Russia To Create Own National Payment System In ‘Bid To Reduce Dependence On The West’

Related info:

Visa, Mastercard Block US-Sanctioned Russian Banks


Vladimir-Putin1

Russia To Create Own National Payment System In “Bid To Reduce Dependence On The West” (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

The more the West attempts to “isolate” Russia and pushes it away from its “core values” and of course the US Dollar, the more Russia will seek the safety of a non-dollar based system. We have previously described how Putin has been scrambling to enmesh Russia in tight bilateral commodity-based trade with both China and India, and now it is Russia’s turn to announce it would seek its own “national payment settlement system” following last week’s surprising and unmandated service halts by both Visa and MasterCard, which as Vladimir Putin said earlier today, will be a “bid to reduce economic dependence on the West.”

Read moreRussia To Create Own National Payment System In ‘Bid To Reduce Dependence On The West’

Gun-Banning California Senator Busted By FBI For Weapons Trafficking

Gun-Banning CA Senator Busted For Weapons Trafficking (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

Filed under ‘most ironic story of the day’, California Senator Leland Yee, who authored gun control legislation, has been busted by the FBI for conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and to illegally import firearms. As AP reports, Yee is also accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and cash payments to provide introductions, help a client get a contract and influence legislation. House of Cards much?

Read moreGun-Banning California Senator Busted By FBI For Weapons Trafficking

China’s Credit Pipeline Slams Shut: Companies Scramble For The Last Drops Of Liquidity

China’s Credit Pipeline Slams Shut: Companies Scramble For The Last Drops Of Liquidity (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

One of our favorite charts summarizing perfectly the Chinese credit bubble, better than any other, is the following which compares bank asset (i.e., loan) creation in China vs the US.

US vs China Bank Assets

It goes without saying that while the blue line has troubles of its own (namely finding the proper rate of liquidity lubrication to keep over $600 trillion in derivatives from collapsing into an epic gross=net garbage heap), it is the red one, that of China, where $1 trillion in credit was created in the fourth quarter alone, that is clearly unsustainable for the simple reasons that i) China will quickly run out of encumbrable assets and ii) the bad, non-performing loan accumulation has hit an exponential phase, which incidentally is why Beijing is scrambling to slow down the “flow” from the current unprecedented pace of $3.5 trillion per year.

Read moreChina’s Credit Pipeline Slams Shut: Companies Scramble For The Last Drops Of Liquidity

Ukraine Parliament Rejects IMF’s Bailout Terms (As US Passes Ukraine Aid Bill)

Ukraine Parliament Rejects IMF’s Bailout Terms (As US Passes Ukraine Aid Bill) (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

The US Senate is more than happy to hand over a few billion and confirm sanctions:

  • *SENATE PASSES UKRAINIAN AID BILL WITH RUSSIAN SANCTIONS
  • *HOUSE PASSES VERSION OF UKRAINIAN AID, RUSSIAN SANCTIONS BILL

But, it seems the IMF’s requirements for Ukraine’s bailout are too much for the locals to bear:

  • UKRAINE PARLIAMENT FAILS TO SUPPORT FIRST BID TO PASS ANTI-CRISIS LAW REQUIRED FOR IMF DEAL

Lawmakers will continue to work on the bill as it seems they approve the top-line budget but not the taxes required to get there… beggars can be choosers again maybe?

US says “yes” to US Aid; Via NY Times,

The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine, two days after Senate Democrats relented to Republican demands that they drop a provision backed by the White House that would have authorized an overhaul of the International Monetary Fund.

Read moreUkraine Parliament Rejects IMF’s Bailout Terms (As US Passes Ukraine Aid Bill)

And Now The Real Economic Pain Begins As IMF Unleashes $27 BILLION Bailout In ‘Near Bankrupt’ Ukraine

Here comes the financial MAFIA …


And Now The Real Economic Pain Begins As IMF Unleashes $27BN Bailout In “Near Bankrupt” Ukraine (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

Gazprom must really be demanding payment on overdue Ukraine invoices which is the only way we can explain the unprecedented speed with which the IMF has managed to cobble together a makeshift bailout package of up to $27 billion – the bulk of which will naturally go to Russia – which has just made Ukraine its latest vassal state.

