egyptian supplies, a spokesman said on May 16. Israel currently generates 40 percent of its electricity from natural gas and until last year, Egypt provided 43 percent of its gas supplies. But that supply has been regularly disrupted since an uprising overthrew former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, raising fears of electricity shortages in the Jewish state. Binyamin Zomer, director of corporate affairs at Noble Energy, said the firm had drilled the Noa and Pinnacle gas fields off the southern Israeli coast, and planned to connect the two by pipeline to the nearby Mari-B platform. “From there, it will tie into the 30-inch (76 cm) pipeline that brings the gas to shore,” he told Agence-France-Presse. “It will add significant supplies,” he said, without specifying exactly how much gas the venture would provide. The Mari-B platform, also operated by the U.S .energy and gas giant, sits over the Yam Tethys reserve which is depleting faster than expected due to overpumping since the slide in Egyptian supplies, Zomer explained. “That’s right now declining because we demanded more of that well in the absence of Egyptian gas,” he said. “We delivered much more than was anticipated early on, when the Egyptian gas stopped coming.” Noble Energy had worked “closely” with the Israeli government on the plans, he said. “It’s something that we’ve done in order to mitigate the absence of Egyptian gas. The government wants us to do it, our customers want to do it and we wanted to do whatever we could to make sure that gas was delivered to the Israeli market,” he told AFP. Noble Energy discovered a large natural gas reserve, which exceeding the demands of both Greek Cyprus and Israel combined, Anatolia news agency reported earlier in May. Lawson Freeman, Noble’s vice president for the Eastern Mediterranean, said the aim of the new project was to avoid electricity shortages during the hot summer months. “Noble is utilizing every technology at its disposal to bring as much gas to Israel as possible and hopes to mitigate the need for alternative fuels in the hot summer months,” he said in a statement received by AFP.Read the full story here.

Russia warns Turkey over Cypriot gas plans.

Russia warns Turkey over Cypriot gas plans.(AN).By Vladimir Socor.On May 3, Moscow criticized Turkey's plans to explore natural gas deposits around the divided island of Cyprus, under the protection of Turkish naval and air power. Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry's chief spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, cautioned Turkey that its actions "may exacerbate the situation on the territory of Cyprus".
The Greek Cypriots and Israel are coordinating their plans to develop offshore gas deposits and export the product in partnerships with international companies. One export route under consideration would run via mainland Greece into Europe. The Republic of Cyprus, Greece and, recently, Israel are all involved in disputes with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean. Explicitly siding with the Greek Cypriots (and implicitly with Israel and Greece), Moscow is positioning to bid for offshore gas exploration licenses, also hoping for control of the delivery route.
These gas projects and potential exports to Europe are creating an economic basis to the geopolitical alignment among Israel, Cyprus and Greece. The swing factor in this development is Israel, now turning toward these historic opponents of Turkey, after Ankara's reversal of the Turkish-Israeli strategic partnership. Israel, Cyprus and Greece have been holding intensive talks in recent months at the prime minister, ministerial, and chiefs-of-staff levels, about offshore gas projects and regional security. Greek and Greek Cypriot observers commonly suggest that a Greece-Cyprus-Israel triangle is necessary to counter-balance the increasingly assertive Turkey. The official consultations within this triangle are developing, however, in bilateral formats, carefully avoiding the appearance of a tripartite grouping, although the agenda is largely a shared one.
Turkish naval and air force activities around Cyprus are perceived as intending to discourage offshore exploration and development. Potentially, this affects Russian interests there no less than Western interests. The Republic of Cyprus (Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia) holds that it is fully entitled to develop offshore mineral resources within the state's internationally recognized borders and exclusive economic zone (as delineated by agreement with Israel). According to Nicosia, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC, which Turkey alone recognizes) could share the benefits of such development, if and when a federal solution reunifies the divided island. Ankara and the TRNC argue, however, that Nicosia may not unilaterally initiate exploration and development at offshore deposits, including those off the island's southern coast. Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a sovereign country with an exclusive economic zone, opposes mineral projects there in the absence of a political settlement, and deems such activity prejudicial to the island's reunification.
Turkey initiated seismic research and exploration drilling for gas and oil off the island's southern coast in September 2011 and off the northern coast in April 2012. Ankara has warned the Greek Cypriots and Israel that Turkish warships and planes based in the TRNC are on hand to escort Turkish exploration vessels. The Greek Cypriot government has hinted via the press repeatedly that it would allow Israeli warships and planes to operate in its waters and air space. Israel, however, shows no appetite in becoming involved even indirectly in the Cyprus dispute, or otherwise "containing" Turkey. The process of demarcating exclusive economic zones in the Eastern Mediterranean is far from complete. The Lebanese government officially claims a portion of Israel's Leviathan gas deposit, the richest in Israel's exclusive economic zone. The Hezbollah movement threatens unspecified "asymmetrical" actions from Lebanon to back up that claim. Syrian claims would likely overlap with Israeli and Cypriot claims, but the Syrian government is currently too distracted by internal unrest to act in the maritime area. Russia seems willing to put its friendship with Turkey at risk by endorsing the "triangle's" position on zoning and exploration rights, against Turkey's position. Moscow's minimal objective is access to Cypriot offshore gas deposits for Gazprom and Novatek, in the framework of the Greek Cypriot government's international tender for 12 offshore blocks. Russia's maximal goal is to aggregate Cypriot and Israeli offshore gas volumes for transportation and reselling via Gazprom on international markets. Toward that goal, Gazprom recently concluded a preliminary (non-binding) agreement to purchase liquefied gas volumes from Israel's Leviathan project. Meanwhile, Gazprom is one of the bidders for DEPA, the gas transmission pipelines in mainland Greece. If successful in that bid, Gazprom would undoubtedly strive to increase its intake of Cypriot and Israeli offshore gas, transport it (probably in liquefied form) to mainland Greece, and use DEPA pipelines to re-sell it on European markets. Read the full story here.

Vladimir Socor is a Senior Fellow of the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation and its flagship publication, Eurasia Daily Monitor, and is an internationally recognized expert on the former Soviet-ruled countries in Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Socor is a regular guest lecturer at the NATO Defense College and at Harvard University’s National Security Program’s Black Sea Program. He is a Romanian-born citizen of the United States based in Munich, Germany.

Noble Energy - Drilling Suspended at Leviathan 1 Gas Well.

Noble Energy - Drilling Suspended at Leviathan 1 Gas Well.(INN).Drilling operations have been suspended on the Leviathan deep well, Noble Energy has reported. Drilling was suspended before the primary objective was reached in the second stage of operations due to high pressure and certain mechanical limitations, the energy exploration firm said. Operations stopped at a depth of 21,400 feet (6,522 meters). "Over the course of deepening the Leviathan 1 well, the company and its partners have obtained valuable geological and engineering data about the basin,” Noble Energy said in a statement released Thursday. "At approximately 21,000 feet, the well encountered a zone where natural gas was detected.” The Globes business news service quoted sources as saying “the likelihood of finding oil [is] higher” in light of the data uncovered during the operations. Nevertheless, Globes added, “the belief in the sector is that it will not be possible to renew drilling this year.” The Leviathan gas field is a large natural gas field located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea about 81 miles (130 km) off the coast of Haifa. Constituting one of the largest offshore gas finds of the past decade, included in the field is Leviathan 1, its first well. Leviathan 1 was first drilled to a depth of 16,960 feet (5,170 m) in the first stage, where deposits contained 16 trillion cubic feet (450 billion cubic meters) of natural gas. Drilling was intended to reach a depth of 23,600 feet (7,200 meters) in the second stage, where the estimated natural gas reserve comprises another nine trillion cubic feet (250 billion cubic meters.Read the full story here.

