Germany's Bundesbank Resumes Gold Repatriation

Three weeks ago, when looking at the latest NY Fed data of foreign gold held at the largest central bank gold vault in the world, we showed that in the month of November not only was a near record amount of gold withdrawn from the NY Fed, which at 42 tons was the single biggest monthly outflow at the NY Fed in over a decade...

... but that though the end of November, all of the Netherlands' 122 tons of gold withdrawals had been fully accounted for. This brought up an interesting question:

"... net of the Netherlands withdrawals, there is some 44 tons of extra gold that has been also quietly redeemed (by another entity). The question is who: is it now the turn of Austria to reveal in a few weeks that it too, secretly, withdrew some 40+ tons of gold from "safe keeping" in the US? Or was it Belgium? Or did the Dutch simply decide to haul back some more. Or did Germany finally get over its "logistical complications" which prevented it from transporting more than just a laughable 5 tons in 2013? And most importantly, did Germany finally grow a pair and decidenot to let "diplomatic difficulties" stand between it and its gold?

We now know the answer, and it was, indeed, the latter with confirmation coming from the Bundesbank itself. As the German Central Bank announced earlier today, after withdrawing an embarrassing 5 tonnes of gold from New York in 2013, its rate of repatriation soared, and in what appears to have been just the past two months, has transferred a whopping 85 tonnes of gold from 80 feet below street level at Liberty 33 back to Frankfurt!

From Buba:

The Bundesbank successfully continued and further stepped up its transfers of gold last year. In 2014, 120 tonnes of gold were transferred to Frankfurt am Main from storage locations abroad: 35 tonnes from Paris and 85 tonnes from New York. "Implementation of our new gold storage plan is proceeding smoothly. Operations are running very much according to schedule," said Carl-Ludwig Thiele, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank.

The Bundesbank took advantage of the transfer from New York to have roughly 50 tonnes of gold melted down and recast according to the London Good Delivery standard, today's internationally recognised standard. "We also called on the expertise of the Bank for International Settlements for the spot checks that had to be carried out. As expected, there were no irregularities," said Mr Thiele.

According to its new gold storage plan, unveiled in January 2013, the Bundesbank will be storing half of Germany’s gold reserves in its own vaults from 2020 onwards. This necessitates a phased transfer to Frankfurt am Main of 300 tonnes of gold from New York and all 374 tonnes of gold from Paris.

Since the transfers began in 2013, the Bank has relocated a total of 157 tonnes of gold to Frankfurt am Main - 67 tonnes from Paris and 90 tonnes from New York. This is equivalent to roughly 23% of the total quantity to be transferred. The following table gives an overview of the gold that has been transferred to date.

As at 31 December 2014, the Bundesbank's gold reserves were stored at the following locations.

And the punchline:

The Bundesbank assures the identity and authenticity of German gold reserves throughout the transfer process - from when they are removed from warehouses abroad until they are stored in Frankfurt am Main. As soon as the gold was removed from the warehouse locations abroad,Bundesbank employees cross-checked the lists of bars belonging to the Bundesbank against the information on the bars removed. Finally, once they arrived in Frankfurt am Main, all the transferred gold bars were thoroughly and exhaustively inspected and verified by the Bundesbank. When all the inspections had been concluded, no irregularities came to light with regard to the authenticity, fineness and weight of the bars.

A curious amount of precautions and safeguards when transporting the "safe" and "untainted" gold held at the NY Fed to Frankfurt. Almost as if the Bundesbank, gasp, did not trust the quality and content of the NY Fed-held gold, nor its well-meaning intentions.

Ironically, it was exactly one year ago that we wrote "Germany Has Recovered A Paltry 5 Tons Of Gold From The NY Fed After One Year" in which we wrote:

The official explanation was as follows: "The Bundesbank explained [the low amount of US gold] by saying that the transports from Paris are simpler and therefore were able to start quickly." Additionally, the Bundesbank had the "support" of the BIS "which has organized more gold shifts already for other central banks and has appropriate experience - only after months of preparation and safety could transports start with truck and plane." That would be the same BIS that in 2011 lent out a record 632 tons of gold...

Welt goes on to "debunk" various "conspiracy websites" that the reason why the gold is being melted is not to cover up some shortage (and to scrap serial numbers), but that the gold is exactly the same gold as before. Finally, to silences all skeptics, the Bundesbank says that "there is no reason for complaint - the weight and purity of the gold bars were consistent with the books match." In conclusion, Welt reports that in 2014 "larger transport volumes" can be expected from New York: between 30 and 50 tons.

