Russia warns that it will dump US Treasuries (Open financial war seems imminent)

[ThePythonicCow]

From Furious Russia, Downgraded To Just Above Junk By S&P, Proposes "Scorched Earth" Retaliation Against NATO Countries (ZeroHedge):

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But far more importantly, and ahead of yet another round of western sanctions which appears imminent unless Obama is to look even more powerless than he currently is (granted, a difficult achievement), Russian presidential adviser Sergei Glazyev proposed plan of 15 measures to protect country’s economy if sanctions applied, Vedomosti newspaper reports, citing Glazyev’s letter to Finance Ministry. According to Vedomosti as Bloomberg reported, Glazyev proposed:

• Russia should withdraw all assets, accounts in dollars, euros from NATO countries to neutral ones
• Russia should start selling NATO member sovereign bonds before Russia’s foreign-currency accounts are frozen
• Central bank should reduce dollar assets, sell sovereign bonds of countries that support sanctions
• Russia should limit commercial banks’ FX assets to prevent speculation on ruble, capital outflows
• Central bank should increase money supply so that state cos., banks may refinance foreign loans
• Russia should use national currencies in trade with customs Union members, other non-dollar, non-euro partners

In other words, a full-blown scorched earth campaign by Russia.

Granted, Russian holdings of US Treasurys are not that substantial (and could be monetized entirely in three months of POMO by the Fed), and western financial linkages to Russia, aside from trade routes, are not life-threatening, but if Russia were to take the baton, and other BRIC countries, already furious by the recent US decision to not boost their IMF status, follow suit, then Obama's life is about to become a living nightmare. Especially, if that most important BRIC member - China - does any of the many things it can do to indicate if, in this brand new Cold War, it is with or against the US...

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There's more at the above ZeroHedge link.

We are engaged in a global economic/monetary/financial war, and all signs indicate this war is about to get hot.

If ethnic Russians continue to be killed in the Ukraine, prompting Russia's promised response (which US Sec of State will no doubt label an invasion of the most dastardly sort), then the sanctions that would prompt a Russian response such as those above would seem all but certain.

Moreover, just such continued provocation of Russia, the killing of ethnic Russians in the Ukraine (with the US blaming the violence on Russia!) seems almost certain as well.

The writing is on the wall. The US Petro Dollar's reign is coming to an end.

[ThePythonicCow]

Meanwhile Russia is gathering troops on its border with the Ukraine, perhaps in anticipation of the above events.

From That’s a lot of Russian Armor Moving around the Ukraine Border (JohnGaltFla.com):

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From Full Mobilization: Either Russia Is Positioning Troops for a Massive Offensive… Or This Is The Most Expensive Military Exercise in World History (SHTFplan.com):

If you’re paying attention to geo-political and economic affairs at the moment, then you cant’ ignore the gathering storm clouds in Europe.

No one at the White House will officially admit it, but we may well be sitting on the cusp of a widespread conflagration. To suggest otherwise is simply naive. The chess game is, without a doubt, in full swing.

[Maia Gabrial]

The harder Obama tries to hurt Russia or get back at Putin for being a better man than him,the worse he looks. But all his nonsense is going to hurt all of us in the long run.
Obama is a walking joke and not even a funny one anymore.... That's why he has so many hecklers booing him offstage...

[Craig]

I won't say woohoo, but struth it is going to exciting. I wonder if this will wake up some more sleeping minds?

[Maia Gabrial]

We, Americans are the ones who will suffer in this. Obama and his cronies need to be the ones to suffer the consequences of their own actions.

[Heartsong]

Paul,
Thank you for the post. Can you/ would you give us a idea of the impact of this on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people?

[T Smith]

Posted by Paul (here)

Especially, if that most important BRIC member - China - does any of the many things it can do to indicate if, in this brand new Cold War, it is with or against the US...

I think this all depends on China whether or not Russia's actions can be contained or not.

It's a huge question mark for me. If Russia follows through, I have no idea how China will judge its immediate interests, which will obviously determine how it will respond. In my estimation, they certainly will be in a position to decide whether to deliver the final blow to a staggering U.S. dollar or not. One would think China could easily provide the KO punch if Russia follows through with this. But will they? That is the million dollar question.

My hunch is the Chinese are very measured and deliberate and have a specific game plan already laid out, so the real question is whether now is the right time from them to bring down the dollar, or whether it serves their interests better to allow the the dollar to languish on for just a little bit longer... Questions such as the following occur to me as possible variables: does China have enough tones of gold in its national coffers to deliver the KO punch now? Have they already reached their gold target they undoubtedly have established for the express purpose to achieve this end? Can their economy survive (or combat and contain) the effects of the soaring price of oil? This is certainly a tactic the U.S. will likely wage in retaliation. Interesting on that front is the spike up in the price of oil in just the last couple weeks. This may be a warning shot across the bow to China signaling they would be ill-advised to try something "imprudent" as Russia plays its own cards. Of course if conditions are such that the price of oil untethers itself from the dollar altogether, that trump card the U.S is holding would be mute.