"The Chickens come home to roost".Gasoline and diesel oil prices in Turkey,become the highest in the world.

"The Chickens come home to roost".Gasoline and diesel oil prices in Turkey,become the highest in the world.(HD).Gasoline and diesel oil prices in Turkey, the highest in the world, have hit another record high. As of Thursday, the price had hit 2.68 US dollars per liter. (Almost $10/Gallon).The gasoline itself costs only 1 US dollar per liter, but taxes make up 60% of the cost at the pump.Turkish consumers have woken up to a costlier life in April, with the Minister of Energy announcing that natural gas prices have been raised by a staggering 18.7 percent, while electricity prices also increased about 9.3 percent over the weekend. The natural gas and electricity price hikes come just after gasoline prices rose for the third time late last month, putting the cost of one liter of gas at nearly 5 Turkish Liras.
“There is a cost increase of about 17 percent in natural gas due only to changes in the exchange rate. In the last 19 months oil and natural gas prices have risen 29 percent, excluding the exchange rate. The reason for the latest price increase is the difference in the exchange rate and rising oil prices,” Minister of Energy Taner Yıldız said, speaking in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri March 31, according to Doğan news agency. “The government used to purchase [one barrel of] oil for $22 ten years ago, now it cannot purchase one even for $122. Energy costs are up six-fold versus a gross domestic product growth of three-fold,” he said.Turkey produces nearly half of its electricity from natural gas power plants. The energy sector pays the price for political instability caused by tensions in North Africa, Syria, and between Israel and Iran, Yıldız said yesterday. Turkey is in talks with the Libyan government to arrange a goods-for-oil barter, Anatolia news agency quoted him as saying. “We will construct buildings in exchange for petroleum coke,” he said. Citizens pay the price while the government manages the economy with price hikes, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said yesterday, speaking in the northwestern province of Eskişehir. “They used to say ‘Turkey sets an example to the whole world,’ and ‘there is no problem with the economy.’ What kind of an example is this?Hmmmm.......Anyone has an idea why Turkey is eyeing the Nobel Gas field near Cyprus?Would it be worthwhile to go to War?Read the full story here.

Message to Turkey - Greece Joins Israel-USA Military Exercise in Southern Mediterranean.

Message to Turkey - Greece Joins Israel-USA Military Exercise in Southern Mediterranean.(GR).At the same time the tripartite energy agreement will be signed between Greece, Israel and Cyprus on Thursday at Kavouri of Vouliagmeni, Athens, in the presence of Richard Morningstar, the special envoy of the US Foreign Affairs Ministry, a large-scale aeronautical military exercise will be taking place in the Southern Mediterranean. According to defencenet.gr, Greece, Israel and USA will launch their joint military exercise from Crete to Haifa against “virtual enemy forces” that bear great resemblance to the Turkish aeronautical forces in this particular military operation scenario. 
“Noble Dina” was initially planned to take place in April just like in 2011. However, it was decided that the military exercise should coincide with the date of the energy agreement signing between the three countries of the Southeastern Mediterranean. Thus, it would underline that the cooperation between Israel, Greece and the US does not only concern energy but military affairs as well. Defencenet.gr reported that the implied “message” goes to Ankara, which for the time is a barrier to the common interests of Israel and USA in the broader region. 
The exercise is taking place only a few days after Turkey had claimed that the same thing that happened in Imia would also happen to the Eastern Mediterranean.The military exercise will start from the US Air base in Souda, pass south through Megisti and the shores of Cyprus and will reach the shores of Israel. Last year, “Noble Dina” was conducted between April 3rd and 14th and included eight vessels, two submarines, helicopters and aircraft and four Greek F-16 Block 52 combat jets. Until 2012, the exercise was strictly conducted by the Israeli and American forces. The new military operation scenarios include exercises of repelling enemy attacks against offshore natural gas and oil rigs, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and prohibition of military aircraft operations.Hmmmm......Isn't it great to have such an NATO ally as Turkey?Good thing Obama has a 'trusted relation' with him.Read the full story here.

MEPs regret Turkey’s remarks to freeze relations with Cyprus’ EU Presidency.

MEPs regret Turkey’s remarks to freeze relations with Cyprus’ EU Presidency.(FamagustaGazette).The European Parliament adopted today a resolution on the progress report on Turkey, pointing out that further progress of its accession course is closely related with reforms and keeping the promises it has undertaken as a candidate state. MEPs regret Ankara’s statements that it will freeze relations with Cyprus’ EU Presidency if the Cyprus problem is not resolved by mid-2012. The Parliament expressed support for the ongoing UN-led reunification negotiations and asked Turkey to begin withdrawing its forces from Cyprus. 
It “strongly supports the ongoing negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations” and “stresses that a fair and viable settlement of the Cyprus issue must now be reached as a matter of urgency and calls on Turkey and all the parties concerned to work intensively and with good will for a comprehensive agreement”. In addition, it calls on the Government of Turkey to begin withdrawing its forces from Cyprus and to transfer Famagusta to the United Nations in accordance with Resolution 550 (1984) of the United Nations Security Council. At the same time, it “calls, in parallel, on the Republic of Cyprus to open the port of Famagusta under EU customs supervision in order to promote a positive climate for the successful solution of the ongoing reunification negotiations and allow Turkish Cypriots to trade directly in a legal manner that is acceptable to all”. The resolution further “encourages Turkey to intensify its support for the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus”. It also calls on Turkey “to refrain from any new settlement of Turkish citizens on Cyprus, as this would continue to change the demographic balance and reduce the allegiance of its citizens on the island to a future common state based on its common past”. Moreover, “it regrets Turkey’s statements that it will freeze relations with the Presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2012 if a solution to the Cyprus issue is not found by then” and “recalls that the European Union is based on the principles of sincere cooperation and mutual solidarity amongst all its Member States and that as a candidate country Turkey must commit to serene relations with the European Union and all its Member States; further recalls that the Presidency of the Council of the European Union is provided for in the Treaty on European Union”.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                        Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan 5.3 and Solomon Islands 5.4 ! More info here.

• Updated - Enviroment Pollution in The North sea - Official situation update Nr 8 : Source.
  

• Japan : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog.Here.

