Russia Is Going To Pass A Law Formally Dumping The U.S. Dollar - By Michael Snyder -
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/russia-is-going-to-pass-a-law-formally-dumping-the-u-s-dollar
Russian President Vladimir Putin has introduced legislation that would deal a tremendous blow to the U.S. dollar. If Putin gets his way, and he almost certainly will, the U.S. dollar will be eliminated from trade between nations that belong to the Commonwealth of Independent States. In addition to Russia, that list of countries includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Obviously this would not mean "the death of the dollar", but it would be a very significant step toward the end of the era of the absolute dominance of the U.S. dollar. Most people don't realize this, but more U.S. dollars are actually used outside of the United States than are used inside this country. If the rest of the planet decides to stop accumulating dollars, using them to trade with one another, and loaning them back to us at ultra-low interest rates, we are going to be in for a world of hurt. Unfortunately for us, it is only a matter of time until that happens.
When I first read the following excerpt from a recent RT article, I was absolutely stunned...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has drafted a bill that aims to eliminate the US dollar and the euro from trade between CIS countries.
This means the creation of a single financial market between Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and other countries of the former Soviet Union.
"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 a statement from Kremlin.
For a long time, tensions have been building between the United States and Russia over Syria, Ukraine, the price of oil and a whole host of other issues. But I didn't anticipate that things would get to this level quite yet. It is expected that Putin's new bill will become law, and this is only one element of a much larger trend that is now developing.
You see, the truth is that Russia and China have both been dumping dollar-denominated assets for months. The following comes from a recent piece by Mac Slavo...
Last year Russia began unloading massive amounts of their US dollar reserves. In the month of December 2014 alone Putin sold some 20% of the country's U.S. Treasurys, a move that further increased tensions surrounding what can only be described as economic warfare between East and West.
Then, as if part of a coordinated effort, this summer it was revealed that China had implemented a similar strategy, dumping half a trillion in dollar denominated assets.
But that's just the beginning of the end for the US dollar. Amid a major meltdown in Chinese stock markets the People's Republic sold off billions in dollar assets last week in what was reported to be an effort to stabilize their collapsing financial markets.
And now, as Russia's economy collapses under the weight of American and European sanctions, including what many believe to be widespread downward manipulation of oil prices, Vladimir Putin is sending a clear signal to the central bank of the world's reserve currency.
China has the second largest economy on the entire planet, and Russia has the tenth largest. In recent years, these two superpowers have become much tighter. For example, just consider this headline from Sputnik News that I came across just today: "Crippling US Foreign Policy Draws Russia, China Closer Together".
And I don't know if you have noticed, but U.S. relations with China have turned rather sour lately. Lots of accusations about spying and trade violations have been flying around, and just this week five Chinese warships were spotted off the coast of Alaska. In the months ahead, expect our relationship with China to continue to unravel.
If China and Russia were to both fundamentally reject the U.S. dollar at some point, much of the rest of the world may choose to follow suit.
So why is that important?
The fact that most of the nations of the world use our dollars to trade with one another creates a tremendous amount of artificial demand for our currency. In other words, the U.S. dollar is valued much higher than it otherwise would be just because it is the de facto reserve currency of the planet.
As a result, we can import massive amounts of products at super cheap prices. When we go to Wal-Mart or the dollar store, we can fill up our carts with lots and lots of ridiculously inexpensive stuff. Our standard of living is way higher than it actually should be.
And because the U.S. dollar is used so widely in global trade, major exporting nations end up with giant piles of our currency which they have been willing to lend back to us at ultra-low interest rates. This has made it possible to fund our massively bloated federal government and to go 18 trillion dollars in debt.
If the rest of the world stops using our dollars and stops playing our game, we will be in a tremendous amount of trouble. The cost of imported products would absolutely skyrocket and our standard of living would go way down.
In addition, the federal government (along with state and local governments) would have to pay much more to borrow money which would rapidly create a gigantic debt crisis.
