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Five banks join new gold pricing, no Chinese banks yet


RT
Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:40 UTC
Image
© Reuters / Michael Dalder
Goldman Sachs and UBS joined the four existing members of the century-old London Gold Fix in the new London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Gold Price electronic replacement, LBMA said. China, the world's largest consumer of gold, has been snubbed.

Goldman and UBS joined Barclays, HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia and Societe Generale, as participants in the new London Bullion Market Association Gold Price benchmark, LBMA reported on Friday. The first LBMA Gold Price settled at $1,171.75 an ounce under the new system. The electronic gold price replaced a system unchanged for nearly a century.

Comment: Could this new electronic form of gold price fixing be more susceptible to manipulations?

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Eye 1

France intends to prohibit the dissemination of "conspiracy theories" on the Internet by equating them with Nazism


21st Centure Wire
Thu, 19 Mar 2015 21:00 UTC
Image

January 27, 2015, President François Hollande made "conspiracy theorists" responsible for the crimes committed by the Nazis against the Jews of Europe. He called for a ban on their freedom of expression.
Political elites and super-bureaucrats are worried. It's becoming harder to control consensus reality.

A history stitched together by lies and cover-ups, political assassinations, slight-of-hand false flag deceptions, secret societies, dual loyalties and stolen fortunes - this have been the privilege of ruling elites for centuries.

Putting aside history's 'big ticket' items though, the real reason for this authoritarian trend is much more fundamental. By knocking out their intellectual competition, political elites and their media moguls hope to minimalize, and thus eliminate any alternative analysis and opinion by applying the completely open-ended and arbitrary label of "extremist" to speech. They want to wind back the clock, where a pre-internet, monolithic corporate media cartel held a monopoly on ideas.

Although France has taken the lead in this inter-governmental effort (see below), the preliminary assault began this past fall with British Prime Minster David Cameron publicly announcing on two separate occasions, that all of these so-called 'conspiracy theories' (anything which challenges the official orthodoxy) should be deemed as "extremist" and equivalent to "terrorist" and should be purged from society on the grounds of 'national security'. The first came with Cameron's warped speech at the UN, and afterwards, a similar charge was made by the UK leader against anyone who dares press the issue of institutional paedophilia and child abuse.

Watch this UN speech by Cameron where he clearly claims that 'conspiracy theorists' are the 'root cause' and indeed, an equal threat to national security as ISIS terrorists currently running amok in Syria and Iraq (start 4:26)...

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Snakes in Suits

The Pathocracy of change: Is a new political system emerging in this country?

Tom Engelhardt
TomDispatch.com
Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:04 UTC
The New American Order

Matrix System Failure
© Unknown
1% Elections, The Privatization of the State, a Fourth Branch of Government, and the Demobilization of "We the People"

Have you ever undertaken some task you felt less than qualified for, but knew that someone needed to do? Consider this piece my version of that, and let me put what I do understand about it in a nutshell: based on developments in our post-9/11 world, we could be watching the birth of a new American political system and way of governing for which, as yet, we have no name.

And here's what I find strange: the evidence of this, however inchoate, is all around us and yet it's as if we can't bear to take it in or make sense of it or even say that it might be so.
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V

Kremlin: Russia decision on counter-sanctions will hinge on national interests


TASS
Fri, 20 Mar 2015 20:56 UTC
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© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov
The European Union summit on Thursdday made a political decision to support sanctions against Russia until the Minsk agreements are implemented in full

Russia will decide on the extension of its counter-sanctions proceeding from its national interests, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"We're not discussing these issues and the Russian Federation will do what meets its national interests with regard to retaliatory steps," the spokesman said in reply to a question about whether Moscow would extend its counter-sanctions in response to the West's intention to keep its restrictions until the Minsk accords are met in full.

"We have already said the topic of sanctions is not the theme which is on our agenda. We prefer after all to deal with constructive issues in our agenda rather than such destructive topics as sanctions rhetoric," the presidential spokesman said.

The European Union summit made a political decision to support sanctions against the Russian Federation until the Minsk agreements are implemented in full, European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday.