• Obama to Israel: Apologize to Turkey, or else!(Israeltoday).Israel's largest daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, reported on Wednesday that the Obama Administration is threatening Israel to either apologize to Turkey over its bloody interception of a Gaza aid flotilla last year, or risk strained ties with Washington.Israeli diplomats in Washington told the newspaper that they had received a communique from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisting that the rift between Israel and Turkey was harming American interests in the region, such as affecting regime change in neighboring Syria.Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan demands that Israel publicly apologize for intercepting a May 2010 "humanitarian aid" flotilla that tried to break Israel's maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip. The flotilla had set sail from Turkey, and nine Turkish nationals were killed when they and others aboard the largest ship, the Mavi Marmara, attacked the Israeli boarding party.Erdogan called the operation an act of piracy. And even though Washington and other Western powers agree with Israel that the Gaza blockade is legal and legitimate, the Obama Administration has decided that it is more politically expedient to simply have Israel meet Erdogan's unreasonable demands (as if that won't have any long-term negative consequences).A year ago, Obama actually pressured Erdogan to either make up with Israel, or risk his ability to purchase American weapons. But, like other Middle East powers embroiled in conflict with Israel, Erdogan had learned that Western threats are fleeting and toothless. Obama never followed through on that ultimatum, and all Erdogan had to do was wait one year for Washington to decide to start pressuring Israel, instead.What's worse, the Obama Administration's pressure on Israel - the party it agrees is in the right - has also reportedly come in the form of a threat.According to the Israeli diplomats cited in the Yediot report, they were told that if Israel does not comply with Clinton's request to apologize to Turkey, the White House may suddenly find itself unable to continue building opposition to a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood at the UN next month."God forbid we apologize," declared Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon at a conference of Likud activists on Tuesday.Demonstrating a firm understanding of Israel's regional antagonists, Ya'alon, a former IDF chief, noted that Erdogan "will never let go, even after we apologize."Most Israeli leaders maintain that the flotilla raid was legal and that the deaths, while regrettable, cannot be blamed on Israel. The Israelis fear that meeting Erdogan's demands will negate that position, and play into the hands of those who claim Israel is conducting a cruel and inhumane siege against Gaza.However, Israel is more easily pressured than its neighbors, and those same Israeli leaders are even more afraid of upsetting the White House. As such, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has for weeks been debating not just if, but how to apologize to Turkey in a way that does the least harm to Israel.Hmmmm.....The greatest danger to the people and state of Israel: Obama and Erdogan.Read the full story here.

• Giuliani: Obama ‘silly’ to take on GOP competition.“I think Jimmy Carter had a better sense of the economy than Barack Obama does.”(TheHill).Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday evening called it "silly" for President Obama to take on his eventual Republican presidential competition rather than stay focused on the economy.“We don’t want a president to become a commentator on 10 Republican candidates,” Giuliani said on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight.” “We want the president of the United States to have his own plan for leadership, which he doesn’t have.”Obama has been in campaign mode this week on his Midwestern bus tour focusing on jobs and the economy. While in Iowa, Obama spoke out about the Republican contenders for the 2012 presidential nomination, slamming Mitt Romney in a reference to healthcare policy and pledging to be “ready” for the competition in 2012.Obama’s bus tour speeches have also criticized Congress for putting party ahead of country and slowing down progress with politics in Washington.“This guy’s fighting with Republicans in Congress when he should be trying to figure out how to straighten this problem out,” Giuliani said. “He was elected to straighten out the economy, and he’s made it much worse.”Giuliani, who has flirted with his own presidential bid in 2012, compared Obama’s record unfavorably to his own as mayor.“I took over NYC when it was in a terrible fiscal mess. I didn’t complain about the Democrats, I didn’t complain about the liberals; what I did was I laid out a plan, I staked my reputation on it, and it worked,” he said.“I think [Obama has] been the worst president we’ve had since before Jimmy Carter,” Giuliani said. “I think Jimmy Carter had a better sense of the economy than Barack Obama does.”Giuliani also slammed Obama for continuing to blame former President George W. Bush for the economy. “Three years into it, I couldn’t blame my problems on my predecessor when I was the mayor,” Giuliani said.Hmmmm........Mommy ...It's all their fault !Read the full story here.

• Obama to lay out new jobs plan in Sept. speech.(AP).Seeking to jolt the economy, President Barack Obama will propose new ideas to create jobs and help the struggling poor and middle class in a major speech after Labor Day. And then he will try to seize political advantage by spending the fall pressuring Congress to act on his plan.Obama's plan is likely to contain a mix of tax cuts, jobs-boosting construction projects and steps to help the long-term unemployed, a senior administration official told The Associated Press. The official emphasized that Obama's proposals would be fresh ones, not a rehash of plans he has pitched for many weeks and still supports, like his idea of an "infrastructure bank" to finance construction jobs.(Hmmm....Ex Shorebank?)On a related front, Obama will also present a specific plan to cut the staggering national debt and to pay for the cost of his new short-term economic ideas. His version will challenge the new "supercommittee" of Congress to go beyond its goal of $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction.Confirming the deficit-reduction part of his plan directly, Obama told a rural town hall crowd in Illinois on Wednesday: "I don't think it's good enough for us to just do it part way. If we're going to do it, let's go ahead and fix it."(Carbon taxes here we come?).Obama's major economic speech will come right after the Sept. 5 Labor Day holiday. Republicans were underwhelmed.Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said via Twitter that Obama could scrap the speech and just hand over a detailed plan to Congress. "Seriously, just drop it in the mail. Podium not required," Buck's tweet said.Obama will seek to use his economic proposals as leverage against Republicans in Congress, hoping to show a nation disgusted with gridlock that he is the one trying to get results. Obama's re-election campaign and the White House are also sure to use any specific ideas from the president as a way to blunt attacks from the Republicans hoping to run against him in next year's presidential election.Already, Obama has been previewing his line of attack."My attitude is, get it done," he said in one Iowa town hall on Monday. "And if they (lawmakers) don't get it done, then we'll be running against a Congress that's not doing anything for the American people, and the choice will be very stark and will be very clear."Republican White House contender Mitt Romney, campaigning in New Hampshire, needled Obama for showing up with too little and too late on the economy."But we appreciate the fact that he's going to devote some time to it," Romney said. "Not just going to be on the bus tour, not just going to be vacationing in Martha's Vineyard, but giving some thought to the American people."Nearly 14 million people are unemployed. Many millions more have given up looking for jobs or haven't found a way to move from part-time to full-time work.The administration official would not offer details about the tax cuts Obama is likely to propose for the middle class.They are expected to be separate from the extension of the payroll tax cut for employees that Obama has lobbied for by the day. Obama also has promoted a familiar list of other ideas, including patent reform and three major trade deals. And he has pushed for longer benefits for the chronically unemployed.As for debt reduction, Obama is trying to have some say over the highly influential committee charged with recommending major changes fast.That 12-person panel of Republicans and Democrats will start work in September on coming up with - by Nov. 23 - $1.5 trillion in savings over the coming decades. If not, or if Congress fails to approve the committee's plans, automatic spending cuts that both parties oppose would kick in across the government.Obama's plan will be bigger.By how much isn't clear, but he has already envisioned $4 trillion in cuts over a slightly longer period of time.He pressed again Wednesday for a package that reduces the deficit by raising taxes on wealthier people, not just by cutting spending. He said he was concerned that Boehner has already said the members he appointed to the special debt-cutting committee won't consider raise taxes."Everything's going to be on the table," Obama insisted, although he has little say over whether Congress goes that route.Hmmmmm........Obama's plan 'wage war on congress'?Read the full story here..

