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A good article from Pepe Escobar on Iran -- regime change and
petro-dollars --<br>
<br>
<tt><a
href="http://www.alternet.org/world/153804/regime_change_in_iran_the_real_motivations_behind_sanctions">http://www.alternet.org/world/15380/regime_change_in_iran_the_real_motivations_behind_sanctions</a></tt><br>
<span id="OLK_SRC_BODY_SECTION"><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span
style="font-size:11pt;"></span></font></span><br>
I'd first seen on Al Jazeera several years ago the suggestion that
recent belligerency against Iran was motivated by, not the prospect
of nuclear whatnot or any threat to Israel, but the prospect that
Iran was considering switching from dollars to euros as their
primary oil trading currency. Escobar suggests here that a global
shift away from the petrodollar is likely this year.<br>
<br>
<br>
For a gripping & whimsical view of oil, money, and power
(including why it matters if oil stops being traded primarily in
dollars, and why Iraqi oil access may well have been the trigger for
WWI, among other things) see this video from activist <a
href="http://www.robnewman.com/">Rob Newman (robnewman.com)</a>:<br>
<tt><a
href="http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5267640865741878159">http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5267640865741878159</a></tt><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, hoping to throw sand in the gears of our 1%'s
warmongering against Iran, Peace Action is collecting signatures --<font><br>
</font><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>
From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Kevin Martin, Peace Action</b>
<span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:peaceact@mail.democracyinaction.org">peaceact@mail.democracyinaction.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 2:15 PM<br>
Subject: We won't wait for the bombs to drop<br>
To: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:jonathanclarkewilliams%2Btest@gmail.com">jonathanclarkewilliams+test@gmail.com</a><br>
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<div class="im"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
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<p
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;color:rgb(0,83,149)">Tell
President Obama: War isn't Working!
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&url_num=6&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FyDlbjn"
target="_blank">Sign our petition
to prevent war with Iran</a>.</p>
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<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">Dear
Test,</p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">With
a second aircraft carrier group steaming
toward the Persian Gulf, tens of thousands
of US troops stationed throughout the
region, and the sale of tens of billions of
dollars in US weapons to Iran's neighbors in
the Gulf region, it seems that war with Iran
could be imminent.</p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">But
we won't wait for the bombs to drop to make
our voices heard. Over the next two weeks,
we want to generate thousands of signatures
to counter the war drums. On February 2nd,
Groundhog Day, we will deliver our petitions
to the White House.</p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:bold;padding:0pt"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&url_num=7&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FyDlbjn"
target="_blank">Please take a moment to
sign Peace Action's petition calling on
the President to use all means at his
disposal to prevent a military strike on
Iran - by either the US or Israel.</a></p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">We
know we can impact the President's efforts
to prevent an attack by Israel if we act
right away.</p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">Last
year, we launched a similar campaign in
February to pressure the Obama
administration to announce significant troop
withdrawals from Afghanistan in July. By
the end of June, twenty-seven US Senators
signed a letter to the President calling for
sizable and sustained reductions in troop
levels. By December, a crucial voice vote
showed a majority of Senators in favor of a
tighter timeline for the withdrawal of all
US troops.</p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:bold;padding:0pt"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&url_num=8&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FyDlbjn"
target="_blank">Please help us repeat this
success! Sign our petition to prevent a
war with Iran that would surely have
unintended consequences no one can either
predict or prevent once they begin.</a></p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">We
have a two week window to take a stand
against any military strike on Iran that
will strengthen our hand and counter calls
from the extreme right to make war. We are
already seeing Republican Presidential
candidates stumbling over each other to
prove they are more willing to use military
force than their opponents.</p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">In
the past few weeks, administration officials
have been meeting with Israeli military and
civilian leaders because of increasing
concern Israel is preparing to take
military action against Iran.</p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">You
would hope our 'leaders' have learned their
lesson. The unintended consequences that
plagued the US military in Iraq and
Afghanistan are surely at play with regard
to Iran. The Obama administration has shown
some patience in its search for a diplomatic
resolution to the crisis over Iran's alleged
nuclear weapons program, but at the moment
tensions are running high.</p>
</div>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">Earlier
this month, Iran announced it had begun
enriching uranium at the Fordow underground
nuclear facility near the holy city of Qom, a
move many view as crossing one of Israel's
lines in the sand increasing the risk of
military action, despite Israel’s claim such
an attack is ‘far off’.</p>
<div class="im">
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
style="font-weight:bold"
href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=-1&url_num=9&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FyDlbjn"
target="_blank">We can't afford to wait.
Please sign our petition to prevent war
with Iran today, and get your friends on
board as well. We really can make a
difference by acting before the crisis
escalates out of control.</a></p>
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">Humbly
for Peace,</p>
<img moz-do-not-send="true" alt=""
src="http://hq.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/Peaceact/images/k%27s-sig.gif"
height="37" width="189">
<p
style="text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:0pt
0pt 12px;font-weight:normal;padding:0pt">Kevin
Martin<br>
Executive Director<br>
Peace Action</p>
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