Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday, 4 September 2015

The European Union Times


Posted: 03 Sep 2015 11:08 AM PDT

Argentina’s central bank has ordered HSBC to remove its local CEO within 24 hours over his alleged failure to thwart terrorist financing, money laundering, and tax evasion.
In March, Argentinian authorities ordered HSBC to return a mammoth $3.5bn (£2.3bn) from an array of accounts nestled offshore.
Argentina had accused the scandal-ridden bank of assisting over 4,000 clients in evading taxes by funneling their illicit cash to secret bank accounts in Switzerland. But HSBC has consistently denied the allegations, insisting that it respects Argentine law.
Nevertheless, on September 1 the Central Bank of Argentina demanded that HSBC’s regional president Gabriel Martino and vice president Miguel Angel Estevez both be removed from their roles. It argued neither Martino nor Angel Estevez had taken adequate measures to thwart “money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities.”
The head of Argentina’s tax authority Ricardo Echegary welcomed the move as a “healthy decision.”
“They will have to recognize that together with Martino, and the HSBC authorities here in Argentina, they looked to cheat Argentina, to move funds abroad that they had never declared and on which they had never paid taxes,” he said.
However, HSBC has failed to respond directly to the Central Bank of Argentina’s call. In a statement released on September 2, the bank said it will continue to function normally. “The executive functions of HSBC Bank Argentina SA continue to be carried out by its general manager, Andres Hammar Aldatz, who was approved by the central bank on 28 May,” it added.
HSBC is currently facing investigations in several states over allegations it helped clients evade and avoid taxes.
In February, it emerged that HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm had aided royalty, criminals, terrorists and drug dealers in dodging taxes. The allegations were made by ex-HSBC employee and whistleblower Herve Falciani.
A colossal cache of files leaked by Falciani to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) shed light on these practices. The files reportedly revealed the bank’s complicity in tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance between 2005 and 2007.
Despite HSBC’s global transgressions, no criminal proceedings have been brought against the bank in Britain.
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Posted: 03 Sep 2015 10:47 AM PDT

What if the United States lost a potential naval war to China, US analyst Harry J. Kazianis suggested, adding that there are certain grounds for such an alarmist stance.
According to Senior Fellow at the China Policy Institute Harry J. Kazianis, the United States’ capability of projecting power in the Asia-Pacific is waning.
“America now faces a very real threat to its ability to project power in the Asia-Pacific; and it’s a problem — considering how fast Beijing’s missile technology is progressing — that will likely only get worse as the years go by,” Kazianis wrote in his article for the National Interest.
Kazianis referred to the 2010 prognosis by James Kraska, a professor and research director in the Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, who pointed to the fact the US’ declining naval force was concentrated around ten aircraft carriers “spread thinly throughout the globe.” In contrast, China was bolstering its military capabilities in order to ensure its positions in the East China Sea.
In accordance with Kraska’s imaginary scenario, in the event of a US-China military standoff in the Asia-Pacific “US allies or partners… would have a hard time coming to Washington’s aid” and a US aircraft carrier would have a near zero chance of surviving a Chinese attack.
Furthermore, earlier this year members of the Air-Sea Battle Office and Joint Staff admitted that current doctrinal command-and-control methodologies will most likely fail to address modern anti-access/area-denial environments.
“The advancement and proliferation of disruptive technologies designed to counter power projection are undermining traditional US military advantages. The worldwide growth of anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities, the changing US overseas defense posture, and the emergence of space and cyberspace as contested war-fighting domains enable potential adversaries, both state and non-state, to counter qualitatively superior US and allied forces,” the military analysts stated.
“How should America respond to the growing anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) challenge presented by China, Iran and now Russia?” Kazianis asked.
According to Kazianis, America’s armed forces are aware of the problem and “working to ensure various types of anti-access technologies won’t limit or altogether negate American power-projection capabilities across all domains of possible conflict.”
The Pentagon’s new operation concept dubbed JAM-GC aims to deal with a wide range of challenges, including the capability to “effectively command and control Joint Forces in a heavily disrupted electromagnetic-spectrum environment”; “deter an adversary from proscribed action through demonstration of capability, presence and will”; “project power as needed to achieve objectives; and sustain and supply operations in the face of determined opposition.”
While the Pentagon is boosting the US’ Grand Military Strategy in Asia, the question remains open whether the US plans to use its military force to coerce Beijing into submission.
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Posted: 03 Sep 2015 10:03 AM PDT