Welt was off by just 50% with the full 2014 repatriated amount hitting 85 tons in what appears to have been a year-end scramble following the Netherlands repatriation shocker. And, as it turns out, all it took for the Bundesbank to send its repatriation amounts surging is for the Dutch to show it how it is done: i.e., by plane because crossing the Atlantic with a Brinks' truck full of gold certainly presents some "logisitcal challenges."

Sarcasm aside, it is quite clear that "logistical difficulties" is merely a politically correct strawman. Recall the real reason for the paltry repatriation by Buba in 2013, as explained by Deutsche Bank two months ago:

... the gold community paid great attention to the decision of the German Bundesbank to “bring German gold home”. At the beginning of 2013, the Bundesbank announced it would repatriate 300 tonnes of gold stored in the US by 2020. It is well behind schedule, citing logistical difficulties. Yet diplomatic difficulties are more likely to be the chief cause of the delay, especially seeing as the Bundesbank has proven its capacity to organise large-scale gold transports. In the early 2000s, the Bundesbank incrementally repatriated 930 tonnes of German gold held by the Bank of England.

Which leads us to the only relevant question: now that the "diplomatic difficulties" have been overcome and the Bundesbank is back on track to repatriating precisely the right amount of gold from the NY Fed to indicate that it has far less faith in the US central bank than it did when it was barely conducting any transfers in 2013, just how worse as the diplomatic difficulties now? We expect to get at least a partial answer on Thursday when Mario Draghi finally announces his long-overdue €500 billion QE program, with Bundesbank's Jens Weidmann, sitting quietly in a corner, and ignored by the ex-Goldman head of the ECB, contemplated just how much more, if not all, gold (there is still some 517 tonnes of gold left to be repatriated to Germany from NY and Paris) he should withdraw now in preparation for the "next steps"?

One thing is certain: Germany sends its kindest gratitude to Ukraine, whose gold, now long gone, is most likely to be found in a far safer, and remelted, state somewhere in the bowels under Wilhelm-Epstein-Straße, number 14 in Frankfurt am Main.

Credit to Zero Hedge

The Shinar Directive -- Part 7

Nimrod developed systems to replace man’s walk with God in every aspect of life with absolute dependence upon those systems of control (system vs. relationship). I believe there are three basic facets of Babylon or, as many prophecy teachers have designated, the “Three Babylons.”

In the last days, God will judge these three interlocking Babylons (or Babylonian systems). They are 1) Financial Babylon; 2)Political Babylon; and 3) Religious Babylon

Let’s define each of these for the sake of clarity.

Financial Babylon: Financial Babylon controls not only the finances of the world, but any resource that can translate into wealth: precious metals, gems, energy (oil, electric, nuclear power, etc.), water, food, medicine, illegal drugs, media, education, and even people (remember, in Babylon, people are considered a resource). 

This financial control is established through an international, centralized banking system operated solely by the Elite. Nations no longer manage their currencies; they are handled through this central banking system. The Federal Reserve is no more controlled by the government than is Federal Express. Doc Marquis points out in his video series, The Secrets of the Illuminati, that all the nations involved in the War on Terror or those that are part of the Arab Spring (i.e., Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, etc.) refused to become a part of the international, centralized banking system of the Rothschild dynasty. The turmoil within those nations is designed to change the governmental regimes to ones that will be more compliant to the control of their finances by Financial Babylon (with the side benefit of inflating the price of oil, another control mechanism). Usually, the first part of nation building that the US assists with, after the change in regimes, is the establishment of a centralized banking system.

I also believe that Financial Babylon is the most powerful of the three. Finances build political parties, fuel elections, sway politicians’ votes, control who gains media coverage, and even control which ministries move into prominence and whose messages are suppressed (although the Internet is currently giving voice to many faithful ministries today). This influence is so pervasive in the United States that, in a study published by Princeton University, researchers declared that our nation was no longer a democracy: it is now an oligarchy.[i] Wikipedia defines an oligarchy as follows:

Oligarchy (from Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía); from ὀλίγος (olígos), meaning “few”, and ἄρχω (arkho), meaning “to rule or to command”) is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, education, corporate, or military control. Such states are often controlled by a few prominent families who typically pass their influence from one generation to the next, but inheritance is not a necessary condition for the application of this term.[ii]

How has America moved from a democracy to an oligarchy? The answer is: Through the riches and control of Financial Babylon. Without the proper financial backing, few candidates have any chance of winning elections.

This control of finances has answered so many questions for me, even beyond politics. 

