Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Wednesday, 26 August 2015

The European Union Times


Posted: 25 Aug 2015 02:46 PM PDT

A curious Ministry of Finance (MoF) report circulating in the Kremlin today says that the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has “accepted for protection” 3 million ounces of gold worth over $3.5 billon from US banking and financial services giant Citigroup along with a further nearly $100 billion in cash.
According to this report, 1.4 million ounces of this now protected gold in the vaults of the CBR were shipped directly from Venezuela after this past April’s complex agreement between that South American nation and Citigroup, with the remaining 1.6 ounces coming from various countries this banking and financial service giant has cut ties with in the past year and a half.
Of the 11 nations, including Japan, that Citigroup has cut ties with, this report explains, even in the face of Western sanctions Citigroup has refused to sever its Federation relationship with its chief financial officer, John Gerspach, simply telling the Obama regime “We are not leaving Russia”.
Citigroup itself on its webpage, this report notes, further explains this relationship with the Federation by stating:
“Citi’s history in Russia began almost 100 years ago and is closely tied to the dramatic events that unfolded during that period of the country’s history. Citi has always acted as a unifying link between the Russian economy and other world economies and played an important role in the development of the country’s trade and external economic relations.
Citi first entered Russia on the eve of the Revolution. In 1916, Citi, then-called National City Bank (NCB), underwrote bonds to support the government of the Russian Empire as World War I took its toll on the country’s resources.”
Of the $100 billion in cash “accepted for protection” by the CBR from Citigroup, this report continues, all of it was airlifted to Moscow from Cairo this past week ahead of today’s Central Bank of Egypt ruling approving the sale of this US banking giants assests in that country to the Commercial International Bank (CIB) which they hadannounced this past June.
As to why Citigroup had a staggering $100 billion in cash secreted away in their Egyptian banks this report doesn’t say, but the MoF does note that the gold and monies “accepted for protection” by the CBR from Citigroup now exist under Federation laws and are not allowed to be claimed by any foreign entity, including the United States.
As to why Citigroup would need such extraordinary protection of their assests, MoF experts contributing to this report explain, is due the Obama regimes relentless assault upon it that includes a $700 million fine for “unfair and deceptive practices” a few weeks ago and a continuing investigation into student loan servicing this banking giantwarns could result in even more financial penalties…all of which are on top of the $7 billion they were forced to pay last year due to their mortgage loan practices.
Even more important to note, these experts say in this report, is Citigroup leadership becoming “highly concerned” that the US economy is nearing collapse as was evidenced yesterday in the United States Black Monday Collapsewhich saw over $1.8 in wealth vanish from the estimated $24.1 trillion in stocks held by the American public.
Though China’s rate cut earlier today in the face of their nations worst market collapse in 20 years has, for the moment, decoupled them from the rest of the world’s markets providing an illusion of momentary stability, this report warns, yesterday’s sell-off was not really caused by the Chinese, but total global confusion…with the worst to come in the coming weeks.
Critical to note is that this dire MoF assessment of what is to come has been bolstered by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s top advisor Damian McBride, who grimly stated yesterday:
“Advice on the looming crash, No.1: get hard cash in a safe place now; don’t assume banks & cashpoints (ATM’s) will be open, or bank cards will work. Crash advice No.2: do you have enough bottled water, tinned goods & other essentials at home to live a month indoors? If not, get shopping. Crash advice No.3: agree a rally point with your loved ones in case transport and communication gets cut off; somewhere you can all head to.”
As more nuclear capable American and Russian forces converge on the Western Front however, this report grimly concludes, the advice to the Obama regime by one of their top economic counselors, Paul Krugman, that either a World War, or war with aliens, is needed to fix their economy, one can readily see where this is all going to end up…much sooner than later.
And though Citigroup is now protecting itself, one can only wonder how many others are too. But, no matter what happens, even if it’s the worst, no one can say that they weren’t warned…only that they didn’t listen.

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Posted: 25 Aug 2015 02:24 PM PDT

If you thought Star Destroyers were only found in Star Wars flicks, you may be wrong. A photo taken by NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover shows an object that, to some UFO lovers, looks like the same warships seen on the big screen.
“I found this anomaly in the latest Curiosity Rover photo. The black object looks like a crashed UFO,” wrote UFO Sightings contributor Scott C. Waring.
He added that the “craft” is only about 2.5 to 3 meters across, “so it probably only held a few passengers.”
Anyone familiar with Star Wars will recognize the similarities the object’s shape seems to have with the film franchise’s famous Star Destroyers – warships known for their firepower, which causes enemy ships to surrender or be destroyed. Though the fictional vessels were some 500 times larger than the object found on Mars.

Admittedly, it may seem a bit far-fetched – so perhaps its best you come to your own conclusion about the newest mystery object found on Mars.
And while you decide whether the image resembles a real-life Star Wars spacecraft, Waring and other space enthusiasts will be anxiously awaiting any future photos.


