Friday, April 4, 2014

Jim Rickards: Currency Wars Simulation

Petrodollar Warfare Heats Up: Russia Calls US Bluff

Watch this video from 2012 then read the article taken from Zerohedge today.



On the heels of Russia's potential "holy grail" gas deal with China, the news of a Russia-Iran oil "barter" deal, it appears the US is starting to get very concerned about its almighty Petrodollar
  • *U.S. HAS WARNED RUSSIA, IRAN AGAINST POSSIBLE OIL BARTER DEAL
  • *U.S. SAYS ANY SUCH DEAL WOULD TRIGGER SANCTIONS
  • *U.S. HAS CONVEYED CONCERNS TO IRANIAN GOVT THROUGH ALL CHANNELS
We suspect these sanctions would have more teeth than some travel bans, but, as we noted previously, it is just as likely to be another epic geopolitical debacle resulting from what was originally intended to be a demonstration of strength and instead is rapidly turning out into a terminal confirmation of weakness.
As we explained earlier in the week,
Russia seems perfectly happy to telegraph that it is just as willing to use barter (and "heaven forbid" gold) and shortly other "regional" currencies, as it is to use the US Dollar, hardly the intended outcome of the western blocakde, which appears to have just backfired and further impacted the untouchable status of the Petrodollar.

...

"If Washington can't stop this deal, it could serve as a signal to other countries that the United States won't risk major diplomatic disputes at the expense of the sanctions regime,"
The US dollar's position as the base currency for global energy trading gives the US a number of unfair advantages. It seems that Moscow is ready to take those advantages away.

The existence of “petrodollars” is one of the pillars of America's economic might because it creates a significant external demand for American currency, allowing the US to accumulate enormous debts without defaulting. If a Japanese buyer want to buy a barrel of Saudi oil, he has to pay in dollars even if no American oil company ever touches the said barrel. Dollar has held a dominant position in global trading for such a long time that even Gazprom's natural gas contracts for Europe are priced and paid for in US dollars. Until recently, a significant part of EU-China trade had been priced in dollars.

Lately, China has led the BRICS efforts to dislodge the dollar from its position as the main global currency, but the “sanctions war” between Washington and Moscow gave an impetus to the long-awaited scheme to launch the petroruble and switch all Russian energy exports away from the US currency .

The main supporters of this plan are Sergey Glaziev, the economic aide of the Russian President and Igor Sechin, the CEO of Rosneft, the biggest Russian oil company and a close ally of Vladimir Putin. Both have been very vocal in their quest to replace the dollar with the Russian ruble. Now, several top Russian officials are pushing the plan forward.

First, it was the Minister of Economy, Alexei Ulyukaev who told Russia 24 news channel that the Russian energy companies must should ditch the dollar. “ They must be braver in signing contracts in rubles and the currencies of partner-countries, ” he said.

Then, on March 2, Andrei Kostin, the CEO of state-owned VTB bank, told the press that Gazprom, Rosneft and Rosoboronexport, state company specialized in weapon exports, can start trading in rubles. “ I've spoken to Gazprom, to Rosneft and Rosoboronexport management and they don't mind switching their exports to rubles. They only need a mechanism to do that ”, Kostin told the attendees of the annual Russian Bank Association meeting.

Judging by the statement made at the same meeting by Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, it is safe to assume that no resources will be spared to create such a mechanism. “ Some ‘hot headed' decision-makers have already forgotten that the global economic crisis of 2008 - which is still taking its toll on the world - started with a collapse of certain credit institutions in the US, Great Britain and other countries. This is why we believe that any hostile financial actions are a double-edged sword and even the slightest error will send the boomerang back to the aborigines,” she said.

It seems that Moscow has decided who will be in charge of the “boomerang”. Igor Sechin, the CEO of Rosneft, has been nominated to chair the board of directors of Saint-Petersburg Commodity Exchange, a specialized commodity exchange. In October 2013, speaking at the World Energy Congress in Korea, Sechin called for a "global mechanism to trade natural gas" and went on suggesting that " it was advisable to create an international exchange for the participating countries, where transactions could be registered with the use of regional currencies ". Now, one of the most influential leaders of the global energy trading community has the perfect instrument to make this plan a reality. A Russian commodity exchange where reference prices for Russian oil and natural gas will be set in rubles instead of dollars will be a strong blow to the petrodollar.

