If Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires, Ukraine is the graveyard of Super Empires. The Super Empire consisting of U.S., Britain, the E.U. and NATO will die in Ukraine. The European Union is a major failure as is the European Central Bank and the Euro. The E.U. has been wracked with infighting, threats of defection and bitterly harsh austerity for the citizens of the participating countries. An article in Russia Times entitled: Nobel Prize winners: Eurozone recovery is 'dismal failure', lays out the failures.
Excerpt:
“Stunningly
destructive” and “dismal failure” is how Nobel laureates describe growth in the
European Union after destructive austerity policies and the euro crisis.
Economists
are casting doubt on the effectiveness of monetary policy in the 18-member Eurozone,
which is yet to fully shake off recession and produce sustained growth.
Data from earlier this month
shows that economies have broken down, and growth has come to a standstill. The
three largest economies- Germany, France, and Italy- all failed to grow.
Yes, the harsh austerity
measures they want to impose on Ukraine have proven to be abject failures
worldwide, but Germany, France and Italy are all willing do double down on their
own death. I wonder why?
Nobel
laureate and Princeton University economist Christopher Sims warns that the
euro countries hit worst by the crisis may be looking for an exit from the failed
currency experiment.
“If I were advising Greece, Portugal, and Spain,
I would tell them to prepare contingency plans to leave the euro,” the 2011 Nobel Prize
winner said.
Economist and Professor at Columbia University
Joseph Stiglitz called the Eurozone’s efforts to recover from the debt crisis a “dismal failure” in an interview with
Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of a conference in Lindau, Germany “Now
we see the enormous price that Europe is paying,” Stiglitz said, adding, “hopefully the reality of
this failed policy will strike...”
Inflation
has dropped dangerously low to 0.4 percent sparking fears about deflation, or
falling prices. The European Central Bank’s goal is to have 2 percent
inflation. Unemployment in the Eurozone is down slightly, but at 11.5 percent
still near the record 12 percent figure from last year.
MIT
Economics Professor Peter Diamond, who won the Nobel Prize in 2010 – warns
that work may be more and more difficult to come by.
“It is a terrible outcome, and it is surprising
how little uproar there has been over policies that are so stunningly
destructive,” Diamond said.
The stagnation is
attributed to the failed recovery from the Eurozone crisis, and is also in part
affected by the local Ukraine-Russia crisis.
Sanctions
and trade wars between Russia and the EU could cut 2 percent off Eurozone GDP
in the next two years, according to Gabriel Sterne at Oxford Economics.
So, have the three largest economies- Germany, France and Italy begun
to face the financial price of being a Super Empire? Are these kingpins of the European Union
going to change from job killing austerity and make radical changes to increase
GDP? From Bloomberg:
Excerpt:
Counting
Drugs and Prostitution in GDP Makes a Mockery of Budget Rules
By Peter Coy May
23, 2014
The
Italians have a word for it: sprezzatura, or studied nonchalance.
The news that
Italy plans to include prostitution and illegal drugs in gross domestic product
sounds like a joke. But it’s not just an Italian initiative. New European Union rules require member states to include in GDP the
value of all income-producing activities, including prostitution, the
production and consumption of illegal drugs, and black market sales of
cigarettes and alcohol.
The
beauty? By counting prostitution and drugs in output, Italy will raise its GDP
and thereby lower the ratio of debt to GDP, which will make it easier to comply
with European Union rules on indebtedness. The same will go for other
countries. That’ssprezzatura.
Governments
of European Union members are not
supposed to let their annual deficits exceed 3 percent of GDP or
accumulated debt exceed 60 percent of GDP.
Well, with all that
lemonade they’re making from the lemons, they should open a global lemonade
stand. The sanctions against Russia
pushed by the lunatic cabal in control of U.S. foreign and domestic policy will
kill Germany’s economy and really puts Merkel in a tough spot.
As early as
March 2014 German exporters have been sounding the alarm for Germany. According to Testosterone Pit:
Excerpt:
The
“mal-calculation…”
It wasn’t as bombastic as US Secretary of
State John Kerry’s blast to
lawmakers that the Ukrainian debacle could “get ugly fast,” and “in multiple
directions,” but it had the heft of the German export industry.
