Russia Is Next In Line To Restrict Cash Transactions

Russia Is Next In Line To Restrict Cash Transactions (ZeroHedge, March 28, 2013):

The Russians are taking a page from the Europeans book (and not a positive one for libertarians). Given the substantial criminal activity and illegal entrepreneurship in Russia – the grey and black economies account for 50–65 percent of GDP and estimates that about $50 billion was taken out of Russia illegally in 2012 alone – the great and glorious leaders have decided to impose restrictions on cash transactions. As Russia Beyond The Headlines reports, Russia may ban cash payments for purchases of more than 300,000 rubles (around $10,000) starting in 2015 – starting with a higher ($19,500) restriction in 2014. They will also enforce mandatory cash-free salary payments (cash compensation accounts for 15% of GDP currently) in an effort to both bring some of the population’s ‘grey’ income out of the shadow; and increase the volume of cash reserves in the banks. It would appear that wherever we look now, leadership are realizing that the limits of fiscal and monetary policy have been reached and now changing rules, limiting freedom, and outright confiscation are the only way to maintain a status quo. Ironic really, when the enforcement of said rules may just be the catalyst for the end of the status quo as the middle class suffers.

Read moreRussia Is Next In Line To Restrict Cash Transactions

Oooops … (Memo From The Central Bank Of Cyprus Sent To Bank CEOs)

Oooops… (ZeroHedge, March 29, 2013)

After reading this memo from the Central Bank of Cyprus sent to bank CEOs on February 11, arguably to put them at ease, all we can say is “Oooops”…

We’ll ignore the contents of the memo, including such statements that “restricting the property rights of depositors” is unconstitutional – that is after all for the people of Cyprus to opine on (we did however have a hearty laugh upon learning that there is a European Convention of Human Rights),

As for the FT article referenced? The following, from February 10, which references a “confidential memo” which foretold the events from two weeks ago with absolute precision :

Read moreOooops … (Memo From The Central Bank Of Cyprus Sent To Bank CEOs)

Cyprus-Style Bank Account Confiscation Is In The New 2013 Canadian Government Budget!!!

Cyprus-Style Bank Account Confiscation Is In The New 2013 Canadian Government Budget! (Economic Collapse, March 28, 2013):

The politicians of the western world are coming after your bank accounts.  In fact, Cyprus-style bank account confiscation is actually in the new Canadian government budget.  When I first heard about this I was quite skeptical, so I went and looked it up for myself.  And guess what?  It is right there in black and white on pages 144 and 145 of “Economic Action Plan 2013” which the Harper government has already submitted to the House of Commons.  This new budget actually proposes “to implement a ‘bail-in’ regime for systemically important banks” in Canada.  “Economic Action Plan 2013” was submitted on March 21st, which means that this “bail-in regime” was likely being planned long before the crisis in Cyprus ever erupted.  So exactly what in the world is going on here?  In addition, as you will see below, it is being reported that the European Parliament will soon be voting on a law which would require that large banks be “bailed in” when they fail.  In other words, that new law would make Cyprus-style bank account confiscation the law of the land for the entire EU.  I can’t even begin to describe how serious all of this is.  From now on, when major banks fail they are going to bail them out by grabbing the money that is in your bank accounts.  This is going to absolutely shatter faith in the banking system and it is actually going to make it far more likely that we will see major bank failures all over the western world.

What you are about to see absolutely amazed me when I first saw it.  The Canadian government is actually proposing that what just happened in Cyprus should be used as a blueprint for future bank failures up in Canada.

Read moreCyprus-Style Bank Account Confiscation Is In The New 2013 Canadian Government Budget!!!

Mexico: Hundreds Of Armed Vigilantes Seize Town, Arrest Local Police Officers

Mexican Vigilantes Seize Town, Arrest Police (Huffington Post/AP, March 27, 2013):

ACAPULCO, Mexico — Hundreds of armed vigilantes have taken control of a town on a major highway in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, arresting local police officers and searching homes after a vigilante leader was killed. Several opened fire on a car of Mexican tourists headed to the beach for Easter week.

