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The Russians Have Already Quietly Pulled Their Money From The West
Earlier today we reported that according to weekly Fed data, a record amount - some $105 billion - in Treasurys had been sold or simply reallocated (which for political reasons is the same thing) from the Fed's custody accounts, bringing the total amount of US paper held at the Fed to a level not seen since December 2012. While China was one of the culprits suggested to have withdrawn the near USD-equivalent paper, a far likelier candidate was Russia, which as is well-known, has had a modest falling out with the West in general, and its financial system in particular. Turns out what Russian official institutions may have done with their Treasurys (and we won't know for sure until June), it was merely the beginning. In fact, as the FT reports, in silent and not so silent preparations for what will be near-certain financial sanctions (which would include account freezes and asset confiscations following this Sunday's Crimean referendum) the snealy Russians, read oligarchs, have already pulled billions from banks in the west thereby essentially making the biggest western gambit - that of going after the wealth of Russia's 0.0001% - moot.
Russian companies are pulling billions out of western banks, fearful that any US sanctions over the Crimean crisis could lead to an asset freeze, according to bankers in Moscow.
Sberbank and VTB, Russia’s giant partly state-owned banks, as well as industrial companies, such as energy group Lukoil, are among those repatriating cash from western lenders with operations in the US. VTB has also cancelled a planned US investor summit next month, according to bankers.
The flight comes as last-ditch diplomatic talks between Russia’s foreign minister and the US secretary of state to resolve the tensions in Ukraine ended without an agreement.
Markets were nervous before Sunday’s Crimea referendum on secession from Ukraine. Traders and businesspeople fear this could spark western sanctions against Russia as early as Monday.
It probably will. What it will also do is force Russia to engage China far more actively in bilateral trade and ultimately to transact using either Rubles or Renminbi, and bypass the dollar. Perhaps even using gold, something which the price of the yellow metal sniffed out this week, pushing itself to 6 month highs. It will also make financial ties between the two commodity-rich nations even closer, while further alienating that "imperialist devil," the US.
Of course, the west thinking like the west, and assuming that all that matters to Russia is the closing level of the Micex, believes that a sufficient plunge in Russian stocks would have been enough to deter Putin. After all, the only thing everyone in the US cares about is if the S&P 500 closed at yet another all time high, right?
What the west didn't realize, as we predicted a month ago, for Putin it is orders of magnitude more important to have the price of commodities, primarily crude and gas, high than seeing the illusion of paper wealth, aka stocks, hitting all time highs. Especially since in Russia an even smaller portion of the population cares about the daily fluctuations of the stock market. As for the oligarchs, if there is someone who will be delighted to see their power, wealth and influence impacted adversely, if only for a short period of time, it is Vladimir Vladimirovich himself, whom the west misjudged massively once more. Not to mention that the general population will be even more delighted, and boost Putin's rating even higher, if these crony billionaires are made to suffer by the west, if only a little.
(Here we would be remiss not to comment on his easy it supposedly is for Obama to freeze the assets of a few corrupt Russian billionaires, and yet the very proud Americans who nearly brought the entire financial system to the brink in 2008, are now richer than ever.)
In the meantime, some of Russia's oligarchs are effectively welcoming the challenge. Bloomberg reports:
Alisher Usmanov, the country’s richest person, controls his most valuable asset, Metalloinvest Holding Co., Russia’s largest iron ore producer, through three subsidiaries, one of which is located in Cyprus, an EU member nation. The 60-year-old also owns a Victorian mansion in London that he bought in 2008 for $70 million, according to a May 18, 2008, Sunday Times newspaper report. He’s lost $1.5 billion since the crisis began, according to the Bloomberg ranking.
“We are concerned with the possible sanctions against Russia but don’t see any dramatic repercussions for our business,” Ivan Streshinsky, CEO at USM Advisors LLC, which manages Usmanov’s assets, including stakes in Megafon OAO and Mail.Ru Group Ltd., said in an interview at Bloomberg’s offices in Moscow today.
“Mail.Ru and Megafon revenue is coming from Russia and people won’t stop making calls and using the Internet,” he said. “Metalloinvest may face closure in European and American markets, but it can re-direct sales to China and other markets.”
Great job, Obama: you just pushed Russia and China even closer by necessity! Furthermore, it should come as no surprise that while Russians were pulling their money from the west, western firms were getting out of Dodgeski.
One senior Moscow banker said 90 per cent of investors were already behaving as if sanctions were in place, adding that this was “prudent exposure management”.
These moves represent the flipside of the more obvious withdrawal of western money from Russian markets that has been evident over the past fortnight.
Traders and bankers said US banks had been particularly heavy sellers of Russian bonds. According to data from the Bank for International Settlements, US banks and asset managers between them have about $75bn of exposure to Russia.
Joseph Dayan, head of markets at BCS, one of Russia’s largest brokers said: “It’s been quite an ugly picture in Russian bonds the last few days and some of it has to do with international banks reducing exposure.”
Although foreign banks have not yet begun cutting credit to Russian companies en masse, bankers said half a dozen live deals to fund some of Russia’s biggest companies were in limbo as lenders waited to see how punitive western sanctions would be.
So the bottom line is that Russia, thinking a few steps ahead, already has withdrawn the bulk of its assets from the West, and why not. Recall that a year ago it was revealed that the same Russians who were supposed to be punished in Cyprus had mostly withdrawn their funds in advance of the bail in: they tend to know what is coming. It was the ordinary Cypriot citizens, who had done nothing wrong, who were most impaired.
And so while the Russian response is already known, we wonder just how true is the inverse: just how prepared is the west, and especially Europe, to exist in a world in which a third of Germany's gas is suddenly cut off? We can't wait to find out early next week.
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Good thing for Europe that is March and not November.
All this talk of Russia and revolutions makes me want to break out my Dr Zhivago VHS tape and dust off my VCR in the basement ...
Well, the Brussels Bandits - in cohoots with Wall Street TBTF Banks - robbed many a Russian in Cyprus.
Who run Bartertown?
LLOYD RUN BARTERTOWN!
The only 1 in human history with the fortitude to stand up to the money changers was Jesus Christ! That's has been 2,000 years folks!
Amen... +1
Don't forget Old Hickory.
"Gentlemen! I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out!"
Yes sir very valid point. A few American Heroes were exterminated for questioning and competing with the money changers but Jesus THREW THEM OUT ;)
And afterwards they had Him crucified...
