Author: BlackMask Financial

Hamas propaganda video. Pulling on the heart strings of the gullible masses

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were sharply at odds Thursday over prospects of reaching a deal for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release, with Netanyahu saying it was “exactly inaccurate” that a breakthrough was close.

“There’s not a deal in the making,” Netanyahu said in an interview with “Fox and Friends.” His public skepticism comes as U.S. officials said they were working on a revised proposal to address remaining disputes between Israeli and Hamas leaders after the weekend discovery of six dead hostages added urgency to the talks.

National security spokesman John Kirby reiterated Thursday that only disagreements on “implementing details” of a cease-fire proposal need to be hammered out. “I’ve heard what the prime minister said. I’m not going to get into a back and forth with him in a public setting,” Kirby told reporters. “We still believe, though this is incredibly difficult … if there’s compromise, if there’s leadership, we can still get there.” President Joe Biden’s team, a lame-duck administration two months before the election, has projected optimism this summer as it works with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar to try to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a truce in the 11-month war in Gaza. The deal would release more of the hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, including Americans, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners — one of the big sticking points. U.S. officials said in the days before Israeli forces recovered the bodies of six recently slain hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, that Israeli and Hamas leaders could sign off on a deal as soon as the end of this week. “I’m optimistic. It’s far from over. Just a couple more issues. I think we’ve got a shot,” Biden told reporters last Friday.

“To ask Israel to make concessions after this murder is to send a message to Hamas: Murder more hostages, you’ll get more concessions,” Netanyahu said Thursday. “That’s the wrong thing to do, and I think the Israel public overwhelming is united against that.”

The Biden administration has stressed that its ally Israel has supported the negotiations and Hamas has been blocking a deal. This week, however, Biden said “no” when asked if Netanyahu was doing enough in the talks.

“We see time and again that Israel agrees to certain terms,” said Shira Efron, a policy adviser at the U.S.-based Israel Policy Forum, which analyzes Israeli-Palestinian relations. “It doesn’t say no, it agrees to certain terms — but then says, ‘Yes, but under those conditions.’”

“These public statements that come out after what seems to be an agreement … basically derail the agreement,” Efron said NN: Their in no deal. And deal making  with terrorists…. Only brings more terrorism. Hamas only has so many hostage cards to play. And no other cards. They will never give up all there cads. Its a matter of survival. They know their days are numbered. Hence their desperate savagery and phycological ware fare!

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk wrote on X that United States Vice President and Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election Kamala Harris intends to “destroy” the right to free speech “under the constitution.” Musk, an outspoken critic of the Democratic Party, responded to another X user who mentioned him, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard as “raising concerns” about the freedom of speech in the US if Harris becomes president.The world’s wealthiest individual repeatedly criticized Harris and the Democratic Party for their  stance toward free speech. Warning they support censorship and the erosion of constitutional liberties.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and oil-producing nations outside of OPEC confirmed on Thursday that eight of its members have agreed to extend their additional voluntary production cuts for two months until the end of November 2024. The initial cut of 2.2 million barrels per day, implemented voluntarily by Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, will now be extended until the end of November, after which these cuts will be gradually phased out on a monthly basis starting December 1, 2024. The overproducing countries once again confirmed their commitment to fully compensating for the entire surplus volume by September 2025.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 6.9 million barrels from the previous week. At 418.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five year average for this time of year.

U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.9 million barrels per day during the week ending August 30, 2024, which was 36 thousand barrels per day more than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 93.3% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production increased last week, averaging 5.2 million barrels per day. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 5.8 million barrels per day last week, decreased by 768 thousand barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.3 million barrels per day, 8.0% less than the same four-week period last year. Total
motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 655 thousand barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 182 thousand barrels per day. Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 0.8 million barrels from last week and are about 2% below the five year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories increased last week. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 0.4 million barrels last week and are about 10% below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 2.6 million barrels from last week and are 12% above the five year
average for this time of year. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 8.0 million barrels last week.
Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.8 million barrels a day, down by 1.6% from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 9.1 million barrels a day, up by 0.9% from the same period last year. Distillate
fuel product supplied averaged 3.7 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, down by 0.7% from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was up 2.8% compared with the same four-week period last year

Crude oil inventories in the United States fell by a staggering 7.4 million barrels for the week ending August 30, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a far smaller 900,000-barrel dip. For the week prior, the API reported a 3.4-million-barrel decrease in crude inventories. So far this year, crude oil inventories are more than 2 million barrels under where they were at the start of the year, having decreased by 10 million barrels, according to API data.