Anton Börner, president of the German
Association of Exporters (BGA), which represents 120,000 companies, the
lifeblood of the economy, warned at a press
conference in Berlin that further escalation of the crisis in
the Ukraine could hit exporters very hard. He said that the BGA expected
exports to rise 3% to €1.13 trillion and imports 2% to €914 billion for a trade
surplus of €215.6 billion – the highest in history. But “if the crisis in the
Crimea escalates further,” these wondrous forecasts of endlessly growing exports
and surpluses “could turn very quickly into a mal-calculation.”
The sanction spiral
Further intensification of “the most
serious political crisis in Europe since the end of the war in former
Yugoslavia” would degrade bilateral economic relations between the EU and
Russia. He warned not to underestimate the drag of secondary and tertiary
effects on the world economy. “Russia itself, Europe, Germany, and the whole
world have a lot to lose,” he said. “But if there’s a sanction-spiral, Germany has the most to lose.”
About 6,200 German companies were trading
with Russia or had invested there. The bilateral trade volume was over €76
billion last year. And German companies have invested €20 billion in Russia.
The “sanctions-spiral” that is currently gaining momentum could have
“unforeseen consequences,” especially for Russia, he said. They’d be “painful
for the German economy, but life-threatening for the Russian economy.”
So did the E.U.
listen to warnings that Russian sanctions threatened to bring down E.U.
economies? Nope, they doubled down and
imposed further sanctions on Russia to which Russia responded by imposing bans
on the import of perishable goods, that are vital to E.U. economies.
From Russia Times:
Excerpt:
Who is hit hardest by
Russia's trade ban?
Published
time: August 08, 2014 15:20
Edited time: August 09, 2014 16:34
Edited time: August 09, 2014 16:34
Germany
and Poland will lose the most trade with Russia, and neighboring Finland and
Baltic States Lithuania and Latvia will lose a bigger proportion of their GDP.
Norway will see fish sales to Russia disappear, and US damages would be very limited.
Do you really
think the Kerry/Biden/Nuland cabal gives a rip if the entire E.U. economy
collapses because of sanctions against Russia?
Don’t forget, one of the architects of the overthrow of the government
of Ukraine, Victoria Nuland said “fuck the E.U.” and that is the official Obama
Administration policy on E.U.
 |
| China will start selling fruit and vegetables directly to Russia |
Russia
has banned imports of fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products from the
28 countries of the EU, the US, Canada, Norway, and Australia for one year.
EU
trade is heavily dependent on Russian food imports. Last year Russia bought $16
billion worth of food from the bloc, or about 10 percent of total exports,
according to Eurostat.
In
terms of losses, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands- the top three EU food
suppliers to Russia in 2013 - will be hit hardest. Food for Russia makes up
around 3.3 percent of total German exports.
French
Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said his government is already working
together with Germany and Poland to reach a coordinated policy on the new
Russian sanction regime.
Last
year, Ireland exported €4.5 million worth of cheese to Russia, and not being
able to do so this year is a big worry, Simon Coveney, the country’s
agriculture minister, said.
Farmers
across Europe could face big losses if they aren’t able to find alternative
markets for their goods, especially fruit and vegetables.
Some
are already demanding their governments provide compensation for lost revenue.
“If
there isn’t a sufficient market, prices will go down, and we don’t know if we
can cover the costs of production, because it is so expensive,” Jose Emilio
Bofi, an orange farmer in Spain, told RT.
Hey
you farmers across Europe, do you really think governments of the E.U.
care? They are all for austerity, and
insuring farmers against financial destruction due to government imposed
sanctions aren’t likely to happen.
However, bank profits lost due to sanctions more than likely will be reimbursed
by the crooked governments of the E.U.
The best bet for any of the E.U. country is “get out.”
The
largest opposition party in Greece is urging its government drop sanctions
against Russia, even if the move isn’t supported by other EU states.
In 2013, Denmark supplied Russia with $628
million worth of products which are now banned.
European Agriculture commissioners will set up
a task force to address Russia’s sanctions, on Monday...
Yes,
the E.U. is, in Victoria Nuland’s words “fucked”.