• European Concerns Over Muslim Immigration Go Mainstream.(HudsonNY).By Soeren Kern.A new opinion survey shows that more than half of all Europeans believe there are too many immigrants in their countries and that immigration is having a negative impact on their lives.The findings – which come as Europeans are waking up to the consequences of decades of mass immigration from Muslim countries – point to a growing disconnect between European voters and their political masters regarding multicultural policies that encourage Muslim immigrants to remain segregated rather than become integrated into their host nations.The survey results mirror the findings of dozens of other recent polls. Taken together, they provide ample empirical evidence that scepticism about Muslim immigration is not limited to a "right-wing" political fringe, as proponents of multiculturalism often assert. Mainstream voters across the entire political spectrum are now expressing concerns about the role of Islam in Europe.The "Global Views on Immigration" survey was conducted by the London-based Ipsos global research firm and published on August 4. It polled citizens in nine European countries: Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden.The poll shows a close correlation between the views the natives of a given country have about immigration and the number of, and level of, integration of Muslim immigrants in their countries.For example, the poll finds that Belgians and Britons hold the most negative views on immigration; these countries also have some of the least integrated Muslim populations in Europe. The poll also shows that among Europeans, Poles have the most positive views on immigration and immigrants; Poland happens to have Europe's smallest Muslim community, which comprises less than 0.1% of that country's total population.The Ipsos poll shows that as a whole, more than 56% of Europeans believe "there are too many immigrants" in their countries: Belgium (72%), Britain (71%), Italy (67%), Spain (67%), Germany (53%), France (52%), Hungary (50%), Sweden (46%) and Poland (29%).

In response to the polling question "Would you say that immigration has generally had a positive or negative impact?" majorities in all European countries except for Sweden and Poland say the impact has been negative: Belgium (72%), Britain (64%), Italy (56%), Spain (55%), France (54%), Germany (54%), Hungary (52%), Sweden (37%) and Poland (32%). As a whole, only 17.5% of Europeans say immigration has been positive.

Most Europeans also agree with the survey statement "Immigration has placed too much pressure on public services" in their country: Britain (76%), Spain (70%), Belgium (68%), Hungary (59%), Germany (58%), France (56%), Italy (56%), Sweden (40%) and Poland (27%).

The Ipsos survey mirrors the findings of a number of other recent polls which show that Europe's mainstream political parties are losing touch with public opinion on the issue of Muslim immigration.A new report "Muslim-Western Tensions Persist" was published by the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center on July 21. It shows that Europeans believe their relations with Muslims are bad: France (62%), Germany (61%), Spain (58%) and Britain (52%).The poll also shows that most Europeans believe Muslims in their countries do not want to integrate: Germany (72%), Spain (69%), France (54%) and Britain (52%).

The Pew survey shows that almost 60% of Europeans believe Muslims are "fanatical," 50% believe they are "violent" and only 22% believe they are "respectful of women." In response to the question "Which religion is most violent?" 90% of French say Islam, as do 87% of Spaniards, 79% of Germans and 75% of Britons. The poll also shows that more than two-thirds of Germans (73%), Britons (70%), French (68%) and Spanish (61%) are worried about Islamic extremists in their countries.

A separate poll conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project shows widespread support in Europe for banning Islamic veils in public, including in schools, hospitals and government offices. The survey shows that 82% of French, 71% of Germans, 62% of Britons and 59% of Spaniards support such a ban.Fewer than 10% of West Germans and 5% of East Germans say that Islam is a peaceful religion. More than 40% of Germans believe that the practice of Islam should be vigorously restricted.

Only 20% of Germans and 30% of French believe that Islam is suitable for the Western world. Significantly, more than 80% of those surveyed in Germany, France, Denmark, Portugal and the Netherlands agree with the statement "that Muslims must adapt to our culture."In the Netherlands, polls show that an overwhelming majority of Dutch voters are sceptical about multiculturalism. According to a Maurice de Hond poll published by the center-right newspaper Trouw on June 19, 74% of Dutch voters say immigrants should conform to Dutch values. Moreover, 83% of those polled say they support a ban on Islamic burqas in public spaces.A separate Maurice de Hond poll published by the popular NU.nl news website on July 29 shows that 63% of Dutch are "worried about the fact that the influence of Islam in Western European countries is increasing."

Not surprisingly, the center-right government in Holland recently announced plans to abandon the long-standing model of multiculturalism that has encouraged Muslim immigrants to create a parallel society within the country.But an arguably more important conclusion to be gleaned from the polling data is that ordinary Europeans are becoming increasingly willing to express their opinions in public.After decades of a "bread and circuses," European political culture in which the ruling class was able to appease the general public by means of the cradle-to-grave social welfare state, there is now a discernable shift in public discourse in many European countries on the topic of immigration..If Europe's political class eventually bends to the public will and does an about-face on a social re-engineering project that is transforming the continent beyond recognition, the recent shift in public opinion on immigration may yet mark the beginning of the end of European multiculturalism. Or will it be too little too late?Read the full story here.

• This DOT regulation will end farming and ranching as it has always been known in this country. (GulagBound).By Henry Lamb.Rural Council: It’s All About Control!Al Gore was beside himself when the Senate failed to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1994. Gore had spent the first two years of his Vice-Presidency developing what he called his “Ecosystem Management Policy.” This new policy was nothing more than preparing the agencies of government to implement the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and Agenda 21. These three policy documents were adopted in Rio de Janeiro at the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development.Agenda 21 was the only document that was not an international treaty. It was, instead, a non-binding “soft-law” document that was designed to avoid the necessity of Congressional debate or Senate ratification. Bill Clinton issued an Executive Order to create the President’s Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) — especially to implement Agenda 21 administratively — without oversight or interference from Congress. The agencies of government have done a masterful job of infecting almost all urban communities with some form of government control under the guise of “Sustainable Development,” which is the objective of Agenda 21.Now, the Obama regime intends to impose the same kind of control over rural America through his White House Rural Council, also created by Executive Order.The rather bland 18-page Convention on Biological Diversity came with an 1140-page instruction book called the Global Biodiversity Assessment. Page 993 of this instruction book says that the Convention’s plan for protecting biodiversity is “…central to the Wildlands Project recently-proposed in the United States.” Page 15 of the Wildlands Project says:

… at least half of the land area of the 48 conterminous states should be encompassed in core reserves and inner corridor zones … assuming that most of the other 50 percent is managed intelligently as buffer zone.

 Since the President’s Council on Sustainable Development was created, agencies of the federal government, and complicit environmental organizations, have been working overtime to get people out of rural areas, and into “stack-’n'-pack” high-rise so-called “sustainable” communities. Under the guise of “preserving open space,” unelected bureaucrats ignore the property rights of the people who own the open space, and write regulations that sometimes require as much as 40 acres to build a single home. Quite often, development of any sort is absolutely prohibited. These regulations are typically delivered to a community through a comprehensive land use plan.In more rural areas, especially in the farming and ranching parts of the country, these measures have not been as successful as the government wants. That’s why a new extension of the PCSD is needed. This time, however, they are calling it the White House Rural Council.This Council, chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, and consisting of the heads of 25 government departments and agencies, is charged with extending “sustainability” to that part of the country that has not already been subdued by the measures implemented by the PCSD.How will they do it? Let us count the ways.

