German Banker on Russia sanctions:

Folker Hellmeyer, Chief Economist, Bremer Landesbank, Bremen, Germany.

LEADING GERMAN BANKER
REVEALS TRUTH ON
RUSSIA SANCTIONS:

German Economy suffers most
from Washington/Brussels failed 
sanctions policy:

6 Jun 2015: (interviewed by Eric Zeusse , a German journalist), the chief economist at Bremer Landesbank, Folker Hellmeyer, says that because of Obama’s sanctions against Russia, German exports declined year-over-year by 18% in 2014, and by 34% in the first two months of 2015 (no later figures), but he asserts that “The damage is much more comprehensive than these statistics show,” because those are only the “primary losses,” and there are in addition “secondary effects,” which get even worse over time. 

For example: “European countries with strong business in Russia, including Finland and Austria, are economically hit very hard. These countries consequently place fewer orders from Germany. Moreover, considering that European corporations will circumvent the sanctions, to create production facilities at the highest efficiency level in Russia, we lose this potential capital stock, which is the basis of our prosperity. Russia wins the capital stock,” at the EU’s expense, even though the sanctions are targeted against Russia.

But the nub is this: For the future, Germany and the EU place their economic reliability into question with Russia. The relationship of trust is broken by Germany and the EU. In order to build such confidence, it takes several years. Between signature and delivery are up to five years. … Siemens is now thrown out from a major project for this reason [i.e., because the requisite predictability has been lost]. Alstom has likewise lost the contract for the renewal of the railway line from Moscow to Beijing. Consequently, the potential for damage is much more massive than the current figures show, not only for Germany, but for the entire EU.[French company Alstom builds light-rail vehicles and tramcars for many cities in Europe and beyond. It's a bitter blow for the company to be excluded from this, the largest Railway infrastructure project in the world, because of Hollande's stupid policy of following the Washington line on sanctions against Russia]

Then, Hellmeyer says:

More [projects] still in planning include the axis from Peking to Moscow as part of the Shanghai Co-Operation and the BRIC countries, the largest growth project in modern history, the construction of the infrastructure of Eurasia, from Moscow to Vladivostok, to Southern China and India. How far the EU and Germany’s sanctions-policy regarding Russia figures in these developing-countries’ mega-projects will depend upon whether we’ll be seen as hostile in other emerging countries than Russia. [Note from Eric Zuesse: Obama speaking 28 May 2014 to graduating West Point cadets: ‘Russia’s aggression toward former Soviet states unnerves capitals in Europe, while China’s economic rise and military reach worries its neighbours. From Brazil to India, rising middle classes compete with us, and governments seek a greater say in global forums.’ His attitude toward developing countries is clear — they are enemies, to be dealt with via the military, not economic partners to advance with us in economic cooperation.] But, obviously, there is a lack that some participants in European politics [and inside the White House!] have  the abilities to think abstractly on our behalf.

Asked who will be paying the price for this, Hellmeyer says:

“The measurable damage is loss of growth, in lost wages, losses in contributions to the social system and in tax revenue. This is true for the past 12 months, and it is valid for the years ahead. The people in Germany and the EU will pay the price through lost prosperity and stability. The unmeasurable damage lies in an elevated geopolitical risk situation for the people in the EU.”

Asked about the situation in Ukraine, Hellmeyer says:

“It is indeed irritating. People who are focused not only on Western ‘quality media’ are amazed at those media hiding the aggression of Kiev and the discriminatory laws implemented by the Government in Kiev, which constitute a serious challenge to the claim that Western values and democracy are being supported by the West. I believe, to Mr Steinmeier’s credit, that he is in fact talking plainly about these matters behind closed doors. The question is whether the behavior of the Atlantic alliance supports Mr. Steinmeier. I refer in this regard especially to Victoria Nuland. The fact is that by the coup in the Ukraine, an oligarchy friendly towards Moscow was replaced by an oligarchy now oriented toward the United States. It’s geopolitics, which benefits third forces, but definitely not Germany, not the EU, not Russia, and not Ukraine.”

