quote:

Stock markets worldwide rallied on the first trading day of 2007 on speculation that profit growth and takeovers would support global equities for a fifth year.

Share indexes in all 16 West European markets gained, while benchmarks in Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia climbed to records. In Latin America, equity gauges in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico headed toward all-time highs.

The global advance came as the market in the United States was closed for the funeral of former President Gerald R. Ford. Stock-index futures trading electronically on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose. In other markets, United States Treasury prices rose, the dollar fell to its lowest level in three weeks against the euro, and crude futures retreated in electronic trading in New York.

“We are still looking at a picture of a fairly prosperous year in 2007, which will lead to more earnings growth,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities in London. “Mergers and acquisitions will remain a feature, and there is still a considerable amount of confidence in the outlook for economic growth.”

Bloomberg/NYTimes

This message has been edited. Last edited by: --Kate,

Does this fit in here?

US to launch campaign to isolate Iran financially

Iran to launch production of industrial nuclear fuel + Iran nuclear chief in China talks



Meanwhile
Israeli minister urges UN chief to revoke Iran membership

as
Iran lays down a challenge to Arab leaders

Yeah, I think it fits, your contribution, sunrise. To explain the inspiration for this thread ...

I found this thread's lead article, searching for news about Indonesia. I'm curious about Indonesia for a few reasons:

1) Its strategic location seems to explain something about earlier exploits in Southeast Asia;

2) I knew a woman who was a missionary in Indonesia (thinking of her, I had done some poking around to see if there's a connection between missionary activity and geopolitical strategizing, but couldn't figure out what the search terms might be) (a related thought applies to Peace Corps activites);

3) Recent news about a plane wreck there recalled to my mind earlier news about a plane wreck in North Africa (where was it?) (from fall of 2006); and

4) I was fairly recently chatting with someone who has a friend working for Halliburton, and that friend had a long-term assignment in Indonesia. Unclear what Halliburton's interest might be there, but it is a global company with many sub-divisions.

Curious about what's going on with Indonesia, I found a whole collection of countries, and a broader topic.

quote:

Unclear what Halliburton's interest might be there, but it is a global company with many sub-divisions.

Probably this:

BP to start Indonesia gas project

quote:

The London-based oil and gas giant has awarded contracts worth about $2bn to foreign firms, including a group led-by US oil services company Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), and Italy's Saipem.

KBR, which is owned by Halliburton, will build the liquefaction plant, jetties and other infrastructure needed to export the gas.

To the extent Halliburton's interests coincide with the U.S. foreign policy interests, there's also this:

quote:

Geopolitical and Strategic Interests

The Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok straits are some of the world’s most important strategic sea lanes. Close to half of the total global merchant fleet capacity transits the straits around Indonesia.91 A significant proportion of Northeast Asia’s energy resources transit these straits. The United States continues to have both economic and military interest in keeping the sea lanes of communication open.92 Further energy deposits may also be found in the waters of Southeast Asia.

Some analysts are concerned about growing Chinese influence in the region. China was perceived as being more assertive in the 1990s, for example, by fortifying a shoal known as Mischief Reef. China is now seen as being more subtle. China signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership with ASEAN in October 2003 and is developing a China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement to augment its existing bilateral trade agreements with many ASEAN members. This has been viewed as a possible “foundation for a strategic partnership.”93 China and Indonesia also announced a series of agreements amounting to what some have described as a ‘strategic partnership’ in April 2005. At the same time, China is expanding its naval capability. Over the past year China has reportedly begun construction on 70 naval vessels and is considering further purchases of Sovremenny class destroyers from Russia. While usually discussed in the context of a potential conflict with Taiwan, China’s navy is thought to have the capability to sea lift a division, or roughly 10,000 troops.94

Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
"Indonesia: Domestic Politics, Strategic Dynamics, and American Interests" Updated April 3, 2006 (pdf)

quote:

The United States continues to have both economic and military interest in keeping the sea lanes of communication open

WOW.... keeping the global shipping lanes open... Bastards!!!!
Dont see how the exclusively coincides with Halliburtons Interests.

Some of the Parts I sell come out/through Asia. I guess it coincides with my interests also. Plus anybody shopping at Walmart or Target etc...

Have a nice life, Loganthor.

quote:

Have a nice life, Loganthor.

That is very nice of you, You too have a nice life.

Hey, Loganthor.
As you may surmise by now I am back on, with original identity and everything.

How is the wife and kids?
How's work?

Thanks again for the Well wish's. I can hope that 2007 is as good as 2006.