• Why are there no real differences in our political choices when it comes time to vote? Not only is there little difference anymore in the philosophical beliefs of the candidates, but the same agendas continue to move forward regardless of which party is in control. The only variation is the speed in which they are accomplished.

•  Why has education been on a downward spiral over the past hundred or so years in the US? Secularization has transformed education from training students how to obtain knowledge and use critical thinking to indoctrinating them to serve in the New Babylon, as dumbed-down bricks in Nimrod’s wall. This was achieved through control of secondary schools by federal mandates and funding. Control of postsecondary schools was accomplished through secular accreditation and the Title IV Guaranteed Student Loan Program.[iii]

• Why is there always some type of shortage of resources worldwide? The resources of our planet (to include the food supply) should easily accommodate nearly fourteen billion people. (Scarcity inflates prices, causes civil unrest, and can control which nations thrive and which ones decline.)

• Why do many good ministries and ministers often struggle, while other ministries with questionable doctrines and practices explode on the scene and become the new standard? Financial Babylon initially funds them, while Religious Babylon trains them to sway the masses through media and Christianized mysticism (more on this later in our study).

The list can go on and on. When you open your eyes to the reality of the influence of the threefold cord of Babylon, you see it in every aspect of our lives, from politics to the supermarket to your local church!

Babylon always uses riches to entrap and to control. God’s blessings are outside the control and influence of Babylon. The only way to gain God’s blessings is to walk out of Babylon (to depart) and to start walking with Him in all areas of your life so He can make you whole.

Political Babylon: The Founding Fathers in American politics viewed government as a necessary vice. When government works, it is small and provides some basic safeguards. This is true in a nation all the way down to the local church. When Babylon infects any type of governmental structure, it begins to grow like a cancer that swallows up everything around it. One of the telltale signs of any political system infected by Babylon is revealed in the following statement about Nimrod:

Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power.[iv]

When government insists that true happiness (source of supply and well-being) can only come through its hands (i.e., socialism or communism) and it begins to oppress anyone or anything that does not align with its agenda, then you are dealing with the influence of Political Babylon.

There are only two real positions in life: dependence upon the Babylonian system or dependence upon the kingdom of God. Over the past few decades, it has appeared that many ministries and believers have prospered by standing with one foot in both kingdoms—straddling the fence. In the days ahead, the servants of Nimrod will spring their trap and all of these compromising ministries will be confronted by the proverbial fence post.

In the history of America over the past hundred years or so, we have seen the ebbs and flows of Political Babylon. 

As the influence of the Church increased, the power of Political Babylon decreased. When the salt nature of the Church decreased within society, the influence of Political Babylon increased. Today, Financial and Religious Babylon have teamed up against the Church at large. They have created a pseudo-spiritual system that makes us think we are walking with God and making huge impacts upon society. All the while (or in reality), the influence of Political Babylon grows within our culture and true spiritual holiness is lost within the Church.

Religious Babylon: To understand Religious Babylon, we need to understand several things. At the time of Shem and Nimrod, there were only two religions on the planet. The religion of Shem was to walk with the God of Creation, submit completely to Him, and walk in His ways (i.e., follow His commandments). The Institutes (religion) of Nimrod were exactly the opposite. Nimrod opposed all of the commandments of God (lawlessness) and set up a demonically inspired program of walking within a system rather than walking with God. When the languages were confused at the Tower of Babel, the people scattered and the names changed, but the concepts of the Institutes of Nimrod stayed the same.

When Abraham was called out of Babylon (contained within his bloodline), a departure from the Institutes of Nimrod occurred. Abraham and his descendants walked with God and learned His ways (commandments). Eventually, the children of Israel found themselves in bondage as slaves in Egypt—another version of Babylon.

When Moses brought the Hebrews out of Egypt by God’s grace and they became a nation, Israel stood within history as the only religion that was the antithesis to the religion of Nimrod. All other religions on the planet were some variation of what started in Babylon. In fact, if you go to the Intertestamental Period during which Antiochus IV Epiphanes entered Jerusalem, erected a statue of Apollo, sacrificed a hog on the altar of God, and established the Institutes of Nimrod over Judea, these practices would have worked perfectly in any other nation. All other nations were based on the same concepts; they would just change the names of their gods. Within Judea, such things were an abomination. Antiochus found himself hunting down and killing all of the faithful who refused to bow to his demands. (I am sure he was not prepared for such resistance.) Eventually, the Maccabees rose up and drove him out of Judea three years to the day from when he started his war on the ways of God.