"The European Council agreed that the duration of economic sanctions will be clearly linked to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements, bearing in mind that this is only foreseen by the end of 2015," he said.
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Yoda

Putin's participation in Victory Day celebrations in Beijing hailed by China


TASS
Fri, 20 Mar 2015 20:53 UTC
Image
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS
China hails Russian President Vladimir Putin's participation in ceremonies in Beijing on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Victory in World War II, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Friday.

"China and Russia are countries whose territories were scenes of the main battles of World War II in Asia and in Europe. Our countries made a tremendous contribution to the victory in that war," he said. "This year our countries will hold joint memorable events and the leaders the two states will exchange visits for participation in them."

"The chief of the Russian presidential staff Sergey Ivanov has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Bejing for events timed for the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazism. We welcome that decision," Hong said.

According to earlier reports China's President Xi Jinping in May will arrive in Moscow for ceremonies on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Victory over Nazi Germany.
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Bulb

U.S. and EU decide against cutting off Russia from SWIFT banking system


TASS
Fri, 20 Mar 2015 20:09 UTC
Image
© AP Photo / Christian Weidemann, Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura
SWIFT HQ
Russia's cutoff from the international banking-payment system can cause serious damage to western companies

The United States and European Union don't consider it possible to bar Russia from the SWIFT international banking-payment system as it can cause serious damage to western companies, the Bloomberg agency reported Friday citing souces familier with the situation.

According to the agency, the issue has been considered as a possible variant of extending sanctions against Russia.

The talks of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT started last year. The proposal was made by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and was also mentioned in a resolution of the European parliament.

SWIFT representatives said, however, they were not going to disconnect Russia from their system, despite political pressure they were experiencing. Being EU-based, SWIFT may disconnect Russia only if a relevant decision is made by the EU authorities, the international bank message system said.

Comment: Since sanctions against Russia only seem to be backfiring on the U.S./EU, it's probably smart to for them to quit beating that dead horse.

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Pirates

West doesn't want to end Syrian crisis: Just to exploit the atrocities

Steve Chovanec
Reports from Underground
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 22:12 UTC
syria demonstration
© REUTERS/WAEL HMEDAN
Tens of thousands of Syrians gather for a pro-government rally at the central bank square in Damascus March 29, 2011.
Western Leaders Feign Sympathy for a Crisis They Instigated & Intensified:

Obama in 2014 stated "we must... [pursue] the political solution necessary to solve Syria's crisis once and for all," Senator McCain as well recently said "But what haunts me even more than the horror unfolding before our eyes in Syria is the thought that we will continue to do nothing meaningful about it." However it is helpful to ask, are our leaders at all serious in their remarks?

Ever since at least as far back as 2005 the US has been financing and training anti-government oppositions in Syria with a view toward regime-change. When members of these US-funded groups complain about their connections to America, concerned over serving foreign interests rather than the national cause, evidence from Egypt shows that they are quickly ousted from membership. (1)

The ostensible justification for this funding is 'democracy promotion,' however we should remember what International Relations scholar John J. Mearsheimer said about Washington's democracy promotion activities abroad, referring to the crisis in Ukraine he stated "and when you talk about promoting democracy, what you're really talking about is putting in power leaders who are pro-Western and anti-Russian... promoting democracy, which was all about putting in power pro-Western leaders."
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Dollar

EU or Russia - Who's won the sanctions war so far?

Andrew Korybko
Oriental Review
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:50 UTC
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It's been one year since European sanctions were first enacted against Russia on 17 March, 2014, and it's worthy to briefly highlight their consequences on Moscow. Likewise, the counter-sanctions that Russia imposed on the EU last summer must also be critically looked at in order to assess the economic and political impact of the 'sanctions war' on both parties. The results are certainly not at all what the West had anticipated.

Russia

Economic:
Although there have been mild price increases, no significant consumer shortages of any kind have occurred. In fact, most contemporary economic issues (or speculation thereof) in the country are related more to the oil price slump than to the sanctions. The greatest unintended economic effect of the sanction war on Russia has been that the country has begun to diversify its agricultural suppliers, seeing the counter-sanctions as an impetus to look for more non-Western economic partners such as Egypt. This correlates to its larger multipolar-oriented policy that it's been practicing with vigor ever since the New Cold War started.