Rumor has it Old Hickory had "I killed the bank" put on his grave stone, not sure if it's true or not but that would be pretty badass. Then again he ended up on the twenty (or another) dollar bill.... theirrrrrr baaaaaack. Kind of like pissing on his memory really.
"I killed the banksters" sounds pretty good too.
how long ago was it that JFK got his head blown off for trying to get congress to issue the currency like it was intended to be?
the godder bullshit doesn't do much for me.
trying to stifle Israel's nuclear ambitions may have had something to do with it.
The American and Israeli deep states have been in cahoots for quite a long time. Some folk say, anyway...
It was a TWOFER johnny, JFK wanted to have AZC listed as a foriegn-lobby, and he didn't want AZC to get NUKE's, ... for this he was murdered, and the blame went to many places, not unlike 911.
They killed Bobby a few years later, for the same reason.
Mrs. JFK married Onassis, and it all went Omerta, it was the only way to protect the 'family'.
*
Funny how all this 'real history' ended up in the Amnesia shit-hole, but then with 10's of 1,000's of bullshit books, the truth is easily lost on history, not unlike 911.
What the West is failing to comprehend, is that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and dissolution of USSR, the Russians have slowly licked their wounds and quietly, yet persistantly, rebuilt Russia to its former glory, while the Western bureaucrats have become fatter and lazier. The Russians are several steps ahead of the fat and lazy morons on this side of the world, and will be for decades to come. The US has lost all of its agility and nimbleness, with even the armed forces being required to treat everyone equally. It really doesn't matter, as long as the entertainment doesn't knock on my door, which probably will happen sooner, than later.
You need to understand that the USA has been pillaged, and looted since its 1970's Bankruptcy, and Nixon took the USA off gold.
1980's RAYGUN let the Buffets rob the corporate pensions of CASH, replacing them with worthless IOU's.
1990's the The FED started printing FIAT to INFINITY, which was of no recourse, there was no going back to a tax-payer funded government it was to be a funny-money, fiat to infinity forever. So they inflated stocks and real estate to create 'wealth', but then it was continual bubbles ever since.
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The USA people were hairlips prior to WW2, and they had very short TIME of prosperity maybe 30+ years, and certainly since 911, its been down, .. down.
Everything in the USA has been GUTTED, and education destroyed, and yes the US-MIL has since the 1990's RAN GOOD MEN OUT,
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IMHO this is all planned and orchestrated, KISSINGER knew exactly what he was doing when he told Nixon to take the USA off gold, and when AZC killed JFK they knew exactly what message that sent to US politicians.
Nothing last's forever, not even FIAT-to-INFINITE, the USD can't be reserve currency, when everybody knows its backed only by MURDER, eventually the game would be called.
The ZIO (PTB) would like nothing more than to incinerate the USA, and rebuild a new ISRAEL on USA soil, but for now they'll try to steal EUROPE,
But make no mistake the USA was always a COLONY, and there was never a USA-REVOLUTION, that UK always knew the USA was a COLONY, and in 1910 when LORD BALFOUR gave the zionists the USA & Palestine, everybody in the UK PTB knew exactly that the USA would be stripped to the bone.
Dood, your pony needs another trick.
Say again, I can't hear you.
satoshi?
"With the armed forces being required to treat people equally"
I used to date a spec war guy and I asked him what he thought of women in the military and he actually sighted Russian women as being completely lethal, so maybe they did get ahead, women have had more equality in Russia than most know.... not catered too.....but its seems its part of their culture that women are believed in and thus expected to contribute and to do so well. Not only that but with one in ten being gay everywhere.... they have always been in the military. Shit... in Rome they used to bang each other and look at the that armies wrath. At this point this military is lucky to have anyone. Seen the male on male rape stats for the US military lately? Worse than most federal pens
And yields on the US 10-year fell 15 pips this week while Russian 10-year rates hit a multi-year high.
The oligarchs know their own financial position, and they know from whom they borrowed money (Russian banks browbeaten by Putin). They aren't so stupid as to deposit their ill-gotten gains in said same banks.
Oh for God's sake, will you guys just stop.
Can't you get it through your heads . . . Russia Has The Oil. We produce NGLs and condensate. Europe produces bratwurst. They have already won the game.
Now they are just running up the score. They aren't going to destroy the dollar. They aren't going to disrupt a game in which they are relentlessly grinding out a victory. Why should they? They aren't going to do anything that somehow makes your gold holdings transform you into your local community's dominant citizen.
None of that is going to happen.
They are going to keep things going just as they are. They can move 100s of thousands of troops into Ukraine long enough to put their own government back into power and then withdraw, and in a period of maybe 6 weeks it would all go back to what it was 8 months ago -- and no one will stop them. The world just goes back to what it was, and they keep draining $400 billion/year from their enemies.
If you can't see the power of oil now, you'll realize it when young American ladies are sent to be nannies for Russian upscale parents. Soon.
Don't confuse me with the end-of-dollar and return-of-gold crowd. I'm more in the Calorie-of-the-Day camp in the land of Armageddon.
I don't disagree with you, but I have some caveats: Russia might well find that in the world to come, controlling a resource is not as easy as it has been for the Arabs during a US-as-major-power world. I bet we are going to drop the "Neo" from the terms Neo Colonialism and Neo Imperialism.
When push comes to shove, the knives will come out. The first knives will be in the form of IEDs in Occupied Ukraine. Maybe those are mosquito bites, but as more and more young Russians come home in pieces, Putin's support will fall. Then there's the Moslems in many of the oil producing regions of Russia, who can be more hyena than mosquito. Top that off with China's resource needs and its historical animosity toward Russia and the fact that many resource-rich areas of Russia sit far from Moscow in Siberia, and I don't think having all that oil/gas is going to be the pure benefit it might now seem.
The world might be all about joules and calories, but it is also all about human nature. Even a casual look at the last 5000 years of history suggests the mean behavior of humanity can be nasty. And we are probably returning to that "mean".
That's not badly thought out at all.
I would suggest first that a couple of presumptions should be examined. 1) that the Ukraine folks are going to hate the Russians. That will be so in a few provinces, but if they, the Russians, show up and install stability and then go home, it's over and done. Remember, their guy won the election, and he won it with the other folks in power in control of the election machinery. They have the majority. They aren't installing a puppet the majority hates. 2) They just won't be there long. As I said, a couple of months to install a government and then leave. No time for the body bags to fill.