After the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, Christianity began as a new branch of Judaism: Christ’s followers were known as the Nazarenes. Jews and Christians stood together in unity against the Institutes of Nimrod. Rome began its persecution of the Jews in both the first revolt in AD 70 that resulted in the destruction of the Temple and the second revolt in AD 132. That resulted in the complete destruction of Jerusalem; all Jews were forbidden to even travel through the area. With this persecution, Gentile believers began separating themselves from their Jewish counterparts. There was also a great deal of animosity against both Jewish and Gentile believers, because they would not fight in the second revolt. At the beginning of the second revolt, Rabbi Akiva declared Simon bar Kakhba the Messiah. Because of this action, believers in Jesus felt that if they fought, they would be endorsing Simon as Messiah and would be denying Jesus.[v]

This drift away from our Hebraic heritage continued over the next several centuries. Church leaders such as Origin declared that God gave Greek philosophy to lead Gentiles to Jesus, while the Torah was solely for the purpose of leading Jews to Jesus. (Note: in Origin’s history with the church, he was declared a heretic many times.) This separation of Gentile believers from their Hebraic heritage was completed under the leadership of Constantine. 

It was, in the first place, declared improper to follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this holy festival, because, their hands having been stained with crime, the minds of these wretched men are necessarily blinded….

Let us, then, have nothing in common with the Jews, who are our adversaries…. Let us…studiously avoiding all contact with that evil way.…

For how can they entertain right views on any point who, after having compassed the death of the Lord, being out of their minds, are guided not by sound reason, but by an unrestrained passion, wherever their innate madness carries them….lest your pure minds should appear to share in the customs of a people so utterly depraved….

Therefore, this irregularity must be corrected, in order that we may no more have any thing in common with those parricides and the murderers of our Lord…. no single point in common with the perjury of the Jews.[vi]

Constantine’s goal was to create a catholic (universal) religion based upon the power of Rome and its stream of the mystery religion. Following the occult “onion” principle, the outer wrap was a veneer of Christianity, but within, it was completely the Institutes of Nimrod. Therefore, the Feasts of the Lord(which are all about Messiah) and the commandments of God had to be replaced with new universally understood pagan holidays and new catholic commandments.

We now stand in a period of human history in which the religions that are various versions of the Institutes of Nimrod are beginning to realign. Exactly how that will play out is yet to be seen—although, I must add, they will surely be seen very shortly. The only ones who resemble the faith of Shem, Abraham, Moses, and Paul are the Remnant—those who have purged themselves of the influence of the Great Whore and are walking in the power of covenant with Almighty God.

This is why we must be faithful Bereans and carefully examine our ways. We must cleanse ourselves from the leaven of Babylon and adhere to a pure faith that is based on the completed work of Jesus and the Word of God. To quote the Reformers of old, our cry must be sola Scriptura (“only Scripture”)!

I believe this prophetic cry is being renewed by the Holy Spirit again in our generation. With the level of spiritual warfare in the last days, we cannot fight against something we are still plugged into and depend upon. We must separate the clean from the unclean in our lives, from sinful acts and attitudes to polluted ways of living. The apostle Paul reminds us about this dynamic relationship with the trice Holy God of Creation:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:14–18)

We need the Holy Spirit to dwell in us fully; we need Almighty God to walk among us in the days ahead. In fact, we’re talking survival here. Survival supplies and dehydrated food will only take you so far. It is the manifested presence and leadership of God in your life that will tip the balance in your favor! Please understand that Paul was writing to believers in these verses, and he wasn’t merely referring to marriage. 

This Jewish rabbi named Paul, who was from the School of Hillel and trained by the famous rabbi, Gamaliel, was discussing how important it was for these formerly pagan Gentile believers to completely leave the Institutes of Nimrod behind and to walk completely with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

Notice the affirmation of Abraham’s call in verse 17: “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean.” Notice that I did not include “thing” in this quote. In the KJV, the word “thing” is in italics. This means that it did not occur in the original Greek text. (In 1611, these dedicated and faithful translators were not well versed in their Hebraic heritage.) When the apostle Paul used the term “unclean,” he was using a Torah term that included everything the commandments of God declared as “unclean”—from items to practices. He expected his readers to open up their Bibles (which at that time only included Genesis through Malachi), study what God said was unclean, and separate it from their lives. In theological terms, we would call that “sanctification” (both a lost truth and a lost art these days within the body of Christ).