So Russia knows where they could really hurt us. Most of the "power" that America currently projects around the world is based on having the de facto reserve currency of the planet. If you take our financial power away, we would be far, far less imposing on the global stage. Sadly, the truth is that the U.S. military is rapidly shrinking and has largely been defanged by the Obama administration.
A lot of people that will read this article will not understand this, but it is very, very important to keep an eye on this emerging Russian/Chinese alliance. I believe that it is going to play a critical role in world events during the years ahead.
Russia Unhinged - By Hal Lindsey - http://www.hallindsey.com/ww-9-2-2015/
Vladimir Putin longs for Russia to regain its former glory from the days of the Soviet Empire. Russian military aircraft have again been pressing the boundaries of U.S. airspace and that of several U.S. allies around the world. It was a Cold War tactic, so they're doing it again. Putin's yearning for the good old days also explains why he keeps reminding the world of the size of his nuclear arsenal. He wants his nation to again be treated like a superpower.
But unlike the days of Khrushchev or Brezhnev, this new Cold War contains a massive hot spot. Putin is engaged in a full-blown war against America in cyberspace. Fought with computers, it is an all-out war and it's going on right now.
Hacked data from U.S. government servers are already paying off for the Russians and Chinese. The Los Angeles Times reports, "Foreign spy services, especially in China and Russia, are aggressively aggregating and cross-indexing hacked U.S. computer databases - including security clearance applications, airline records and medical insurance forms - to identify U.S. intelligence officers and agents, U.S. officials said."
The Soviet Union was once a major player in the Middle East, and Putin has Russia headed back there in a big way. He has agreed to sell advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran. In other words, he's giving the Iranians the ability to protect their nuclear sites with a near state-of-the-art anti-aircraft system. U.S. officials speaking off the record, say that S-300 missiles have the ability to stop both American and Israeli aircraft.
Ynet News and other Israeli sources say that a Russian expeditionary force is now being deployed to Syria. Ynet reports, "In the coming weeks thousands of Russian military personnel are set to touch down in Syria, including advisors, instructors, logistics personnel, technical personnel, members of the aerial protection division, and the pilots who will operate the aircraft."
RT TV, a state-funded Russian television network, claims that unnamed military sources have told them the story is not true. But that begs the question. If it's not true, why does a quasi-official Russian news organization need to depend on unnamed sources?
The story fits with Russia's recent pattern. While they seem to be joining the world's fight against ISIS, their primary objective is to keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power. He's a close ally of Iran, and Russia is anxious to curry favor with the mullahs running that country. Putin understands the vast financial windfall that the nuclear deal will soon bring to Iran, and he wants a piece of it.
Russia's own economy is still terrible. Their second quarter GDP fell 4.6% from the previous year. The Russian Economy Ministry promised it would be the nation's "lowest point," but the Russian people have heard such promises before.
Oil is their economic lifeblood. However, a glut in the world's oil supply is keeping those prices low, and that is wreaking havoc in Russia. The majority of people there are now having a hard time paying for food, and food prices just keep going up.
Even with severe economic problems, Putin's popularity has been unassailable... until the last few weeks. In May, his approval rating stood at a record high. But recent polls show a dramatic drop. He remains popular, but there is a definite downward trend.
As usual, he responded to the negativity by jailing critics and showing photos of himself in the midst of macho activities. Last week, Putin released a video of himself exercising. In a major media event a couple of weeks ago, he went on a journey to the bottom of the Black Sea in a small submersible.
From the days of the Czars up through the time of the communists, cults of personality have been a major part of Russian governance. Putin is not a man of great personal charisma, but it's important to his constituents that he seem strong, gallant, and in charge. The elites want someone who will help them keep their power and wealth. The poor want someone who will help them feed their families. All of them want to feel proud of their nation.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, America responded with economic sanctions. For Putin, the timing was fortuitous. Falling oil prices were about to put the Russian economy into a nose dive anyway, and with the sanctions he could blame the U.S. It worked beautifully. Despite enormous economic distress, his popularity went through the roof.
