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Putin Slams US $9 Billion Fine Against French BNP As "Blackmail" For Russian Warship Deal
Recall that about a month ago we reported that shortly after France was stunned to see its largest bank slammed by its bestest buddy, the US, with a record $9 billion fine, "France responded to the fine by announcing it will train hundreds of Russian seamen to operate the French-Made Warship", the Mistral. In other words, for all the angry rhetoric of sanctions against Russia, France was merely the latest country to admit that it too can't exist without Russian business (not to mention natural gas) even if, or especially if, it means incurring US wrath which is taken out on its banking institutions. After all, if the US is engaging in scorched earth tactics France needs a stable trade partner, especially if it is one who turns on the gas, so to speak.
As a reminder, this is what all the commotion is about:
However, it turns out that was only a small part of the story.
Earlier today, when speaking to Russian diplomats in Moscow, Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of blackmailing France to scrap a contract to sell Russia Mistral warships by offering to cut a record $8.97 billion fine against BNP Paribas. From Bloomberg:
France’s largest bank agreed to plead guilty in court documents yesterday to processing almost $9 billion in banned transactions involving Sudan, Iran and Cuba from 2004 to 2012. The company will be temporarily barred from handling some U.S. dollar transactions.
French President Francois Hollande has refused to cancel a contract to sell two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia in the face of criticism from the U.S.
“We know about the pressure which our U.S. partners are applying on France not to supply the Mistrals to Russia,” Putin told Russian diplomats in Moscow today. “And we even know that they hinted that if the French don’t deliver the Mistrals, they would quietly get rid of the sanctions against the bank, or at least minimize them,” he said without naming BNP Paribas.
“What is that if not blackmail?” Putin said.
Well it is blackmail, but what's worse it shows to what depths the US will fall when it fails to get its way in the international arena even with its so-called allies, which under Obama, is essentially always.
But one wonders: since the biggest opponent of Russian sanctions in Europe is, by and far, Germany - despite what Merkel spouts any given day - and since Russia is sure to antagonize the US in the coming months, one wonders: just what legal and criminal action will the US reveal against Deutsche Bank in the coming months as first blackmail, then "punishment" for daring to engage America's suddenly most hated superpower adversary?
And perhaps a better question: with US foreign policy set to continue its disastrous ways, does this mean that the best way to profit from the incompetence of John Kerry et al is merely to short a basket of European banks? After all, if it happened with BNP it is sure to happen elsewhere in Europe - a continent which, for better or worse, is now wrapped around Putin's gas finger.
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"The proletariat must be armed." V I Lenin, who makes more sense now than ever
"The proletariat must be disarmed." Tzar Obama the Bloody Whore
"Putin Slams US $9 Billion Fine Against French BNP As "Blackmail" For Russian Warship Deal"
And I bet he's right on.
Still, BNP is a French bank, so it's difficult to get too upset ;-)
Well, I guess it is settled then. Warships are the future of the world economy, with bribery, blackmail and intimidation a very natural part of that business.
Warships!!! My God!!! Did NO one listen to Dwight David Eisenhower's final address??? He said "Beware of," not "Invest in" the military industrial complex.
Total waste of money to accomodate greed and empire.
Some weeks Tuesday seems worse than Monday, if that is even possible to imagine
Inconceivable!
Craig
What is that word you keep using?
I do not think it means what you think it means.
Inconceivable!
Anyone got suggestions for a new adblocker? The new (ad whore addicted) tylers ads keep fucking coming through.
Running ad block plus on firefox currently.
I use the Firefox addons
Ghostery + Donottrackme + Noscript
Agreed- Noscript is the way to go.
It blocks everything you do not want. It might affect functionality a bit, but it lets you select what gets through.
I added this filter in adblock:
that got rid of most but not all of them...
did u find another filter group..
fucking bullshit man...
thanks.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/03/paul-rosenberg/cryptohippies-guide-to...
