On March 12 our far thinking brilliant droner in chief announced to the world that he was releasing 5 million barrels of oil from SPR in an attempt to drive the price of oil down and hurt the Russians, the 2nd largest oil exporter in the world. Considering that is one and a half hours of worldwide usage didn’t really matter to our PR president. The American sheeple needed to know the savior was taking action.
Since the MSM will never go back and assess the success of Oblama’s calculated master plan, I will. The price of oil was $99 the day before his surprise announcement. It dropped to $98 for one day and it has been on an upward path ever since. It hit $103 today. That is a 5% increase in less than a month. Meanwhile, gasoline prices have risen from $3.48 per gallon to $3.58 per gallon in one month.
I sure hope our community organizing teleprompter reader in chief doesn’t try to teach Putin any more lessons. We can’t afford it.
I remember Robin Williams doing a skit where he was the non-gun toting English bobby cop screaming at the bad guys “Stop…..or I’ll say stop again!!!!!” In this case, I prefer the savior unarmed, he’s fucking shit up enough as it is.
OBAMA SURE IS A LONG-RANGE STRATEGIC THINKER
Russia And China About To Sign “Holy Grail” Gas Deal
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/09/2014 09:50 -0400
Several weeks ago we reported that in response to ongoing alienation of Russia by the west Putin was aggressively setting the stage for Russia’s eastward expansion, set to culminate with a “holy grail” gas deal with China. We said that “while Europe is furiously scrambling to find alternative sources of energy should Gazprom pull the plug on natgas exports to Germany and Europe (the imminent surge in Ukraine gas prices by 40% is probably the best indication of what the outcome would be), Russia is preparing the announcement of the “Holy Grail” energy deal with none other than China, a move which would send geopolitical shockwaves around the world and bind the two nations in a commodity-backed axis.”
Reuters added, reflecting on the recent trip of Rosneft executive chairman to Asia, that “the underlying message from the head of Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft, was clear: If Europe and the United States isolate Russia, Moscow will look East for new business, energy deals, military contracts and political alliances. The Holy Grail for Moscow is a natural gas supply deal with China that is apparently now close after years of negotiations. If it can be signed when Putin visits China in May, he will be able to hold it up to show that global power has shifted eastwards and he does not need the West.”
It’s time for an update. According to Itar-Tass, “Russia’s Gazprom and China are poised to conclude a gas supply contract in coming weeks, the first in a series of energy projects planned between the two countries. “We’re working now to sign a gas contract in May,” said Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. “Consultations are continuing and Gazprom’s leaders are holding talks with Chinese partners on the contract terms. We hope to conclude the contract in May and believe it should come into effect by the year end.”
The key sticking point remains the price: “Base price is the only problem to be solved,” Dvorkovich said on Wednesday at a session of a Russia-China intergovernmental commission on energy co-operation, co-chaired by Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli.” However, even if Russia concedes the topline to China, it will surely “more than make up for it in volume” to borrow a line from Amazon, and furthermore the geopolitical implications from such a deal, not to mention the increase in national leverage vis-a-vis its dealings with Europe and the West, will more than make up for any immediately revenue shortfalls.
But wait – there’s more in the rapidly shifting geopolitical axis which increasingly positions Russias as a key commodity source for China:
In other plans, Russian company Novatek’s Yamal region LNG (liquefied natural gas) project was near ready for signing, Drovkovich said. Russia’s Rosneft had several interesting plans “seeking to increase maritime supplies by several million tonnes per year,” he said.
“Russia and China have agreed to jointly develop gas fields in (Russia’s far eastern) Sakhalin and East Siberia,” Dvorkovich said. “We have discussed co-operation in the coal sphere, agreeing to develop deposits, supply equipment and build electric power plants as well as providing China with additional electricity supplies”.
“We’re finding mutually advantageous decisions on certain projects that will allow us to implement them in the shortest period of time,” Dvorkovich added. Conditions were right to speed the Tianjin oil refinery project and to build a petrochemical facility, he said.