[spiritguide]

The government does not represent the will of my country any longer and the need for true justice is at hand lest we loose all the safeguards of the U.S. Constitution. Transition to a better Republic is upon the Valor of the people to stand up against tyrrany and corruption. The time to protect your rights is now, and to deny this means certain evil will enter the room. IMHO

Peace!

[T Smith]

Posted by Heartsong (here)
Paul,
Thank you for the post. Can you/ would you give us a idea of the impact of this on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people?

Well, for one, gas prices will likely spike way up. $5 - $6 a gallon even? This will hurt China the most (which is likely the goal) plus be a public relations gem for those pushing the WWIII narrative they've thus far had trouble selling. Specifically, the propaganda ministers in the U.S. would likely pin the drastic upswing in the price of oil on Russia and Iran (and Syria by proxy), and when the people can no longer afford to eat and take to the streets they will practically demand for a war to stop these evil oil producing countries waging economic war against the U.S. (Of course this is all engineered by the U.S., for reasons above)

This is all dependent on whether the U.S.-backed power structure remains in control of manipulating the price of assets pegged to the dollar, e.g. oil and gold. If they lose control of this, as some have speculated, a whole host things would effect your every day life, such as a stock market crash, bursting housing bubble (if you have a mortgage you had better hope you can still make the payment), and soaring prices on everyday necessities.

Gee, I wish it wasn't such a bleak assessment. But I'm just an everyday bloke. The good news is I could be very wrong.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Heartsong (here)
Paul,
Thank you for the post. Can you/ would you give us a idea of the impact of this on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people?

My guess is that the most immediate and obvious effects will be increased prices of imports, including much of our food, energy and stuff, and all that depends on that energy, such as farming, manufacturing (what little we have left) and transportation.

The price increases will not be a single event, but spread over time, though not always gently.

At some point in the process, savings, retirement funds, pension checks, social benefits (Medicare, Social Security, ...) and any other dependency on wealth or income that is held by or dispensed by institutions or via banks and denominated in US Dollars, will lose value, in some cases totally. This too will be spread over time, though not always gently.

Americans are going to have to learn to live within their means; though IMF calls for austerity are never calls to put the debtors house in order, but rather calls to steal what remains in that house.

Americans are going to have to face up to some difficult truths, and get rid of a government and corporate over lord that has gone bad.

Some have already chosen to leave ... though I'm not sure that any place will have it easy. Some such as myself have chosen to stay.

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by Craig (here)
I won't say woohoo, but struth it is going to exciting. I wonder if this will wake up some more sleeping minds?

Bring it on, I say .

Though it seems, at least for now, that we're still frogs sitting in water that's only slowly getting warmer ... and warmer ... and ...

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Maia Gabrial (here)
We, Americans are the ones who will suffer in this. Obama and his cronies need to be the ones to suffer the consequences of their own actions.

Many, around the world, have already suffered, for many decades, even centuries, at the hands of this empire in crisis.

A few (quite a few) Americans, such as on the ground in the military, have already joined in that suffering. A few more Americans died on 9/11. Many more Americans have already suffered at the hands of justice, food, water, and healthcare turned toxic.

Many more will join, in one way or another.

Our greatest focus must be on how to live our own lives and organize our affairs in a more aware, honest and caring manner and how to share that with others. This very much includes being more aware of the evils about us, but the better to avoid or resist them and to heal the damage, rather than for vengeance.

The evils probably go far deeper than Obama and his immediate cronies know.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by T Smith (here)
I think this all depends on China whether or not Russia's actions can be contained or not.

The pace of events in the near future may well depend substantially on China, yes.

Unless, that is, both China and Russia are (as I sometimes suspect) controlled by the same bastards that control the Anglo-American empire. In which case, those bastards will be doing the best they can to see that they remain in control of events, near and distant.

[ThePythonicCow]

The other possible way that an immediate crisis is avoided is if Putin continues to show the remarkable constraint he has shown so far.

This is spelled out in some detail in Mike Whitney's article Is Putin Being Lured Into a Trap?.

