“The circle of stones at Darab is surrounded by a wide and deep ditch and a high bank of earth; there is a central stone, and a single upright stone at some distance from the main group. The resemblance of the circle at Darab to the general arrangement of Stonehenge, and other similar monuments of Europe, led Sir William Ouseley to the natural conclusion that a “British antiquary might be almost authorized to pronounce it Druidical, according to the general application of the word among us.” At Darab there is a peculiarity which isnot found at Stonehenge, at least in its existing state. Under several of the stones there are recesses, or small caverns. In this particular, and in the general rudeness of its construction, the circle of Darab resembles the Druidical circle of Jersey ([Fig.] 9), although the circle there is very much smaller, and the stones of very inconsiderable dimensions,—a copy in miniature of such vast works as those of Stonehenge and Avebury.” (p. 6)

Yet despite its usefulness, for thousands of years petroleum was very scarce. People collected it when it bubbled to the surface or seeped into wells. For those digging wells to get drinking water the petroleum was seen as a nuisance. However, some thought the oil might have large scale economic value. George Bissell, a lawyer, thought that petroleum might be converted into kerosene for use in lamps. An analysis by Benjamin Silliman, Jr., a Yale chemistry and geology professor, confirmed his hunch.

In 1854 Bissell and a friend formed the unsuccessful Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. Not one to be easily dismayed, in 1858 Bissell and a group of business men formed the Seneca Oil Company. They hired an ex-railroad conductor named Edwin Drake to drill for oil along a secluded creek in Titusville Pennsylvania. They soon dubbed him "Colonel" Drake to impress the locals. But the "Colonel" needed help so he hired Uncle Billy Smith and his two sons who had experience with drilling salt wells. In 1859 this motley crew found oil at a depth of 69 ½ feet.

In contrast, "Colonel" Drake was committed to the oil business. He scoured the country looking for customers willing to buy his crude oil. However, the bad smell, muddy black color, and highly volatile component, called naphtha, caused few sales. It became obvious that one would have to refine the oil to find a market.

Andrew Carnegie was a large stockholder in the Columbia Oil Company. Carnegie believed that the oil fields would quickly run dry because of all the drilling. He persuaded Columbia Oil to dig a huge hole to store 100,000 barrels of oil so that they could make a killing when the country's wells went dry. Luckily there was more oil than they thought! But don't feel too sorry for Carnegie, he didn't let the setback slow him down very much, and went on to make his millions in the steel industry.

Kerosene was so valuable because of a whale shortage that had began in 1845 due to heavy hunting. Sperm oil had been the main product of the whaling industry and was used in lamps. Candles were made with another whale product called "spermaceti". This shortage of natural sources meant that kerosene was in great demand. Almost all the families across the country started using kerosene to light their homes. However, the naphtha and tar fractions were seen as valueless and were simply dumped into Oil Creek. (I would like to point out that these first refineries were not operated by chemical engineers!)

Later these waste streams were converted into valuable products. In 1869 Robert Chesebrough discovered how to make petroleum jelly and called his new product Vaseline. The heavy components began being used as lubricants, or as waxes in candles and chewing gum. Tar was used as a roofing material. But the more volatile components were still without much value. Limited success came in using gasoline as a local anesthetic and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) in a compression cycle to make ice. The success in refined petroleum products greatly spread the technique. By 1865 there were 194 refineries in operation.

In 1862 John D. Rockefeller financed his first refinery as a side investment. He soon discovered that he liked the petroleum industry, and devoted himself to it full time. As a young bookkeeper Rockefeller had come to love the order of a well organized ledger. However, he was appalled by the disorder and instability of the oil industry. Anyone could drill a well, and overproduction plagued the early industry. At times this overproduction meant that the crude oil was cheaper than water. Rockefeller saw early on, that refining and transportation, as opposed to production, were the keys to taking control of the industry. And control the industry he did!

In 1870 he established Standard Oil, which then controlled 10% of the refining capacity in the country. Transportation often encompassed 20% of the total production cost and Rockefeller made under-the-table deals with railroads to give him secret shipping rebates. This cheap transportation allowed Standard to undercut its competitors and Rockefeller expanded aggressively, buying out competitors left and right. Soon standard built a network of "iron arteries" which delivered oil across the Eastern U.S. This pipeline system relieved Standard's dependence upon the railroads and reduced its transportation costs even more. By 1880 Standard controlled 90% of the country's refining capacity. Because of its massive size, it brought security and stability to the oil business, guaranteeing continuous profits. With Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller became the richest person in the World.

Originally posted by InfoKartel
what about the SECOND coupe of Iran? The Islamic revolution that was sponsored by Western powers such as the UK and France? Why is the Wests' involvement in the Islamic revolution even a bigger secret than anything you posted?