Rosneft has recently signed a series of big contracts for oil exports to China and is close to signing a “jumbo deal” with Indian companies. In both deals, there are no US dollars involved. Reuters reports, that Russia is close to entering a goods-for-oil swap transaction with Iran that will give Rosneft around 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil per day to sell in the global market. The White House and the russophobes in the Senate are livid and are trying to block the transaction because it opens up some very serious and nasty scenarios for the petrodollar. If Sechin decides to sell this Iranian oil for rubles, through a Russian exchange, such move will boost the chances of the “petroruble” and will hurt the petrodollar.

It can be said that the US sanctions have opened a Pandora's box of troubles for the American currency. The Russian retaliation will surely be unpleasant for Washington, but what happens if other oil producers and consumers decide to follow the example set by Russia? During the last month, China opened two centers to process yuan-denominated trade flows, one in London and one in Frankfurt. Are the Chinese preparing a similar move against the greenback? We'll soon find out.
Finally, those curious what may happen next, only not to Iran but to Russia, are encouraged to read "From Petrodollar To Petrogold: The US Is Now Trying To Cut Off Iran's Access To Gold."

Thursday, April 3, 2014

#LEFTHOOK: Fed Cartel, Ukraine & Media Lies

New post on LEFT HOOK by Dean Henderson

Interview on Far Out Radio: Fed Cartel, Ukraine & Media Lies

by Dean Henderson
Click on Link Below to Listen: http://faroutradio.com/ Dean Henderson is the author of five books: Big Oil & Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf: Four Horsemen, Eight Families & Their Global Intelligence, Narcotics & Terror Network, The Grateful Unrich: Revolution in 50 Countries, Das Kartell der Federal Reserve, Stickin’ it to the Matrix & The Federal […]
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Ron Paul: SSRIs To Blame For Ft Hood Shooting

#SuicideBanker Widow Questions Official Story - Zurich Insurance

From Zerohedge:

Having changed her Facebook profile picture to a "V...for Vendetta" face mask, the widow of former Zurich Insurance CFO Pierre Wauthier said she and her family cannot accept Zurich’s claim that his death wasn’t brought on by undue stress. As Bloomberg reports, Switzerland’s biggest insurer said in November that no “undue pressure” was put on Wauthier, who said in a suicide note that then-ChairmanJosef Ackermann had created an unbearable working environment. But, his wife is demanding to know why her husband's former boss resigned if he had not accepted blame for the death, and why details of tensions at work were not made public. Her anger is clear, as she blasted "I am not worth talking to... or is it that I would raise unbecoming questions????"

As Bloomberg reports, more than seven months after the suicide of Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN) Chief Financial Officer Pierre Wauthier, his widow said she and her family cannot accept Zurich’s claim that his death wasn’t brought on by undue stress.
We who knew him best cannot accept your conclusion that his suicide is simply inexplicable,” said Fabienne Wauthier, speaking at the insurer’s annual general meeting in Zurich today, which she attended together with her daughter, mother-in-law and brother-in-law.

Switzerland’s biggest insurer said in November that no “undue pressure” was put on Wauthier, who said in a suicide note that then-Chairman Josef Ackermann had created an unbearable working environment. The Aug. 26 suicide, which prompted Ackermann to resign, raised doubts about Zurich Insurance’s financial health, prompting it to review its earnings statements and commission an investigation into the relations between executives and the supervisory board.
The dead banker's widow is not buying Zurich's 'cover-up'...
Zurich Insurance should explain exactly why Ackermann stepped down, if he had not accepted blame for the death, and why details of tensions at work were not made public, Wauthier told shareholders.

She changed her Facebook profile picture to a face mask labeled “V...like Vendetta” on Dec. 16, the day after SonntagsZeitung published an interview with new Chairman Tom de Swaan in which he said he never had contact with her. She re-posted the article on Facebook the same day with the comment “Yep, that’s true. I am not worth talking to... or is it that I would raise unbecoming questions????”

...

“We sincerely wish we could believe” that Zurich has improved, “but the way it handled Pierre’s suicide is a sign that unaccountability remains part of Zurich’s corporate culture,” she said today.