Are you not interested in "Coopertive Dialog" on Globel Markets. Halliburton, Indonsia, Geopolitical US policy on Water Ways, Coinciding interests. Or perhaps Iran as Sunrise injected?

Welcome Back

Wife, Kids, Work are all doing great. Busier then ever. I need more vacations.

How goes the economics studing? I suspect the Global market is looking fairly good from a Econ Standpoint.

Great to hear.

I have heard some things about global imbalances lately but my focus has been on Uganda. Which is doing pretty good with expected growth for 5 to 6 percent for last year and this year. With moderate inflation of 6 to 7 percent. The Nigerian Finance Minister has said some interesting things lately also. Well, more later...

quote:

The secretary's visit to Indonesia, starting Tuesday, will also focus on expanding military relations. He noted that the United States had a good military relationship with Indonesia until the congress banned most types of military contacts several years ago to protest the government's human rights record, particularly in East Timor. That policy was reversed in a series of steps by the congress and the Bush administration last year.

"We believe that it is in the interests of the United States, and in the mutual interest of our two countries to re-establish a relationship, a military-to-military relationship, between our countries," he noted. "And so we are in that early stages of doing that."

Speaking on the eve of his departure for Indonesia, Rumsfeld said the country's military is the institution with perhaps the greatest reach across that vast country, and is an important part of the government. He called Indonesia a 'very important country' and praised its government for helping fight terrorism.

The U.S. military sent aid to Indonesia last month, following the strong earthquake, and also last year after the tsunami. In addition, the huge U.S. navy hospital ship Mercy is scheduled to make a good will visit to the country in the coming weeks, its second visit in two years.

Rumsfield's visit to Indonesia in June, 2006

quote:

Geopolitical and Strategic Interests

The Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok straits are some of the world’s most important strategic sea lanes. Close to half of the total global merchant fleet capacity transits the straits around Indonesia.91 A significant proportion of Northeast Asia’s energy resources transit these straits. The United States continues to have both economic and military interest in keeping the sea lanes of communication open.92 Further energy deposits may also be found in the waters of Southeast Asia.

Some analysts are concerned about growing Chinese influence in the region. China was perceived as being more assertive in the 1990s, for example, by fortifying a shoal known as Mischief Reef. China is now seen as being more subtle. China signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership with ASEAN in October 2003 and is developing a China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement to augment its existing bilateral trade agreements with many ASEAN members. This has been viewed as a possible “foundation for a strategic partnership.”93 China and Indonesia also announced a series of agreements amounting to what some have described as a ‘strategic partnership’ in April 2005. At the same time, China is expanding its naval capability. Over the past year China has reportedly begun construction on 70 naval vessels and is considering further purchases of Sovremenny class destroyers from Russia. While usually discussed in the context of a potential conflict with Taiwan, China’s navy is thought to have the capability to sea lift a division, or roughly 10,000 troops.94

Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
"Indonesia: Domestic Politics, Strategic Dynamics, and American Interests" Updated April 3, 2006 (pdf)

quote:

Indonesian, U.S. militaries join forces to deploy cargo to Lebanon

Indonesia's army teamed up with forces from the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army to deploy peacekeeping cargo for duty in Lebanon.

On Nov. 2, about 200 pieces of equipment, painted bright white with U.N. markings, was being loaded aboard SS Wilson, a U.S.-flagged ship chartered for the mission by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. Later this month, 850 Indonesian troops will fly to Lebanon to meet up with their equipment and join the United Nation's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

November, 2006

Ron - Here's some additional 'Uganda info' to focus on:

The Failure of World Bank Programs in Africa
http://www.freeafrica.org/reports.html

"These programs -- in particular Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPS)(**aka: Free Trade structural adjustments) -- have failed spectaculary to alleviate poverty on the continent."

"In 1998, the Bank identified four new countries (Guinea, Lesotho, Eritea and Uganda) as the new "success stories." In less than two years, this list also "evaporated," leaving Uganda as the Bank's only economic success story."

"Uganda's rate of economic progress is non-sustainable. About 55 percent of its budget is aid-financed."


Poverty Reduction in a Federated Uganda
http://www.federo.com/pages/Poverty_Reduction.htm

'Structured' inequality refers to society's unequal distribution of its valued resources of wealth, power and priveledge among citizens. With an extreme mal-distribution of wealth, some get more than they can possibly use, while others get barely enough to survive, and in the case of Uganda, a majority aren't getting any!

We watch as our land is appropriated, we watch the killing of our relatives, the raping and mutilation of our children; we are ill and diseased.