Oil prices continued their decline on Wednesday ahead of the API data release.  Oils total loss in the past week is more than $7 per barrel.  Disappointing economic data out of the United States and China spooked markets.  Gasoline inventories also fell this week, by 300,000 barrels, on top of last week’s 1.86-million-barrel decrease. As of last week, gasoline inventories are 3% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data. Distillate inventories fell also, by 400,000 barrels, on top of last week’s 1.4-million-barrel decrease. Distillates were already about 10% below the five-year average for the week ending August 23, the latest EIA data shows. Cushing inventories completed the draws, with a loss of 800,000 barrels, according to API data, which add onto the 486,000-barrel draw from the previous week. NN: Now we wait for todays EIA inventory report for confirmation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out on Wednesday that any deal involving the removal of troops from the Gaza-Egypt border’s Philadelphi Corridor is a “false narrative,” seemingly in response to White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby’s assertions that Israel had agreed to a framework that included the mentioned withdrawal. “There is a possibility of reaching a Gaza ceasefire deal if we stick to our strategy,” Netanyahu said during his address to the foreign media in Tel Aviv. “We are committed to our war goals. If we relieve pressure on Hamas by leaving the Philadelphi Corridor we won’t free our hostages.” NN: This is some serious  shit!!  Their is no deal.

• Oil prices fell to their lowest level in 9 months early on Wednesday morning on concerns about demand and potential supply increases.
• OPEC+ is reconsidering its plan to ease production cuts in October due to the price slump.
• Oil prices have since recovered slightly on the news that OPEC+ is considering maintaining its production cuts.

 “The further pressure we see on prices the more likely that OPEC+ will be forced to scrap plans to bring supply back onto the market,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note on Wednesday. “However, with the balance looking soft through 2025, the question is when the group will eventually be able to bring supply back onto the market without putting significant pressure on prices,” they added.

The Yemeni Houthis reportedly hit two tankers in the Red Sea on Monday, one of them Saudi-flagged. According to a Reuters report citing U.S. military sources, which said one of the targets hit on Monday was a Panama-flagged vessel named Blue Lagoon I and the other was Saudi-flagged Amjad. The Houthis took responsibility for the Blue Lagoon I hit, Reuters reported, but made no mention of the Saudi-flagged vessel. According to an AP report, Blue Lagoon I had been traveling to an undisclosed location from the Russian port of Ust Luga, broadcasting that it carried Russian crude on board. The Houthis had previously said they would not target Russian or Middle Eastern ships. There was no major damage to either of the tankers, which were close to each other when they were hit. Both were able to continue on their way after the strikes. The Saudi-flagged vessel has a capacity for up to 2 million barrels of crude while Blue Lagoon I can carry up to 1 million barrels. The AP cited the Joint Maritime Information Center, a unit set up to track the Houthis’ activity in the Red Sea and led by the U.S. Army, as saying that the Blue Lagoon I tanker “was targeted due to other vessels within its company structure making recent port calls in Israel.” “These reckless acts of terrorism by the Houthis continue to destabilize regional and global commerce, as well as put the lives of civilian mariners and maritime ecosystems at risk,” the U.S. Central Command said, as quoted by the AP. The Houthis have been targeting vessels passing through the Bab el Mandeb strait since last November in reaction to Israeli bombings of Gaza. Initially, the group said it would only target Israeli ships and those sailing under flags of Israeli allies but it has since expanded its campaign. An attempt by the U.S. and some European allies to put an end to the attacks has so far failed to produce any results. NN: The only way to end terrorists attacks  is to end the terrorists, Ask Ben Laden.

The United States may withdraw from Gaza ceasefire negotiations if an agreement is not reached within the next two weeks, a high-ranking official within the Turkish Foreign Ministry informed RIA Novosti on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to the source, Washington seems to be making a sincere effort to secure a ceasefire agreement given the upcoming presidential elections and the security situation in the region but is not applying pressure on Israel. “This is an extremely dangerous decision because we will return to the starting point,” the unnamed insider emphasized. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously reiterated his commitment to securing the hostage agreement. However, he blamed the Palestinian militant group Hamas for the lack of progress in the negotiations. NN video above is a must see.