Imagine a major sports contest such as (for Americans) the Super Bowl of (odd-shaped) Football, or the World Series of Baseball. Imagine that there are no direct fans observing from the statium, rather only viewers on television. Imagine that the major "American" media broadcasting the event are totally one-sided in their bias for one of the teams over the other. Imagine that the "bad" team is to be painted as thugs, bullies, and worse. Imagine that the "good" team on the field is resorting to every underhanded trick in the book, and some that aren't (too highly classified perhaps) in order to get the "bad" team to react. Sooner or later, some camera will catch one of the "bad" guys reacting in some way that, in the right camera angle (with perhaps a little video editing and plain old lying) can be presented as evidence of how thuggish the "bad" guys are.

The bastards in Washington are spoiling for a fight. Putin is one tough nut if ever there was one. Jack Bauer of the old TV show "24" would be impressed. But the provocations would seem to continue without end until escalations are forced.

[Davidallany]

Unless, that is, both China and Russia are (as I sometimes suspect) controlled by the same bastards that control the Anglo-American empire

I am afraid that I too suspect the same thing as you do Paul. I highly doubt that the ruling blood line families, if they exist, could have neglected to buy China and Russia a long time ago. If that is true then this whole thing is just another game of distraction and control, which wouldn't surprise me, and I think, you, at all.
The amounts of lies,withholding truth and faking events are just staggering. And they are meant to be that way, to give people an extra dose of ignorance and sleep.

[ThePythonicCow]

~~~~~~

From Russia's RT.com Sophie Shevardnadze (SS) interview of Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov (SL):

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Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov

SS: You’ve also said many times that Russia has no intention of moving its troops inside Ukraine, and just recently, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s press-secretary confirmed that there is a military contingent that is reinforced on the Russian-Ukrainian border; There must be a worst-case scenario in which this contingent will be used?

SL: If we are attacked, we would certainly respond. If our interests, our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians have been attacked directly, like they were in South Ossetia for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in full accordance with international law. Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation.

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Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is a powerful and competent official of the Russian government. When he draws a line in the sand (unlike when Obama or Kerry do so for the US), I have to figure there's a good chance he means it, and that he speaks for Putin as well.

I've been surprised before on such matters (more often than not, actually), but I'll be danged if I can see how this doesn't avoid escalating substantially and soon.

[Hervé]

Left-field info from that other Texas guy:

Posted by GoodeTXSG (here)
[...]

As I stated in the first posting of this Thread and since then I have had several people that I knew personally go missing from the Banking/Finance and Military Intelligence and Private Sector "Corporate Security" fields.

[...]

WW III Is in full swing... BRICS vs CABAL
- Computer Viruses that will crash the IMF/FRB System at a given point planted by BRICS Allies using the same "Method" the CVirus was delivered to IRAN's Nuclear Systems are in place ready to be activated once the BRICS Central Bank, Currency are in place. CHECK MATE TO PETRO $

[...]

[skippy]

Following an interesting documentary with the title: "The day the dollar falls", Roel van Broekhoven, VPRO Tegenlicht, 2005.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=AuPgdZeAFjA

[Camilo]

This is easier said than done. I think Russia is bluffing and doesn't have what it takes to carry on its threats. Putin is way over his head on this one.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Davidallany (here)

Unless, that is, both China and Russia are (as I sometimes suspect) controlled by the same bastards that control the Anglo-American empire

I am afraid that I too suspect the same thing as you do Paul. I highly doubt that the ruling blood line families, if they exist, could have neglected to buy China and Russia a long time ago.

As a long standing goldbug, one bit of evidence that I personally find quite compelling for the case that Russia and China are pwned (owned by the bastards) is the transfer of large amounts of gold to China.

No one imports 10,000 tons of gold on this planet without the consent of the bastards currently in power. The Western powers are not only not resisting this transfer to China; they have been facilitating it with substantial and sustained effort for several years now.

I remain convinced (unlike most goldbugs) that it will be a cold day in hell before anything like a gold based monetary system becomes dominant again. Debt based monetary systems, lending to and thereby controlling, all individuals, corporations and governments of any consequence, are much preferred by said bastards.

The gold to China means no more than the gold previously "sent" to Saudi Arabia ... roughly like bribing a child with candy ... before kidnapping them for nefarious purposes.

China will be under great stress, once the world economy collapses and their customer base can no longer afford Chinese exports. Their massive malinvestment in empty cities, empty condos and soon to be empty factories, combined with a massive population of young adult males (greatly outnumbering females of similar age) will make political control of China very challenging.

I know only one, small, group of "humans" on this planet who will take pleasure in such challenges.

(Similarly, Russia's economy, depending on exports of energy to Europe and China, will find their otherwise sparse economic base, and even more sparse and quite aging population base, insufficient to support their current power once their energy exports diminish.)

... but I digress.

[Atlas]

Posted by Paul
Open financial war seems imminent

Something quite similar was said just before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 which began in late October 1929:


http://newspaperarchive.com/us/penns.../06-20/page-17