Members of the area’s self-described “community police” say more than 1,500 members of the force were stopping traffic Wednesday at improvised checkpoints in the town of Tierra Colorado, which sits on the highway connecting Mexico City to Acapulco. They arrested 12 police and the former director of public security in the town after a leader of the state’s vigilante movement was slain on Monday.

Read moreMexico: Hundreds Of Armed Vigilantes Seize Town, Arrest Local Police Officers

FBI’s ‘Top Priority’ For 2013: Pursuing Real-Time Gmail Spying Powers

FBI Pursuing Real-Time Gmail Spying Powers as “Top Priority” for 2013 (Slate, March 26, 2013):

Despite the pervasiveness of law enforcement surveillance of digital communication, the FBI still has a difficult time monitoring Gmail, Google Voice, and Dropbox in real time. But that may change soon, because the bureau says it has made gaining more powers to wiretap all forms of Internet conversation and cloud storage a “top priority” this year.

U.S. Government Plan Calls For More Scanning Of Private Web Traffic, Email

US plan calls for more scanning of private Web traffic, email (Reuters, March 22, 2103):

The U.S. government is expanding a cybersecurity program that scans Internet traffic headed into and out of defense contractors to include far more of the country’s private, civilian-run infrastructure.

As a result, more private sector employees than ever before, including those at big banks, utilities and key transportation companies, will have their emails and Web surfing scanned as a precaution against cyber attacks.

Under last month’s White House executive order on cybersecurity, the scans will be driven by classified information provided by U.S. intelligence agencies — including data from the National Security Agency (NSA) — on new or especially serious espionage threats and other hacking attempts. U.S. spy chiefs said on March 12 that cyber attacks have supplanted terrorism as the top threat to the country.

The Department of Homeland Security will gather the secret data and pass it to a small group of telecommunication companies and cyber security providers that have employees holding security clearances, government and industry officials said. Those companies will then offer to process email and other Internet transmissions for critical infrastructure customers that choose to participate in the program.

DHS as the middleman

By using DHS as the middleman, the Obama administration hopes to bring the formidable overseas intelligence-gathering of the NSA closer to ordinary U.S. residents without triggering an outcry from privacy advocates who have long been leery of the spy agency’s eavesdropping.

Read moreU.S. Government Plan Calls For More Scanning Of Private Web Traffic, Email

CIA’s Chief Technology Officer On Big Data: We ‘Try To Collect Everything And Hang On To It Forever’ (Video)

Watch the video here:

CIA’s Gus Hunt On Big Data: We ‘Try To Collect Everything And Hang On To It Forever’ (Huffington Post, March 20, 2013):

NEW YORK — The CIA’s chief technology officer outlined the agency’s endless appetite for data in a far-ranging speech on Wednesday.

Speaking before a crowd of tech geeks at GigaOM’s Structure:Data conference in New York City, CTO Ira “Gus” Hunt said that the world is increasingly awash in information from text messages, tweets, and videos — and that the agency wants all of it.

Read moreCIA’s Chief Technology Officer On Big Data: We ‘Try To Collect Everything And Hang On To It Forever’ (Video)

‘This Isn’t Going To Stop With Cyprus’

Watch the video here:

‘This isn’t going to stop with Cyprus’ (RT, March 28, 2013):

The Cyprus liquidity crisis will only lead to violence, Wide Awake News founder Charlie McGrath has told RT. The journalist warns that the Cyprus solution may serve as a model as the wider EU deals with the financial crisis.

RT: The authorities have promised to reopen the banks on Thursday – do you think Cypriots can sigh with relief now?

Charlie McGrath: No, not at all. And let’s examine the word reopen, because they are not really reopening. They are putting on all these capital restrictions on the people of Cyprus, 300 euros is the max withdrawal they can make. They can only take 3,000 maximum amount if you are going to travel. You live in Cyprus and you have relatives that live in the United States and the UK, wherever and you want to send them money – you absolutely cannot.