America not bothered
For
the US the effect will be very limited, as agricultural exports to Russia are
about one tenth of one percent of total US gross domestic product of about $144
billion, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Hmmm,
the U.S. is not be bothered? Yes, just
wait until American businesses start getting hurt. Wait, what’s this from CBS News?
Excerpt:
Branson,
business leaders seek Ukraine solution
By Alanna Petroff @AlannaPetroff August
20, 2014: 8:24 AM ET
Billionaire
Richard Branson and 15 major business leaders from around the world want an end
to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
As concerned business leaders from
Russia, Ukraine and the West, we encourage our governments to compromise and
find a peaceful solution to the current conflict," they said in the
letter. "We would like to offer whatever support we can to help resolve
this violent conflict."
Besides Branson, others signing the
letter include Indian businessman Ratan Tata, Nobel Laureate Muhammed Yunus,
former eBay president Jeff Skoll and 10 high-ranking Russian and Ukrainian
businesspeople.
The signers say they hope to avoid a new
Cold War scenario and encouraged all business leaders around the world to start
dialogues to end the conflict. "Conversations, not armed conflict, are
critical at this juncture," it said.
Will
the EU, US and Britain drop their plans for a neocon, Zionist caliphate in
Eurasia? These tone deaf idiots in the
Obama Administration are so ignorant.
They have no support in the world for their bloody, unending wars and
even if they were able to kill every insurgent in Ukraine, they would never win
over the hearts and minds of a captive people.
Excerpt:
Steven
Seagal plays at concert for pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine
Actor,
musician and Vladimir Putin's friend performs with band at pro-'Donetsk
People's Republic' show in Sevastopol, Crimea.
Hollywood actor and musician Steven Seagal played
a weekend concert in the Crimean peninsula, appearing on a stage adorned with
the flag of pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine.
Seagal and his blues band played on Saturday at
a bikers' show held in the city of Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea
fleet. The star has come under fire for supporting Russia's March annexation of
the peninsula from Ukraine, a view that saw him bounced from the lineup at an Estonian blues festival this summer.
At the corner of the stage hung the black, blue
and red flag of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic"
(DNR), declared independent by pro-Russia rebels fighting to break away from
Ukraine. Fans waved Russian and DNR flags as Seagal performed.
The US and EU have imposed sanctions on Russia
over its annexation of Crimea and for
allegedly providing weapons and support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Seagal said he had travelled to Crimea because
music unites people, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported. In a March
interview with a Russian newspaper, Seagal was quoted as saying that President Vladimir Putin's desire to
protect Russians in Crimea was completely reasonable.
Crimea's largely Russian-speaking residents
voted in March to become part of Russia in a hastily organised referendum held
as Russian troops patrolled the Black Sea peninsula they had occupied only
weeks before.
Excerpt:
Obama's Russia Sanctions: Corporate America Has
Much More To Lose Than Washington Realizes
Almost
everyone in the American establishment seems to support President Obama’s new
round of sanctions against Russia. Almost everyone, that is, except U.S.
exporters…
Largely
overlooked by the American press, Japanese officials could hardly be less
sympathetic to the Obama administration’s Russia policy.
Already IBM IBM -0.43% and Hewlett-Packard HPQ -0.43% have
been identified as big losers from Obama’s sanctions. Thanks to America’s
cultural commitment to the rule of law, such corporations will have little
choice but to toe Obama’s line. The question is whether Japanese regulators
will expect a similarly conscientious level of compliance from corporations
like Hitachi , Toshiba, and NEC. The betting is
that far from honoring U.S. sanctions, these latter corporations will have a
field day taking their American rivals’ place.
The
crisis also poses serious problems for U.S.-based oil majors. Exxon’s chief
executive, Rex W. Tillerson, has so far been one of the few U.S. chief
executives publicly to object to further sanctions. He has plenty to worry
about. If Exxon is required to back away from its efforts to penetrate
the Russian oil industry, there are plenty of other oil companies — based
outside the United States — that will be happy to take its place. These
notably include Statoil of Norway and Total of France.
My,
my, my what a tangled web we weave. This lunatic fringe in America that came to
power December 12, 2000 is drowning and now it’s just a matter of who will go
down with them.
If Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires,
Ukraine is the graveyard of Super Empires, good riddance.
By Patricia Baeten