Read moreAnd Now The Real Economic Pain Begins As IMF Unleashes $27 BILLION Bailout In ‘Near Bankrupt’ Ukraine

Here Is The YouTube ‘Start A False Flag War With Syria’ Leaked Recording That Erdogan Wanted Banned

Related info:

And Now Turkey Blocks YouTube


Here Is The YouTube “Start A False Flag War With Syria” Leaked Recording That Erdogan Wanted Banned (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

As we noted here, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan had blocked Twitter access to his nation ahead of what was rumored to be a “spectacular” leak before this weekend’s elections. Then this morning, amid a mad scramble, he reportedly (despite the nation’s court ruling the bans illegal) blocked YouTube access. However, by the magic of the interwebs, we have the ‘leaked’ clip and it is clear why he wanted it blocked/banned. As the rough translation explains, it purports to be a conversation between key Turkish military and political leaders discussing what appears to be a false flag attack to launch war with Syria.

Among the most damning sections:

Read moreHere Is The YouTube ‘Start A False Flag War With Syria’ Leaked Recording That Erdogan Wanted Banned

And Now Turkey Blocks YouTube

Update:

Here Is The YouTube ‘Start A False Flag War With Syria’ Leaked Recording That Erdogan Wanted Banned


First Twitter, Now Turkey Blocks YouTube (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

A week ago, we wrote that “Turkey Set To Block YouTube Momentarily, After Google Refuses To Yank Clips Exposing Prime Minister.” As of minutes ago this too prediction appears to have come true based on reports from inside the country that Google’s popular video service is now also blocked.

youtube blocked

Courtesy of @ozziewashere

 

 

And this second confirmation:

Read moreAnd Now Turkey Blocks YouTube

German Industry Goes To See Uncle Putin

Putin-Gold


German Industry Goes To See Uncle Putin (Testosterone Pit, March 27, 2014):

President Barak Obama went to Belgium – a trip planned long ago but repurposed since the Crimean debacle – to meet with European leaders, commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I, draw iffy parallels between then and now, and announce that more sanctions against Russia were being concocted and would soon be forthcoming, even if Russia made no additional moves on the Ukraine. The EU and the US must not sit on their hands as Russia pursues “the old way of doing things,” he said. “That message would be heard not just in Europe but in Asia and the Americas, in Africa and the Middle East.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin might have had a field day listening to the speech. But he was busy. He was at his official residence in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow, meeting with German industry tycoons, including Joe Kaeser, CEO of multinational engineering conglomerate Siemens. It wasn’t an emergency response to the current sanctions spiral but had been planned during their last meeting in October.

Read moreGerman Industry Goes To See Uncle Putin

Obama Says ‘Bigger Nations Cannot Simply Bully Smaller Ones’. Wait … What?

Obama says ‘bigger nations cannot simply bully smaller ones’. Wait… what? (RT, March 27, 2014):

President Obama’s key speech in Brussels on Ukraine and attempts to isolate Russia appears to be an exercise of omission, mutually-exclusive statements and unveiled double standards.

Here’s a quick look at what Obama told an audience of some 2,000 people in his damning 30-minute speech.

“Each of us has the right to live as we choose.”

But it’s true only for those good pro-European protesters in Kiev, who used firebombs and batons to make their point. The bad pro-Russian residents of Crimea are not allowed to, right?

 “Together, we’ve condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rejected the legitimacy of the Crimean referendum.”

That’s right. Referendum = bad. Firebombs = good.

Well, Obama says Russia invaded Ukraine while the US and the EU stayed at arm’s length and allowed things to settle down.

“Make no mistake, neither the United States nor Europe has any interest in controlling Ukraine.”

Read moreObama Says ‘Bigger Nations Cannot Simply Bully Smaller Ones’. Wait … What?