Before his death, Wauthier had met with the human resources department after his team reported that he was suffering from excessive stress, she told Reuters yesterday.
And, as Bloomberg continues, Wauthier had even called out Ackermann specifically in his suicide note...
In a typed and signed suicide note, under the heading “to whom it may concern,” Wauthier had criticized Ackermann. He stepped down a few days later, saying the allegations that he bore some responsibility for the suicide were “unfounded.”

“I find it important and am thankful that we and the responsible authorities examined the circumstances very conscientiously and thoroughly,” de Swaan told shareholders. “We did not have any indication that Pierre was contemplating such a step. It remains a tragedy and we lost a very valued colleague.”
Zurich Insurance has launched an internal probe...
An internal investigation by Zurich Insurance involved evaluating “numerous documents and correspondence,” while questioning individuals who worked with the former CFO.
A separate review held by the company into its financial statements showed that they were “appropriate.” The reviews were conducted under the direction of Swiss financial markets regulator Finma.
Meanwhile, the insurer is planning $250 million annual cost cuts, and slashing as many as 800 jobs as it removes various mamagement layers... not 'stressful' at all...

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Smartphone app "Cloak" - helps you avoid everyone

Do you think this same technology could be used for stalkers to track someone down? You bet!





How to Steal an Airplane: From 9/11 to MH370 (+playlist)







Former Marine and Northwest Airlines Pilot Field McConnell Exposes Boeing Secrets of MH370

Former Marine and Northwest Airlines Pilot Field McConnell Exposes Boeing Secrets of MH370



More on cyber hijacking in this video below:



Boeing wins patent on uninterruptible autopilot system | Homeland Security News Wire" ( http://bit.ly/1hihSLs

"New autopilot will make another 9/11 impossible - News - London Evening Standard" ( http://bit.ly/1hihXyJ )


Uninterruptible Autopilot

Numerous aviation industry personnel who joined a fight to expose TSA and high-level aviation corruption have experienced retaliatory actions. Airline insiders fired for testifying before the 911 Commission or for reporting other security issues continue to be suppressed, persecuted in worst ways as targeted individuals, leaving flying passengers at risk.


More than one airline employee lost his job for tryting to keep airline passengers safer. One of these, however, has fought avaiation officials’ since 911 and even more so, since Boeing installed on all of its jets auto uninterruptible autopilots without provisions to train pilots how to use them, making this technology a terrorist weapon. This man is former Delta/Northwest pilot Field McConnell. 

All Boeings have been modified with an uninterruptible autopilot, according to McConnell. Pilots, however, are not trained to use them, making aircraft a weapon for terrorists to access and deploy, he says.

“The significance is that pilots are not aware of this, feature, and therefore they cannot comply with aviation regulations, namely FAR 121533,” he says.

McConell has warned government officials and the public that a crisis such as the Malaysian hijacking would occur, due to lack of pilot training regarding uninterruptible autopilots. In his attempt to save lives, he has been repeatedly gagged by United States officials.

In a remarkable Voice of Russia interview, McConnell detailed how the plane was equipped to be flown remotely. When pilots are unaware this new feature has been installed, the pilots are incapable of properly managing it in case of an emergency that would meet federal aviation regulations, he says. 

Boeing’s uninterruptible autopilot modification makes it impossible for hijackers to hijack, supposedly – if pilots understand what to do. Pilots in general were not even aware of this new installation until McConnell blew the whistle on it. Within 4 days of his doing this, Boeing admitted having this modification. On March 3, 2007, Boeing said within two years, all Boeings would have this type of autopilot.

Had the auto-uninterruptible autopilot been available on 911, it couldn’t have happened, he said, adding pilots must be trained to use them.

As it is, however, “someone on the ground could fly the plane and override the pilot’s decisions.” 
.
“If a physical pilot hijacker tried to get into the cockpit, the pilot could trigger the autopilot. Then, officials on the ground could remotely gain control and direct it to a safe landing. This has been known since 2007,” McConnell said. “Once operating, it cannot be turned off by anyone in the plane.”

It should be a safety feature, he says, but in the case of Malaysia Airlines, it might be proven that one entity tried to take control of it, or both pilots may have flown it west. The plane could have been taken to any one of 108 places in the world, according to McConnell. 

“The problem is none of the American pilots in the U.S. have been educated regarding the existence of this Boeing uninterruptible autopilot, which by Boeing’s own words, have been deployed since 2007 and deployed on every Boeing airliner since 2009,” he said. “So is it possible a terrorist group could hack into this system like on the Malaysian plane and fly the plane remotely.”