Consider the Department of Transportation’s recent announcement of its intention to reclassify farm vehicles and implements as “commercial” vehicles and require all drivers of these vehicles to hold a Commercial Driver’s License. Applicants for a CDL must be 21 years of age; submit a medical record, a complete driving record from any state in which a license has been obtained; and pass rigorous written and driving tests. CDL holders must keep a log of their activities available to law enforcement at any time; must not work more than 12 consecutive hours; must carry at least $750,000 in liability insurance; and many more requirements that farmers and ranchers just can’t meet.Farm children have always helped by learning early how to drive farm vehicles. Grandpa could drive the tractor, when he could not do the heavy lifting he did as a youngster. This DOT regulation will end farming and ranching as it has always been known in this country. Farmers and ranchers cannot afford to pay professional CDL holders to come plow the fields, mow the hay, or harvest the corn. Farmers and ranchers who can no longer make a living from the land will have no choice but to sell their land and move to a “stack-’n'-pack” sustainable community. The only potential buyers for these farms are corporate agricultural conglomerates, land trusts, or the government. Since comprehensive land use plans, or other government regulations preclude the possibility of development in the open space, farmers and ranchers will never get the real value of the land.To add to the hardship on rural families, the Department of Agriculture is still planning to require every farm animal to have an electronic identification ear tag, which will add more costs and bureaucratic red tape to farming and ranching operations.Every agency that is a member of the White House Rural Council can, and will, find some regulation that rural land owners must comply with in order to stay on their land. This new Executive Order has but one purpose: to further tighten regulatory control over people in rural communities to ensure that their life-style becomes “sustainable,” or in plain language, government-approved.Hmmm.....Welcome to the new USSR.Read the full story here.

• 'Al-Sharq Al-Awsat': Preparations Underway for Al-Qadhafi Family's Departure From Libya.(Memri).The London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat has reported that two planes intended to transport the Al-Qadhafi family and several regime officials to Venezuela are parked at the Tripoli airport.The report added that Al-Qadhafi's Chief of Staff, Bashir Saleh, discussed the departure of the ruler and his family with French officials.According to the report, Al-Qadhafi would step down if an immediate ceasefire was declared, NATO troops withdrew from Libya, and that he would be allowed to leave the country with his family. Estimates indicate that he might transfer power to his justice minister, Muhammad Al-Qamudi.An official in the Libyan transitional council in Benghazi expressed willingness to allow the Al-Qadhafi family to leave Libya, and to provide international legal guarantees in order to prevent further bloodshed.Hmmmm.......Gadaffi ......guest of Chavez and Iran?Read the full story here.

• NY: Islamic Studies Instructor Charged With Sexual Assault Against 17-Year-Old Girl.(NJ).A Brooklyn, N.Y. man, who served as an Islamic studies instructor at a school in South Plainfield until June has been charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old female, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan announced today.Matthew Nesbitt, also known as Islam Abualwaan, 26, was arrested about 1 a.m. on Aug. 13 in Piscataway and charged with one count of sexual assault, Kaplan said.The prosecutor said Nesbitt was arrested after county investigator Robert Torrisi and Detective Christopher Colucci of the South Plainfield Police Department determined he sexually assaulted the female in Piscataway on July 15.He said Nesbitt volunteered as an Islamic studies instructor at the Al-Minhaal Academy in South Plainfield, beginning in March, but was dismissed at the end of the school year in June.James O’Neill, a spokesman for Kaplan, declined to comment on whether the girl was a student at the school.Nesbitt is being held at the Middlesex County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. He must post the full bail to be released from custody.Read the full story here.

• Obama frets over 'lone wolf' attack as Sept 11 looms.(BlacklistedNews).Source: AFP.US President Barack Obama on Tuesday played down prospects for a spectacular Al-Qaeda attack 10 years after the September 11th strikes, saying he worried more now about solitary extremists."The most likely scenario that we have to guard against right now ends up being more of a lone wolf operation than a large, well coordinated terrorist attack," he told CNN television during a campaign-style swing through Iowa."We still have to stay on top of it, though. We're never letting our guard now, that's part of our job," said Obama, who vowed "heightened" security measures and "extra vigilance" ahead of the grim anniversary.He had been asked about the prospects of a terrorist attack either to mark 10 years since the strikes on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center or in retaliation for the May raid in which US commandos killed Osama bin Laden.Obama said US officials were "constantly monitoring potential risks" but said a punishing US campaign had left Al-Qaeda "a much weaker organization with much less capability than they had just two or three years ago.""The risk is always there, and obviously on a seminal event like the tenth anniversary of 9/11, that makes us more concerned -- it means we've got heightened awareness," he said.But "the biggest concern we have right now is not the launching of a major terrorist operation -- although that risk is always there.""The risk that we're especially concerned over right now is the lone wolf terrorist, somebody with a single weapon being able to carry out wide-scale massacres of the sort we saw in Norway recently," said Obama.He was referring to Anders Behring Breivik, who shot dead 69 people, many of them teenagers, in a July 22 rampage on the island of Utoeya after killing eight others in a bombing of government offices in Oslo."When you've got one person who is deranged or driven by a hateful ideology they can do a lot of damage and it's a lot harder to trace those lone wolf operators," he added.Hmmmm......A 'lone wolf' did not kill over 3.000 people but they sure had a hatefull ideology.Read the full story here.

• US rebuffs Turkey’s call on S Cyprus.(HurriyetDaily).The United States will not force a U.S. firm to stop its plans to explore for natural gas off of Greek Cyprus’ southeastern coast in October despite recent pressure by Ankara to do so.“I am not about to give advice to American companies,” U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Frank Ricciardone said in response to a question about whether Washington would urge Noble Energy to stop natural gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.Ricciardone only said that Washington would continue supporting Cyprus reunification talks.The top U.S. envoy made the comments at a press conference with Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız.“We are aware of Turkey’s stance on this. Regarding the solution in Cyprus, as always, we continue to support the efforts from both parties,” said Ricciardone.Yıldız told journalists that the situation was not right, and that they did not want any added tension in the region.Replying to a question on nuclear energy plant projects in Turkey, Ricciardone said they were motivating U.S. companies to invest in Turkey.Ricciardone also paid a courtesy visit to Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ on Tuesday.Read the full story here.