Over the years, I have found that when I write out explicitly all of the Institutes of Nimrod and its concepts for believers, the first thing they do is get upset…with me. It is not my fault that so much of what we do and accept, as common practices, did not originate in the Word of God; but the truth is that the carnal nature loves Babylon and most everything associated with it. Satan has done a great job of Christianizing his concepts over the centuries, turning them into big warm fuzzies and wrapping them in a big red bow. It takes two things for you to overcome: (1) sensitivity to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, and (2) honest research. Some of my students, who were originally so upset with me for pointing these things out, eventually became the greatest advocates for biblical holiness—once they did their own research. (Although a good number spent many days arguing with themselves over their conclusions.) 

Never accept anything at face value. The enemy of our soul has become adept at deceiving righteous men into accepting unrighteous practices. Research extensively, dig deep, and do not go for the easiest answer, what is popular, or the path of least resistance. Be like Jacob, who dared to wrestle with God over his pending confrontation with Esau. It was during the action of wrestling that Jacob’s walk changed and he became Israel. There is a transformational wrestling match waiting for you; it will free you from the influence of Babylon and prepare you to become a world overcomer as we witness firsthand the unfolding of end-time prophecy.

Credit to Raidersnewsupdate

30 Reasons Proving That Putin Is Preparing to Start World War III

I frequently hear the following: Russia is a Christian nation. Putin is good Christian man. Russia only wants to defend its borders. Putin  is the only obstacle between the New World Order and the people of the world. Stop, I cannot listen to any more ignorance. Putin is preparing to start World War III. This could be a war that will kill billions, destroy nations and threaten all of humanity.

There are 30 reasons proving that Putin is preparing to start World War III.

1. Eight months ago, I wrote about the face-off between American paramilitary forces (i.e. Academi, formerly Blackwater) and Russian paramilitary forces (i.e.  Vnevedomstvenaya Okhrana) in Ukraine. America and Russia are already spilling each other’s blood.

2. Also in May of 2014, the Western media was suspiciously silent about the Russians airlifting critical supplies which would be used to support a war effort in Eastern Ukraine. Yet, Russia’s Novostinews service is openly reporting  that “Ammunition for Special Forces is being airlifted for Slaviansk Operation.”This is highly significant because Ukraine Denetsk region is asking to join Russia. Other regions are likely to follow. Russia is further airlifting ammunition into the same region. Even Ray Charles could see that this constitutes preparations for war in Ukraine and that this ammunition has gone to support the paramilitary forces fighting in Ukraine!

3. According to a Russian navy blog, published in May of 2014, Russia simulated an American nuclear attack involving submarines, bombers and land-based missiles and this massive drill was coordinated under the direct supervision of Putin at the Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Moscow. The nuclear drill simulated a massive retaliatory nuclear strike in response to an enemy attack. This was a live fire drill and involved a Sineva ballistic missile that hit a target on the Kula testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Subsequent warnings were issued to civilian aircraft to stay clear of the massive war games area.

4. Beginning eight months ago, Russia’s LifeNewsbegan reporting that Russia’s Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters has issued travel restrictions to all employees like the country’s firefighters, ambulance drivers and rescue troopers. Additionally, a similar travel ban is imposed for parts of employees under the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) including tens of thousands of police officers, prison guards, and other law enforcement agencies like the Federal Drug Control and the Federal Migration Service. Others listed in the travel ban are personnel with access to state secrets, like certain employees of the Foreign Ministry. According to estimates, the total number of travel-restricted personnel number around 250,000 people.

5. The Russians are in war mode, Arctic war mode Russia is adding 40 new naval ships to its nuclear arsenal in 2014. By the end of 2015, Russia will have nearly as many naval ships as the United States.

6. Retrofitted combat aircraft from Russia’s Northern Fleet will extend the ranges of their patrol flights over the Arctic in 2014 using a network of 14 revamped Soviet-era airfields.

7. Ballistic missile submarines make up one part of Russia’s strategic nuclear triad along with land-based ICBMs and the Russian bomber force. The Borey submarine is Russia’s first post-Soviet ballistic missile submarine class and will form the mainstay of the strategic submarine fleet, replacing aging Typhoon, Delta-3 and Delta-4 class boats. The creation of the Borey signals that the Russian economy is in war mode.Russia ultimately expects to manufacture eight Borey-class submarines by the year 2020.

8. According to Russian Defense Minister, Army General Sergey Shoigum,Russia will be very active in developing its military bases abroad in places like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia.  The Russian defense minister went on to say that they were conducting drills in Belarus and Tajikistan. In fact, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are still holding war games in the  Ural region, according to the TASS Russian News Agency. It has leaked out that Russia and China are holding joint terrorist drills inside of China. Russia is clearly preparing for war.