Look for help in here: http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm
So does this mean all Hollande has to do is pull Putin's finger?
Is the village idiot, Hollande, stupid enough to trust Obama? The choice of bank jobs versus shipyard jobs would further negatively define Hollande for his socialists.
I understood this was bilateral project.
Stern was built at SPB Baltiysky Zavod Shipyard.
Ship belongs to Russian Federation, does it not?
Something you naval types might help me with. Doesn't this ship have flooded wells in the stern for launching amphibious "stuff" to storm the beaches with like our LHD ships do. I have seen pics of the stern with a bulkhead like thingy. They make no mention of these which is what a ship of this type should be feared for. Tanks don't swim very well and they don't jump out of helicopters either.
nobody likes the Fed, nobody likes the dollar, nobody loves united states ... you will need to find a new Ben Ladden for the world likes you more ...
Oh wait, you have fond someone in Irak, Abou Bakr al-Baghdadi is terrorism, we must fight him together and forget everything else obv !
hey anybody else seeing annoying adds right below the story???
i got ad block but that aint blocking them...
little help...?
Download Ghostery...
Again, Noscript is the way to go.
It blocks everything you do not want. It might affect functionality a bit, but it lets you select what gets through.
US wont mess with Germany, they arent that stupid.
The german people is one of the strongest on earth. What good would it be to get their wrath over a powerstruggle with russia? USA already needs to lay low over the earlier surveilance scandals. Creating any new tensions at this moment would be extremly stupid as they would risk to lose their strongest ally.
You Pro-Russian guys are missing the facts, and can't see the trend.
Nobody in Europe is interested in taking your side. They want access to a lawful Russian marketplace. They don't want to be Russian.
The US is being the Bad Cop so European entities can be the good cop. Hopefully the whipsaw action can result in Russia playing by rules accepted by the international marketplace.
A couple of months ago, when this Ukrainian business started, there was great concern that the game had changed and there may be serious ramifications from geopolitical actions.
Today, the trend points to the fact that Russia is isolated (albeit with a few European entities likely playing both ends of the street).
Russia needs international exports and imports. They cannot sell everything and buy everything from China. China will make them Neo-Ukrainians.
Good points but on this site you are pushing a string.
I realize how you can see it that way. All I'm looking for is "Tells"...
The US is Bad Cop - it threatens foreigners, kidnaps foreigners, bombs foreigners, bugs foreigners, kills foreigners, lets Blackwater loose to act like Kaminski's RONA Brigade, and positions weapons systems to intimidate anyone who doesn't know-tow.
Does anyone think there is much difference between the US and Russia ? Wow, did we hear the US condemn Israel for mass-arrests, lock down and heavy handed treatment when looking for 3 teenagers ? What if Russia did that ? What if Serbia did that ? What if Britain did that in Northern Ireland ?
You forgot to mention the ongoing massive bombardment going on right now in Gaza....
Gaza? Gaza? Who cares about Gaza?
Their weather forecasts include bombings, both domestic and international.
The reason there is no condemnation of "heavy handed treatment" is because that is the only treatment those barbaric savages understand.
We can go around in circles comparing how we would react if we were palestinians but the simple facts are civilized people do not act the way they do. What you are seeing is the international recognition that the palestinian way of handling affairs has no place in the civilized world. Any attempt by muslim leaders to respect the equality (and the rights of others) who do not believe in Mohammad is met with their death.
That inability to show compassion will result in larger and larger responses against muslims as a whole. That reaction will be the result of muslim bigotry. It will not be an example of bigotry against muslims.
Naturally the muslims will not see it that way... There is no muslim recognition of the right to simply disagree.
If you want to react to that last statement, please put it in the context of Sunnis and Shiites. Any odds for how many times "Zionist" or "Rothschild" pops up?
This is a propaganda war. Is the US the bad cop? Describe this entity you define as the "US"? The US in the media looks to me like a velvet glove, a cover for the Old World Powers; TPTB. You have been shown the history. You have been shown the math that demonstrates the existence of the financial powers that strategically choose to hide, and hang out shills and victims to always advance their position. If you aren't one of them you are nothing to them.