So, he sees U.S. as having gained at the expense of every other country, but especially at Europe’s expense.

Asked about the future, Folker Hellmeyer says:

For me, the conflict has already been decided. The Moscow-Beijing-BRIC axis wins. The dominance of the West is through. In 1990 those countries accounted for only about 25% of world economic output. Today, they represent 56% of world economic output, and 85% of world population. They control about 70% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves. They grow annually by an average of 4% – 5%. Since the United States were not prepared to share power internationally (e.g., by changing the voting-apportionments in the IMF and World Bank), the future rests with those countries themselves, to build in the emerging markets sector on their own financial system. There lies their future. The EU is currently being drawn into the conflict, which the United States caused because she did not share power and want to share. The longer we pursue this [mono-polar, hegemonic, Imperial, supremacist, internationally dictatorial, aggressive] policy in the EU, the higher the price to Europe will be.

He goes on to say:

The fact is that the emerging countries emancipate themselves from US control. This is evident in the creation of competitive institutions of the World Bank (AIIB) and the IMF (New Development Bank) by the axis of the emerging countries. This displeases the still prevailing hegemony of the West. The current international hot spots of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, to the Ukraine, are an expression of this, in the background, as a clearly identifiable power-confrontation [between the U.S. and every other country. If we were there intending to establish democracy and freedom, let’s look at the success in achieving those goals. [His implication: it’s failure.] “The contempt with which the US government deals with the Europeans is remarkable, such as the NSA tapping the Chancellor’s phone, and Nuland’s famous ‘Fuck the EU’ statement. Have European politicians no self-respect, or are they just too cowardly?” Hellmeyer responds. “The person who is a true democrat takes seriously his duties as a politician for the public’s well-being, and does not allow his nation’s self-determination to be so contemptuously trampled underfoot, such as has followed from that remark. The person who is not a true democrat, has with respect to the above values and canon, severe deficits.”

Concluding Remarks

Why is there not, in Europe, a huge movement to abandon NATO, and to kick out the U.S. military? Whom is the U.S. ‘defending’ Europeans from, after the Warsaw Pact ended in 1991?

Why did not Gorbachev demand that NATO disband when the Warsaw Pact did — simultaneous (instead of one-sided) disbanding of the Cold War, so that there would not become the foundation for international fascism to arise to conquer Russia (first, to surround it by an expanding NATO — and ultimately via TPP & TTIP), in the aftermath?

Why is there not considerable public debate about these crucial historical, cultural, and economic, matters?

Why is there such deceit, which requires these massive questions to be ignored so long by ‘historians’? How is it even possible for the world to move constructively forward, in this environment, of severe censorship, in the media, in academia, and throughout ‘the free world’?

Why is there no outrage that the Saudi and other Arabic royals fund Islamic Jihad (so long as it’s not in their own countries) but America instead demonises Russia’s leaders, who consistently oppose jihadists and jihadism? Why are America’s rulers allied with the top financiers of jihad? Why is that being kept so secret? Why are these injustices tolerated by the public?

Who will change this, and how? When will that desperately needed change even start? Will it start soon enough? Maybe WW III won’t occur, but the damages are already horrible, and they’re getting worse.

[Note: Russian Economy: almost every week shitty neo-liberal rags like "The Economist" are predicting the economic collapse of Russia. Facts show something different:
The Ruble is since April 1 is on a recovery path.  At the beginning of April, one US dollar cost 61 rubles. At the beginning of May one US dollar cost 48 rubles. The international reserves of Russia were, according to the Central Bank in Moscow in late April at $ 356,005,000,000. Of this approximately $ 48.287 billion are gold covered. The central bank had already started on May 13 with a daily purchase of foreign exchange in the amount of $200 million. Last August, the foreign exchange reserves were still at 500 billion dollars. With oil prices rising again, Russia continues to prosper despite the Washington inspired sanctions fiasco].

G7 Summit draws mass protests in Germany:

Anti-G7 protest in Munich, Germany, 06.06.2015.