Political:
Russian patriotism has been solidified and the people have united in support of their country and government. The sanctions redirected Russia's political and economic trajectory towards non-Western countries, which fulfills its stated multipolar objective. While not abandoning the West, Russia now recognizes the vulnerability of depending mostly on a singular bloc of economic partners, since this makes it susceptible to forms of economic blackmail like sanctions. In retrospect, the sanctions war can be seen as the watershed event that placed Russian firmly on the path of multipolarity, with the full support of its citizenry.

Comment: Essentially, the sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and their toy the EU have been impotent and actually backfired, helping Russia strengthen itself and create economic allies that it otherwise would not have. Perhaps the U.S. should quit trying to meddle in the affairs of countries halfway around the world and start worrying about cleaning its own house first.

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Dollars

Global economic shakeup? Australia signals approval of China-based AIIB while Japan is divided

Tetsushi Kajimoto and Ian Chua
Reuters
Fri, 20 Mar 2015 17:11 UTC
Image
© REUTERS/TAKAKI YAJIMA/POOL
China's President Xi Jinping (front C) poses for photos with guests at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank launch ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing October 24, 2014.
Australia said on Friday there was a lot of merit in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) while Japan's finance minister signalled cautious approval of the institution that the United States has warned against.

However, other top officials in Tokyo were more sceptical, reflecting a split in the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over whether joining an institution launched by Japan's main rival would help or hinder its interests.

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported that Canberra could formally decide to sign up to the AIIB when the full cabinet meets on Monday.

Japan, Australia and the South Korea, all major U.S. allies, are the notable regional absentees from the AIIB. The United States, worried about China's growing diplomatic clout, has questioned whether the AIIB will have sufficient standards of governance and environmental and social safeguards.

But the opposition to the AIIB began crumbling after Britain said earlier this month that it would join the institution, maintaining it was in its national interest. France, Germany and Italy swiftly followed suit.

Comment: See also:

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Document

CIA declassifies the document that supposedly justified the Iraq invasion

Jason Leopold
VICE News
Thu, 19 Mar 2015 01:10 UTC
935 lies
© libertycrier.com
Thirteen years ago, the intelligence community concluded in a 93-page classified document used to justify the invasion of Iraq that it lacked "specific information" on "many key aspects" of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. But that's not what top Bush administration officials said during their campaign to sell the war to the American public. Those officials, citing the same classified document, asserted with no uncertainty that Iraq was actively pursuing nuclear weapons, concealing a vast chemical and biological weapons arsenal, and posing an immediate and grave threat to US national security.

Congress eventually concluded that the Bush administration had "overstated" its dire warnings about the Iraqi threat, and that the administration's claims about Iraq's WMD program were "not supported by the underlying intelligence reporting." But that underlying intelligence reporting — contained in the so-called National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that was used to justify the invasion — has remained shrouded in mystery until now.

For the first time, the public can now read the hastily drafted CIA document [pdf below - located at the end of this article] that led Congress to pass a joint resolution authorizing the use of military force in Iraq, a costly war launched March 20, 2003 that was predicated on "disarming" Iraq of its (non-existent) WMD, overthrowing Saddam Hussein, and "freeing" the Iraqi people.


Comment: We all know the Bush Administration built a house-of-cards argument based on fear, speculation, distortion and outright lies in order to invade Iraq. Has anything been learned or changed? What else has the US perpetrated with "facts" and "confirmations" that remains inconclusive or faulty until it's too late to rectify? If you recognize the reverse engineering intelligence pattern of 1) select an outcome, 2) justify action with a lie, 3) vilify your target, 4) make it up as you go...you recognize the US is in a very deep psychosis and the prognosis for recovery is "exceptionally" unlikely. And, what about the gullibility of the American public? Any progress there?

FYI: Every hour, taxpayers in the US are paying $365,297 for the cost of the War in Iraq and the cost keeps rising. Ongoing total as of this moment: $819,303,955,732...and increasing about $1,000 every 10 seconds.

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