The more I study the advent to the never ending World War, I discover that the quo were anticipating and planning for it, literally inciting it, at least 45 years before. You can be sure we are being set up. Go through your propaganda. The pattern is there, the quarters when America was systematically murdered by sector are all there. It was sloppy and easy to read in hindsight, but it worked. This should tell you more about what we're up against than anything. You are in an undeclared battle for your right to live.
"Sacrifice. Sacrifice. Sacrifice" - Hitlery
Russia isolated? Tell that to Germany, France, Italy, Serbia, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and more. If anyone is getting isolated, it is the USA and the EU Commission who are both losing credibility fast. Russia has excellent trade relations with Europe. European businesses will not let any US sanctions go unchallenged. Of course Russia needs exports and imports. The Same with Europe, China, South America, virtually any nation on the planet today. We are all highly interdependent economically. You need to understand that. Europe depends heavily upon Russian gas and will for the forseeable future, and they depend on Russian purchases of their goods and services as Russia is one of their top markets. If you seriously believe that the US is going to be able to overcome that co-dependent synergy and isolate Russia, I have a bridge to sell you in San Francisco.
...Nobody in Europe is interested in taking your side. They want access to a lawful Russian marketplace. They don't want to be Russian...
Well, Russia is a member of the WTO now, so if Europe is looking for a cop, they can sue in WTO court.
Seems Germany would do well to align with Russia and China. Of what use is the US to them?
'US wont mess with Germany, they arent that stupid.'
ROFL... Still hopeful after all these years that prove you wrong.
BNP needs to send Barrrrrrryyyyyy a Zimbabwe 100 Trillion dollar bill with a note saying, "keep the change"...Bonjour....
Can we just conclude that fucking illuminati chose bobama to make a fun of him ?
Whether it be "bankster profiling" or not, we should rejoice to some degree that Bnp or others may get monkey hammered....then maybe Paris water boards the morgue, etc.....May the spiral create gaped bankster "O" rings.....
Good thing the Russians don't engage in Blackmail.
Like if you don't pay your bills, we won't give you any more gas? So I suppose Ukraine should not pay its bills and Russia should continue giving away its gas. Is that the way you would run your business?
Does Mboma know about any of this?
I think he does because a friend said there was an article in a previous edition of 'Gay Times' magazine.
Yes! Now we get down to business. I'll never give Putard 9 billion bank notes. Russia still owes 64 years UN membership dues... and don't forget all the industrial investments/nation building America made in Russia, our enemy that prop up this CFR clown.
Suck it Vlad. You still owe US. Bigtime.
Huh. I fines Russia 900 $NONILLION for 50 years dumping nuclear waste under the polar sea.
Not to mention the fact that they spill more oil in the Arctic than two Macando well blow outs every year on average..........
A known fact among russians, they have junk equipment and it is cheaper for them to loose the oil and fish in the USA portion of the Bearring sea than to clean up their act.....
I am sure you putin pussy's will call bullshit and downarrow me but I do know this shit for a fact....
References please.
Here is the funny thing about all this. France and Russia have ALWAYS been best buddies. That little trip by Napoleon to take Moscow was a exception that proves the rule of Franco-Russian allegiance.
It is only during the Soviet Period starting just after the October Revolution that this natural alliance had been scrapped. Think about this.
Why would we still be carrying biases from this horrible Soviet period when there is no significant Communist-Capitalist ideological divide today? I ask this in the realization that our leadership across the globe has very little appreciation of history and lacks a wise perspective. Our Leaders are just an expression of POWER and not wisdom. We citizens of various countries are poorly served.
Here is a little snippet from Wikipedia that shows the past alliances between Russia, Prussia, and Austria as well as the alliances between France and Russia. You will notice that trade chauvinism drove Napoleon to invade Russia. Today we see trade chauvinism drive Russia to invade Ukraine.