The so-called establishment media is talking about, there’s been enough time that has passed since the announcement of this deal that they don’t think there’re going to have a bank run but the real reason they don’t think they’re not going to have a bank run is because they are really not opening the banks. They’re going to have all type of guards and police and very limited funds that the people of Cyprus can take. So, I don’t think they should be relieved at all, nor should Europe nor the rest of the world for that manner.

RT: At this point – how do you convince panicked savers across Europe that the EU won’t dig into their accounts, next?

Read more‘This Isn’t Going To Stop With Cyprus’

Cyprus Banks Re-Open (In Pictures) – Stock Exchange Will Remain Closed

Cyprus banks re-open – in pictures (Guardian, March 28, 2013):

Banks have re-opened on the island after 12 days – but capital controls are limiting withdrawals to €300 a day

Cyprus banks reopen – but stock exchange will remain closed (Guardian, March 28, 2013)

Outrageous Betrayal Of All Americans: President Obama Signs ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ Into Law

“In an outrageous betrayal of all Americans, President Obama just signed the so-called “Monsanto Protection Act” into law.
This law gives Monsanto authority over federal courts and allows it to plant experimental GMO crops even if they pose an extreme risk to human health and environmental health.”
– Mike Adams (Natural News)

Obama betrays America yet again by signing the ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ into law (Natural News, March 28, 2013):

President Barack Obama campaigned on promises to end secret prisons, decriminalize marijuana, balance the budget, honor the Second Amendment and make health care affordable. But what really unfolded was an explosion in the national debt (now $16 trillion and climbing), the signing of the NDAA, a claimed new power to kill any American at any time, even on U.S. soil, the use of military drones to murder American children overseas, a full-on assault against the Bill of Rights, a doubling of health insurance rates and the destruction of the U.S. economy.

But that’s not all.

Now Obama has signed the “Monsanto Protection Act” into law, stabbing America in the heart yet again and proving that no matter how convincing politicians appear on the campaign trail, they are still sociopathic liars in the end.

The Monsanto Protection Act, part of the HR 933 continuing resolution, allows Monsanto to override U.S. federal courts on the issue of planting experimental genetically engineered crops all across the country. Even if those experimental crops are found to be extremely dangerous or to cause a runaway crop plague, the U.S. government now has no judicial power to stop them from being planted and harvested.

As ibtimes.com reports, the bill “effectively bars federal courts from being able to halt the sale or planting of GMO or GE crops and seeds, no matter what health consequences from the consumption of these products may come to light in the future.”

GMOs now evade all regulations: America has become a grand Monsanto experimentA Food Democracy Now petition now states:

With the Senate passage of the Monsanto Protection Act, biotech lobbyists are one step closer to making sure that their new GMO crops can evade any serious scientific or regulatory review.

This dangerous provision, the Monsanto Protection Act, strips judges of their constitutional mandate to protect consumer and farmer rights and the environment, while opening up the floodgates for the planting of new untested genetically engineered crops, endangering farmers, citizens and the environment.

Corporate-government conspiracy is fascism

Read moreOutrageous Betrayal Of All Americans: President Obama Signs ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ Into Law

The Global Elite Plan To Raid Our Bank Accounts

The Global Elite Are Very Clearly Telling Us That They Plan To Raid Our Bank Accounts (Economic Collapse, March 27, 2013):

Don’t be surprised when the global elite confiscate money from your bank account one day.  They are already very clearly telling you that they are going to do it.  Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem is the president of the Eurogroup – an organization of eurozone finance ministers that was instrumental in putting together the Cyprus “deal” – and he has said publicly that what has just happened in Cyprus will serve as a blueprint for future bank bailouts.  What that means is that when the chips are down, they are going to come after YOUR money.  So why should anyone put a large amount of money in the bank at this point?  Perhaps you can make one or two percent on your money if you shop around for a really good deal, but there is also a chance that 40 percent (or more) of your money will be confiscated if the bank fails.  And considering the fact that there are vast numbers of banks all over the United States and Europe that are teetering on the verge of insolvency, why would anyone want to take such a risk?  What the global elite have done is that they have messed around with the fundamental trust that people have in the banking system.  In order for any financial system to work, people must have faith in the safety and security of that financial system.  People put their money in the bank because they think that it will be safe there.  If you take away that feeling of safety, you jeopardize the entire system.

