Iran Goes Austrian? 'paper Dollar Destroying World Economy'

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179059.html

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad strongly criticizes US economic policies, saying that the paper currency created by the American government is taking a heavy toll on the global economy.

In an address to the fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, Ahmadinejad said that the cash injected into the global economy in the form valueless US dollars amount to over USD 32 trillion, IRNA reported.

“This is while the US budget deficit for the 2011 fiscal year is expected to reach a figure above USD 1.6 trillion,” he added.

The Iranian president also pointed that the US foreign debt now approaching over USD 14.6 trillion, while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United States stands at around USD 14 trillion.

President Ahmadinejad stated that such figures clearly explain the plunder of national wealth in many countries, and the upsurge in poverty and underdevelopment across the globe.

He noted the certain countries rob less developed states to pay their international debts.

“Most of international economic organizations either defend the existing situation or serve the interests of certain states,” he said.

Ahmadinejad is going Austrian?

I don't this will get in the UK media.

[onesmallstep]

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179059.html

Ahmadinejad is going Austrian?

I don't this will get in the UK media.

I like his name

[Fishbone Glover]

Iran will be the next country invaded now.

[_w_]

Before anyone gets enthusiastic about Iran's wisdom and sophistication here's an interesting read.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/ahmadinejad-allies-charged-with-sorcery

Ahmadinejad allies charged with sorcery

Iranian power struggle between president and supreme leader sees arrests and claims of undue influence of chief of staff

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who is described as 'the actual president of Iran' by allies of the country's supreme leader. Close allies of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been accused of using supernatural powers to further his policies amid an increasingly bitter power struggle between him and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Several people said to be close to the president and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested in recent days and charged with being "magicians" and invoking djinns (spirits).

Ayandeh, an Iranian news website, described one of the arrested men, Abbas Ghaffari, as "a man with special skills in metaphysics and connections with the unknown worlds".

The arrests come amid a growing rift between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei which has prompted several MPs to call for the president to be impeached.

On Sunday, Ahmadinejad returned to his office after an 11-day walkout in an apparent protest over Khamenei's reinstatement of the intelligence minister, who the president had initiallyasked to resign.

Ahmadinejad's unprecedented disobedience prompted harsh criticism from conservatives who warned that he might face the fate of Abdulhassan Banisadr, Iran's first post-revolution president who was impeached and exiled for allegedly attempting to undermine clerical power.

Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, a hardline cleric close to Khamenei, warned that disobeying the supreme leader – who has the ultimate power in Iran – is equivalent to "apostasy from God".

Ahmadinejad has so far declined to officially back Khamenei's ruling over Heydar Moslehi, the minister at the centre of the row. In the first cabinet meeting since the president returned, Moslehi was absent.

Khamenei's supporters believe that the top-level confrontation stems from the increasing influence of Mashaei, an opponent of greater involvement of clerics in politics, who is being groomed by Ahmadinejad as a possible successor.

But the feud has taken a metaphysical turn following the release of an Iranian documentary alleging the imminent return of the Hidden Imam Mahdi – the revered saviour of Shia Islam, whose reappearance is anticipated by believers in a manner comparable to that with which Christian fundamentalists anticipate the second coming of Jesus.

Conservative clerics, who say that the Mahdi's return cannot be predicted, have accused a "deviant current" within the president's inner circle, including Mashaei, of being responsible for the film.

Ahmadinejad's obsession with the hidden imam is well known. He often refers to him in his speeches and in 2009 said that he had documentary evidence that the US was trying to prevent Mahdi's return.

Since Ahmadinejad's return this week, at least 25 people, who are believed to be close to Mashaei, have been arrested. Among them is Abbas Amirifar, head of the government's cultural committee and some journalists of Mashaei's recently launched newspaper, Haft-e-Sobh.

On Saturday, Mojtaba Zolnour, Khamenei's deputy representative in the powerful Revolutionary Guard, said: "Today Mashaei is the actual president. Mr Ahmadinejad has held on to a decaying rope by relying on Mashaei."

[Slumpmonkey Returns]

Iran will be the next country invaded now.

In 2000 Saddam Hussien proclaimed to the world's media that he was going to abandon the US petro dollar and sell his oil in Euros. Three years later the US invaded his country. I think the only thing stopping Obama doing this in the case of Iran will be Russia (to close for comfort for Medvedev and Putin). Although Obama may be able to bribe Russia and China to abstain like he did in the case of Libya.