“There is only one photo of the ship. The rover usually takes many of each area, but not this one. Perhaps tomorrow it will take more,” Waring wrote.
It’s not the first intriguing object to be photographed by Curiosity. Just two days ago, UFO lovers claimed to have spotted a “lizard” on “high alert” over the presence of the rover.
Earlier this month, ‘space boobs’ also were reportedly spotted on Mars, with UFO believers saying they spotted an alien “woman with breasts and long hair.” But it’s not just women and lizards apparently wandering around the Red Planet. An “awesome Martian space crab” also caught the eye of ufologists this month.
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Posted: 25 Aug 2015 02:14 PM PDT
F-22 Raptors are designed for air-to-air combat as well as ground attacks.
The United States will soon deploy F-22 fighter jets to Europe to show “commitment to the security and stability” of NATO allies concerned about Russia’s actions in Ukraine, a Pentagon official says.
The deployment will occur “very soon” as part of the “European Reassurance Initiative,” Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at a Pentagon briefing on Monday.
James did not provide specifics about where or when the single-seat jets would be deployed, but said they will be sent “to support combatant commander requirements” in the region.
“Russia’s military activity in the Ukraine continues to be of great concern to us and to our European allies,” she said. “For the Air Force, an F-22 deployment is certainly on the strong side of the coin.”
Washington accuses Russia of provoking unrest in eastern Ukraine. It also has repeatedly called on Moscow to help implement the terms of a shaky ceasefire deal that was agreed upon by both sides in Minsk in February.
Since the ceasefire agreement, both sides have constantly accused one another of violating the truce.
James did not mention how many planes the US Air Force would dispatch, but noted that the deployment comes at the request of commanders in the region.
F-22 pilots will also train with NATO partners to learn how to use the warplanes which are designed for air-to-air combat as well as ground attacks.
The US Air Force has about 180 F-22s, which are a fifth generation aircraft capable of dropping precision bombs on targets from up to 15 miles away.
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Posted: 25 Aug 2015 02:02 PM PDT

As she faces possible criminal charges and even prison time, almost half of Americans surveyed believe that Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is done, and that she should quit now.
The findings come from a Rasmussen poll released today, showing that 46 percent of Likely U.S. Voters believe Clinton should suspend her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination until the legal implications of her use of a private e-mail server while Secretary of State are resolved.
The survey reveals that even a quarter of Democrats think Hillary is done.
One in four said that Clinton should not be considered for nomination at this time, with 73 percent of Republicans and 46 percent of independents agreeing with them.
Forty-five percent said they consider Hillary’s use of a private email server a serious scandal, especially in the wake of revelations that emails she sent and received contained information relating to national security.
Only 23 percent said they think it’s not a big deal, with a further 28 percent falling somewhere in the middle, saying it is ’embarrassing’ for the nation.
As noted today by The Washington Post, if precedent is followed, Clinton WILL face a criminal investigation over the issue.
Former CIA director John Deutch was similarly found to have stored “large volumes of highly classified information” on his personal computers, which resulted in an investigation by the CIA inspector general and a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
“A technical exploitation team, consisting of personnel expert in data recovery, retrieved the data from Deutch’s unclassified magnetic media and computers” and found “classified information … related to covert action, Top Secret communications intelligence and the National Reconnaissance Program budget.” noted the CIA inspector general report in 2000.
Deutch admitted that he had committed a crime, and was eventually stripped of his security credentials. However, he was pardoned at the last minute by then President Bill Clinton.
The delicious irony.
The Post notes that the difference between Deutch and Hillary is that Deutch actually expressed regret and took responsibility, where as Hillary is making jokes about her actions in public and pretending to be ignorant of the situation.
When asked last week by a reporter if she had wiped her server clean, Clinton sardonically responded “what, with a cloth?”
She also joked about opening a Snapchat account because “those messages disappear all by themselves.”
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Posted: 25 Aug 2015 01:43 PM PDT

After previous warnings Russian internet watchdog Roskomnadzor announced on Monday it will order the blockage of a Wikipedia page on preparing and using a cannabis-containing drug, despite fears that this will bar the whole site on Russia’s territory.
Roskomnadzor issued an official warning to Wikipedia last Friday asking the Russian branch of the project to delete the page that detailed the procedure for preparing hashish or ‘charas’, because this substance contains cannabis, which Russian law lists as an illegal drug.
The warning came after a district court in South Russia’s Astrakhan Region ruled in June that it’s illegal to publish instructions on preparing ‘charas’ in Russia, including on internet sites.
Roskomnadzor asked Wikipedia managers to remove the page saying that otherwise it would order internet service providers in Russia to block it in accordance with the Federal Law on Information. The watchdog also acknowledged that the move could lead to the whole Wikipedia website being taken down in Russia due to the use of the https technology that makes blocking individual pages impossible.
The executive director of Wikimedia Russia, Stanislav Kozlovsky, said in press comments on Friday that his company was aware of the situation and that its staff had assessed the situation and decided not to comply with the authorities’ demands. He claimed that the sources of the information on the banned page were legitimate and taken from open and reputable sources, such as the United Nations’ website, and added that Wikipedia was prepared for the website’s blockage in Russia.
On Monday Russian news agencies reported that Wikipedia had changed the web address of the article about Charas, but apparently Roskomnadzor did not consider this move sufficient grounds for ending the conflict.
“Moving the article to a different web address did not limit the users’ access to the information banned by the court,” the watchdog said in an official statement on Monday. It added that Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service had recognized the article about charas as information banned for distribution.
On Tuesday morning, Roskomnadzor issued a follow-up statement, saying that the court’s decision concerning the charas article on Wikipedia had been carried out and the article no longer violated Russia’s anti-drug laws. The article has been removed from the state register of banned information and the agency has rescinded its order to block Wikipedia in Russia.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 08:36