OPEC's influence on the market has been widely criticized, since it became effective in determining production and prices. Arab members of OPEC alarmed the developed world when they used the “oil weapon” during the Yom Kippur War by implementing oil embargoes and initiating the 1973 oil crisis. Although largely political explanations for the timing and extent of the OPEC price increases are also valid, from OPEC’s point of view[citation needed], these changes were triggered largely by previous unilateral changes in the world financial system and the ensuing period of high inflation in both the developed and developing world. This explanation encompasses OPEC actions both before and after the outbreak of hostilities in October 1973, and concludes that “OPEC countries were only 'staying even' by dramatically raising the dollar price of oil.”[5]

The Islamist groups that ultimately prevailed were the loyal followers of Ayatollah Khomeini. They included some minor armed Islamist groups which joined together after the revolution in the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization. The Coalition of Islamic Societies was founded by religious bazaaris[2] (traditional merchants). The Combatant Clergy Association comprised Morteza Motahhari, Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mofatteh who later became the major governors of Islamic Republic. They used a cultural approach to fight the Shah.
Because of internal repression, opposition groups abroad, like the Confederation of Iranian students, the foreign branch of Freedom Movement of Iran and the Islamic association of students, were important to the revolution.

Beheshti died in terrorist attack on June 28, 1981, when a bomb exploded during a party conference (Hafte tir bombing). The Islamic Republic at first claimed the bomb was planted by the Tudeh Party, then by the People's Mujahedin of Iran organization. The assassin was identified, so the official version, as Mohammad Reza Kolahi, an operative of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.[1]

Ayatollah Khomeini was very moved by his death. During the excavations of the bodies of the bombing victims, Khomeini was walking calmly in the garden of his house. Regularly his trustees would update the Ayatollah with new information on the death toll, Khomeini would not show any physical reaction to this although he was moved. But when they told Khomeini about the possible death of Ayatollah Beheshti, Khomeini turned around put his hands on his back and showed signs of extreme affection.[2]

Khomeini accused the PMOI of responsibility and, according to BBC journalist Baqer Moin, the Mujahedin were "generally perceived as the culprits" for the bombing in Iran.[9] The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed, but stated the attack was `a natural and necessary reaction to the regime's atrocities.` The bomber was identified as a young student [10] and Mujahedin operative[citation needed] by the name of Mohammad Reza Kolahi, who had secured a job in the building disguised as a sound engineer.[11] He was never found[citation needed] and no group or person has ever accepted the responsibility or been put on trial for this bombing. This has led to conspiracy theories by some who claim that the bombing was motivated by an internal power struggle and perpetrated by a faction within the Iranian ruling party. IRP was eventually dissolved because of these polarizations.[12] Another conspiracy theory maintains that only state-backed organizations could ever acquire such a powerful bomb and points the finger at Israel's Mossad.[citation needed]

Assassinations of "leading officials and active supporters of the regime by the Mujahedin were to continue for the next year or two," though they failed to overthrow the government. [13] Two months after Hafte tir on August 30, another bomb was detonated killing the President Rajai and Premier Mohammad Javad Bahonar. An active member of the Mujahedin, Massoud Kashmiri, was identified as the perpetrator, and according to reports came close to killing the entire government including Khomeini.[14] The reaction following both bombings was intense with many arrests and executions of Mujahedin and other leftist groups.[15]

The execution of Mr. Mohammad Reza Kolahi, son of Ahmad and resident of Shiraz, along with fifteen others, was reported in the Kayhan newspaper on September 26, 1987. The newspaper reported: “The Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Sistan and Baluchestan Province issued the sentences in order to fight imperialism and the enemies of Islam, and convicted 6 American mercenaries who fought the Islamic Republic of Iran through spreading addiction and narcotics… The Prosecutor of Sistan and Baluchestan thanked the forces of the police and the Islamic Revolutionary Committees, who worked day and night in order to arrest the abovementioned individuals, and he warned the deceived mercenaries to surrender themselves to the forces of Islam before it is too late and not bring about dishonor and shame for themselves and their families.”

On Tuesday, the spokesperson of the Iraqi defense ministry, General Mohammed al-Askari, said that the three former members of Iran’s anti-Islamic-regime terrorist organization, Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO), escaped from Camp Ashraf, the terrorist group’s headquarters in Iraq, and surrendered to the Iraqi security forces.

The MKO was created to destablize the Islamic Revolution (1979) from within Iran. The terrorist group has been suppoerted by Saddam Hussein, Israelis, Americans, French and several other anti-Islamic regime groups.

After the occupation of Iraq by US and its allied forces, MKO was allowed to maintain its military training at Camp Ashraf, named after Princess Ashraf, the King Reza Shah’s twin sister, a once-sinister figure known as Iran’s “black panther”. Al-Maliki government in Baghdad had promised to shut-down the camp in the past as result of protests from Tehran but failed to do so under Washington’s (aka Jewish Lobby) pressure.