Wall Street plunged Tuesday after investors feared weak data from China, the world’s second-largest economy, would lead to a global recession.
China’s manufacturing sector suffered its quickest deterioration in over six years, leading to a three-year market low and other sectors of the Chinese economy also slowed down significantly.
In response, all three major U.S. stock indices, the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ, were down two percent in early trading.
“While a measure of calm has returned to these markets recently and they have seen relief rallies, many of the underlying negative fundamentals are still in place,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for IHS. “As a result, the downside risks for most commodity prices, exchange rates, and stock markets are likely to persist for some time, while growth in many parts of the world, especially in emerging markets, is likely to deteriorate further.”
Investors panicked once China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 49.7.
“The PMI was below 50, which is a psychologically important level and puts into real focus the fact that China is contracting,” said Joe Rundle, a senior sales trader at ETX Capital. “With the weak data coming out, we’re going to see the negative sentiment from the last few weeks continuing.”
This pessimistic outlook may become self-fulfilling.
In fact, Canada has already fell into a recession after its economy retreated 0.5% in the second quarter and 0.8% in the first.
“Canada’s manufacturing sector continues to face growth headwinds from heightened global economic uncertainty and sharp falls in energy sector capex plans,” said Cheryl Paradowski, president and chief executive officer of SCMA.
Collapsing oil prices have also hurt Canada, which is the world’s fifth-largest oil producer.
The decaying conditions in Canada and China could trigger a global recession.
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Posted: 03 Sep 2015 09:45 AM PDT
A Chinese Navy Type 052D (Luyang II) destroyer.
The US military have spotted five Chinese Navy ships operating in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, marking the first time the US military has seen them in the area, the Pentagon has announced .
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon officials said on Wednesday that they have been tracking the movements of the Chinese vessels in recent days after seeing them move toward the Aleutian Islands, the control of which is split between the US and Russia.
“This would be a first in the vicinity of the Aleutian Islands,” one official noted about the warships, which have been operating in international waters. “I don’t think we’d characterize anything they’re doing as threatening.”
The fleet consists of three Chinese combat ships, a replenishment vessel and an amphibious landing ship.
Interestingly, the move by Chinese naval forces coincides with US President Barack Obama’s three-day tour of Alaska to address climate changes.
The Pentagon told the Journal that the ships are still present in the region but refused to give out their whereabouts. It is not clear where the ships were spotted and how far off the Alaskan coast they were operating.
The US military is apparently confused by the possible motive behind the move which, according to the US officials, “is difficult to tell exactly, but it indicates some interest in the Arctic region.” They said there were a “variety of opinions” on how to interpret the move.
Beijing and Washington have been increasingly engaging in military standoffs during the past few months.
China’s Dongfeng 21D “Carrier-killer” missile
China accuses the United States of interfering in the regional issues and purposely stirring up tensions in the South China Sea, over half of which Beijing claims sovereignty.
In July the new US commander of the Pacific Fleet Admiral Scott Swift said that American forces are ready to respond to any unanticipated incident in the South China Sea.
Beijing also decided to showcase its strategic Dongfeng (East wind) 21D missile, dubbed the “carrier-killer.” The much-speculated weapon was kept a secret for years until China put it onto public display during a military parade on Thursday that marked the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II.
Some analysts say such missiles pose a major threat to aircraft carriers which form the basis of Washington’s current naval strategy.
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Posted: 03 Sep 2015 09:39 AM PDT