Anger, Disbelief As Obama Defends US Invasion of Iraq

H/t reader M. G.:

“More unbelievable stuff, the clown is now defending the invasion of Iraq…………”


Mission-Accomplished-Obama

Anger, Disbelief as Obama Defends US Invasion of Iraq (Common Dreams, March 26, 2014):

‘In order to not appear hypocritical, Obama rewrites history around Iraq War while denouncing Russia’
– Jon Queally, staff writer

President Obama is on the receiving end of scorn for remarks made during a high-profile speech in Brussels on Wednesday in which he defended the U.S. invasion of Iraq in an attempt to chastise Russia for recent developments in Crimea and Ukraine.

Speaking to the international community about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and fending off repeated accusations that the U.S. has lost its moral authority given the invasion of Iraq and other breaches of international law in recent years, Obama said:

Read moreAnger, Disbelief As Obama Defends US Invasion of Iraq

BP, NOT Exxon, Caused The Exxon Valdez Disaster

bp-oil-spill

BP, not Exxon, caused the Exxon Valdez disaster (Intrepid Report, March 26, 2014):

by Greg Palast

Two decades ago, I was the investigator for the legal team that sold you the bullshit that a drunken captain was the principal cause of the Exxon Valdez disaster, the oil tanker crackup that poisoned over a thousand miles of Alaska’s coastline 25 years ago on March 24, 1989.

The truth is far uglier, and the real culprit—British Petroleum, now BP—got away without a scratch to its reputation or to its pocketbook.

Just this month, the Obama administration authorized BP to return to drilling in the Gulf.

It would be worth the time of our ever-trusting regulators to take a look at my Exxon Valdez files on BP. They would see a decades-long pattern of BP’s lies, bribes and cover-ups that led, inexorably, to the Deepwater Horizon blowout—and that continue today within BP’s worldwide oil operations.

Here’s a sample:

Read moreBP, NOT Exxon, Caused The Exxon Valdez Disaster

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: New Criminal Evidence About ID Fraud Investigation Of Barack Obama To Be Released – 3/26/2014 (Video)


Added: Mar 26, 2014

Desription:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: New Criminal Evidence About To Be Released – 3/26/2014 – Details: This video outlines the document and ID fraud surrounding Barack Obama with his known aliases, AKA Barry Soetoro, AKA Soebarkah; and his Constitutional eligibility to hold the Office of the United States Presidency. Due to new criminal evidence, a 2nd official investigation has been opened by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office unrelated to the original ID fraud investigation of Barack Obama. The public has been put on notice of an upcoming press conference disclosing this new criminal evidence which has been characterized as “Universe Shattering” by lead investigator Mike Zullo of the Maricopa County Cold Case Posse. – Complete Details: http://www.birtherreport.com/2014/03/…

Redneck Road Rage & Instant Karma (Video)

H/t reader squodgy:

“Just found this lovely video of what can only be called ‘Instant Karma’.”



Mar 26, 2014

Instant Karma

Description:

This happened to me on SR 41 in Tampa on Monday March 24th. This pathetic excuse for a human being tailgated me for about three minutes. After about a minute, and me shaking my head, I pulled out my phone and started recording. I couldn’t move over because there were trucks in the right lane, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to speed on a rainy day with the roads being as slick as they were. I was turning left in about a half-mile when this happened. Now bear in mind, that this guy had already passed a truck in a left turn lane, was tailgating and driving recklessly on a wet slick road, wasn’t paying attention, and all in all being an ignorant ass. In the full video which I will post later, you will be able to see that not once was I mouthing off, I never brake checked him, and in fact until I watched the video after the accident I didn’t even know he shot a bird at me because I wasn’t looking at him at all, I was paying attention to the road while holding the phone up with my right hand. I’ve recorded circumstances like this before, catching idiots doing stupid things, but never ever had this happen.

He initially fled the scene of the accident, but thanks to this video he has been caught and charged. Massive props to the Sheriffs Department and most especially the Highway Patrol who responded to the scene. This moron could have easily killed somebody with his moronic behavior, and my laughing at the end would have been replaced with tears. Needless to say though, I’ve never seen Karma come back so fast.