So exactly how did the big banks in Cyprus get into so much trouble?  Well, they have been doing exactly what hundreds of other large banks all over the U.S. and Europe have been doing.  They have been gambling with our money.  In particular, the big banks in Cyprus made huge bets on Greek sovereign debt which ended up failing.

But what happened in Cyprus is just the tip of the iceberg.  All over the planet major financial institutions are being incredibly reckless with client money.  They are leveraged to the hilt and they have transformed the global financial system into a gigantic casino.

Read moreThe Global Elite Plan To Raid Our Bank Accounts

Income Growth For Bottom 90% In America Since 1966 Is … $59!!!

Income Growth For Bottom 90% In America Since 1966 Is… $59! (Liberty Blitzkrieg, March 26, 2013):

We’ve all seen these statistics before in one form or another, but David Cay Johnston does an excellent job going into more detail for us in an article he published late last month.  As he correctly notes, when things get extreme like this you ultimately end up with extreme social unrest.  Furthermore, as I have pointed out for years and years, this kind of disparity does not happen under free markets with rules and regulations applied equally to all.  It happens under totalitarian societies, whether fascism, communism or crony capitalist corporatism (which is the model in the USA).  It only happens when a very small oligarch class takes over the political process of a nation and then uses it to game the system.

Read moreIncome Growth For Bottom 90% In America Since 1966 Is … $59!!!

This Is How A Country Ends: Not With A Bang, But A Bailout

This Is How A Country Ends: Not With A Bang, But A Bailout (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

Curious how in the New Normal a nation is brought to its untimely end without a single shot being fired? Dimos Dimosthenous, who has worked at the Bank of Cyprus for over 30 years, explains:

“That will be the end. Our jobs, our rights, our welfare funds will be lost and Cyprus will be destroyed.”

In short: not with a bang, but a bailout.

… But at least it still has the symbol for all that is wrong with the broke(n) status quo: the

First, however, much more pain, because as Cyprus’ FinMin Sarris said a short while ago, uninsured depositors in the second largest bank Laiki which is now pending lqiuidation, may lose 80% (read 100%… or more), and wait up to seven years for a payout. Of course, with the majority of the “evil, tax-evading Russians” long gone having used the chaos and assorted loopholes in the past week to get out of Dodge, the only people punished are assorted local hard workers, and domestic businesses, now set to liquidate as soon as they can afford the bankruptcy filing fee.

Finally, speaking of getting out of Dodge, it is surprising that while professing its love for all man-made bubbles and going all in stocks no matter the fundemantls, the firm that is the shadow overlord of Wall Street, BlackRock, is doing just that.

From the WSJ:

BlackRock Inc. the world’s largest money manager, has cut holdings of Italy and Spain government bonds over the past three months. The firm may shed more if the euro-zone’s growth outlook deteriorates.

We have been less enthusiastic about euro-zone sovereign debt compared to three to six months ago,” said Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income and co-head of Americas fixed income at BlackRock. “If growth continues to deteriorate in the euro zone, due in large measure to weak private-sector lending from a deleveraging banking sector, we would further reduce our positions in the euro zone, such as in Italy and Spain.”