9. During last year’s Syrian crisis Putin threatened to nuke the United States if it invaded Syria in violation of international law. Syria is critical to the Russians on a number of fronts including the prevalence of Syria’s warm water ports.Putin committed an act of war by seizing Crimea in a manner similar to Hitler to his nonviolent seizures of land prior to attacking Poland to begin World War II.

10. Russia has heavily invested in the development of a  Radar-beating missile delivery system in order to protect its long range bombers.

11. Russia has spent nearly $72 billion on arms in 2011 and is planning on spending well over a half a billion dollars to upgrade its weapons systems by 2016 including the development of the ability to cripple America with cyber attacks.

12. Russia’s nuclear forces are turning mobile and the new stealth technology extends from undetectable bombers to silent running nuclear submarines.

13. According to PRAVDA,Russia has 5,000 nuclear weapons of different tactical classes including Iskander warheads and torpedo, aerial and artillery warheads, all right next to Europe.

14. According to The Financial Times, satellite killers were launched into orbit May of 2014.This move by the Russians, parallels what the  Chinese have already accomplished and tested. The intent is to blind American forces on the battlefield and at sea.

15. The Russians just announced that a full squadron of ships from the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet recently held drills in the English Channel! NATO has to be very nervous as war games have historically been used to launch an attack.

16. In what can be labeled a strategic game changer, the Russians announced that they are going to sell to their newest and most powerful ally, China, a sophisticated air defense system. 

17. Moscow is in the midst of the most expensive weapons modernization program in world history. From the period of  2016 through 2025, Russia’s defense spending is expected to reach $540 billion. No wonder Putin is “borrowing” from Russian retirement funds. Much of the money is being spent making much of Russia’s nuclear arsenal “go stealth”, in which by 2016, Russian nuclear missiles could hit targets without being detected prior to striking the desired target. So much for mutually assured destruction (MAD). The Russians next-generation bomber is nearly invisible to radar and their super-silent nuclear submarines are deadly, and according to the U.S. Navy, will be fully operational by 2025.

18.FEMA signed a bilateral agreement with the Russian military to permit a minimum of 15,000 Russian soldiers to train on American soil and this was at a time when both Russia and China threatened to nuke the United States if we dared to invade Syria or Iran in the Fall of 2013.

19. Last summer (2014), the Russian military transferred personnel from the Western, Central, and Eastern military districts of the country to the Arctic region, according to a report by ITAR-TASS.

20. NATO was busy the last three days of October when they“tracked Russian military planes that included fighter jets, long-range bombers and tankers over the Baltic region, the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.” Jets deterred over nineteen Russian planes just on October 29. The majority of planes were located in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Radar did show eight planes toward the Norwegian Sea, but six planes turned around after the Norwegian Air Force pushed back. Two planes, Tu-95 Bear H bombers, continued towards Norway until NATO planes in the United Kingdom tracked them and forced them back to Russia.

21. Putin has declared war on the Petrodollar and is trying to destablize the American economy through the sale of oil for gold.

22. Putin has undermined the relationship between the US and two  of our biggest trading partners, India and China. Putin has married Russian energy with the Chinese and all deals are conducted in gold. India and Russia trade in commodities for gold. They used to use the dollar.

23. Portugal, a member of the European Union and a founding member of NATO, chased a Russian ship out of their waters on November 6. Russia claims the ship conducted “marine research,”but Portugal intervened when the ship floated almost fourteen miles from the coast.

24. On October 29, 2014. I wrote that my confidential sources informed me that Putin was preparing to cut off gas to Europe. My sources were 14 days premature in their prediction. This is an act of war.

25. In response to the same heightened tensions. Lithuania, as well as its neighbors, are preparing for a full-scale invasion by Russian forces. The Lithuanian government has issued a survival manual to its citizens which details how to fight a guerilla war against its Russian neighbors. Europe knows what Russia is capable of because they have lived through two world wars.

26. I previously reported that Putin has been aligning his new military allies in India, Brazil, Bolivia, El Salvador, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, China, and even in South Africa in attempt to force the U.S. to prepare for a Red Dawn scenario here at home in the event that hostilities break out. This was Putin’s version of “Plan B” as he obviously was anticipating the loss of control over Ukraine.

27. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts had also warned in advance of a “Black Swan Event” such as Russia cutting off energy supplies to European nations as a prelude to war. It turns out that the Roberts prediction was correct with Putin shutting off gas to Europe. The world took a big step towards to the next world war. Britain only has an energy storage buffer estimated to be about 16 days of energy demands. What lies beyond 16 days under the present set of circumstances. The coming Britain reduction in energy usage will be imposed through rationing and denial of service to non-essential entities and service. In contrast, Germany has 77 days of energy reserves and France has 88 days. However, none of these nations have enough energy reserves to get through the winter. Britain, France and Germany are luckier than most European nations who have almost no energy reserves and are very dependent on Russian gas exports sent through Ukraine.