• Russia’s Arctic Claims: Neither LOST nor Forgotten.(Heritage).The Arctic is becoming the “wild west” of the 21st century, and the Russians have been quick to claim a good part of it as their birthright. The Russian state is after 380,000 square miles of this final frontier, which may store an estimated one-quarter of the world’s untapped hydrocarbon reserves. Moscow is expected to submit its claim to the United Nations for arbitration under the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) within the next couple of months.Russia’s scramble for the Arctic’s minerals was on display for all to behold when Artur Chilingarov, a renowned explorer and Deputy Chairman of the Duma, planted a titanium Russian flag beneath the North Pole in 2007 under Vladimir Putin’s orders. Putin also went on a mission to the High North to track and tag polar bears, highlighting Russia’s Arctic policy priorities.Russia initiated its claim through the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in 2001—six years earlier. To boost this claim, this July the Russian research ship Akademik Fyodorov, accompanied by a nuclear-powered icebreaker, set off to prove that the Siberian continental shelf connects to underwater Arctic ridges by completing underwater mapping of the area in question. If confirmed, this may boost Russia’s claims to the Arctic continental shelf. Other members of the Arctic Council—the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland—may stand to lose if the CLCS approves Russian claims in the High North.Moscow has an unquestionable head start on the rest of the world, and it is not shy about investing in its ambitions. At least six new icebreakers and Sabetta, a new year-round port on the arctic shores—costing $33 billion—are on the agenda, but Prime Minister Putin has said the Kremlin is “open for a dialogue with our foreign partners and with all our neighbors in the Arctic region, but of course we will defend our own geopolitical interests firmly and consistently.” Or as they said in Soviet times, “What is mine is mine, and what is yours is negotiable.”The Arctic is of vital geopolitical importance not just to Russia, but to the entire world. It has enormous quantities of hydrocarbon energy and other natural resources, and as the Arctic is no longer completely icebound, in summertime it may become an important transportation route vital to U.S. national security.Despite this, at present the U.S. has made virtually no effort to strengthen its position in the frozen final frontier. The chief concern is America’s lack of icebreakers—even Canada and Finland have more than the United States. Icebreakers are vital to exploring the Arctic and enforcing one’s sovereignty there. As of 2010, Russia had 29 icebreakers in total and was building more. The United States had two (including one that is obsolete), with no plans to expand. The United States has significant geopolitical and geo-economic interests in the High North, but the lack of policy attention and insufficient funding have placed the U.S. on track to abdicate its national interests in this critical region.The United States must strengthen its position in the Arctic and make its interests clear to friend and foe alike. Washington should reach out to the Arctic Council members to block Russia’s expansion plans at the U.N. Meanwhile, the U.S. should fund and build its icebreaking squadron and deploy it in Alaska.Russia’s Arctic aspirations are a serious geopolitical challenge for U.S. and allied interests. America’s security and economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on U.S. ability to access polar waters and the Arctic Ocean bed.Hmmmmm.......до свидания товарищ?Read the full story here.

• Three Strikes Against Envoy to Turkey.(Commentary).By Michael Rubin.Last year, after Senator Sam Brownback placed a hold on the nomination of Frank Ricciardone to be ambassador to Turkey, President Obama sent Ricciardone to Turkey as a recess appointment. Brownback’s reasons for his hold were well-founded. During Ricciardone’s posting in Egypt, he sought to ingratiate himself so much to President Hosni Mubarak that he crippled Bush’s democratization drive and ultimately undercut American interests. Wherever one stands on the wisdom of Bush’s transformative diplomacy, declaring Mubarak so popular that he could win elections in the United States is not something any American Foreign Service officer should do and keep his job. Ricciardone needs to be confirmed by the Senate by the end of the year if he expects to keep his job. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) appears ready to put a hold on the diplomat because the envoy refuses to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. Ricciardone deserves to have his posting curtailed, but it would be a shame to do so on the Armenian issue: To allow Armenian Americans to hold up an American envoy to Azerbaijan or Turkey would be as wrong as Turkish or Azeri Americans to hold up an American envoy to Armenia. If the Senate sinks Ricciardone’s nomination, they should do so for a simple reason: He has failed to promote American interests in Turkey. Rather, he has undercut them. He has downplayed the mass arrest of Turkish generals which has gone beyond serious allegations criminality and has more to do with the Islamist prime minister vendetta against secularists, telling Congress that institutions matter more than individuals. But when secularists are not allowed to serve at senior levels, it matters. When the head of Turkey’s intelligence service favors Iran over the United States, it matters. If institutions matter more than individuals, it’s time to bring Ricciardone home and replace him with a new ambassador. Ricciardone struck out on Iraq, where he counseled the rehabilitation of Saddam Hussein. He struck out on Egypt, where he lionized Mubarak. And he struck out on Turkey, where he fiddles while secularism burned. Three strikes should be more than enough for an out.Hmmmm.....Hear,hear!Read the full story here.

• Logan’s Warning Message to the Churches That Allow Muslims to Pray in Them.(RightsideNews).By ChristopherLogan.Recently I have posted numerous articles here about so called Christian leaders going against Christianity, and allowing Muslims to pray in their Churches. My message to these Pastors and Reverendsis that if you are so concerned with respecting Islam, then you shouldnot be allowing Muslims to pray in your Church. As Islamic Law has strict guidelines against this.From the Sahih Bukhari Ahadith: ‘Umar said, ‘We do not enter your churches because of the statues and pictures.’ Ibn ‘Abbas used to pray in the church provided there were no statues in it.” Bukhari vol.1 chapter 54 p.254

Another verse from the Sahih Bukhari Ahadith:  Fiqh-us-Sunnah 2.75

Abu Musa al-Ash’ari and ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdulaziz prayed in a church. Ash-Sh’abiy, ‘Ata, and Ibn Sireen did not see anything wrong with praying in a church [if one happened to be in a church at the time of salah]. Al-Bukhari says: “Ibn ‘Abbas would pray in churches [under unusual circumstances] except for those with statues or sculptures.” The Muslims of Najran wrote to ‘Umar saying that they found no place cleaner or better to pray in than a church. ‘Umar wrote to them: “Sprinkle it with water and leaves and pray therein.”According to the Hanafi and Shaf’i schools, it is disliked to pray in such places in general.

Finally, from the Reliance of the Traveller, A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law. A manual which is approved by Al-Azhar the world’s highest learning Islamic school.

The Prayer (Salat) Chapter    -   f4.14 It is offensive to pray:

1. in a bathhouse or its outer room where clothes are removed;
2. in the midddle of a path;
3. at a rubbish dump;
4. at a slaughterhouse;
5. in a Church;
6. in places where taxes are gathered or taken;
7. in places likely to be contaminated by wine;
8. on top of Kaaba;
9. or towards a tomb

To my Christian friends who have allowed Muslims to pray in their Church, please stop disrespecting Islam by allowing Muslims to pray in your Church. It’s just not right….Hmmmm...... Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."Read the full story here. More here On the Joining of Various Rites with the Celebration of Mass 4.  [75.]   Redemptionis Sacramentum