MASS PROTESTS AGAINST
G7 IN GERMANY:

Merkel spends €360Mn on Bavarian
Junket: 

Last weekend’s G7 summit in Bavaria, Germany was met with mass protests not only in Bavaria but across the entire country in major cities and towns. The day before the summit began over 50,000 turned out in Munich, the Bavarian capital, to voice their protest against the presence of the World’s Leading Mass Murderers, vulture debt collectors, and thieving Bankers in their country. Attending were: Obama, Cameron, Hollande, Harper, Renzi, Abé, host Merkel and Brussels bureaucrats Juncker and Tusk. Several African leaders were invited to a special session on the Sunday. During the Summit near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps thousands gathered daily to mount a continuous protest until the departure of the criminals two days later. More than 20,000 police were drafted in to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and surrounding areas to counter the massive public protests. Strange, isn't it, that these "popular" leaders need the protection of 20,000 police against the people they claim to represent?

Protesters also took the chance to address a wide variety of issues. Chief among these issues were poverty, climate change, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, a proposed free trade deal between the United States and Europe that is being negotiated mostly in secret. Environmentalist groups, NGOs, opposition parties and anti-globalisation activists all marched through Munich’s streets together with “Stop TTIP — Save the Climate — Fight Poverty” as their motto.

“The G7 politics means neo-liberal economic policies, war and militarisation, exploitation, poverty and hunger, environmental degradation, and the closing-off towards refugees,” the group Stop G7 Elmau 2015 wrote in a statement before the march.

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel authorised a budget of €360Mn for the high level junket. Mrs Merkel justified the EUR 360 million for the G7 summit as "tourism promotion". Presumably, it is increasingly difficult to find pictures of beautiful German landscapes that are not spoiled at any location by wind turbines - those inhumane industrial plants that have become a symbol of the marginalisation of the people on the train the "energy revolution".

The marginalisation of the people finds its particular expression in the energy policy - and therefore the G7 summit has "marked  a peg" here that benefits the industrialised nations and the emerging and developing countries will occupy enormous areas of further and intensified exploitation: "The G7 feels especially aware for its responsibility to shape the future of our planet ", says the final document. This is really a dangerous threat in the context of the unscrupulous use of the military-industrial complex to achieve political goals, in fact.

The Seven Honchos and their entourage from the global debt industry will dictate to the rest of the world, which "values" are responsible for it: you should completely refrain from coal, oil and gas and buy renewable possible energies (from Germany), shale gas ( Fracking, USA) and nuclear power (France, Great Britain, Japan). This is done by the global debt industry with the same old system: A few empires explain anything to a "value" to the other which they must then buy: the "African and developing countries" should receive "access to clean energy." You can be sure to buy only from the G7 - Renewable, fracking, nuclear power. Because the Africans supposedly receiving these blessings cannot afford to promise the G7, "substantial financial resources from private investors, development finance institutions and multilateral development banks to mobilise". Translated this means that the world's energy systems will be financed with debt, which may make the "African and developing countries" in the IMF, the World Bank and all the other global banks even more dependent on these blood-sucking vampires than they are at present. How absurd is the whole thing, showing Merkel's own inconsistency: She had decreed previously as domestic policy for Germany to phase out nuclear energy after Fukushima. Consequently, they should have said to the G7 in Elmau that nuclear energy is at least as dangerous as coal. But this is a position no one wants to hear.

Therefore, this new credit-wave is trimmed with the environmental targets, Merkel's favorite subject. But, for climate protection, really hot topics not to be touched: the completely indisputable fact that huge SUVs - from German, American and Japanese production -  released to the air, cause the most damage and that their containment faster and more effectively would not be achieved by any uncontrollable credit program that the G7 wants to go with at $100 billion US a year.