As for what happens next, the critical numbers are . . . the US consumes 24% of the world's total annual oil and has 4% of the population. Given scarcity, and people can wave their hands about miracles to deny scarcity, but given it, and given that oil consumption defines GDP, there is no way in hell China will tolerate a situation where their GDP growth is not permitted to "catch the US" because they can't get oil. India feeds people with oil. Everyone feeds people with oil. The US is using more than anyone else because American GDP is higher. No one is taking Sunday drives and wasting it. The GDP is just far higher. Human nature won't tolerate this.
So how safe is Russia's oil from a grab? Oil isn't easy to grab. Well site equipment can be destroyed pretty easily. If someone tries to come get it, you blow it up. If they get it and do repairs, it's easy to blow up again. And of course Russia is big. Really big. Not easy to get where you want to get to.
Rather than grab supply I have always presumed the correct approach is to suppress consumption. With so much of it on tankers, not hard to do.
Everyone feeds people with oil.
it continues to blow my mind how many people continue to ignore this very simple but salient fact. as trivial & inconsequential as it may sound, growing a garden (at least making the effort to grow a portion of your daily sustenance) is not only a radical act, but a coming necessity. the Russians know this from generations back (dachas). Americans too (victory gardens), it's just buried underneath gigantic piles of cultural propaganda.
as a sidenote, curious to see how many acres of corn are planted in the US after the farmers got butt-raped by the traders at harvest season last year.
it will be mostly Ukrainians fighting in Ukraine.
Ivan has played nice with the hyenas to date. He won't be inclined, and indeed, won't be able to afford to do so again.
King Rat allegory
It seems to me based on the charts of remaining proven oil reserves that Venezuela is the real prize, then maybe Iran. But Russia with loads of farmland, commodities, intellectualism up the yang (read a short piece on two Russians stabbing each other while arguing over Kant!), and a 13% flat tax..... yeah they'll be fine. Europe will be more screwed than anyone, they have nothing and have lived as complete conquering and stealing parasites ever since.
Russian oil is finite. Soon, in the near-term, all the Russian oil that will be left will be Khazakstanian and artic oil both of which will be desperately coveted by the Chinese.
The more of it they pump and sell the sooner it will runout. In a decade or so, oil will be used primarily as the source of fertilizers and plastics, costs eschewing its continued use as fuel. and even that technology will soon be anachronistic and pushed aside by fusion and chemical and green technologies already in development.
Russia dreams of controlling Iranian and Caspian oil with contracts and pipelines, while at the same time they are helping the irrational Iranian mullahs to acquire nuclear weapons. That nuclear weapon policy and binding defense treaties will blowback on the Russians to effect their near annihilation.
You're betting on miracles. You're betting 7 billion lives on a miracle or three.
The First 12 Hours of a US Dollar Collapse
The financial sector is nothing but a tumor, and will be treated as such.
Nothing will stop these crazy fucking psychopaths. And they know there is nothing we can do about it... or will do about it. Because we've stood by and watched them (and they've watched us) as they have destablized and then destroyed country after country over the last few years. Killing, maiming, and making homeless millions of people in Afganistan, Iraq, Libia, Egypt, Syria. Still trying in Iran. And now poor Ukraine. Is there any end to this greedy insanity and madness? Who is going to stop these psychopaths from their treachery... from destroying civilization once again?
Oh they'll be stopped. You have to remember you knew what was going on but the average Joe still hadn't figured it out yet. They are just now starting to catch on, welfare the great social bandaid also bought time, but even the Obama fans have to wake up when Obo is an even bigger war monger than the last and the pain is growing by the die. That will only be ignored so long.
Civilization?....What civilization. Man has never been able to govern himself.....no matter what flavor of the day they have employed....Dictatorship, fuedalism, socialism, constitutional republic, etc.
The most murderous institutions ever devised by man have been his various forms of "governments".
Hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of millions of human beings have been killed/murdered/genocided by "governments" in the twentieth century alone.....many of them by "their own governments". 21st century warfare will kill multiple BILLIONS more human beings.
It begs the question of just why has the U.S. Government recently purchased thousands upon thousands of weapons and multiple billions of hollow point bullets, that have been declared by The Geneva Convention to be "illegal" for use in international conflicts, for U.S. Government employees? Who is the U.S. Government planning on using those billions of hollow point bullets on?
Why is the U.S. Government trying so hard to disarm Americans? All other nations have already disarmed their citizenry. We are the only population left on earth that has the potential to put-up any meaningful resistance to the mass murder of humanity that has been planned by the satanically-inspired oligarchical psycopaths for many decades.
If we are suprised at this development, it is because we are ignorant. "Let not your heart be troubled", this has all been foretold. Everything is laid out in detail for us to inform ourselves.
Those of us who have read and studied the end of The Book already know the final outcome. It is not one of the various governments of Man that will bring an end to the coming horror.
the hubris of the west is it's achilles heel
The idiots in O'Bummer's administration probably forgot that Russians grew up playing chess while Americans grew up jerking off and eating twinkies in front of the boob tube.
Putin and the oligarchs will always be 3 moves ahead of O'Bummer, Kerry, and his team of State Dept. clowns.
precisely, yet I'm sure the choomer and his minions are convinced it is the other way around.
The US has been obsessed with mediocrity in leadership for many years and now the price will be paid.
It has nothing to do with being a better chess player.
They have 10.5 million bpd of crude. We are pumping condensate (not oil) from the Eagleford shale at about 1 million bpd.
The chess game is one side is playing without any rooks. The other side has an extra one. Russia doesn't have to be better players. They are going to win.
Yep, give me all queens and Bobby Fischer all pawns and I bet I win 5 out of 10 times.
Ovomit's usefulness is nearly at an end. A metal-jacketed brain implant may soon be at hand.......Injected, of course, by a red-necked, gun-totin", American Tea Party Patriot.
On your feet, Gun Grabbers United! Save the world from these American Cowboys.
Actually there's a line from Trading Places that comes to mind, it's the scene in the bathroom when Valentine overhears the Dukes wager and their plan to get rid of him.
Say what you want about gun toten rednecks because the oligarchs fear them much more than those who live in the cities.
Americans grew up programming computers. There are only 64 squares on a chess board and all the best strategies are known, so even a parrot like Obama could learn to win at chess without thinking.
Putin and Obama are on the same team. The only difference is, Obama is our traitor and Putin is their master.