*****EDITED TO ADD******

WOW! I go to work and come back to over 600,000 views and find it’s on theblaze.com and various other media sites. I’m flabbergasted! (love for an excuse to use that word). I’m also a little saddened and shocked at some of the comments. After the umpteenth death threat and billionth time being called a b!#$h/c$%t/whore/slut/add whatever epithet you want… I am extremely amazed at how rude people are.

Apparently people seem to think that they were right there and know exactly what was going on. You weren’t there. You don’t know what happened other than the truth that I told. And apparently I did get a comment of someone who he had done this same thing to… thank you for that.

Read moreRedneck Road Rage & Instant Karma (Video)

Bill Gates – Making The World A Better Place

Bill-Gates-Monsanto

Making the world a better place:

New York State Steps Up Surveillance On Kids Starting From The Age Of 5, Outsources Data Program To Bill Gates Firm (Video)

Establishment Hero Bill Gates Sold You Out To The NSA, But That’s Not All …

Bill Gates And GMO Cronies Plan $30 Million Seed Vault While Poisoning The Planet

Bill Gates: ‘Some Days I Wish We Had A System Like The UK’ To Give Obama More Power (Video)

AGENDA 21 For BEGINNERS (Video)

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Is Funding … ‘An Anti-Vaccine Surveillance And Alert System’ … ‘On-Demand Vaccine Delivery Via Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’

Read moreBill Gates – Making The World A Better Place

Crisis In Ukraine: Will Sanctions Hurt The West More Than Russia? (Video)


Added: Mar 20, 2014

Description:

Andrew Malcolm and Terry Jones of Investor’s Business Daily join Glenn Reynolds to discuss the Ukrainian crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded the Crimean peninsula notwithstanding warnings from President Obama. Obama announced sanctions against Russia, but will they work? Could these sanctions ultimately hurt the west more than Russia? Find out.

Apple, Microsoft Hoard Cash … US Taxpayers Pay The Bill

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Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates, lends $65bn to the US government (Image: Shutterstock)

Apple, Microsoft hoard cash – US taxpayers pay the bill  (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, March 17, 2014):

In recent years, America’s technology giants have increased profits to epic levels. So you’d think this good fortune would prove a boon to the fragile American economy.

In theory, a river of tax dollars from America’s cash-rich technology firms ought to contribute towards a significant reduction of the US $17.5 trillion debt mountain.

Only it hasn’t quite worked out that way.

Today, the 1,067 biggest non-financial firms in the United States, according to Moody’s the credit rating agency, have amassed cash and liquid investments totalling $1.48 trillion – a sum equivalent to the entire economy of Spain.

Of this $1.48tn corporate cash mountain, 22% is held by just four companies. Combined; Apple, Microsoft, Google and Cisco Systems retain $331bn in cash, with $255bn held in foreign subsidiaries sheltered from US tax.

Cash mountains

But instead of this cash sitting idly in a Bermudan bank vault, new research by the Bureau shows that a substantial amount of the tech giants’ offshore cash is in fact lent to the US government.

‘US taxpayers pay interest to tech giants on their offshore cash held there for tax reduction purposes

Read moreApple, Microsoft Hoard Cash … US Taxpayers Pay The Bill

JPMorgan Chase Attorney Killed By Minivan

Veteran cyclist killed by minivan knew the dangers all too well (The Columbus Dispatch, March 24, 2014):

About a decade ago, Jeff Stephens was bicycling shoulder-to-shoulder with Joseph A. Giampapa when the two witnessed another cyclist get fatally struck by a car right in front of them.

“It was sort of a bond that we had, and I would say it’s a burden that we carried,” Stephens said yesterday. “We were in very close contact for months after that situation.”

On Saturday, Stephens, of Worthington, got a phone call from the scene of another accident — this time, it was Giampapa who had been struck by a minivan and killed while bicycling north of Troy.

Giampapa, 56, of the Northwest Side, was an accomplished long-distance cyclist and corporate attorney for JPMorgan Chase in Columbus. He was a longtime resident of Victorian Village who had moved with his wife, Thelma, into a condominium near Dublin about two years ago.

