Russia raises oil export tax

LOS ANGELES — The Russian government plans to increase its oil export duty to a record $102.60/tonne starting Apr. 1. The duty has been $83/tonne since Feb. 1.

During December 2004 and January, the duty was $101/tonne, the previous highest level. Russia’s oil export duty is reconsidered every 2 months.

Cheney’s Oil Change at the World Bank

Dick Cheney, a long-time beneficiary of World Bank largess, has moved to take ownership of the world’s development coffers through his man, Wolfowitz. For his part, Wolfowitz will have a chance to extend his Iraq reconstruction theories to the global level. These concepts mostly involve U.S. control over energy resources.

Sleepwalking to Disaster in Iran

Late last year … I was contacted by someone close to the Bush administration … The Bush administration was keen on achieving some semblance of stability in Iraq before June 2005, I was told … because that was when the Pentagon was told to be prepared to launch a massive aerial attack against Iran.