You suck Holder
monad - let's play the 1 grain of rice on the first square of the chessboard - and then double each time. only 64 is alot. i'm sure you know all the 'best stratagies'. by the way - how many are there? i'm sure it's limited.
Reading off the box, the last AI chess product I beat has 200 opening moves. But the AI code I worked on 15 years ago had 1024; thats enough for human intelligence. I play position. Given the weighted attacks, its most flexible regarding the limits of human opponents.
The best human chess players I've known rolled 30 moves on a great day. I play against computers. But I teach chess to children. Not as an end, not as the thing their life is based on, but just an interesting art to discover. Some of my past students are your dragons. Soros does not have more time to invest than I do, and my children are winning. My charity is alive. I have changed the world, for the better, in my lifetime. That was my life goal. I'm not finished.
"even a parrot like Obama could learn to win"
Right now Putin is saying to 0bama; "0bama want a Ukraine?"
Perfect situation for the Chinese to really start liquidating dollar assets and be able to blame it all on the Russians and the West.
China end the petrodollar?
That would be their worst nightmare, why would they do that when they have a $600,000,000,000.00 a year dollar trade surplus?
.....All worthless when the FED Jews repudiate the dollar with a new fiat.
You really ask why they would do that? Let me give a hint: He, who has the gold ...
Brief biography: Alisher Usmanov -- Wikipedia
Usmanov was born in Uzbekistan in a provincial town of Chust but spent his childhood in the capital Tashkent where his father was a state prosecutor. Planning to pursue a career of a diplomat, he later moved to Moscow and joined Moscow State Institute of International Relations from which he graduated in 1976 with a degree in international law.[21]
He was arrested and convicted on fraud charges in Uzbek SSR in August 1980 and imprisoned for six years of an eight year sentence.[18][20] This conviction was vacated in July 2000 by the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan, when it ruled that "the original conviction was unjust, no crime was ever committed, and that the evidence was fabricated."[18][19] In a November 2007 email interview with The Guardian, the interviewer brought up multiple instances where Usmanov had been accused of various crimes or of using or giving political favors, including the subsequently vacated 1980 conviction. Usmanov repeatedly denied all of the accusations mentioned in the interviewer's questions.[20]
Usmanov, who is Muslim, married Jewish[22] Irina Viner,[23] a top rhythmic gymnastics coach, in 1992. He attended the Academy of Finance to study banking beginning in 1997.[24] …
Usmanov is a close personal friend of Roman Abramovich, who owns Chelsea Football Club (Usmanov has a 15% stake in Arsenal Football club), and the two shared the same circle of friends in Russia (Usmanov even employed Abramovich's first wife Olga to work for his company).[26]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alisher_Usmanov
"Usmanov, who is Muslim, married Jewish[22] Irina Viner,[23] a top rhythmic gymnastics coach,"
Behind every successfull crook or crime stand a Jewish woman !!!
If $18.6 billion makes Alisher Usmanov an oligarch, what does $27 billion make Michael Bloomberg?
part of the problem.
Bloomberg?....A Sorosian-brained, black-hearted, Babylonian Jew. A top-tier "useful idiot".
The coke Nazi no big gulp for you. Next!
A capital O-ligarch.
Until your last night in the black box provided by FEMA, the USA will be the best place to live. I have been to the best Europe has to offer and it sucks in good times. Europe will be the second best place to be when you die. China is a hellhole and it always will be. When the USA printing press goes down it takes everyone with it.
Anyone here ever seen a chinaman drive?
Most Russians have lived through two currency collapses in the past 25 years, in addition to having experienced life under a communist regime.
Most Americans have never skipped a meal.
I doubt these sanctions are going to have much effect.
Nah, I grounded my daughter and she wasn't allowed to go to the mall for a week. She understands hardship, just ask her.
After a huge win at the Winter Olympics I think Russia will be taking out the World Cup also
Impeccable form
" thereby essentially making the biggest western gambit - that of going after the wealth of Russia's 0.0001% - moot."
disagree.
that they are running for the hills is a recognition of who actually has the power of the purse. hint: its not putin-take.
:)
russia and china making thier move before obo and his killer clowns are gone. we are stuck with them for 2and half more years
John Kerry has US embassy solutions, he is waiting on congress to approve one billion dollars. Congress is waiting for China to sign the check. Meanwhile, China tells John Kerry to fuck off if you impose sanctions on Russia. No ckecki fur u mr. kirri.
You’re all diplomatic imbeciles…
LOL
While the Germans lost their Gold to the Fed.
And keep quite about it
USA has 40,000+ troops in Germany - I don't think the Germans are in a position to open their mouth unless given permission.
Thats 40,000 Troops they can capture easily. Already surrounded. Can be used as Hostages to get the gold back.
And besides the Germans can always ask the Russians for help. They think ahead and unfettered unlike the Germans who think inside the box.
As in Korea.
In the event of a genuine NK attack most US troops would be dead inside 20 minutes. Most killed while asleep or while getting tug jobs in Seoul.
Likely the same with any base.
A little at first, then all at once.
Stack on
Dr. Jim Willie is saying that it is Russia and China around 27 minutes. He is predicting that Germany will see the writing on the wall and flip to Russia and China. I think if they do it will be more subtle but I tend to agree.
http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/podcast/5574/et-tu-jackass
Their interests would be better served by renewing the historical Berlin/Moscow relationship instead of going down with the empire, but I certainly don't see it happening with the current puppets in charge there.
Like in America, the national puppets are selected on only 1 real criteria - fealty to the empire.
could you imagine if russia/germany were to become allies? throw in japan and it would be on like donkey kong.
i probably played too much RISK as a teen.
Germany, like Japan, like Taiwan, like Philipines
Are all USA territorial colony's.
The USA is spread thin, and has 1,000's of bases to keep its colony's under thumb,
I complete agree that PUTIN could compromise with GERMANY to get the USA bases out of Germany,and no Russian bases in Germany, the German people would rejoice.
I have never in my life met a GERMAN that had anything good to say about USA occupation of Germany to this date. Few realize that USA still occupy's and controls GERMANY post ww2.
The majority of GERMANS' would sign a treaty with Russia, to do away with the USA assholes occupying their country.
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The GERMANS will never see their gold again, until post ww3, if and when that happens, but certainly the Germans will side with RUSSIA on the next war, given that WW1&2 the Germans fought on the WRONG side and lost.