Read moreJPMorgan Chase Attorney Killed By Minivan

US Food Prices Are Up 19% In 2014

The Real Inflation Fear – US Food Prices Are Up 19% In 2014 (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2014):

We are sure the weather is to blame but what happens when pent-up demand (from a frosty east coast emerging from its hibernation) bumps up against a drought-stricken west coast unable to plant to meet that demand? The spot price (not futures speculation-driven) of US Foodstuffs is the best performing asset in 2014 – up a staggering 19%

food-inflation

h/t Bloomberg’s Chase van der Rhoer


And it will only get much, much worse.

And 2008 will seem like a walk in the park.

Flashback:

Quantitative easing =  printing money = creating money out of thin air = increasing the money supply = inflation = hidden tax on monetary assets = theft!

When a country embarks on deficit financing (Obamanomics) and inflationism (Quantitative easing) you wipe out the middle class and wealth is transferred from the middle class and the poor to the rich.
– Ron Paul

“Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple. Deficit spending should be viewed as a tax on future generations, and politicians who create deficits should be exposed as tax hikers.”
– Ron Paul

Now That Is Embarrassing: US President Obama Stops Speaking, And Nobody Claps (Video)

What Happens If A US President Stops Speaking, And Nobody Claps

… does it mean that everyone saw right through the endless bluster, hollow rhetoric and empty promises of the man tasked with reading from a teleprompter, and currently in charge of one of the world’s most totalitarian states? Because either someone is getting fired for forgetting to turn on the “applause” sign, or Europeans no longer care for the lies uttered by Obama on all topics NSA-related (and all other topics too). One wonders: how long until the US president finally gets the same treatment in his own country?


Added: Mar 25, 2014

5 Types Of Plutonium Released From WIPP; Officials Not Informing Public – Dr. Caldicott: Inhaling A Millionth Of A Gram Of Plutonium Will Induce Lung Cancer

Related info:

WIPP Officials Admit New Release Of Plutonium And Americium – Nearly Double February Leak

Official: Radioactive Material Escaping Everyday From WIPP And Dispersing – Expert: Leaks From ‘UNFILTERED’ Ducts Went On FOR WEEKS


Radiation Expert: 5 types of plutonium were released from WIPP; Officials not informing public — Caldicott: “I predict that facility will never be able to be used again”; Inhaling a millionth of a gram of plutonium will induce lung cancer (AUDIO) (ENENews, March 25, 2014):

KUNM, Mar. 24, 2014: The director of an organization that evaluated the WIPP site for over 25 years said officials aren’t doing enough to inform New Mexicans. […] “I just can’t stress the importance of DOE being available to respond to detailed questions that people have,” [Dr. Bob Neill] said. “There’s no substitute for direct communication.” Immediately after the leak was discovered, the public should have been given a detailed explanation of what was released, said Dr. Neill, who received his degree in radiological medicine. Americium 241 and plutonium 239 were mentioned. “But there are four other radio-isotopes of plutonium, namely the 238, 240, the beta and 241,” he said. “They’re all bone-seekers. So you want to be able to report all the values—how each one may have contributed. It’s just essential.” […] “It’s so important to answer people’s questions—and not just people in Carlsbad, but throughout the state and elsewhere,” he said. As for the leak itself, he said all of the possible causes of the failure at WIPP must be considered, and a response system should be designed accordingly.

Interview with Dr. Helen Caldicott, March 2014 (at 37:30 in): One of the repositories for very, very dangerous radioactive waste plutonium, americium, etc. has just leaked radiation all around the area in Carlsbad, New Mexico. One microgram of plutonium, a millionth of a gram of plutonium, if inhaled will induce lung cancer. It’s extraordinarily radioactive. So they thought this would be safe storing radiation in salt mines, but something happened, one of the casks blew up or part of the ceiling fell on the casks, we do not know. But I predict that that facility will never be able to be used again, it will be so contaminated.