• North Sea Oil Leak - Shell Under Fire Over Silent Tactics.(Spiegel).Oil has been flowing into the North Sea from a leak at a platform off the coast of Scotland for a week, but Shell has failed to be open with the public. Details of the leak are scarce, and information on the amount of oil which has escaped so far remains uncertain. Oil giant Shell is struggling to contain the worst North Sea spill in a decade amid criticism over how honest the company is being with the public. The spill, which has continued through a second leak after the company had initially said the incident was "under control," was reportedly discovered last Wednesday but was only made public over the weekend.Shell has chosen to update people on the spill with a brief message each day on its British website. "Shell is providing information only reluctantly; that must change," said Jörg Feddern of the German chapter of the environmental organization Greenpeace. Richard Dixon, the director of WWF Scotland, has called for a public inquiry into the incident: "Any inquiry will need to look at what Shell knew when, what they did about it and what they told their regulators and the public. It is already obvious that Shell will be strongly criticized for giving out so little public information so grudgingly."The leak is on the Gannet Alpha rig about 112 miles (180 kilometers) east of the Scottish city of Aberdeen. Glen Cayley, technical director for Shell's exploration and production in Europe, defended the company's policy, insisting the company had had to ensure the information was reliable before releasing it. Since then, he says, the public has been informed continuously. And since the weekend, Shell has provided more details in discrete doses: The company, for example, will rely on the forces of nature to remove the oil. It said high winds and waves were dissipating the spill, which was not expected to reach the shore.Shell has admitted some problems -- albeit in an ambiguous way. "It (the leak) had proved difficult to find because we are dealing with a complex sub-sea infrastructure and the position of the small leak is in an awkward place surrounded by marine growth," the firm said in a statement. Neither Shell in Great Britain nor its subsidiary in Germany was willing to expand on the details of the problem following requests from SPIEGEL ONLINE. "It is clear that Shell are having great difficulty dealing with their leaking pipeline," said WWF director Dixon. "It really does make you question the entire oil industry's ability to respond had this accident been on a larger scale or in the much more difficult waters of the Arctic."An underwater robot has been searching for the leak, Shell reported on its website. A malfunctioning valve is believed to be responsible for the problem, which so far has seen more than 200,000 liters of oil escape into the sea. By way of comparison, 400 times that amount leaked into the Gulf of Mexico in the devastating spill last year. "Exactly how much oil is now flowing into the North Sea, we don't know," said Greenpeace's Feddern.And the experience of the Gulf of Mexico disaster suggests that the public should be wary of preliminary numbers provided by oil companies: BP's initial figure for the amount of oil which poured into the Gulf in April 2010 was 60 times too low.Claudia Roth, co-leader of the Green Party in Germany, also believes there may be an unfair amount of reticence in the current incident: The German government and the European Union have fallen for Shell's "cover-up maneuvers," she said. Roth has long been urging Shell to lay all the facts of the leak on the table. "Shell reaps the profits, the environment and the people affected pay the price," she said. "Shell must be more informative about its emergency plans," added Greenpeace expert Feddern.During an overflight on Monday afternoon, a broad oil slick could be seen south of the Gannet Alpha, Feddern reported. "It was definitely fresh oil." The visible slick is constantly shifting, Shell said, but only around one ton of oil has reportedly reached the surface so far.There were two ships close to the spill, Feddern said, which could be supply ships with engineers and equipment on board from which repairs could be carried out on the seabed. But there was no sign of oil booms, which could contain the slick, or of ships to siphon the oil away. "Shell should remove the oil," Feddern urged.Shell has admitted that the spill is "significant ... in the context of annual amounts of oil spilled in the North Sea." The British government, in the shape of a spokesman from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), has in the meantime described the spill as "substantial." It has also been labelled it as the biggest incident of its kind in more than a decade.According to Shell, the leak is now only emitting around 800 liters of oil a day into the sea. Technical director Glen Cayley had said the leak was "under control," but later revealed the oil had found a "second pathway to the sea," and was being released from the same source. When the leak will be fully blocked up is unknown.The oil slick, meanwhile, has shrunk to the size of half a square kilometer, according to the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) in Cuxhaven using information from the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The MCA was keeping an eye on the slick from the air. On Sunday, Shell reported that the slick was 31 kilometers long with a maximum width of 4.3 kilometers. The water around the Gannet Alpha platform is around 100 meters deep, according to Shell's website. The CCME has requested a prognosis for the drift and thus potential to spread of the oil from Germany's Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). If the oil goes against current predictions and moves towards the German coast, several ships could be used to combat the slick.Hmmmm.....See official daily update Nr 8 at the top of this post.Read the full story here.

• Netanyahu refused Clinton's call to apologize to Turkey.(JPost).Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refused requests by US Secretary of State Hilliary Clinton on Tuesday to apologize to Turkey for the deaths of nine IHH activists aboard the Mavi Marmara in May 2010, Army Radio reported on Wednesday.Netanyahu said that Israel does not plan to apologize to Turkey at the moment because it is still waiting for the publication of the Palmer report, Army Radio said.The report, whose details have been widely reported, upholds the legality of Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, but takes the IDF to task for using disproportionate force in enforcing the blockade.Turkey is keen to bury the report, because while far from being a pro-Israel document, by upholding the legality of the blockade it places some of the responsibility for the flotilla fiasco on Turkey’s shoulders.Turkey is demanding Israel apologize for the incident, pay compensation to the families of the victims, and lift the blockade of Gaza.Israel has so far refused to apologize, although there is discussion about Israel apologizing for “operational mishaps” that led to the loss of lives. Nine Turkish citizens were killed on the Mavi Marmara when some of the passengers on the ship attacked IDF commandos who landed on it to enforce the blockade.An Israeli refusal to apologize to the Turks will not only result in Turkish wrath, but also US anger, diplomatic officials said, explaining that the US is pressuring Netanyahu to accept a formula that would allow Israeli-Turkish relations to return to semi-normalcy.The US, these officials said, see Israeli-Turkish cooperation as an important element in the Middle East, and one they are very keen to renew.According to the officials, the US wants Netanyahu to back a formula that would include the following elements: an apology for “operational mishaps” in the Mavi Marmara incident that resulted in the loss of Turkish lives, a willingness to pay compensation through a fund to be set up by the Turkish government, a Turkish commitment that this ends the story and there will be no legal claims against Israel, the soldiers or officers involved and an agreement to bury the Palmer Commission report.Hmmmm......Could it be that the Palmer report is favorable for Israel and puts part of the blame on Turkey?Read the full story here.

• Ankara moves towards disengagement policy with Damascus.(TodaysZaman).As a country that has thus far pursued a policy of engagement with Syria, Turkey now appears to be moving towards disengagement with the country after its continuous efforts and warnings to persuade President Bashar al-Assad to put an end to the assault on civilians have yielded no tangible results.The concrete sign of this change in policy was personally given by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu late on Monday. Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Davutoğlu told Syrian President Assad that military operations against civilians must cease immediately and unconditionally, underlining that these were Ankara’s “final words.”“This is our final word to the Syrian authorities, our first expectation is that these operations stop immediately and unconditionally,” Davutoğlu said.“If these operations do not stop there will be nothing left to say about the steps that will be taken,” he said, without elaborating. Although the minister did not go into detail about Ankara’s next steps, officials speaking with Today’s Zaman on Tuesday confirmed that the upcoming steps would be used in building a disengagement policy aimed at isolating the Assad administration further in the international arena.A considerable number of Turkey’s allies, including the United States, meanwhile, are closely following Ankara’s reactions and approach toward Syria, while the Turkish leadership is constantly holding consultations with these allies. “There will be consequences of Assad’s insistence to ignore seeing how he has frustrated Turkey so far and how his attitude will lead to a reaction from Turkey that will definitely hurt the administration,” a senior diplomat told Today’s Zaman on Tuesday.Hmmmm......As i said "Barking dogs don't bite"His masters voice.Read the full story here.