----
Wiki:
"In an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists and patriots, Napoleon in his own words termed this war the Second Polish War:
Napoleon's "first" Polish war, the War of the Fourth Coalition to liberate Poland (from Russia, Prussia and Austria), he saw as such because one of the official declared goals of this war was the resurrection of the Polish state on territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Tsar Alexander found Russia in an economic bind as his country had little in the way of manufacturing yet was rich in raw materials and relied heavily on trade with Napoleon's continental system for both money and manufactured goods. Russia's withdrawal from the system was a further incentive to Napoleon to force a decision."
In the czarist era the Russian elites spoke French.
of course in the 19th century it was the key language of diplomacy,like English today, French was the lingua franca for Europe. Even today the US passport is addressed in French for foreign officials to read
Oldrepublic, do you actually know what lingua FRANCA means ?
Sandmann, you better consult with Mr. Webster.
Oldrepublic is absolutely correct in his use of the term. He is also correct in the fact that French was spoken by the Russian elites in the czarist period, and also that it was the the lingua franca in Europe.
I am fully aware that the Russian Court spoke French until just before 1914 when they spoke English.
But the Latin term for "French language" is LINGUA FRANCA so unless you are a very low wattage bulb you do not need to write French in English and then tell Europeans that they all spoke French as a common language. In fact it is still a stupid requirement for EU Commissioners that they speak French
Latin for Language = Lingua
Latin for French = Franca
Call me dense, but I find your writing unintelligible.
Lingua franca is a term that goes beyond any literal Latin meaning.
It means language used for communication between two or more groups that have different native languages. It may be a standard language—for example, English is often used for international diplomacy, so it can be referred to as a lingua franca.
In the past, French was the lingua franca of Europe.
I am dropping this now...
Yes, Napoleon made a trip to Moscow and in return the Russians have been marching to Paris.
The same was repeated by Pilsudski, he marched up to MOscow, killing 120.000 Russian soldiers and officers, POWSW and another 200.000 peasants.(Stalin Paied back at Katyn). And the Soviet Army marched to Warsaw in 1919....
The same was repeated by Hitler and the Russians once again marched from Moscow to Berlin.
Regarding "paid back", you do know that the only folks that suffer in all these great conflicts are the poor, either in the form of the conscripted soldiers forced to kill members of their own class or in the form of the peasant starved or raped or murdered by, again, members of their own class?
Be careful with the Nationalist Lie of "the Enemy" that all the Elites use to get us to kill one another for their own sport.
Also, why did you not mention the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact? That should make a skeptic of any would-be nationalist I should think.
France would lose god knows how many high paying shipyard and technology jobs if they make a contract and then refuse to fill the orders they agree to. Russia, and the USSR, despite all the problems, has always filled it's gas contracts with Europe. This over many decades is a proven trach record and something that the USA hates. France has sky high unemployment, no way they are going to give up thousands of high paying jobs in order to prevent the USA form playing banker games with funny money. Banks produce nothing but debt and fraud. France wants these real jobs.
Great VOR interview with Dr. Paul Roberts and what is left of the Neocon agenda...
http://rinf.com/alt-news/war-terrorism/us-war-russia-already-underway/
The only thing he left out is the possibilty that President Obama alluded to in March of this year -which I think even he as a Neocon doesn't really want!
Keep an eye on those "labor strikes" (notice the timing of President Remus' announcement 4 days later) by the Israeli bureaucrats as cover for another False Flag upon the rest of the World with it's embassies in them.
Talk about wanting coitus interruptus that a prostitute could ever have in a "Jon" and being warned by the SOB repeatedly what will happen if you try to make him pull out!... That's what Zionist Jew "Do"!
And if you don't believe it -Just ask the guy who works for them!
Fines in the financial sector never seem to be for more than a few percent of the criminal proceeds involved.
What a joke.