This is happening as Ukraine announced overnight that it won’t import Russian gas in April due to the surge in price that Gazprom is demanding from the US proxy state, and following ongoing Gazprom invoiving of how much Ukraine owes it which at last count was well over $2 billion – an amount which we be funded from the still to be finalized western aid to be provided for Ukraine.
Of course, at this pace, Ukraine and even Europe, will become far less meaningful markets to Russia as Putin prepares to announce what indeed would be the holy grail of gas supply deals, one that reduces Russia’s reliance on European energy imports and substantially raises Russia’s relevance to China as the two countries increasingly become the bestest of buddies.
Which certainly is also why, as Bloomberg reported this morning, “in the talks between China and U.S.’s Hagel overnight, the Chinese are taking a different tack. Rather than argue the merits of the disputed islands/history, they seem instead to say that it’s none of the U.S. business to get mixed up in something in another part of the world and between two sovereign nations.
Bloomberg’s conclusion: “Not only is this probably music to Putin’s ears, it also serves to ratchet up the tensions.”
Just wait to see how “ratcheted up” tensions will be once Russia and China are finally locked into a bearhug of mutual codependence.
Premium is going for $4.24/gallon here in the Bay Area. That should really spur the economy, don’t you think?
Then there’s this:
Russia and China dig a channel vying with the Panama Canal
Posted by aurelius77 on April 9, 2014
China and Russia arе embarking on a big geopolitical and economic venture of laying in Nicaragua a rival to the USA brainchild, the Panama Canal.
This was disclosed to the “Voice of Russia” by Petr Yakovlev, the head of the Center for Iberian Studies, Institute of Latin America, Russian Academy of Sciences. The expert said that Russian companies are holding talks with Chinese partners on how to participate in this strategic project in Latin America.
The start of the construction is planned for December 2014. Longer time slots had been proposed earlier. It is possible that adjustments have been made following the probable participation of Russian companies in the project. Given the confidentiality of negotiations, Peter Yakovlev did not reveal the names of the Russian companies participating in them.
The role of Russian companies is still not defined very clearly, because this mega project is under the control of the Chinese side. Formally, it is led by a Hong Kong-based private company, but of course, everyone knows that behind her stands the Chinese state. For the time being, working negotiations with the Chinese side are being conducted on Russian participation in the laying of the channel. No official documents or commercial agreements have been signed. But considerable interest is being shown in this cooperation. After all, it is the largest infrastructure project in Latin America. The channel will certainly have great strategic importance .
China “staked” for this project in October 2013. Beijing held its first talks on laying the channel with the son of the Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Even at that time, the experts pointed out that Beijing has thrown a major new challenge to the U.S. in Latin America by proposing an alternative to the US-controlled Panama Canal.
…
The Channel will reduce the cost and expand trade with regional suppliers of resources for Chinese industry, such as Venezuela, in the first place, and Brazil. Also, Argentina and Colombia. Navigation capabilities will be much more beneficial to China, given the fact that it will be the operator of the channel exploitation. Of course, this will be a strategically important object for China.
…
Talks by Russian companies on the possibility of participating in the Chinese project are being conducted against the background of a number of landmark agreements signed by Russia with Nicaragua. Nicaragua has allowed the Russian military ships and planes to visit the country during the first half of 2014. And also to patrol the territorial waters of Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean upto 30 June 2015. These agreements were signed with provisions for their extension.
Full article: Russia and China dig a channel vying with the Panama Canal (Voice of Russia)
Link to article:
http://indian.ruvr.ru/2014_04_08/Russia-and-China-dig-a-channel-vying-with-the-Panama-Canal-2577/
And this:
RSS
The Chinese Are Acquiring Large Chunks Of Land In Communities All Over America
Posted by aurelius77 on April 3, 2014
Has the United States ever experienced a time when a foreign nation has attempted to buy up so much of our land all at once? As you will read about in this article, the Chinese are on a real estate buying spree all over America. In fact, in some cases large chunks of land are actually being given to them. Yes, you read that correctly. China is on the way to becoming the dominant land owner in the entire country, and that is starting to alarm a lot of people. Do we really want a foreign superpower to physically own so much of our territory?