Read more5 Types Of Plutonium Released From WIPP; Officials Not Informing Public – Dr. Caldicott: Inhaling A Millionth Of A Gram Of Plutonium Will Induce Lung Cancer

Former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt: Russia’s Actions In Crimea Justified

German ex-chancellor: Russia’s actions in Crimea justified (ITAR-TASS, March 26, 2014):

BERLIN, March 26. /ITAR-TASS/. German ex-chancellor Helmut Schmidt has sharply criticised the West’s position on the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine.

“The EU and US sanctions against Russia are stupid and any economic pressure would have symbolic significance,” Schmidt said on Wednesday.

Read moreFormer German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt: Russia’s Actions In Crimea Justified

Ukrainian Authorities To Tame Eastern Regions With Mercenaries From Blackwater Subsidiary

Blackwater, then Xe and now Academi.

Greystone is a subsidiary of Blackwater.


Ukrainian authorities to tame Eastern regions with aid of private military company (ITAR-TASS, March 25, 2014):

Dnepropetrovsk, March 25. /ITAR-TASS/. An overseas private military company will engages in the suppressing of protest moods of the mostly Russian-speaking population in the East of Ukraine, a source at the Security Service of Ukraine said Monday

“The case in hand is Greystone Ltd. company,” he said.

Read moreUkrainian Authorities To Tame Eastern Regions With Mercenaries From Blackwater Subsidiary

Turkish Military Pounds Syrian Army Bases Near Border – Turkey Shoots Down Syrian Army Jet Inside Syria

FYI.


Exclusive: Turkish tanks target Syrian army base near border

Exclusive: Turkish military pounds Syrian army bases near border (ALALAM, March 25, 2014):

Turkish military tanks have targeted Syrian army bases in the Kasab border town, where the Syrian army has been battling numerous militant groups to secure the border.

According to Al-Alam reporter in Syria’s Latakia, a huge explosion was heard at a Syrian army base near Kasab after Turkish military targeted the area.

The explosion has been followed with Turkish military firing several other rockets at Syrian army bases, the reporter said citing military sources.

The report said, Al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra front have raised their flags over several Turkish military tanks near Kasab, as a sign of having the area under their control.

Read moreTurkish Military Pounds Syrian Army Bases Near Border – Turkey Shoots Down Syrian Army Jet Inside Syria

Bloomberg News Editor Resigns Because Of Censorship Of Investigative Report On China’s Elite

Editor Leaves Bloomberg, Citing China Coverage (New York Times, March 24, 2014):

Ben Richardson, an editor at large in Asia at Bloomberg News, announced his resignation on Monday, citing the company’s handling of an investigative report in China late last year.

He is the third reporter or editor to leave the organization since several news organizations reported last November that Bloomberg had declined to publish an investigative article that explored financial ties between one of the wealthiest men in China and the families of top Chinese leaders.

“I left Bloomberg because of the way the story was mishandled, and because of how the company made misleading statements in the global press” afterward, he said in an email to the media news site Romenesko. He also wrote that Bloomberg employees faced legal action if they spoke out publicly.

Read moreBloomberg News Editor Resigns Because Of Censorship Of Investigative Report On China’s Elite

Collapse And Systemic Failure At All Levels Coming To U.S.



Collapse and Systemic Failure at All Levels Coming to U.S.-Dmitry Orlov (USA Watchdog, March 19, 2014):

Dmitry Orlov is a Russian blogger who writes about the parallel between the U.S and the USSR.  Orlov lived through the financial collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s, and he thinks the U.S. is on the same trajectory.  Orlov contends, “The trajectory is defined by this sort of incompetent militarism where more and more money results in bigger and bigger military fiascos around the world and less and less of actual foreign policy that can be pursued or articulated.  There are massive levels of corruption.  The amount of money that is being stolen by the U.S. Government and its various appropriations processes is now in the trillions of dollars a year.  Runaway debt, the United States now has a level of debt that is un-repayable.  All we’re waiting for is interest rates to go across the magic threshold of 3% and the entire budget of the country explodes.  There are also all types of other tendencies that point in the direction of collapse and systemic failure at all levels.”

Read moreCollapse And Systemic Failure At All Levels Coming To U.S.