[Wahoo]

Iran will be the next country invaded now.

Iran is too big and too powerful, and America will get pasted if they are arrogant enough to try.

One of these days America is going to get a bloody nose. They are in decline.

Long live China.

[Fishbone Glover]

In 2000 Saddam Hussien proclaimed to the world's media that he was going to abandon the US petro dollar and sell his oil in Euros. Three years later the US invaded his country. I think the only thing stopping Obama doing this in the case of Iran will be Russia (to close for comfort for Medvedev and Putin). Although Obama may be able to bribe Russia and China to abstain like he did in the case of Libya.

Indeed. The US definitely has form, especially when the dollar is called into question.

[Fishbone Glover]

Iran is too big and too powerful, and America will get pasted if they are arrogant enough to try.

Iran isn't, it's just a matter of how involved Russia and China want to get.

I agree, America will get a bloody nose at some point, but Iran won't be the cause.

[50sQuiff]

In 2000 Saddam Hussien proclaimed to the world's media that he was going to abandon the US petro dollar and sell his oil in Euros. Three years later the US invaded his country. I think the only thing stopping Obama doing this in the case of Iran will be Russia (to close for comfort for Medvedev and Putin). Although Obama may be able to bribe Russia and China to abstain like he did in the case of Libya.

[ken_ichikawa]

In 2000 Saddam Hussien proclaimed to the world's media that he was going to abandon the US petro dollar and sell his oil in Euros. Three years later the US invaded his country. I think the only thing stopping Obama doing this in the case of Iran will be Russia (to close for comfort for Medvedev and Putin). Although Obama may be able to bribe Russia and China to abstain like he did in the case of Libya.

Iran is pretty much allied to China though as China is currently upgrading Iranian oil refining capacity. Iran proving 12% of Chinas oil and 25bn of trade.

[LittleSteroid]

What if Iran is not a target anymore?

Listening to this guy is like you were listening todays "breaking news" or some kind of prophet. Such a shame this inerview is from 2009 though

[Slumpmonkey Returns]

Iran is pretty much allied to China though as China is currently upgrading Iranian oil refining capacity. Iran proving 12% of Chinas oil and 25bn of trade.

True, China is a big player in this. However, Russia has a big stake in Iran's nuclear power industry (I believe Russian engineers built the Nuclear reactor to the chagrin of the US and Isreal).

[Slumpmonkey Returns]

I know, I saw this report too. Sort of goes to expalin why the US, France and Brtain were so keen to get involved doesn't it!

[pilchardthecat]

Iran is too big and too powerful, and America will get pasted if they are arrogant enough to try.

One of these days America is going to get a bloody nose. They are in decline.

Long live China.

You sound like what the Soviets used to calla "useful idiot"

Be careful what you wish for.

[Stay Beautiful]

[General Congreve]

Iran will be the next country invaded now.

Just read today that plans for US withdrawal from Afghanistan are underway. Troops needed elsewhere then...

I'm sure the Iranian government is every bit as corrupt and religiously zealous as the USA's (only internally of course, the USA's are unmatched on the international stage), but if the Yanks try an invasion I hope Iran drops a fat one on the US government in Tel Aviv.

[Guest spp]

I know, I saw this report too. Sort of goes to expalin why the US, France and Brtain were so keen to get involved doesn't it!

Yep...monopoly currency would no longer be accepted. Real money only.

Edited May 10, 2011 by spp

[interestrateripoff]

Before anyone gets enthusiastic about Iran's wisdom and sophistication here's an interesting read.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/ahmadinejad-allies-charged-with-sorcery

He's an excellent trouble causer and sometimes that can be done with a bit of honesty. Didn't he give a speech at the UN where he said the US was involved in 911? I think he's done a few speeches pulling on the strings of the conspiracy theories.

[Fromage Frais]

Talking a good game but did anyone here see the article a few months back on the housing boom in Iran where they had flats over 3 million dollars?

[Nationalist]

Does no one remember that the USA was rather reluctant to get involved in Libya? "Dave" Cameron had to go to America and persuade him. The USA didn't initiate the "Arab Spring" and doesn't really want to be roped in.

It doesn't really matter to the Americans if oil is traded in gold. Currently Americans give dollars for oil and then the Arabs give back the dollars for manufactured goods. With a gold base the Americans would buy gold with their dollars then use it to buy oil, and the Arabs would sell the gold for dollars so they could buy Western goods. The system is slightly more complex, is all.