There are some that are playing down this threat by making a distinction between the Chinese government and Chinese corporations, but things work differently over in China than they do here. In China, the government is involved in everything. In fact, 43 percent of all corporate profits in China are produced by companies that the Chinese government controls. And all of the rest of the companies are very careful to follow the lead and direction of the Chinese government.
That is why what is going on in places such as Thomasville, Alabama is so alarming. Small communities such as Thomasville are so starved for jobs that they are willing to give land away for free to Chinese companies in order to entice them to build factories…
Gov. Robert Bentley said Friday that he will announce an economic development project in Thomasville, Ala., Monday morning.
That project is likely a copper tube plant to be built by Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group. A legal notice published Thursday indicates that the city of Thomasville and others intend to give land and other incentives to GD Copper USA, which state corporation records identify as a Florida-based subsidiary of Golden Dragon.
And in this particular case, we are not just talking about a small plot of land. We are talking about a 40 acre chunk of land worth 1.5 million dollars…
The legal notice indicated the city plans to give Golden Dragon a 40-acre site. Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day has said that land is in a city industrial park south of Thomasville High School. It includes a $1.5 million, 50,000-square-foot building that the city constructed in 2009 to attract businesses.
…
In other cases, the Chinese are gaining control over vast tracts of U.S. territory by buying up our large corporations.
For example, when the Chinese purchased Smithfield Foods, they suddenly owned 460 large farms and became the top employer in dozens of communities all over the United States…
Smithfield Foods is the largest pork producer and processor in the world. It has facilities in 26 U.S. states and it employs tens of thousands of Americans. It directly owns 460 farms and has contracts with approximately 2,100 others. But now a Chinese company has bought it for $4.7 billion, and that means that the Chinese will now be the most important employer in dozens of rural communities all over America.
And the Chinese seem to have a particular interest in economically-depressed areas of the country. Perhaps they feel that now is the time to gobble up companies and properties in such areas for bargain-basement prices. For instance, the following is from a CNBC article that detailed how the Chinese are aggressively “putting down roots in Detroit”…
…
But of much greater concern is the huge wave of real estate purchases that are quietly happening all around us every single day.
The following is from a recent CNBC article entitled “Chinese buying up California housing“…
At a brand new housing development in Irvine, Calif., some of America’s largest home builders are back at work after a crippling housing crash. Lennar, Pulte, K Hovnanian, Ryland to name a few. It’s a rebirth for U.S. construction, but the customers are largely Chinese.
“They see the market here still has room for appreciation,” said Irvine-area real estate agent Kinney Yong, of RE/MAX Premier Realty. “What’s driving them over here is that they have this cash, and they want to park it somewhere or invest somewhere.”
So what happens when we get to the point when the Chinese government and/or Chinese citizens own 10 percent of all the real estate in the entire country?
Will it be a problem then?
What about if we get to 20 percent or 30 percent?
At what point will we be forced to admit that we have a major problem on our hands?
Link:
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-chinese-are-acquiring-large-chunks-of-land-in-communities-all-over-america
And also this:
Putin’s Direct Threat: We Are Ready to Crash the Dollar (from Voice of Russia)
by Kevin D. Freeman on April 6, 2014
We have been saying for years that there is a global economic war underway. We have warned that Putin has long intended to attack America with a particular obsession with the reserve currency status of the United States’ dollar. Now, Voice of Russia states that it is time for the attack on the dollar to commence. This is a departure from the previous message on March 28 which stated:
“Russia is fully in control of the petrodollar and could cause the Dow Jones industrial average to plummet as it has never done before. One can wave the Stars and Stripes as long as one likes, but it’s a fact that the Russians can turn the US economy upside down . . . So far, Moscow has been in no rush to resort to extreme measures. Russia is going to react in a mirror-like way . . .”