Read moreThis Is How A Country Ends: Not With A Bang, But A Bailout

USDA Agricultural Census Program Is A covert Surveillance Operation To Compile Government Database Of ALL Food And Farm Resources

Flashback:

Obama Regime Withdraws Family Farm Child Labor Rule – Gov. Cites Public Outcry As Reason For Withdrawing The Rule

Obama Regime To Prohibit Children From Working On Family Farms (Their Own Families’ Land)

Obama Regime Seizes Family Farms Bank Accounts

Michigan Government Unleashes Armed Raids On Small Pig Farmers, Forces Farmer To Shoot All Of His Own Pigs

Total Insanity: Michigan Government Announces Plan To Destroy Ranch Livestock Based On Hair Color And Arrest Hundreds Of Ranchers As Felons (Video)

Obama Regime Seizes Control Over All Food, Farms, Livestock, Farm Equipment, Fertilizer And Food Production Across America Per Executive Order:

“What all this means is that the U.S. government now claims the power to simply march onto your farm with guns drawn and demand all your crops, seeds, livestock and farm equipment.

Think I’m exaggerating? Read it yourself!”


USDA agricultural census program is a covert surveillance operation to compile government database of food and farm assets (Natural News, March 27, 2013):

The USDA “census of agriculture” is a government-run farm surveillance program designed to register and inventory detailed private data on farm assets, operations and personnel. A census form is mailed to each farmer in the United States, accompanied by threats of compliance and a warning that farmers who do not comply will be visited in person by government agents.

These agricultural census forms — see a link to a scanned copy below — demands farmers reveal the following information, all of which is compiled into a vast government database:

• # of acres of land owned
• Physical location of the land
• # of acres of croplands harvested
• # of acres of pasture land
• # of acres leased for cash
• # of acres irrigated
• How much money you’ve received from state or federal agricultural programs
• The exact number of acres grown and harvested for each crop: corn, oats, peanuts, cotton, rice, soybeans, wheat and many more
• # of acres of hey or forage crops
• # of acres used for Christmas trees or maple syrup
• Detailed inventory of your greenhouses, vegetable seeds, mushrooms and “propagative materials”
• Detail inventory of tobacco plants, berries, aquatic plants, sod, flowering plants and more
• # of acres of beans, cantaloupes, potatoes, corn and various melons
• # of acres of various fruit and nut crops including apples, grapes and pears
• The total dollar value of all the crops you sold
• Detailed inventory of berries, including blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and more
• Details on the number of cattle and calves
• Value of all cattle sold
• Details on pigs, horses, sheep, goats and other animals
• Details on aquaculture operations, including type of plants grown
• Details on poultry production, # of chickens, what kind, how much money, etc
• Details on bees, alpacas, bison, deer, elk, rabbits and more
• Full details on all production contracts including chicken eggs, feed, seed and more
• Full reporting of all income from farm-related sources
• Full details on all farm labor, how many people you hired, what you paid, etc.
Grain storage capacity on your farm
• All production expenses: A full accouting of money spent, almost a full tax return all by itself
• Details on all fertilizers and chemicals applied to your farm
• Details on all organic food production
• The market value of all your land, machinery, buildings and equipment
• Details on all your tractors, what kind they are, how many horsepower, and all attachments
• Details on all sources of energy, including solar, wind, geoexchange, biodiesel and more
• Details on land use practices: erosion, conservation, cover crops and more
• Details on all your farming practices: crop rotations, reclamation projects, biomass harvesting, etc.
• Details on the dollar value of direct sales for human consumption
• The names and descriptions of all farm operators, including name, sex, age, race, hours of work and more
• Household income details
• Details of internet access

See a scanned copy of the full form (minus the first page) at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/files/USDA-agriculture-census.pdf

All this information will be used to seize farms as already approved under Obama

Most Americans don’t yet realize that President Obama has already signed an executive order declaring government ownership and control over all farms, food, livestock, seeds, farm equipment and more. I’ve covered that news in full detail here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/035301_Obama_executive_orders_food_supply….

The executive order is published at WhiteHouse.gov:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order…

Just over a year ago, on March 16, 2012, President Obama issued this executive order entitled, “NATIONAL DEFENSE RESOURCES PREPAREDNESS.”