France should just agree to US demands, smile, shake hands and then continue business as usual like federal reserve officials.
Lie and smile, like Eric Cantor
Ya think Putin is full of a little too much self-importance? Seriously delusional.
So the French are fined $9 billion for trading with the enemy, no not Iran Cuba and such but with Russia. The Warship contract was $1.6 billion.
If the French were supplying cargo ships to help Wells Fargo and Wacovia smuggle drugs the fine would be $19million
Since when has Russia been the 'enemy'? If it was that would make quite a few US companies 'traitors'.
No, they are a competitor that the US wants, even has, to restrain.
Whatever this nutcase critisies will only give it credability. This guy is full throttle trying to revivie the soviet uninon.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/analysis/back-to-the-ussr-for-a-nostalgic-v...
When AIPAC puts out hit pieces like this you know Putin is kicking ass and taking names. This is low grade cookie cutter smear propaganda. Just replace "Putin" and "Russia" with any politician and country and you'll get a valid reference.
Meanwhile, Russia's other customers are considering the wisdom of having more than one source of oil and gas, and US and European companies are lining up to be suppliers. There are always alternatives. Always.
There may be alternatives to Russia but no-one else, apart from the Norwegians, can supply Europe via the cheapest delivery method, pipelines, for many years to come.
If you cut Russian gas revenues you reduce the sales from VW factories in Russia and reduce exports of BMWs and sales of luxury German kitchens. Russians SPEND money on West European goods. What is the point in abusing people who have reliably supplied gas to Europe for DECADES (unlike Arabs) and reduce the incomes of the fastest growing consumer market in Europe ?
Why doesn't the US ban Chinese imports ?
Crimea.
Crimea especially, and of course the Ukraine as a whole, is just another desperate attempt of ressource-poor but heavy dependant Europe to get some ressources in their hands.
They would prefer gas from Quatar, brought through a pipeline crossing Syria, Turkey, Greece and Italy. They would prefer a pipeline from Saudi-Arabia/Irak going through Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Spain/France. It's not cheaper, it's more risky and sources aren't democratic or are known for the goods of human-rights. To me it's warfare, purely designed to lock Russia out and to bring them down economically.
Bring Russia down economically? Did you follow the winter olympics? The world laughed constantly at Russian expertise. Putin needed the Crimean experience to manage his domestic agenda. If there was no Crimea, he might have to answer for the corrupt mess called Sochi.
The moral of the story is that power is like the charge in a battery. You can use it, but then you have to recharge it. Putin used his power, and he may have gained, on balance, for the short term. Here is the calculation:
1. Putin gained Crimea, but at a large cost to Russia to provide water, for example.
2. Turkey is working with Exxon to produce shale gas, at least in part to replace some supplies from Russia.
3. US/EU, presumably featuring the Norwegians heavily, are working to supply gas to Ukraine, in total replacement of supply from Russia.
Net, Russia gains Crimea, with $5-10 billion infrastructure price tag. Russia loses at least part of its business with Turkey and all of its business with Ukraine, along with the leverage that business carried. Russia has a MOU with China on future gas. And it's not clear whether Russia can hold onto Crimea. Gain or loss?
Gain. Crimea will be expensive to keep, but it can eventually pay for itself with its offshore gas fields. Plus, Russia keeps NATO ships and missiles out of Sebastopol. How much is that worth to Putin? Quite a lot, I expect. As for losing the gas account with Ukraine, they don't pay the bills even with discounted prices, so no big loss there.
You obviously don't recognize check mate when you see it...
"Reggie, nobody understands the genius of my Foreign Policy."
"Poor baby. Why do you let Mooch boss you around? I'll have words with that Bitch, dumpling!"
First "Freedom Fries" and now this.
Haha, France! That's a good one!
DELETED (duplicate)
The French sending Russian youth to die for them is... blackmail?
If Putin was a Merkin, this is what he'd sound like:
Ryan Zinke (USN retired) for Congress