Well Germany does receive billions of dollars pumped into their economy annually for those bases. The removal of those US bases from Germany would put more than a little dent in their economy.
That said, close all the foreign soil military bases and save the taxpaying citizens billions of dollars a year.
Does anyone have any definitive proof that Germany has not received their gold back? I have seen articles and speculation but no proof, like maybe Merkle saying 'That prick won't give us our gold - un-friend him'
US Bases in German soil are paid entirely by the German taxpayer. The appropriations to the tune of EUR 2 billion a year go quietly through the Bundestag, and are never reported in the bought-and-paid German MSM.
Do you really thing that the crumbling empire which owes the world 17 trillion dollars pays for its 700+ overseas bases? No, the bases are there exactly to collect the racket money and to make sure there is little fuss when the FED inflates the dollar thus shortchanging the US' "allies".
The narrative according to which the US taxpayer altruistically foots the imperial bill is comparable to "the Marshall Plan rebuilt Europe" or "the US save the world in WW1 and WW2". This is mere propaganda to inspire compliance among the conquered nations and justify aggression abroad.
Having lived in Germany for several years I have met many with lots of good things to say. Of course, that was back when the Wall was up and the Soviets and the US faced off at the Fulda gap. I'm sure attitudes have changed.
It's only enough for a few beers.
But let's not call it a bank run
"western firms were getting out of Dodgeski"
LOL Tylers, now that's funny !
'Boris the blade?...more like Boris the sneaky fukin Russian'
Not "Boris The Spider"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvFuUaCe8eY
I still remember the hundred of billions dollars of Lybia froze by the West. Did they return to Lybia? It is almost like highway robbery. So the russians are not stupids. Imagine the others doing the same to USA.
The hundreds of billions has already been returned not to mention the stupidity of the billions of US tax dollars in aid to that F'd up country. Those US tax dollars are taken from the paychecks of working Americans to support the delusion of a communists dream and sometime President
what about iraq
what about libya
what about kiev
what happened to all the gold?
No idea... but history has always shown - 'to the victor goes the spoils', right or wrong.
All we need is for China and other countries to sell off their treasuries and get rid of the petro dollar.
The time has arrived to get rid of the US dollar as the reserve currency.
Yes the time has come. This is just what the US needed to launch the new improved fiat dollar. Of course they need to have an excuse and the Russians and Chinese were manipulated into giving the excuse.
You have to give it to them: The US (and Europe) did it again. They will flourish and the rest will stand empty handed.
Now you know why gold is useless: The new fiat will rule them all.
You must be talking about a new 2014 Fiat 500L because there is no 'new improved fiat dollar' coming
You better hope not Yogi because you are linked, whether you like it or not, to the US dollar at the hips.
Say goodbye to your picnic baskets if the dollar crashes that far.
If you eat corn and pills at the same time you'll have the shits. trust me
Sorry if this has already been reported, but maybe this is fallout from the massive withdrawals and preparations for something more than the usual bank crashing.
Rome days away from bankruptcy:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10666138/Rome-day...
WHY?
why it is that the Jewish community is supporting the neo-Nazis rise (UKRAINE). Why is it that the presence of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who led rebel groups has not been questioned and addressed? Furthermore, why have Jewish leaders voiced support for the coup and its leaders, and they have chosen to direct their anger and venom toward Russia and President Putin in a letter?
WHY? You ask WHY?
WHy? Because it furthers prosperity of God's chosen people that is why.
If you have to ask 'WHY', you must be an anti-semite.
Go for the Gold Russia. We love you Vlad.
My Enemy's Enemy is my love.
I love PUTIN :)
Anybody that has the ball's to publicly risk his career and life standing for what is RIGHT, is good.
The entire WORLD get's to watch in SLOW-MOTION that the RUSSIAN's/CHINESE are the good guy's and bad guys are the CIA/MOSSAD (ZIO-NEO-CON).
*
There will be a coming CULLING in the USA, and just like the STALIN/MAO purge, it will come down on the 4th estate of for lying to the people for so long, my guess is that if you were were cop or MSM, you and your family will be sent to the 'camps' for re-education in the coming post uncivil-wars.
All MSM, all Hollywood, ... all TV, ... All must be purged.
*
Am I pissed yes, seeing the USA destroyed before my eyes, seeing a FOREIGN-POWER(AZC) turn the US-MIL into a private mercenary army, seeing the FEDERAL-RESERVE(USD) being turned into an INFINITE money tree so that a foriegn-power can fund its permanent wars, ... Yes I'm pissed.
And only PUTIN, has the balls to step up, e.g. until some ZIO- Trillionaires buys him off like they bought off Gorby.
Putin is a communist with communist ambitions, the fact that he is a megalomaniac just adds to attractiveness - to some crazy people.
That sounds like Obama. I guess being a full on helpless pretentious moron sets the women at ease too.
With the exception of 'megalomaniac' I agree, 0bama is too lazy to be a megalomaniac.
Gangsta Napolean in drag
It's a sad world when you're stuck cheering on the "less repulsive" but right now I have respect for anyone that stands up to the Rothschilds. If they ever get control of Russia and China, whether by force or the two caving, then we are living 1984.
Big +1 to ZH for calling it early.
Whatever exactly "it" turns out to be, still speculating wildly about where they put it.
WTF is President Zero doing causing even this much of a blip in the world regarding Ukraine? Is this a war of necessity? I mean, just how did any of this pull President 5-Iron off the golf course? Is there some advantage in this to the US banksters who ZH'rs like to think really call the shots? Cuz unless we start popping neutrons, I don't see how the US comes out ahead on any of this.
its only a million dollars bitchez
The Ukraine owes the Russians a lot of money? That is it. End of story. Anything more is Tv fantasy? Oh we loss but gain Poland!
Its like this .. when your dad is a wife and child basher sometimes you need the neighbour to come over and smash him in the face.
This is how it is with USA and Russia. Russia is the bad arse nasty dirty arsehole neighbour we hate and don't trust.. ie. the perfect person to rough up the child wife beating dad.
But the real abusers are the oligarchs ... Russia China need to track them down and wipe them out. USA and Europe wont since they Are owned by them.
Amidst the main-stream-media fostered anti-diplomatic posturing, within yet another chapter of reckless White House foreign-policy failure, by far the biggest catastrophe seems to have totally escaped the Idiocracy within Washington and the other North Atlantic Treaty Organization Capital's moronosphere.