But national pride takes a back seat to something as basic as groceries. Over time, high food prices and low availability result in a deep sense of distress among the populace. They don't entirely forget national pride, but their priorities shift toward the essentials.
Since Putin seems powerless to fix Russia's economy, he's stuck with the old stand-bys. He reminds people that he is bigger than life, gives them the impression that he can fix whatever is wrong, and he blames what's wrong on America and the West.
But that can only work so long. The Russian GDP was falling precipitously even before the rest of the world economy went into its recent tailspin. That means things are about to get much worse. Hungry Russians will soon feel desperate. So will Putin. And desperation is a dangerous thing.
Putin clearly sees Iran and the Middle East as his greatest hope in these dark times. So to the already volatile and confusing mix of forces active in that region, we can add Russia - a country that controls the world's largest arsenal of thermonuclear weapons.
Russia gearing up to be first world power to insert ground forces into Syria - http://www.debka.com/article/24858/Russia-gearing-up-to-be-first-world-power-to-insert-ground-forces-into-Syria
Despite strong denials from Moscow, Russian airborne troops are preparing to land in Syria to fight Islamic State forces. The surprise attack on Monday, Aug. 31, by ISIS forces on the Qadam district of southern Damascus, in which they took over parts of the district - and brought ISIS forces the closest that any Syrian anti-Assad group has ever been to the center of the Syrian capital - is expected to accelerate the Russian military intervention.
Moscow is certainly not ready to endanger the position of President Bashar Assad or his rule in Damascus, and views it as a red line that cannot be crossed. If Russia intervenes militarily in this way, Russia will be the first country from outside the Middle East to send ground forces into the Syrian civil war.
debkafile's military sources report that discussions by the Russo-Syrian Military Commission, which was established last month in Moscow to coordinate the intervention, accelerated during the last few days.
Our intelligence sources point out that the concerted activities of the commission are taking place amid the nearly complete paralysis of the US Central Command-Forward-Jordan (CCFJ), where operations against the rebels in southern Syria, including those holding positions across from Israel's Golan, are coordinated. Officers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel are attached to the CCFJ.
Most of the operations of the CCFJ have been halted due to a conflict that erupted between the Syrian rebels and the U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM. The US military is opposed to the rebels cooperating with Al-Qaeda-linked groups, such as the Al-Nusra front, while the rebels claim that this cannot be avoided if they are to defeat the forces of Bashar Assad and Hezbollah.
The paralysis of the CCFJ is spurring the Russians to try to show that their "central command" for Syria is operating without any difficulties.
In recent weeks, the Russians have taken four military steps related to Syria:
1. On Aug. 18, six of Russia's advanced MIG-31 Foxhound interceptor aircraft landed at the Syrian Air Force's Mezze Airbase, which is the military section of Damascus international airport. After the fighters landed, they were immediately followed by giant Russian Antonov AN-124 Condor cargo planes carrying 1,000 of Russia's 9M133 Kornet anti-tank missiles.
The advanced jets are intended to serve as air support for the Russian units that arrive in Syria.
2. Before the Russian planes landed in Damascus, Moscow reached an agreement with Washington for the removal of NATO's Patriot missile batteries from Turkey. The removal was carried out gradually during the month of August, thus preventing the possibility that NATO Patriot missiles could hit Russian fighters carrying out operations in Syrian airspace.
3. During the last week of August, a large number of Russian troops, mostly logistical teams whose job is to lay the groundwork for the arrival of the combat units, arrived in Syria. The troops were seen in Damascus and in Jablah district of Lattakia province, where the Russian forces are building a military base.
4. Our intelligence sources also report that Moscow has started to supply Damascus with satellite imagery of the ground situation on the different fronts.
debkafile's military and intelligence sources report that all of these preparatory steps by Moscow for the introduction of ground forces are being carried out in coordination with Washington and Tehran.
The more that the three capitals tighten their coordination in support of Assad, the sooner the Russian intervention is expected to take place.
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