On the idea that the global energy problem could possibly be easier to solve if they were to manipulate the culture of the "African and developing countries" and finally  compel them to adopt the “limitless growth” dogma of the Neo-Liberal slave drivers, the ruthless destruction of nature and the unbridled exploitation of resources, the G7 had no answer. Did not need to: they want to make the "completion of ambitious new bilateral and regional free trade agreements at a high level" that offer "African and developing countries" no more choice than that of a very few countries declaring as "valuable" energy sources to buy on credit. Should the uninvolved countries namely be of the opinion that they do not need a lot of the spend on Western consumer-Turbo things, they are accused by the global corporations of the G7, with the help of “investor protection” the latest exploitation trick in US proposed trade agreements, - because they have withheld the "value" that the Corporations expected to receive for their “blessings” and in the future perhaps  they could enforce under these agreements (TTIP, Tisa EGA, ITA, TTP, EPA and CETA - all these agreements are actually in the paper!) with a one-sided perception of damages. So does that mean: with the added debt can "African and developing countries" then pay the rich nations the “damage” accruing to the rich because the poor cannot consume to the extent or want, like the rich need it to be?

Would it  be fair to say that the G7 let Africans run into the trap?: oh not really! Because the G7 countries will show Africans how to complete a contract so that they don’t need to worry anymore because of a lawsuit: "We reaffirm our commitment to the initiative" Strengthening Assistance for Complex Contracts Negotiations" (CONNEX), which aims to provide support in developing countries through multidisciplinary advisory assistance in the negotiation of complex investment agreements, initially focused in the commodities sector”. Yeah, right, Uncle G7 will solve all problems!

In this context, just everything nominated by G7 is a "value", which justifies the means: The G7 leaders say in their panorama of the world's problems. Although the Chernobyl nuclear power disaster is seen as a problem child, however, the Ukrainian nuclear ruin has only input in the document because in passing it was able to wipe out Russians. Not a word can be found about Fukushima because they didn’t want to annoy either the nuclear lobby or the Japanese Prime Minister. In Chernobyl the G7 are sticking to the fiction that you can get to "stabilise the system" using endless taxpayers money from around the world. Daily flows of thousands of litres of radioactive waste from the nuclear ruins of Fukushima in the Pacific can be ignored. But, who studied the topic under "achievement of a high level of nuclear safety", it is just as little about how under the "maritime order” the situation can be controlled. But, this is not the natural order of the ecological balance of the oceans, without which the G7 leaders cannot survive. This is, as everywhere in the document to rule claims, that conflicts are anticipated in reports from those in power. With "values" entitling them alone to bring what they think is right for them to be properly resolved.

The whole arrogant condescension can be found at the very beginning of the document:

"We, the leaders of the G7, have met on 7 and 8 June 2015 in Elmau, Germany for our annual summit. Guided by our shared values ​​and principles, we are determined to work closely to address the complex international economic and political challenges of our time. We are committed to the values ​​of freedom and democracy and their universal accession to the rule of law and respect for human rights and the promotion of peace and security. Particularly given the numerous crises in the world we are to preserve the G7 nations united in our religious freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The G7 feels particularly responsible for shaping the future of our planet. "

While this looks like concrete aims for progress it is only lying hypocrisy; it can be seen in real situations how the “concrete measures” with which the G7 help their ideas to be "valid worldwide" "to promote peace and security" throughout the world: In Ukraine, a lawfully elected government is overthrown, an illegal regime with neo-fascist elements holding important government positions is imposed, a Finance Minister from the United States is introduced and a Minister for Economic Affairs of Lithuania to the "shared values ​​and principles"; a wanted criminal, Sakhashvili, former dictator of Georgia, is appointed Governor of Odessa. In Yemen, the "territorial integrity" of the country is maintained, by allowing the Saudis to bomb civilian targets at will. In Libya, the G7 claim to be "deeply concerned about the growing threat of terrorism," which has, however, only emerged after the US and France decided to bomb the country into the ground. In an incredible twist of history, the G7 leaders hypocritically call the Libyans to acknowledge:

"The time of fighting is over, now the moment for bold political decisions has come. We call upon the Libyans of all sides to seize this opportunity to lay down arms and to work together to make the goals that were the starting point of the revolution on the political basis of a democratic state their weapons” Utter claptrap to cover up vicious imperialist interventions causing the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians.