The Western world has now created a deeply poisonous and mistrustful relationship with probably the biggest nuclear power, on earth today. Ukraine and Crimea are almost irrelevant sidebar matters compared to that far more significant and lasting major degeneration between great powers.
Did anyone in the US CIA, NSA and White House consider this potential outcome before you've decided to fund and try to destabilize Ukraine and foster a coup on Russia's border? Did anyone consider that Russia just might object to the Black Sea Fleet's tenure in Crimea being deliberately undermined?
What's the best way to remove an air force? Destroy it on the ground, and/or remove its air bases.
What's the best way to remove a major naval fleet? Destroy it in port, and/or remove its naval bases.
Did anyone even care that this would surely be the outcome? That a nuclear shotgun would be pointed at your country, city, house, children and entire future ... for decades to come? Did anyone suggest this might be a poor choice? Where were the adults at this point? Or did they all retire in disgust, prior to this? Did the Washington Neocon-PNAC Idiocracy not even realize this could lead to foreign policy and global civilization catastrophe?
Or were you all just pumping your MIC stock again? ... yeah ... remember this?:
This is too important to leave to the turds and 'nuggets' in the White House to be allowed to screw this up. This is not just some trivial game of creating conducive environments for further insane levels of Military-Industrial-Complex spending, to goose their insider-trading supported stock returns.
The potential outcomes of this outrageously irresponsible behavior is the total global destruction of human civilization. Did anyone think using the future of human civilization like a gaming-chip might be boundlessly dim-witted?
Hopefully the White House will regale us with tales of their great 'leadership' and peace-making capacity, as we clearly could all use an extended laughing-fit, at this point.
Frankly, if human civilization just tolerates such 'leadership', civilization deserves to be completely wiped-out. If this sort of incomprehensibly stupid geo-militarism, and the associated MSM facilitated MIC warmongering clown-show continues human civilization certainly will be wiped out.
I had no idea all those classified documents had been released so quickly to the public pinpointing US intel agency involvement in the coup. You should put up the links that prove CIA or NSA complicity. It should prove interesting reading.
As for the State Dept and WH, perhaps you can help there, too. I searched for material, and all I could find were statements from Victoria Nuland, where she said that since 1991 the US has given the Ukraine $5 billion in foreign aid. That is 23 years. Do you happen to know---because I can't find it anywhere---how much support or foreign aid Russia gave to Ukraine over the same period? Certainly a portion of that seems to have gone to their apparatchik, or rather the "democratically elected leader" Yanukovych, which I guess was necessary after Putin's FSB poisoned former President Victor Yushchenko and then imprisoned Prime Minister Tymoshenko. It does seem, or events suggest, that US foreign aid had greater impact that what Putin proffered, though it does seem "the legitimately elected President" Yanukovych (what was that famous Stalin quote about elections?) might have used a bit of Putin's loot for some home redecoration. Incidentally, in any and all subsequent US elections, the US could really use some of those Ukrainian election officials, who apparently are incapable of running anything other than totally free and fair elections. At least send a few to Florida.
I also read an interview with current US Ambasador Geoffrey Pyatt where he states he had contacts and discussions with every party, including the Party of Regions. I don't think he's all that persuasive a guy anyway, certainly not enough to get people to put their lives on the line unless they already were so inclined.
See, all I can find on the part of the USG is what one might call typical diplomacy, where Ukraine is one of dozens of countries that were recipients of foreign aid in the last few decades and where US diplomatic personnel engage parties of all stripes in discussions. How does that aid and those diplomatic discussions carried out over two and a half decades with Ukraine differ from what US policy arms have done in any of a hundred other nations?
I've read a lot on this site about how the USG, CIA, NSA, State, and a host of private individuals engineered the entire Ukrainian uprising, as if the Ukrainian people are not capable of a single original thought. I've tried to gather factual information to back that up, but I cannot find it. Since you seem to know, as many others around here seem to know, perhaps you can point out something other than circular links that lead back to themselves and suggest---pardon me---that someody just made it all up. The only direct proof of intelligence agency involvement in the Ukraine issue I can find, in the form of surreptitiously recorded private phone conversations, was carried out by the FSB.
All of the above notwithstanding, it does seem State et al did underestimate the willingness of Putin to resort to force to carry on the work of Nicholas I. I wonder if their ears are perked up in Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan?
Verbatim comments by Nulands, 23rd Dec 2013:
"Which they have chosen"? Really? When was that, exactly?
From Wikipedia on the Euromaidan page:
So the Ukrainain national polling trend was running against an EU membership bid!
Plus there was no political mandate for the government on the EU "Association Agreement", and it's clear the economy could not afford such an agreement, nor the imposition of associated IMF loan bailout terms ... and let's face it, that's exactly what was being offer, you be our puppet and we'll keep you going ... and just curious about this, who effectively controls and funds the IMF's loan book anyway?
So at that point the USSA and EUSSR understood fully that an "historic" geopolitical opportunity was slipping out of their grasp, so it was now or never, they had to do something fast, to try and make it happen, and make it stick.
Continuing on with the Nulands video quotes for Dec 23rd:
Right, so the US and EU openly admitted to being very actively and directly engaged inside of Ukraine, not outside of it, with all the key stakeholders (I'm guessing this doesn't include the Govt, given that on Nov 21st the government had effectively rejected the EU Association Agreement as untenable on economic and national political grounds), thus Nulands and Ashton were directly fanning the on the ground flames-of-protest, as much as possible. Hence the FSB's interest in their phone calls. And I'm sure they have any number of interesting recordings over the next three months.
Well other than the preying bit that sounds like the average anti-IMF street protest staged in almost any country on earth, especially Greece, Italy, France, UK, Portugal, or Spain. Anyway, apparently is was especially forceful 'n stuff, as they used really thuggish criminal-like state riot-police and tear gas, and almost as bad as what the US did, in US streets, against Occupy Wall Street.
It was pretty darned nasty stuff there chindits.
So three trips, in five weeks, and in the middle of the last one, she's directly coordinating with Cathy Ashton and protesters, and heavens above, right in the middle of that last trip the protests just happened to get all violent and nasty. Yeah, I know, correlation does not equal causation, etc., but given we aren't gullible 2-year-olds here, I think we can join the dots of what was going on at that point. Given coercion had failed a high level geopolitical decision was taken to attempt to destabilize the government of Ukraine. That was the path they saw as there being no alternative to so they pursued it all through early Dec, up to the situation we have today.