This executive order states that the President alone has the authority to take over all resources in the nation (labor, food, industry, etc.) as long as it is done “to promote the national defense” — a phrase so vague that it could mean practically anything.

Read moreUSDA Agricultural Census Program Is A covert Surveillance Operation To Compile Government Database Of ALL Food And Farm Resources

Poverty Hits America’s Suburbs

Sprawling and struggling: Poverty hits America’s suburbs (NBC News, March 22, 2013):

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Like many Americans who move to the suburbs, Tara Simons came to West Hartford because she wanted her daughter to grow up in a nice, safe place with good schools.Her fall from a more financially secure suburban life to one among the working poor also happened for the same reason it’s happened to so many others. She had a bout of unemployment and couldn’t find a new job that paid very well.

Read morePoverty Hits America’s Suburbs

Eurogroup Head Jeroen Dijsselbloem: ‘Levy On Wealth Is Defendable In Principle’

Dijsselbloem: “Levy On Wealth Is Defendable In Principle” (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

While France’s Hollande and Spain’s Rajoy are double-teaming the ‘unique, exceptional’ nature of Cyprus, the non-template nature of the ‘deal’, the need for Europe-wide guarantees, and that the ESM should be used to recap banks and not depositors, none other than Dutch FinMin Dijsselbloem is at it again as he admits what many have suspected:

  • *DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS LEVY ON WEALTH IS DEFENDABLE IN PRINCIPLE

and, as if responding to the desperate French and Spanish leaders:

  • *DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS DEPOSIT GUARANTEE SYSTEMS ARE NATIONAL

It would appear our views are increasing appearing true – that a wealth tax is coming in much more systemic a manner than many expect currently.

Cypriot Youth Rise Up In Pictures: ‘They Just Got Rid Of All Our Dreams’

Cypriot Youth Rise Up In Pictures: “They Just Got Rid Of All Our Dreams” (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

There is a reason we think of youth unemployment as the ‘scariest’ thing in Europe as we have discussed here and here. After a few months of relative calm, it appears the youth are once again finding their hopes dashed and are protesting. As Reuters reports, thousands of students and bank workers protested in the Cypriot capital Nicosia today. “They’ve just gotten rid of all our dreams, everything we’ve worked for, everything we’ve achieved up until now, what our parents have achieved,” is how one young protester exclaimed his feelings, as a bank worker added, “we are scared.” It appears President Anastasiades comment that, “the agreement we reached is difficult but, under the circumstances, the best that we could achieve,” is not reassuring an increasingly volatile people.

Read moreCypriot Youth Rise Up In Pictures: ‘They Just Got Rid Of All Our Dreams’

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg On Drones: ‘Oh It’s Big Brother, Get Used To It’

Mayor Bloomberg On Drones: “Oh It’s Big Brother, Get Used To It” (Liberty Blitzkrieg, March23, 2013):

While hosting his weekly radio show this past Friday, Your Royal Highness Mayor Michael Bloomberg explained to the serfs of NYC that privacy is dead and that you just “can’t keep the tide” of the surveillance state from coming in.  His quotes perfectly demonstrate the attitude he takes toward his subjects and are quite revealing.  For instance:

“Everybody wants their privacy, but I don’t know how you’re going to maintain it.  It’s just we’re going into a different world, uncharted, and, like it or not, what people can do, what governments can do, is different. And you can to some extent control, but you can’t keep the tides from coming in.”

“The argument against using automation, it’s this craziness– oh, it’s Big Brother. Get used to it.”

As if that isn’t bad enough, it also become 100% crystal clear that this guy wants to fill the skies of NYC with “freedom birds.”  He sees absolutely no problem with it at all.  In his own words:

“But what’s the difference whether the drone is up in the air or on the building? I mean intellectually I have trouble making a distinction. And you know you’re gonna have face recognition software.  People are working on that.”

“We’re going to have more visibility and less privacy. I don’t see how you stop that. And it’s not a question of whether I think it’s good or bad. I just don’t see how you could stop that because we’re going to have them.”