• SOHR: Turkey gives Syrian regime green light to continue assault.(TodaysZaman).Dissatisfied with Turkey’s efforts to bring about a cease-fire in Syria and save civilian lives, a senior executive from a human rights organization has rebuked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent remarks expressing hope that Syria will take steps towards reform within 10 to 15 days.Ruling Turkey’s stance against the Syrian crackdown “a late action,” Rami Abdul-Rahman, the director of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), suggested that Turkey is allowing the Syrian administration to continue the bloodshed by providing them with time to establish an absolute ceasefire.“Turkey is somehow participating in giving the green light to the [Bashar al-Assad] regime to carry on his suppression operation by giving this meaningless two weeks,” Abdul-Rahman said earlier this week in an interview with the Cihan news agency.In response to similar allegations across international media, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Monday clarified Turkey’s demand for an immediate halt to assaults in Syria and strongly dismissed allegations that Turkey is giving Syria time to stop their military operations. “We have always demanded an immediate halt to the operations in our talks with Syrian administration at every level,” Davutoğlu said, ruling out alternative interpretations of Erdoğan’s remarks last Wednesday.In apparent disagreement with Turkey’s view that foresaw the immediate implementation of reforms by the al-Assad administration, Abdul-Rahman stated his belief that “the [al-Assad] regime is not capable of applying any real reform” as such a development would mean ending his regime that is built on “security forces controlling everything.” Abdul-Rahman remained pessimistic about the possible termination of violence unless protestors managed to topple al-Assad’s administration.Equally displeased with the efforts of the international community in putting a stop to Assad’s assault, Abdul-Rahman considered it requisite for all players, including Turkey, “to escalate political pressure first, by cutting all political ties with [the] Assad regime” so that SOHR may start to believe that they are “really against the crimes against humanity” in Syria.“We are really still skeptical about their [the international community’s] will to take that step, including Turkey,” Abdul-Rahman reiterated.In response to the question as to whether the international community was hesitant to intervene after the failure in Libya, Abdul-Rahman dubbed the prospect “just an illogical excuse,” as he repeatedly called on world leaders to throw out their relationships with the al-Assad regime so that their will for peace in Syria may come across as more sincere.Hmmmm......Turkey was faster to deal with the Armenians and Kurds.So far only Saudi Arabia has been firm in it's reaction.Read the full story here.

• Iranian, US ambassadors have surprise meetings with Turkish deputy PM.(TodaysZaman).The Iranian and American ambassadors to Turkey had unscheduled separate meetings with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ yesterday at the Prime Ministry.Bozdağ had a half-hour meeting with the Iranian ambassador to Turkey, Bahman Hosseinpour, and later received US Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone for a similar length of time. Ricciardone later had a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as well.The meetings come amid tensions over a Syrian crackdown on anti-regime protests, and as the Turkish government plans to revise its strategy in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Iran is critical of Turkey's stance against Syria's recent actions, while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently said that he considers what is happening in Syria to be an “internal affair” for Turkey.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mihmanperest said yesterday however that the events in Syria should be considered only as internal affairs of that country and accused the West and its allies with trying to destabilize Syria, in order to make the case for its eventual occupation. “If Syria were destabilized, the whole region would be thrown into turmoil, and only Israel would benefit from this” he said.Commenting on the weekend's news reports about Karayılan's alleged capture by Iran, Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin said on Monday that the reports led to confusion, as Iran had indeed captured a PKK terrorist named Murat, but whose surname is not Karayılan. Şahin responded to questions from reporters late Monday as he left a meeting with Erdoğan at Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters. Asked about any new developments regarding Karayılan's reported capture, Şahin said: “No, there are none. The terrorist leader Iran captured has the same first name as Karayılan, but a different surname, which led to confusion over the reports.”Turkey is pondering the adoption of a new strategy in the fight against PKK terrorism. Erdoğan announced on Sunday that Turkey will take new measures after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, saying that Turkey has run out of patience with the PKK. Bozdağ was one of the six ministers who attended a meeting chaired by Erdoğan on Monday, reportedly to discuss new measures against terrorism. There was no statement issued after the Iranian and American envoys' meetings with Bozdağ.Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Erdoğan met with Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel and the commanders of the army, navy, gendarmerie and air force at his office. The meeting on Tuesday afternoon was a courtesy visit by the commanders to the prime minister, Anatolia news agency said.Ricciardone also met yesterday with Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bağış. In a press conference following that meeting, the US envoy vowed to continue supporting Turkish efforts to fight the PKK. “In the fight against terror, the US has always stood with Turkey,” the ambassador said.Hmmmm.....About What else is the Obama regime cooperating with Iran and Turkey?Is there really a non agression pact between them?Read the full story here.

• Israel's embassy in Turkey might not have new ambassador.(Ynet).Turkey-Israel ties reach new low: As Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy prepares to complete his term in two weeks, Jerusalem is concerned that Turkey will refuse to approve a replacement ambassador due to the ongoing diplomatic crisis between the two nations. The timing proves problematic as well, as Levy's term ends only a week after the UN's Palmer Report on the 2010 Gaza-bound flotilla incident is set to be released. The findings of the report are expected to support some of Israel's positions.While Foreign Ministry officials have hoped that the crisis would be resolved before Levy leaves, any attempts to agree on an apology to Turkey and compensation to the families of the nine activists killed in the raid on the Mavi Marmara were unsuccessful. The release of the report, which has been previously delayed due to the negotiations between Israel and Ankara, is not expected to be postponed again. Senior Foreign Ministry officials have asked Levy to extend his term – a measure that does not require Turkey's approval – but the diplomat, who was supposed to complete his stay in Turkey in July, refused to postpone his departure a second time. The Turkish embassy in Israel has been operating without an ambassador since the flotilla incident; it is currently headed by the ambassador's deputy. The Foreign Ministry is bracing for the possibility that Turkey will downgrade its representative in Tel Aviv from "ambassador" to "envoy," a step that would further consolidate the scope of relations between the two nations.The ministry is also looking into sending a diplomat to temporarily head the embassy in Ankara without being defined as an ambassador in order to avoid the need for Turkey's approval. Foreign Ministry sources expect the new delegate to be a senior, experienced diplomat who will seek to end the crisis."At worst, there won't be a Turkish ambassador here," a political source close to the negotiations with Ankara said. "We can deal with such a situation, and it's not the end of the world. (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan wants to humiliate Israel and make political headway on Israel's account." Turkey's demand for an Israeli apology for the flotilla incident has been discussed by the eight-minister forum in recent days, but a decision has yet to be reached. While Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor believe that Israel should apologize and improve the ties with the strategically significant nation, some of the others – headed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon – have expressed opposition. "Erdogan won't guarantee that once we apologize, the Israel-Turkey relations will resume in full. The most he is willing to promise us is the reinstatement of the Turkish ambassador. We can do without him. We will only end up worse if we apologize," Ya'alon stressed in a recent meeting. Hmmmmm........Erdogan and Obama the two people Israel should trust the least?Read the full story here.