Now you can ignore this if you wish, but don't expect me to.
- Verbatim excerpts from Victoria Nuland's video address at "Ukraine in Washington 2013" conference on Dec 23 2013.
Clearly the audience were foreign and also Ukraine-based individuals, looking for a slice of the action, either politically, or in business dealings, or black-market related aftermath of a US and EU-backed and funded political puppet emerging within Kiev - via whatever means that could be bought about.
Certainly there's a contrived Messianic deliverance quality to her comments, (good guys and bad guys, cowboys and itchy-bums type rhetoric) regarding 'historic', current, and pending events, to finally bring about a NATO-aligned puppet government, within Ukraine.
There can be no doubt at all for these and many other remarks and instances that this was their geopolitical AIM, and that they were inciting it and funding it. And I have no doubt at all that much more explicit actual hard evidence of this will be forthcoming from here.
Note also that "maidan", according to Nulands, apparently equates to all of Ukraine, despite the current reality that it clearly does not, then, or now.
When Yanukovych decided, in the second-half of November 2013, to put on-hold a closer trade association with the EU, was it not entirely reasonable and his prerogative that he, being the elected head of a nominally democratic Ukraine may have realized this association was a deeply divisive path, in a country in which maybe a majority, or at least a very large passionately-motivated minority, felt at home with closer alignment with Moscow?
And given the recent turbulent history of revolution and unrest in the country, and its parlous finances and pending crisis, is it not reasonable that the LEGAL POLICY-DECIDING PRESIDENT AND WHOLE GOVERNMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY should make such a policy decision, in the interests of avoiding an epic pro-Russian backlash as the financial situation deteriorated further?
You can see that, right?
Clearly Nulands (et al.) supposed a democratically-elected President of an independent country has no such right at all, to make an independent policy choice that does not align with US and EU policy objectives, or runs contrary to all that she was working to bully the Government of Ukraine into doing. How dare he chose to resist such bullying and rank arrogance, eh?
The US State Dept only wanted unicorns and soft yellow puppies and rainbows to flow, to the good folk of Ukraine, and here was this rotten democratically elected constitutionally and legally valid, and vaguely pro-Russian ogre, daring to interfere with US policy aims and objectives. Pretty darned outrageous, no?
That's called 'meddling' in foreign and domestic internal affairs of anther state.
It's the typical blunt hegemonic behavior of a superpower block and a salubrious mix of hopey propaganda to wash it all down. The US and Eu were clearly engaging in naked coercion tactics, that was followed by foreign-funded and inspired destabilization. There was not free independent choice allowed here chindit. I have no doubt a significant portion of the Ukrainian population were swayed by vacuous deceitful geopolitical sentiments and much propaganda, promises of bliss a better future, and the encouragement of escalating protests, that resulted in maidan armed agents provocateur, and maidan thug-violence being used by these "Euromaidans", to take power via deadly force.
Which immediately almost touched-off a civil war, and has provoked this soft-invasion of Crimea.
A few observations of the words and concepts within the above:
"right direction" = naked foreign meddling
"secure" = nil
"prosperous" = nil
"democratic" = highly contentious to non-existent (certainly unconstitutional and a flagrant coup at present)
"as we take Ukraine" = concerted meddling with an implicit statement of intent to meddle much further.
--
I guess it's entirely possible he US govt also didn't deliberately incite the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as a matter of policy, as well (except we now know that it did), and that it knew in advance the attack was coming but actually conciously chose to ensure that it was successful-enough to ensure full economic mobilization and war-powers and nationally directed Imperial efforts to achieve the predetermined strategic outcome that was desired (i.e. total domination of Pacific, Indian and Atlantic basins for a classic global hegemony, PAX-Americana).
Despite my occasional poking of you, I do enjoy your thoughtful contrary comments. However, your point-blank refusal to accept that conspiracies do actually exist, within virtually all historical or current geostrategic developments, once analyzed and examined in deeper detail (yes, and with the assistance of declassified docs, such as the one given below for your enjoyment), and the countervailing overwhelming official evidence and official admissions that such grand conspiracies and plots do in fact exist, and are routinely utilized - sort of undercuts your geopolitical-refusenik type positions a bit too deeply and consistently for them to be taken seriously.
Some bedside reading to reconcile yourself with. Don't worry, it's all just perfectly innocent noodling over the 'options' ... it's not like they'd really do it or nuffin':
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20010430/northwoods.pdf
Thank you Element. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your response. I only wish arguments like yours could reach the American public.
Element, you kicked ass!
There is an enormous difference between normal diplomacy---which every country engages in according to its interests and ideology---and covert action (which is for the most part useless, but at times can move something along already headed in a certain direction). I see nothing in what Nuland et al did that goes beyond the pale of normal diplomacy, whether engaged in by US or Western interests, or anyone else. Troops taking over bases and amassing on the border, however, is not normal diplomacy. Perhaps lack of knowledge about how every nation engages in diplomacy (it's never been white-gloved sweet talk) came as a surprise to you.
Nuland, and the rest of State, had an agenda and promoted it. Putin and his ilk also had an agenda and promoted it. When things did not go his way (in years' past), he poisoned Yushchenko (pinpointed covert action obviously can have an effect) and arranged to have Tymoshenko deposed. In Round Three, the squeaky wheel was more in line with US and Western interests. That squeaky wheel, however, was Ukrainian, and to claim the USA in the form of State/CIA/NSA was responsible is equivalent to saying the Ukrainian people are simply naive children and waiting for some outsider to tell them what they should think. They might applaud it, but it was going to happen Nuland or not, US or not.
Everyone here always talks about shaking the tree of liberty from time to time. A critical mass of people in Ukraine decided to do some shaking, just as people in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries decided to do in the last few years. The deposed ruler, even if he had once won a legitimate election, was shown to be corrupt and self-serving, and he got shaken. Putin chose to go beyond normal diplomacy and resort to a show of force.
You might argue that US diplomacy was wrong or shortsighted, but it is both unfair to the Ukrainian people, and simply naive, to claim what took place in Kiev was the result of US covert action. Yushchenko's poisoning, and the tapped private phone calls of Nuland-Pyatt and Ashton-Paet, on the other hand, are the result of covert action and spying. but that was Putin and the FSB. What seems likely to happen next is pure Peter the Great and Nicholas I.