Here’s how you stop it.  It’s called The Constitution of the United States of America, a document I’m not convinced you have ever bothered to read.

This whole thing comes across as a gigantic Jedi mind trick to me.  ”It’s inevitable you will lose your freedoms.  Resistance is futile.  Just accept it.”  Sadly, unlike the proud citizens of Seattle, New Yorkers are still too traumatized from 9/11 to get off their knees.

Finally, we discover who and what Bloomberg is really trying to protect with all the cameras:

Read moreNYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg On Drones: ‘Oh It’s Big Brother, Get Used To It’

‘Wealth Tax’ Contagion Is Rapidly Spreading: Switzerland, Cyprus And Now ….

The “Wealth Tax” Contagion Is Rapidly Spreading: Switzerland, Cyprus And Now …. (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

It was only yesterday that we wrote about comparable problems to those which Russian depositors may (or may not be?) suffering in Cyprus right, this time impacting wealthy Americans and their Swiss bank accounts, where as a result of unprecedented DOJ pressure the local banks will soon breach all client confidentiality and expose all US citizens who still have cash in the former tax haven under the assumption that they are all tax evaders and violators. And in the continuum of creeping wealth taxes which first started in Switzerland, then Cyprus, and soon who knows where else, there was just one question: “The question then is: how many of the oligarchs, Russian or otherwise, who avoided a complete wipe out and total capital controls in Cyprus, will wait to find out if the same fate will befall them in Switzerland? Or Luxembourg? Or Liechtenstein? Or Singapore?” Today we got the answer, and yes it was one of the abovementioned usual suspects. The winner is…. Liechtenstein.

Read more‘Wealth Tax’ Contagion Is Rapidly Spreading: Switzerland, Cyprus And Now ….

Have The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? … YES!!!

As I’ve said here:

Cyprus ‘Bank Holiday’ Gets Another Extension, Bank Reopening Now Set For Thursday:

“First Cyprus has to make sure Putin’s ‘KGB Money’ has left the country, so that only the sheeple get screwed and not the Russian bear …”

The following article is a must-read!


Have The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

Yesterday, we first reported on something very disturbing (at least to Cyprus’ citizens): despite the closed banks (which will mostly reopen tomorrow, while the two biggest soon to be liquidated banks Laiki and BoC will be shuttered until Thursday) and the capital controls, the local financial system has been leaking cash. Lots and lots of cash.Alas, we did not have much granularity or details on who or where these illegal transfers were conducted with. Today, courtesy of a follow up by Reuters, we do.

The result, at least for Europe, is quite scary because let’s recall that the primary political purpose of destroying the Cyprus financial system was simply to punish and humiliate Russian billionaire oligarchs who held tens of billions in “unsecured” deposits with the island nation’s two biggest banks.

As it turns out, these same oligrachs may have used the one week hiatus period of total chaos in the banking system to transfer the bulk of the cash they had deposited with one of the two main Cypriot banks, in the process making the whole punitive point of collapsing the Cyprus financial system entirely moot.

From Reuters:

While ordinary Cypriots queued at ATM machines to withdraw a few hundred euros as credit card transactions stopped, other depositors used an array of techniques to access their money.

No one knows exactly how much money has left Cyprus’ banks, or where it has gone. The two banks at the centre of the crisis – Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki, and Bank of Cyprus – have units in London which remained open throughout the week and placed no limits on withdrawals. Bank of Cyprus also owns 80 percent of Russia’s Uniastrum Bank, which put no restrictions on withdrawals in Russia. Russians were among Cypriot banks’ largest depositors.

So while one could not withdraw from Bank of Cyprus or Laiki, one could withdraw without limitations from subsidiary and OpCo banks, and other affiliates?

Just brilliant.

Read moreHave The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? … YES!!!