28. Putin announced his warlike intentions, in November of 2014, in that he plans to severely scale down nuclear security cooperation with the United States. Translation, Russia does not need, nor want, the protection it formerly achieved through limitations on nuclear weapons. This aggressive posture, according to The New York Times, is seen as Russia’s way of saying that it requires no outside assistance in securing the country’s nuclear assets and network. This can only mean one thing, Putin is preparing for nuclear war.

29. Putin is a former KGB/Russian Mafia thug who has the psychological makeup to lead the world into a devastating World War III. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft went publicwith claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin stole his 2004 Super Bowl ring during his visit to Russia in 2005. All of you naysayers, turn off your computers and save your printer ink, this is too well documented to not be true. And let’s not forget that in 1991, Putin, then deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, organized a number of scams involving meat imports into the poor, starving city. This drive is believed by many to have enabled Putin to make himself incredibly wealthy with an amassed fortune of almost $70 billion.

30.  Putin has no moral compunction against starting a third world war. Of course there are those that would cast Putin, including himself as a Christian. If he’s a Christian, I would have to denounce my religion. When Putin was a member of the KGB (i.e. the Russian Mafia), East German Intelligence described him as a philander and a wife beater! Some Christian! Understandably, Putin’s wife divorced him. She is lucky to still be alive.

My confidential sources, the same that predicted the gas shutoff that just occurred,  tell me that Russia’s trump card lies in attacking Saudi Arabia in retaliation for action against the U.S. attacking Syria.  This is what the American military planners fear the most. This would have catastrophic consequences. America’s economy would come to a complete standstill because oil availability would be greatly reduced.

Credit to The Common Sense 

Europe plunged into energy crisis

Russia cut gas exports to Europe by 60 per cent today, plunging the continent into an energy crisis 'within hours' as a dispute with Ukraine escalated.

This morning, gas companies in Ukraine said that Russia had completely cut off their supply.

Six countries reported a complete shut-off of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine today, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that threatens Europe as winter sets in.

Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments from Russia through Ukraine.

Croatia said it was temporarily reducing supplies to industrial customers while Bulgaria said it had enough gas for only 'for a few days' and was in a 'crisis situation'.



Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left, speaks to Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller during a meeting yesterday

The European Union in Brussels called the sudden cut-off to some of its member countries 'completely unacceptable'.

The EU demanded the two sides reopen talks as the row immediately sparked fears of gas supply shortages and rising energy prices in the UK.

The UK is suffering one of its coldest nights this century with temperatures plunging to as low as -10C.

Though Britain is one of Gazprom's largest importers - relying on the company for some 16 per cent of consumption in 2007, according to The Times, the gas is supplied through a complicated swap scheme that means supplies themselves may not be affected.

Prices, on the other hand, rose during trading in London today.

The dispute, coupled with Israel's military operation in Gaza, also pushed oil up to a three-week high of $49.91 in New York yesterday.

Russia, whose main export is oil, stands to benefit from a recovery in prices.


Credit to Dailymail.com
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1106382/Europe-plunged-energy-crisis-Russia-cuts-gas-supply-Ukraine.html#ixzz3PHSPLeFo

Chinese Stocks Crash As Financials Suffer Record Drop

For all those who alleged the Chinese stock move in recent months, was nothing but another investing mania, i.e., bubble, benefiting a select few, because as we showed in July, unlike the US where 70% of household wealth is in financial assets, in China it is the other way around, with three quarters of "net worth" parked in real estate which is merely the latest bubble to pop...

... congratulations, you were right. 

This was once again confirmed last night when the Chinese stock market waterfalled into the biggest market crash in over 6 years, with the SHCOMP closing down nearly 8% and in the process triggering various circuit breakers, most notably the CSI 300 index which fell by the 10% daily limit and the Chinese financial index (-9.9%) posting its biggest 1-day drop on record after China cracked down on continuing margin-finance and securities lending violations. In other words, the entire run up was thanks to speculation-enabling margin trading, and massive investor leverage; leverage which may or may not disappear. If the SHCOMP crash accelerates in coming days, wtch as Citic, Haitong et al once again flout regulations with the secret blessing of the PBOC, because an uncontrollable market crash is no longer acceptable to anyone. 