OK, so the use of armed provocateurs to over throw a constitutionally legitimate democratic foreign government is just typical "US Diplomacy" to you (and it's quite obviously SOP for the US State Dept, so I can't really disagree with that), and such 'diplomacy' couldn't possibly be construed as a blatant act of war. Though I must say, the Russian annexation looks mighty 'diplomatic' as well, don't it?
But I wonder if the US would call it mere 'diplomacy' if the Russians had militated for a Russian puppet govt in Canada and financial guarantees with a broke Canada to split with US strategic aims? And the legitimate Govt was thus overthrown by Moscow funded or at least directly encouraged armed provocateurs, and the govt forced into US exile? Oh good heavens, that would not be diplomacy, that would be an, "act of infamy", and several other things, and an invasion ordered to liberate the tar sands, and the freeing and liberation of all oppressed resources and lands.
You can act smug and smarmy all you wish, you've only repeated what you already said, in your first comment, which amounted to a blanket-denial of what we know has actually taken place. So no need to refute anything here except to add that there was no "certainty" of further revolution or a coup within Ukraine sans EU and Washington DC active vocal MSM based advocacy, and billions of dollars dangling on offer, to help fan such miscreant antics to completion.
It otherwise almost certainly would not have occurred.
Thus it was clearly due to Washington and EU meddling, in the internal stability and domestic affairs of another sovereign nation. It almost created a civil war, and it still may, and it has triggered a soft-invasion of Crimea as well, and deeply poisoned relations with Moscow, for what will be decades to come.
None of this would have occurred without direct US and EU meddling ... sorry ... 'Diplomacy'.
QED
Oh, and in case you missed it, or else you just made sure you didn't mention it, here it is again:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20010430/northwoods.pdf
btw, your slip is showing
You obviously didn't look very hard.
White hose? I guess its Reggies black hose what counts recently...
Gee, you'd think, huh?
Putin has for years been trying/forcing oligarchs to take their money out from the West and park it in Russia. The West did him a huge favor.
Apparently the head of Gazprom's second cousin's daughter left NYC with an expired Metrocard that still had 15 dollars on it. If the state dept is quick they might be able to seize that.
They've all been told about the forthcoming 'false flag' event - this weekend probably:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-5ZYys68DA
the children of Russian oligarchs don't ride the subway.
Oh look...The Huffington Post trying to create excuses ahead of time why the US can ignore the results of the referendum.
Wonder if the Huffington Post is gonna puts some focus on the CIA/US created coup in the Ukraine and the installation of neo Nazis as government.
Just another cock sucking MSM news site lying to all to help the criminal activity of the US in the Ukraine.
The MSM just as corrupt and culpable as the paid for regulators, justice system, congress and banksters.
But don't worry when they see the tide change and their execution imment they will change their story and blame all the other MSM for being corrupt.
The Huffington Post, just another cockcroach eating up the slime.
Agreed. Ariana Huffington is stinky hag, and her douchebag "post" is made up of a bunch of asinine liberal cunts.
harsh but still +1
Now owned by AOL stooges.
Huff 'n Puff Post - the Paper of Record for Bloviating Buffoons
...and communists
Seems to be quite a fuss about who gets to write Ukraine a bad loan.
It's not as if the US is Domino's Pizza.
"Your Nuke delivered in 30 minutes or less or it's free."
Then again maybe the US is getting ready to 'bail-in' it's citizens. LMAO.
"We want your food stamps, your unpaid for car and house, and your negative checking acct and your first born daughter immediately!!!".
I'm still blown away by all the dumbfucks that can't connect the dots as to why these criminals now want to save the children and take the guns.
Communist is as communist does - stateside and in Russia
If it wasnt Ukraine, it'd be somewhere else - on some other pretext
'They' want THEIR World War. 'They' are insane.
Top stories on GMA this morning.
1. 11 minutes on missing Mayalasian plane
2. No one won Megamillions jackpot, but someone could win it next Tuesday
3. Gas found under buildings that exploded in Harlem
4. Two teenagers find $10,000 while fishing
Not one mention about Ukraine.
Have to keep recritment up until they apply the draft, no point in scaring away our fighting woman in arms. BTW that is the REAL REASON they are allowing woman in combat, they aim to draft you cause there is a shit-load of Chinese behind the Russians.
How is it the great genius Paul Krugman didn't prophecy this?
I think it is naieve to believe that the Federal Reserve and hence the US Treasury doesnt know who is selling or buying or moving to another custodian large quantities of "Fed Wired" assests such as US Treasuries.
So the article supposes that these things are done without alerting anyone, right?
There is nothing illegal in it so any alerts would simply be for the private Fed itself. Since they are the ones who likely bought the paper it is likely that they also know it.
I think it is naieve to believe that the Federal Reserve and hence the US Treasury doesnt know who is selling or buying or moving to another custodian large quantities of "Fed Wired" assests such as US Treasuries.
So the article supposes that these things are done without alerting anyone, right?
Russians tiping off Russians ahead of time to protect Russian interests and money. Naw that is crazy paranoid stuff. I'm shocked I tell you, shocked. No one ever follows human nature and naked self interest and preservation just like at the White House they are a shining example of this.
You lost me at...... at the White House.
The fed you and I share a common passion for hoarding resources from the economy! However saving the economy by hoarding makes us all wiser hypocrites and the Fed the true risk taker?
Now that I think about it more Cyprus may fit the Libya, Syria, Egypt, Ukraine pattern. Bailing out Cyprus banks would have been chump change.
However if you're preparing for the world to be divided into east-west trading blocks why not cut off an important conduit for Russia? Cyprus was only admitted to the EMU as a forward military base. It's not like the "real EU" needs more banking competition.
Putin vs Obama: Check
Putin vs Europe: Checkmate
Putin vs Hollande: Forget about it
Ah , Great picture.
Boris the Blade aka Boris the bullet dodger
"The Russians Have Already Quietly Pulled Their Money From The West"
Which Russians is this article referring to? Some Russians loyal to Putin may have done so, but all the other rich Russians (just like the rich Chinese) are funneling their money outside of their home countries. They know what will happen, and they know their money is a lot safer in the West.
Russia and China are on teh brink of massive defaults and a massive destruction of wealth. The rich are leaving in droves, their destination is London.
"Earlier today we reported that according to weekly Fed data, a record amount - some $105 billion - in Treasurys had been sold or simply reallocated" Could someone please point me to that article? Thanks.
Tony Lima