Looting Africa: The Economics of Exploitation
http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/mm2006/072006/booknotes.html

Global structures of economic domination facilitate the theft of Africa's resources, so that the rich countries grow richer from African wealth, while the vast majority of Africans grow poorer.

One important nugget he highlights is a World Bank report, "Where is the Wealth of Nations," which reassesses the benefits of export-reliant strategies by looking at the impact of natural resources depletion--and concludes that Africa suffers enormously from relying on exports of primary resources. The losses are two-fold--first, exploited and not replaced (or replaceable) resources reduce a country's capital stock; and second, the pollution and environmental degradation so typically associated with resource exploitation exact a heavy toll.



**The US mainstream corporate-controlled media seems to be the most effective propaganda system in the world. Just leave out all the 'unpleasant details', and wa-la, everything is rosy!! "Free Trade", how could anything that's Free be bad??

I hope this added context is helpful.

Regards - Howard

The closest U.S. military base to Indonesia appears to be Diego Garcia.

quote:

Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory
The base: Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia served as a base for B-52s during the 1991 and 2003 wars with Iraq and during post-9/11 operations in Afghanistan. Its isolated anchorage is also home to both Army and Marine seaborne prepositioning squadrons for land-combat equipment and supplies.
Its importance: Isolation—and British sovereignty—make Diego Garcia a far more secure base for U.S. forces than any mainland base in Africa, the Middle East, or South Asia. Specialized shelters to protect the sensitive stealth equipment of visiting B-2s have recently been installed, and strategic bombers regularly rotate through the base. The atoll is also an important part of the U.S. Space Surveillance Network of telescopes, radars, and listening stations.

The Six Most Important U.S. Military Bases

Kate,

Would you mind sharing what your premise is for this thread?

Loganthor,

It's in the third post -- how I found the first article that inspired this thread. Mostly, I am curious about Indonesia right now, and the Indian Ocean.

Do you have a map showing the shipping routes used to get oil from the Middle East, to the United States?

Howard, thank you.
I have always wanted to explore a 'cooperative dialog' with you.

I plan to open up a thread on Uganda next week, and your links are a good start.
For the first link, I sure wish I could get the full report. Although I may use the following passage:

quote:

Uganda's rate of economic progress is non-sustainable. About 55 percent of its budget is aid-financed. Moreover, Uganda is effectively a de facto one-party state. Museveni's record on democratization and human rights has been abominable. Political activity and press freedoms are severely restricted, limiting the scope for a pluralistic and transparent society. The Monitor, a private independent newspaper, was shut down in October 2002.

The second link is a little dated and thus not much use for my project.
And the third link may not be too helpful for me:

quote:

Looting Africa is not an academic book, and it draws on activist research much more than academic material.

So I look forward to our discussions. And I assume that 'cooperative dialog' means that we are both willing to look at the good as well as the bad with open minds.

So far -

World Oil Transit Chokepoints

quote:

A significant volume of oil is traded internationally by oil tankers and oil pipelines. About 2/3 of the world’s oil trade (both crude oils and refined products) moves by tanker. About 43 million barrels per day of that trade is crude oil. Tankers have made global (intercontinental) transport of oil possible, as they are low cost, efficient, and extremely flexible.

Oil transported by sea generally follows a fixed set of maritime routes. Along the way, tankers encounter several geographic "chokepoints," or narrow channels, such as the Strait of Hormuz leading out of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Malacca linking the Indian Ocean (and oil coming from the Middle East) with the Pacific Ocean (and major consuming markets in Asia). Other important maritime "chokepoints" include the Bab el-Mandab passage from the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea; the Panama Canal and the Panama Pipeline connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans; the Suez Canal and the Sumed Pipeline connecting the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea; and the Turkish Straits/Bosporus linking the Black Sea (and oil coming from the Caspian Sea region) to the Mediterranean Sea."Chokepoints" are critically important to world oil trade because so much oil passes through them, yet they are narrow and theoretically could be blocked -- at least temporarily. In addition, "chokepoints" are susceptible to pirate attacks and shipping accidents in their narrow channels.

Not exact...

Ron -

Re: And I assume that 'cooperative dialog' means that we are both willing to look at the good as well as the bad with open minds.

**What it means to me is not pre-judging whether it's good or bad, but yes, that's the general understanding.

Thanks, Loganthor.

That's what I was hoping you could find.

The image leads to this material: International Oil Transportation

The Malacca Strait (or choke point) is between Indonesia and Malaysia, and Singapore is at the end, but that doesn't make "birds eye" sense as a shipping route, at least for the United States. big map

link