Here are excerpts from the April 4 article which is even more threatening. In fact, it states that the dollar attack is commencing now:
Voice of Russia
4 April, 14:34
Russia prepares to attack the petrodollar
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Фото: РИА Новости
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 . . .
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 . . .
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.
[Read the whole article here: http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_04_04/Russia-prepares-to-attack-the-petrodollar-2335/%5D
This is pretty dramatic rhetoric and a clear escalation. The main problem is that if Russia were successful in getting China, India, and others to challenge the dollar, the ramifications are very serious. A removal of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency would dramatically lower the average American’s standard of living. One estimate suggests that the cost of living would quadruple in such an event.
There is no guarantee that such a plan could succeed. But, it should be noted that the dollar has been targeted for quite some time. The intensity of issues surrounding the Ukraine provides an opportune pretext for a move against the dollar. Putin has been putting “mega-deals” in place in preparation. He has stockpiled gold. He has galvanized the BRICS nations in support. He has also paved the way for a lasting strategic relationship with China.
Remember, our own DoD war games in 2009 showed that if Russia and China teamed up, they have the capacity to severely damage the dollar. This is something Putin has been working towards as a long-term goal. In fact, his position was telegraphed as early as 1998 even as Russia was going through its own currency crisis. And, we now know with certainty that Russia is willing to use economic weapons against us and to urge China to join them. This is strategically significant because China has been recently listed as “the world’s most powerful nation,” ahead of even the United States. While we do not believe that to be true (at least not yet), it is significant because so many in the world believe it. Having China stand against the dollar would be devastating.
In addition, cyber is a major “force multiplier” in this economic war. And, it is a great equalizer. In fact, because we are more Internet dependent than Russia, we are more vulnerable. And, our markets are clearly at great risk of cyber manipulation. There has been a great deal of recent attention given to high-frequency stock trading and the potential to rig markets. Billionaire Mark Cuban notes the seriousness of this manipulation and properly declared this a threat to national security:
[Billionaire entrepreneur and ”Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban tells attorney Lyle Roberts high frequency trading on Wall St. poses the biggest threat to U.S. national security because it could be manipulated by a ”sovereign entity” for destructive ends.]
Less noticed, however, has been the fact that these same manipulation techniques are now being applied to currency markets. And, there are the dark pools where there is no transparency whatsoever at any speed. All of these issues were covered in our first book, Secret Weapon and again in this year’s book Game Plan. [We will explain high-frequency trading, dark pools, and the risks they pose in detail in a future post.] Bottom line: What is to stop Russia from adding cyber means to their weaponry attacking the dollar?
Certainly, we have ways to fight back. We can use energy as a weapon by developing all of the resources we have. But, let’s be clear, the Russians can the retaliate as well. These facts are explained by Juan Zarate, a financial warfare expert and former Treasury official:
There’s no doubt, for example, that Russia has sophisticated cyber weapons capable of destroying our financial system. Even General Alexander admitted this on 60 Minutes last December (even if he did not specifically name Russia).
This is why we have been so direct in saying that this is a global economic war. Too few recognize this fact and it puts them at risk. Everyone needs a Game Plan because what is coming will be serious.
Watch Kevin Freeman discuss these threats on Fox and Friends:
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The dollars reserve status is about ten years past it’s prime. The writing is on the wall, the signs are there, the deals are being made.
Prepare accordingly.
While dipshit Obama is busy pushing this country off a cliff of debt and insane foreign policy, China and Russia are running away. It’s only a matter of time before the petrodollar is gone, as is the dollar as reserve currency. Grandma Yellen is going to keep printing until the dollar is worthless and collapses, and it’s not only gas that’s getting more expensive, beef prices just hit all time highs. The Fed has quadrupled the money supply since 2008. Inflation is eating us alive. Enjoy these last days, weeks, months, years, whatever it is, before the results of our incompetent criminal politicians and banksters finally sink us.
Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton in 2016 will fix everything!
I hear an ominous laugh. It’s Putin.