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that by mid-September, Budapest should have a package of regulations in place to tackle the growing number of migrants. He said Hungarians are ‘full of fear’ because Europe is unable to ‘control the situation.’
“We Hungarians are full of fear, people in Europe are full of fear because they see that the European leaders, among them prime ministers, are not able to control the situation,” Orban said on Thursday, after a meeting with European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Brussels.
The prime minister added: “I came here to inform the president that Hungary is doing everything possible to maintain order. We are creating now in the Hungarian parliament a new package of regulations, we set up a physical barrier and all these together will provide a new situation in Hungary and in Europe from September 15. Now we have one week of preparation time.”
On Thursday, Hungarian police allowed hundreds of migrants inside Budapest’s main railway station, but then the authorities canceled all trains to Western Europe, causing chaos.
Hundreds of people, many of them fleeing conflicts zones in the Middle East with their children, took a waiting train by storm, trying to push kids through open windows, hoping they would be allowed to continue their journey west to Austria, Germany and further afield. But signs in Hungarian said there were no west-bound trains, Reuters reported. It’s unclear why the police had suddenly withdrawn, having stopped more than 2,000 migrants from entering for two days.
Hungary is currently building a 3.5 meter-high fence on its southern border with Serbia designed to deter migrants. So far this year, 140,000 have been caught entering the country.
Following talks with the president of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, Orban noted the current refugee crisis was not an EU problem, but rather “a German problem,” as he put it.
According to Orban, none of the migrants want to “stay in Hungary.”
“All of them want to go to Germany,” the Hungarian prime minister said.
Arrests made as refugees protest being taken off train
Hungarian police have declared Bicske railway station an ‘operation zone’, ordering all media to leave, Reuters reported.
Police earlier stopped the first train bound for the town of Sopron near the Austrian border, ordering migrants off at Bicske, where Hungary has a migrant reception center. The migrants reportedly banged on the train windows, shouting “No camp, no camp.”
About 50 riot police were lined up near the train. One carriage was emptied by law enforcement officers, while five more carriages full of migrants were still standing at the station.
Police have detained migrants who lay on the rail tracks in protest against being sent to a reception camp. Dozens of migrants have fled, according to Reuters.
Those who were told to get off the train, reportedly forced their way back on.
On Wednesday, the Hungarian PM lashed out at the “failed immigration policy” of the EU. In a commentary for the German Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung daily, he defended a decision to erect a fence along its southern border with Serbia, saying:
“We don’t do this for fun, but because it is necessary.”
He said his country was being “overrun” with refugees, most of whom, according to the prime minister, were not Christians.
“Europe and European culture have Christian roots. Is it not alarming that Europe’s Christian culture is now barely in a position to uphold European Christian values?” he wondered.
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Posted: 02 Sep 2015 03:05 PM PDT
The Russian Foreign Ministry building is seen in the background.
Russia has warned that a recent decision by Washington to expand its list of sanctions against Russian entities would backfire, saying the move will certainly be reciprocated by Moscow.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday, slamming the US government for expanding the list of anti-Russia sanctions, saying the move is another element in a whole series of “hostile actions” made by Washington toward Russia in different spheres.
It said, however, that Russia would not let Washington to easily go along with its dreams for pressuring Moscow.
“The United States should not harbor illusions about the possibility to continue this line without negative consequences for themselves,” said the statement, adding, “Reciprocal measures from us will definitely follow, and they will not necessarily be mirrored.”
The statement came hours after the US Department of Commerce added new companies operating in Russia and other countries to its list of sanctions, claiming that their activities may have been a breach of the so-called Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act.
Russia dismissed the accusations, saying the fresh sanctions are in fact a continuation of Washington’s previous trend of embargoes on Moscow over the issue of Ukraine. Russia and the United States have been locked in a bitter row over Ukraine since an armed conflict erupted there over one and a half year ago.
The Russian ministry said, however, that Russia’s independent position on international issues, a hint at Moscow’s policy toward Iran and Syria, has infuriated the US, saying Washington is basically not interested to cooperate with Moscow over various issues, and just tries to punish Russia for its “consistent defense of national interests.”
Moscow’s March 2014 approval of the yes vote on reunification of Ukraine’s Crimea with Russia prompted US allies in Europe to impose several rounds of economic sanctions on Kremlin officials and entities. Russia reciprocated with banning the import of major food products from some European countries, causing them a huge loss in economic benefits.
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Posted: 02 Sep 2015 02:27 PM PDT