The problem of Libyans, as well as the Syrians and the Iraqis, however, is that some terrorists are not of the opinion that "the time of fighting is over now": It is mainly about the group Islamic State  (IS), of which we now know that they could only have arisen because the Western governments have seen their emergence as a cheap way to topple Assad in Syria. Just recently, a trial of a Swedish secret service man quietly has been setup in London: he was accused of having supported the terrorists of the IS. He could, however, give credible evidence that he had smuggled weapons for the same group, which also has covert support from the British Secret Service MI6. The court in London stalled the process on the grounds that a continuation of the measures would seriously damage the image of the British Secret Service.

But, because of the covert arms deliveries, with huge financial support from the West and its Gulf allies, IS-gangs are still not believing that "the time of the fighting is over”. So for the G7 leaders, "the scourge of terrorism is that innocent victims are affected ". Therefore, the G7 will "prevent the smuggling of migrants" and "uncover trafficking and prevent it". This means that the "refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants" should remain where they are, to be massacred locally to avoid becoming a problem to the social stability in the homelands  of those who have fanned, with their geopolitical interests, the bloody clashes throughout the Middle East and Asia.

In particular, the word "trafficking" is not justified in this context of cynicism, as a group has been identified by European scientists only a few weeks ago. These people are not "slaves" who are trafficked against their will by someone and then dumped on the borders of Europe; there are people who voluntarily pay high prices, so that they can escape hell. Whether they are "war refugees" or "economic refugees", is beside the point. No one goes from  Syria to Sweden to exploit the social system. They could be helped very quickly if the G7 World Saviors not merely "reaffirm their determination" to "defeat" the IS, but simply stop sending money, weapons and mercenaries to the crisis regions of the world. It would be interesting to know, for instance where all the IS white Toyotas are coming from – perhaps Japanese Prime Minister Abe can at least say for sure whether the Toyota Group has granted to these vehicles an adequate fleet discount.

But, such issues were not discussed in the Alpenglow from Elmau Castle: The G7 is not democratic, transparent or has even any ethical rules-following function. Therefore, state law breaches such as the still-running mass surveillance of all German citizens and businesses were also not discussed: That would be below the level of the summit leaders: they are above suspicion of tax waste, corruption or abuse of office - if only because there is no body that the G7 leaders controlled as a group. So they are locked in their own affairs , as much as they know, of course, who is going to pay for all of their grandiose projects:

"We are committed to the automatic exchange of information on cross-border tax to be promoted intensively. In addition, we see the speedy implementation of the new global standards for the automatic exchange of information to the end of 2017 or in 2018 forward to receiving, by all financial centers, the necessary information subject to the conclusion of the legislative process required. We further urge the states and territories that have not yet or only inadequately implemented the international standard for the exchange of information on request, urgently to do so quickly. We know the importance of transparency with regard to beneficial owners in the fight against tax evasion, corruption and other activities that generate illicit financial flows, and are committed to provide timely reports on the implementation of our National Action Plans. We reaffirm our commitment to work together with developing countries in an international tax agenda, and these countries will continue their support to build the capacity of its tax authorities”

Translation of this gobbledygook: they want access to your bank account so that they can rob everyone across the world as it suits their purpose!

Here is the sustainable legitimacy around the "G" policy: G7 and G20 have been working for years to get access to the taxpayers in the world. They know that they will still need a lot of money for the plundering of the world. Wars and conquests are always expensive. Debt Communities are always risky. To finance its policies, the new colonialists need easier access to the wealth of citizens and businesses. A system that will be so unaccountable can be maintained only with financial repression. Be warned; the G7 are determined to go to the extremes.

After the departure of the Great and the Powerful from Elmau, the Weather put on a violent thunderstorm. As the weather service wetter.com reported, the sultry and humid air in the foothills had to unload in showers and thunderstorms.

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