Excited Delirium

Stories about Excited Delirium, the Shock Economy and a little fiction here and there.

Daily Archives: February 6, 2008

Global Internet Connections

This is a great report on the status of Internet connectivity around the world. To date, the most spectacular impact has been on countries that are predominantly Muslim.

http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/ConnectingTheDots.htm

The evidence therefore suggests that we are looking at a coordinated program of undersea cable sabotage by an actor, or actors, on the international stage with an anti-Muslim bias, as well as a proclivity for destructive violence in the Middle Eastern region.

This article provides a summary of recent disconnects:

1) one off of Marseille, France
2) two off of Alexandria, Egypt
3) one off of Dubai, in the Persian Gulf
4) one off of Bandar Abbas, Iran in the Persian Gulf
5) one between Qatar and the UAE, in the Persian Gulf
6) one in the Suez, Egypt
7) one near Penang, Malaysia
8) initially unreported cable cut on 23 January 2008 (Persian Gulf?)

Three things stand out about these incidents:

1) all of them, save one, have occurred in waters near predominantly Muslim nations, causing disruption in those countries;
2) all but two of the cut/damaged cables are in Middle Eastern waters;
3) so many like incidents in such a short period of time suggests that they are not accidents, but are in fact deliberate acts, i.e., sabotage.

We’re all in a ‘wait and see’ mode. There are some clear issues at hand, but few have offered an explanation, including those responsible.

How an Iranian Bourse Threatens the American Empire

Link: Iranian Bourse
Research Credit: WRH

Over the course of the next 1-5 years, I expect to see many non-US denomination exchanges, funds and other financial activities emerge. For example, the people of Latin America have already started to create their own pricing network through ALBA that works to the benefit of local farmers and consumers.

An Iranian oil exchange is really no different, but the implications will be felt throughout the world because these actions will force the continued decline of the US dollar.

The article sums up the situation nicely:

Certainly, when oil is no longer traded in dollars, it is not only the dollar that will collapse. It means that the US –on the bad end of a huge balance of trade deficit –will no longer be able to afford to import goods or services. For a nation that long ago … gave up its role as a manufacturing nation, this collapse will be monumental, catastrophic.

The fact that oil had been traded in dollars was the only thing propping up the dollar. That there was a demand for dollars because there was a demand for oil meant that you could continue to buy imported goods with dollars.

Now –imagine a world in which no other country need “purchase” dollars in order to import oil! What if oil producing nations agree to accept other currencies? What if they refuse to accept dollars? Go to Wal-Mart or even your local supermarket. Almost everything on the shelves is imported. Imagine a shop owner refusing to accept in payment your worthless dollars in payment for anything in the shop!