[Guest_FaFa!_*]

Does no one remember that the USA was rather reluctant to get involved in Libya? "Dave" Cameron had to go to America and persuade him. The USA didn't initiate the "Arab Spring" and doesn't really want to be roped in.

It doesn't really matter to the Americans if oil is traded in gold. Currently Americans give dollars for oil and then the Arabs give back the dollars for manufactured goods. With a gold base the Americans would buy gold with their dollars then use it to buy oil, and the Arabs would sell the gold for dollars so they could buy Western goods. The system is slightly more complex, is all.

That was a sensible comment.

I hope you feel heartily ashamed

[50sQuiff]

Does no one remember that the USA was rather reluctant to get involved in Libya? "Dave" Cameron had to go to America and persuade him. The USA didn't initiate the "Arab Spring" and doesn't really want to be roped in.

It doesn't really matter to the Americans if oil is traded in gold. Currently Americans give dollars for oil and then the Arabs give back the dollars for manufactured goods. With a gold base the Americans would buy gold with their dollars then use it to buy oil, and the Arabs would sell the gold for dollars so they could buy Western goods. The system is slightly more complex, is all.

You're right of course, on a purely mechanical basis. But what matters would be the repricing of the three assets in question - particularly the dollar. It wouldn't be business as usual for the buck!

It can be argued that the dollar is backed by its convertibility into oil at a rate that brings high marginal productivity per barrel. So hypothetically, if all of a sudden you can't get $1,000 of economic output for your $100 of cheap oil, the petrodollar standard starts to weaken. It's no longer beneficial to hold the USD as your reserve currency if it doesn't yield cheap economic growth.

You also have to consider that the Arabs do not sell oil purely to purchase Western goods. Their primary objective is to build infrastructure and a long-term wealth reserve as their finite oil resources are depleted. They will manage their assets in accordance with that objective. Are US Treasuries the best way to perform this function? They have been for 3 decades, but times are changing.

The US despises gold, especially in conjunction with oil, because it's the biggest threat to the dollar standard. The ECB likes gold as a wealth reserve asset (marked to market on its balance sheet), but does not want a gold-backed currency for oil trade. Good theory (and no small amount of history) suggests that you can never successfully defend a currency against gold, especially in a democracy. The Europeans on the other hand, want oil to trade in Euro and any transition to be orderly. Having the Arabs or North Africans throw a spanner in the works would be a disaster for all sides I think.

Edited May 11, 2011 by 50sQuiff

[ntb]

The USA didn't initiate the "Arab Spring"

Not directly. The unrest iirc was triggered by rising living costs and unemployment. The rise in (dollar denominated) commodity prices is in response to Bernanke's printing press and the debasement of the dollar. For the most part, Arab currencies are pegged to the dollar so prices rose and their currencies fell. So indirectly, yes they did. By design? I don't know but I am beginning to think that todays tinfoil is tomorrows news.

[shindigger]

Just read today that plans for US withdrawal from Afghanistan are underway. Troops needed elsewhere then...

I'm sure the Iranian government is every bit as corrupt and religiously zealous as the USA's (only internally of course, the USA's are unmatched on the international stage), but if the Yanks try an invasion I hope Iran drops a fat one on the US government in Tel Aviv.

They "found" Bin Laden!!

What luck!

War on terrir now over in Afghanistan.

Time to redeploy.

Put your stash on it.

[Nationalist]

Not directly. The unrest iirc was triggered by rising living costs and unemployment. The rise in (dollar denominated) commodity prices is in response to Bernanke's printing press and the debasement of the dollar. For the most part, Arab currencies are pegged to the dollar so prices rose and their currencies fell. So indirectly, yes they did. By design? I don't know but I am beginning to think that todays tinfoil is tomorrows news.

Interesting point. But since the commodity which has really soared is oil the Arab states must have been insulated from the commodity boom to some extent. In fact, I'm surprised they didn't make a net gain. That said, one never knows how much of the wealth is siphoned off by the oil companies; they may have leases which pay the country a fixed price per barrel regardless of what the markets are doing.

The point by 50sQuiff that the US dollar is the world's reserve currency is significant. It's very helpful to the US treasury to know that they can print and spend a bunch of dollars and some of these dollars will simply be recycled into t-bills: so out of circulation and not adding to inflation, and helping to finance the US national debt at the same time.