McConnell followed that, saying what this reporter has highlighted repeatedly, such as in the article You Won’t Believe What Spies On Malaysia Plane Were Doing, published March 12 on Before It’s News.

“Keep in mind there were 20 software engineers, Chinese nationals working for Freescale in Austin Texas, and some of the patented material they were working on were stealth cloaking of airliners and chips that can be installed in these exotic weapon systems. (Emphasis added)

Who Took Control Of Malaysia Airlines Boeing?

“And at the end of the day, every airliner that has an auto-interruptible autopilot, making planes a very complex remotely controlled flying vehicles, but it should only be remotely controlled if there’s a threat against the aircraft or the people on board.

“I presume that it’s possible that someone on board the aircraft, if they are a software engineer for instance could trigger the remote control of it, but I think its more likely that someone at a ground station, or even an Air Force AWACS aircraft or the Navy aircraft could gain authority from the operating company, in this case Malaysia.”

McConnell explained the protocol for that to happen: “If Malaysia realized they lost control of the aircraft, if their SOC,  System Operations Center, cannot electronically recapture the control of their own aircraft, they could contact a variety of nations that might be able to remotely control it — if Malaysia contacted them and said there was a problem.” 

He followed that saying, “One nation that I’m confident could do that is the United States of  American and if there was an AWACS in that area, they could have  taken control of it.”
There are 108 airports around the world that could remotely guide an airplane to a safe stop – a category 3 landing. 

Why not just fly it right back to Kuala Lumpur or Beijing? 

“I think the most likely scenario is a rogue player whether a front end crew doing it manually or malicious external mode doing it remotely – took the plane off its flight plan and headed to another destination. McConnell said. “Once the rogue controllers got control of it, some benign positive safety conscious remote control was established and the aircraft was landed at one of these many airports that can land a plane.”

Whether the plane could be controlled after a rogue terrorist organization takes control and flies it to another destination, and whether the system allows the airline to override the rogue controller cannot be answered “with any degree of certainty” but these questions need to be asked of Malaysia Airlines and .the Federal Aviation Association, according to McConnell.

Different kind of terrorism: Billions and billions of dollars of intellectual property onboard

“Keep in mind there were billions and billions of dollars worth of intellectual technology property of an open patent on that plane in the form of Freescale and others on the plane, so it could be corporations or nations willing to hijack for that plane for that intelligence,” he said. 

McConnell says that until that patent is granted, and the ownership of that patent is 20% for five parties, four to individuals and one to Freescale.  Four days after the missing flight MH370, a highly valusble  patent was approved by the Patent Office.  Four of the five patent holders are Chinese nationals working for Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor, owned by Blackstone, for which Rothschild is a board member. 

On April 27, 2013, Bloomberg published an article confirming Freescale is a Blackstone venture: “Blackstone-Owned Freescale Rises as Forecast Tops Estimates: Freescale Semiconductor Ltd. (FSL), the chipmaker mostly owned by a private-equity group including Blackstone Group LP (BX) and TPG Capital, rose after predicting second-quarter sales that may exceed some analysts’ estimates.”

The patent holders are: 1) Peidong Wang, Suzhou, China, (20%), 2) Zhijun Chen, Suzhou, China, (20%) 3) Zhihong Cheng, Suzhou, China, (20%) 4) Li Ying, Suzhou, China, (20%) 5) Freescale Semiconductor (20%). According to the March 8, 2014, passenger manifest(original) of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 these were not on that plane. If they were, their names were not listed.

What officials initially said, however, was as many as seven people on board were using passports other than their own. Officials also reported at one point that there were four other passengers aside from the two Iranians whose identities were unclear. Then, officials made no more public statements about this.

“Until that patent is granted, their patent income would go to their survivors – but the ownership would go back to Freescale in Austin TX,” McConnell said, adding, “I’m not suggesting that Freescale is behind this.”

This is a different kind of terrorism, by organizations or nations who want cutting-edge military technology.


Sources: Voice Of Russia, illuminatireview.com, Before It’s News, Examiner.com, YouTube

Follow Deborah Dupré on Twitter @DeborahDupre

Tuesday, April 1, 2014