“Threatening me with ruinous fines even though I’ve done nothing wrong is extortionate”.
A Wyoming rancher facing more than $16 million in fines from the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to take his case to federal court.
The incident began in 2012 when Fort Bridger resident and rancher Andy Johnson built a small stock pond in order to provide water to his livestock.
Shortly thereafter, Johnson was approached by the EPA and told that his pond violated the federal Clean Water Act, an infraction that carries a maximum fine of $37,000-per-day.
Johnson, who says he obtained all proper permits prior to building the pond, believes the EPA has clearly overstepped its authority.
“We went through all the hoops that the state of Wyoming required, and I’m proud of what we built,” Johnson said. “The EPA ignored all that.”
In a statement to The Blaze, the EPA argued that they have been attempting for “many months” to work “cooperatively with Mr. Johnson to resolve the Clean Water Act issues.”
“EPA has not made any determinations regarding penalties in this matter nor made any penalty demand of Mr. Johnson,” the statement reads. “An order the agency sent to Mr. Johnson in January 2014 cites the maximum penalties for noncompliance established by Congress in the Clean Water Act. References to these penalty provisions are included in all EPA enforcement orders to ensure that respondents are fully aware of the relevant provisions of environmental laws.”
Despite the fact that Congress has exempted stock ponds from the Clean Water Act, the EPA appears to remain undeterred in their targeting of Johnson.
“Threatening me with ruinous fines even though I’ve done nothing wrong is extortionate,” Johnson told Watchdog.org. “This is a battle about more than my land, my livestock and my pond. The EPA is on a mission to expand its power. They want to take over jurisdiction over private property throughout the United States.”
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Posted: 02 Sep 2015 02:15 PM PDT

Russian president Vladimir Putin has proposed a bill to the country’s legislature to eliminate the dollar and the euro from trade between member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
A statement from the Kremlin said that Putin submitted to the State Duma a draft federal law which seeks an integrated currency market in the CIS.
“This would help expand the use of national currencies in foreign trade payments and financial services and thus create preconditions for greater liquidity of domestic currency markets,” said the statement.
Russian officials say they seek to drop the dollar and the euro from their exchanges with former Soviet Union countries to achieve macro-economic stability in the region. They say using Western currencies could seriously increase the risks associated with trade especially at a time when the United States and its European allies are in a political row with Moscow over the situation in Ukraine.
Russia has managed to move ahead with its plans to weaken the dollar through deals it has reached with some other countries. Members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) – including Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan – have already signed an agreement to switch to their national currencies. One such obligatory transition must take effect between 2025 and 2030.
China has also decided to use the Russian ruble in trade exchanges in its border cities.
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Posted: 02 Sep 2015 02:07 PM PDT

Democrats are taking the prospect of a Kanye West presidential bid seriously.
West made his intention known during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday.
The Associated Press reports from Air Force One the White House has announced it is anticipating the rapper’s bid for president.
Josh Earnest, Obama’s press secretary, said he looks “forward to seeing what slogan he chooses to embroider on his campaign hat.”
The Hill went so far as to suggest the candidacy of Donald Trump has opened the door for a West presidential bid.
“In the end, it’s not important what policy Kanye West ultimately decides to run with. What’s really important is that he’s loud, overexposed and boorish. The rest will sort itself out,” writes Eddie Zipperer.
West, who has posed as Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone and has outraged Jewish groups with alleged antisemitic remarks, has had numerous run-ins with the police, including charges of felony vandalism during altercations with paparazzi.
Millions of politically ignorant Americans would undoubtedly vote for West and celebrate Kim Kardashian as First Lady.
The prospect of a West presidency and the support of Obama and Democrats for the “loud, overexposed and boorish” rapper demonstrates that politics in America has devolved into a carnival freak show and the presidency is no longer taken seriously.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 08:43