Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Another Conspiracy Theory Becomes Fact: The Entire Oil Collapse Is All About Crushing Russian Control Over Syria
ZeroHedge | author | 02/04/15

While the markets are still debating whether the price of oil is more impacted by the excess pumping of crude here, or the lack of demand there, or if it is all just a mechanical squeeze by momentum-chasing HFT algos who also know to buy in the milliseconds before 2:30pm, we bring readers' attention back to what several months ago was debunked as a deep conspiracy theory.

Back then we wrote about a certain visit by John Kerry to Saudi Arabia, on September 11 of all days, to negotiate a secret deal with the now late King Abdullah so as to get a "green light" in order "to launch its airstrikes against ISIS, or rather, parts of Iraq and Syria. And, not surprising, it is once again Assad whose fate was the bargaining chip to get the Saudis on the US' side, because in order to launch the incursion into Syrian sovereign territory, it "took months of behind-the-scenes work by the U.S. and Arab leaders, who agreed on the need to cooperate against Islamic State, but not how or when. The process gave the Saudis leverage to extract a fresh U.S. commitment to beef up training for rebels fighting Mr. Assad, whose demise the Saudis still see as a top priority." ... Read more

9/11 Conspirator Moussaoui Says Saudi Royals Backed al Qaeda
Reuters | Nate Raymond | 02/04/15

A former al Qaeda operative imprisoned for life for his role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has told lawyers for victims of the attacks that members of the Saudi royal family supported the Islamic militant group.

Zacarias Moussaoui made the statements in testimony filed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday by lawyers for attack victims who accuse Saudi Arabia in a suit of providing material support to al Qaeda. ... Read more

Oil companies in drought-ravaged California have, for years, pumped wastewater from their operations into aquifers that had been clean enough for people to drink.
SFGate.com | David Baker | 02/01/15

Oil companies in drought-ravaged California have, for years, pumped wastewater from their operations into aquifers that had been clean enough for people to drink. They did it with explicit permission from state regulators, who were supposed to protect the increasingly strained groundwater supplies from contamination." ... Read more

PBS | Jobs, land languish in California drought in race for water (12/12/14) [9:13]

Democrats might skip Benjamin Netanyahu speech
Politico | Edward-Isaac Dovere | 02/03/15

Vice President Joe Biden won't commit to attending Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint meeting of Congress next month. He's not the only one. Dozens of House Democrats are privately threatening to skip the March 3 address, according to lawmakers and aides, in what's become the lowest point of a relationship between the Israeli prime minister and President Barack Obama that's never been good. ... Read more

Chris Christie Shows Fondness for Luxury Benefits When Others Pay the Bill
NYTimes | Kate Zernike | 02/02/15

In 2012, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his family enjoyed traveling in a luxurious private jet furnished by Sheldon Adelson, who was opposing on-line gambling legislation that was before the governor at the time, and partied with Bono during a lavish, long weekend in Jordan. They stayed in hotel rooms that cost $30,000. Jordan's King Abdullah picked up the tab. These are just a couple of examples from a NYT report by Kate Zernike and Michael Barbaro, who write that these weren't "the first or last time that Mr. Christie's desire for celebrity access and expensive trips has raised eyebrows." ... Read more

Staples Buys Office Depot For $6 Billion
AP & HP | author | 02/04/15

The rapidly changing tools of the work place and the way we shop has led to another major consolidation in the retail office supply business as Staples announced the $6 billion acquisition of rival Office Depot. The cash-and-stock deal deal comes a little more than a year after Office Depot combined with OfficeMax, with too many stores fighting for too few sales. ... Read more