The Russians Are Outtahere: ‘The Cypriots Killed Their Country In One Day’

The Russians Are Outtahere: “The Cypriots Killed Their Country In One Day” (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

It appears the Cypriots (or more clearly the European leaders) do not appreciate the extent to which Russia has propped up the local economy. “When the Russians leave who is going to stay at the Four Seasons for $500 a night? Angela Merkel?” one wealthy Russian asks rhetorically, as The FT reports, they are receiving a deluge of overseas phone calls from helpful Swiss bankers looking to swoop up the deposit transfers. “The locals should understand: as soon as the money leaves, the people who go to restaurants, buy cars and buy property leave too. The Cypriots’ means of living will disappear,” and there are signs that the locals are getting how drastic this situation is, as a large billboard has sprung up at Larnaca Airport with a Russian flag and the words “Brat’ya ne predaite nas!” – “Brothers, don’t betray us!” Many Russian businessmen appear to have one foot out of the door already and are considering whih jurisdiction to move to as they await to see if Medvedev follows through on his threat to dismantle the double tax treaty with Cyprus.

And now the rumors are that billionaire Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club, has been arrested in the USA.

Via The FT,

One Cypriot lawyer with Russian clients said he had already been approached by half-a-dozen European banks in locales ranging from Latvia to Switzerland to Germany, some of them promising they could open new bank accounts for his clients in under an hour.

The Cypriots killed their country in one day,” says Mr Mikhin, referring to Friday March 15, when President Nicos Anastasides accepted the EU’s proposal to seize €5.8bn in emergency funds from Cyprus’s local and foreign depositors.

Read moreThe Russians Are Outtahere: ‘The Cypriots Killed Their Country In One Day’

Cyprus Church Loses EUR100 Million, Curses Those Responsible

Cyprus Church Loses EUR100 Million, Curses Those Responsible (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

Perhaps it was their comment last week that “with the brains in Brussels… the Euro can’t last,” but the Orthodox Church of Cyprus has lost over EUR100 million reacted to its holdings in Bank of Cyprus. Church leader Archbishop Chrysostomos II, in comments on TV, noted that “Cyprus asked for ‘crumbs’ compared to large size of Europe’s budget,” and that those responsible in Cyprus should be punished (he blames the outgoing government, Ministers of Finance, the Central Bank, and the Executive Directors of Banks) – “those that brought the place into this mess, should sit on the stool.” He noted that people will lose jobs and the state will be poorer but that the Church is prepared to help; and his first step – to send invitations to the heads of various Russian companies on the island.

Via Church of Cyprus,

Heads of Russian companies operating in Cyprus will call a working lunch, next Thursday, March 28, 2013, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos Mr. to encourage them to remain in Cyprus.

Read moreCyprus Church Loses EUR100 Million, Curses Those Responsible

El Pais Retracts Article Alleging “Merkel, Like Hitler, Has Declared War On Europe”

El Pais Retracts Article Alleging “Merkel, Like Hitler, Has Declared War On Europe” (ZeroHedge, March 24, 2013):

What does it take for the Spanish “first amendment” journalistic override to kick in? Apparently, in the case of local media leader El Pais, putting up the following in print: “Merkel, como Hitler, ha declarado la guerra al resto del continente, ahora para garantizarse su espacio vital económico.” For the Spanish-challeneged this translates as follows: “Merkel, like Hitler, has declared war on the rest of the continent now to secure their economic living space.” Ah yes, the touchy verboten topic of German “Lebensraum” – its invocation, and ostensibly the unflattering Merkel comparison (seen so often in Greece) were enough to get the article by Juan Torres López in the Andalusia version of El Pais titled simply enough “Alemania contra Europa” taken down.Is it perhaps because unlike in Greece, where articles like that are a daily occurrence, Spaniards still have something to lose should they also lose the good graces of the German chancellor? Something that is more than one Spiderman towel per depositor in the nation’s just as insolvent banking system, where apparently unlike in Cyprus, the ESM actually does work to preserve liquidity and stability?…

A cached version of the article:

In its place one only now sees the following:

Read moreEl Pais Retracts Article Alleging “Merkel, Like Hitler, Has Declared War On Europe”