Details on the Chinese crash from Bloomberg:

• Shanghai Composite Index falls 7.7%, most since June 2008, after three of biggest China brokerages were suspended from adding margin-finance and securities lending accounts for 3 mos. following rule violations.
• Index erases gain of past 3 weeks; volume roughly matches 3-mo. daily avg
• Property stock index leads rout with 9.1% decline, paring 12-mo. gain to 76%
• CSI 300 falls 7.7% led by financials, energy; 48 stocks drop 9% or more incl. airlines, banks, securities cos.
• “Regulators are concerned that shares have run too hard, too fast:” Bocom strategist Hao Hong
  Citic Securities, Haitong Securities -- two of the 3 facing suspension -- plunge by 10% limit in Shanghai
• HSCEI falls 5%, most since 2011, led by Haitong Securities (-17%), Citic Securities (-16%)
• China’s regulators don’t “want to crush the rally as such, but they just want to make sure the financial system is sound and not too much leverage has been abused:” Khiem Do, head of Asian multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management
• Shenzhen Composite Index closes down 3.4%
• Singapore-traded China stock futures fall as much as 14% 
• Stock connect investors turn sellers in China shares

A bigger picture view: Asian equity markets traded mixed with Chinese bourses underperforming amid a crackdown on margin trading, which has prompted a sharp sell-off across brokerages and financials. Consequently, the Hang Seng trades down 1% while the Shanghai Composite (-7.7%) marked its biggest drop since July 2009, with the Chinese financial index (-9.9%) posting its biggest 1-day drop on record. Nikkei 225 (+0.8%) was unable to hold above 17,000 as a strong JPY prompted the index to come off best levels. 

And while the move in China may be seen as a BTFD opportunity by some, the reality is that a weak China is here to stay for a long, long time, and in fact, the ongoing housing bubble pop is likely to get far worse before it gets better. To wit:

• IT’S EXAGGERATING TO SAY CHINA PROPERTY MARKET COLLAPSES: JIANG

Curious where crude is going next? Hint: not up:

• CHINA ECONOMY FACES RELATIVELY BIG DOWNWARD PRESSURE, LI SAYS.

Sure enough, that latest surge higher in crude on Friday is once again starting to get undone. 

As for the next shocking currency devaluation: could it be the Yuan?

• EUROPE FURTHER EASING MAY BRING PROBLEMS TO CHINA EXPORT: JIANG

That said, following last week's Swiss stock market massacre as a result of a central bank shocker, and last night's crack down by Chinese authorities, it almost appears as if the global powers are doing what they can to orchestrated a smooth, painless (as much as possible) bubble deflation. If so, what Draghi reveals in a few days may truly come as a surprise to all those- pretty much everyone - who anticipate a €500 billion QE announcement on Thursday.

Elsewhere, European equities (Eurostoxx50 +0.2%) trade higher with thin volumes and a light data slate ahead as US markets are closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. The premise of ECB has also supported equities after weekend reports that ECB’s Draghi met with German Finance Minister Schaeuble and German Chancellor Merkel to discuss the extent to which national banks will be liable for the sovereign bond purchase programme, meaning German’s liability will be smaller than any other countries losses. In other news, the SMI (+3.4%) outperforms European indices after recovering from last week’s sharp selloff following the SNB decision. Meanwhile, the energy sector continues to underperform with oil prices slightly lower in the session after comments from the Iraqi Oil Minster overnight.

In FX markets, EUR/USD briefly broke back above 1.1600 triggering stops at the handle with EUR strength observed across the board following subdued market conditions. Elsewhere, in Asia the JPY gained against all of its peers as the Shanghai Comp (-7.7%) marked its largest decline since July 2009 after it was reported that Chinese regulators would crackdown on margin trading which prompted sharp selloff among Chinese bourses.

Iraq’s Oil Minister said Iraq is to boost its crude exports to 3.3mln bpd in 2015 sending WTI and Brent Crude to break the USD 49 and USD 50 handle respectively. In precious metals, Gold (-0.37%) saw a mild loss overnight following last week’s near 5% rise, where the safe-haven soared amid the SNB-triggered FX volatility, with prices of the precious gold metal remaining near 4-month highs after the SPDR Gold Trust also increased holdings by the most since May 2010.

Copper prices have seen a slight pull-back from Friday’s highs amid profit taking ahead of this week’s key-risk events with Chinese GDP scheduled for tomorrow and the ECB meeting on Thursday, while iron futures were also weaker overnight with investor sentiment dampened after data over the weekend showed China’s property prices declined at a faster pace in December.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Donetsk Intl Airport in ruins: Drone Footage