theduran--2020-04-03--EU Demands Serbia to Help Kosovo During Coronavirus But Restricts Assistance of Bosnian Serbs

Submitted by InfoBrics , authored by Paul Antonopoulos , Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies… The Working Group for the Chapter 35 of the Serbian National Convention on the European Union ( EU ) has called for the authorities in Serbia and Kosovo to create a cooperation to reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic .
“ We witness the coronavirus pandemic ( COVID19 ) representing a great danger everywhere in the world and the health systems increasingly burdened with the number of infected patients .
The pandemic has shown that the spread of the disease goes beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ religion of the affected , and can only be combatted through joint action , cooperation and solidarity .
Cooperation is necessary primarily for the sake of humanity and responsibility for human lives in these difficult times , ” the press release reads .
In times of crisis , the EU proclaims that Kosovo is in fact Serbia ’ s responsibility .
This unprincipled nature of the EU is solely guided by the interests of its major members and aims to palm off the medical responsibility of the illegal breakaway province of Kosovo back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to suppress Albanian separatism .
In fact , the EU supports the illegality of Kosovo ’ s independence by deploying over 1,000 police officers under the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo mandate and all member states with the exception of Greece , Cyprus , Romania and Slovakia , recognizing Kosovo ’ s independence .
The EU Task Force on Chapter 35 calls for communication channels between medical staff in Serbia and Kosovo to be open as it would allow the exchange of information on the pandemic to be crossed over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also perhaps even contribute significantly to the reconciliation of the two entities .
Even though Serbia is under EU pressure to help Kosovo , Belgrade should not give in to any concessions offered by Brussels on the Kosovo issue .
The promise of EU membership will certainly be mentioned .
The EU is trying to force Serbia to expend their resources to send aid to Kosovo without expecting any acts of good will from the Albanian side .
This is a policy that requires Serbia to treat Kosovo as its own territory while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accept that Kosovo is an independent state .
A similar appeal was sent to Serbia from the EU at the time of the migrant crisis when the EU also isolated itself of the problems in Kosovo and asked Belgrade to cooperate with Pristina in controlling migrant flows and make records of illegal immigrants traveling via Kosovo in 2015 and 2016 .
While Serbia is expected to help Kosovo , despite the EU ’ s insistence that it is independent , Serbia is not able to assist the Republika Srpska in Bosnia .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , two entities were formed , the Serbian-majority Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Hezegovina , where the majority of Muslims and Croatians in Bosnia live .
Sarajevo ’ s political leaders are vetoing the decision of the Republika Srpska National Assembly to introduce a state of emergency in its territory to stop the spread of the coronavirus .
For political reasons , Muslim Bosnians are stopping life-saving security measures , which are supported by the international community , and while Serbia is expected to help Kosovo , it can not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republika Srpska so that the borders between the two entities could not be closed as the Serbian entity wanted to do .
However , if we look internationally to places like Australia , states in the same country have closed their own borders to those who do not live in a particular state .
According to the laws of Bosnia , Republika Srpska can not close their border without approval from Sarajevo .
Therefore , Sarajevo ’ s moves are about antagonism and political contradiction at a time when coronavirus can engulf @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bosnian Muslims have no argument for denying measures to protect people from coronavirus and are using this situation to stir up ethnic tensions rather than seeing this as a medical issue .
As already showed earlier , it is not a contradiction to close the borders of the entities as many states and regions around the world have closed their borders despite being the same country .
The Republika Srpska are trying to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously and its National Assembly even voted in a majority to declare a state of emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Valentin Incko , welcomed the decision and the commitment of Republika Srpska President Željka Cvijanović to use extraordinary powers in the interest of public health .
Incko also pointed out that stopping the spread of the coronavirus and saving the lives of citizens must be priorities for all Bosnian authorities .
However , his recommendations did not go into the realm of pressuring Bosnian authorities , and so long as the borders remain open , the people of Republika Srpska remain susceptible to higher rates of infection .
While Serbia is expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the EU , despite not being an EU member and the EU insisting on Kosovo ’ s independence , Belgrade also can not assist Republika Srpska without being accused of interfering in Bosnian affairs .
It is little wonder then that Belgrade has lost interest in appeasing Brussels and no longer responds to promises of EU membership , and rather it continues to build its relations with traditional ally Russia as well as emerging superpower China .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by InfoBrics, authored by Paul Antonopoulos, Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies…
The Working Group for the Chapter 35 of the Serbian National Convention on the European Union (EU) has called for the authorities in Serbia and Kosovo to create a cooperation to reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We witness the coronavirus pandemic (COVID19) representing a great danger everywhere in the world and the health systems increasingly burdened with the number of infected patients. The pandemic has shown that the spread of the disease goes beyond borders, national and ethnic origin or religion of the affected, and can only be combatted through joint action, cooperation and solidarity. Cooperation is necessary primarily for the sake of humanity and responsibility for human lives in these difficult times,” the press release reads.
In times of crisis, the EU proclaims that Kosovo is in fact Serbia’s responsibility. This unprincipled nature of the EU is solely guided by the interests of its major members and aims to palm off the medical responsibility of the illegal breakaway province of Kosovo back to Serbia. The EU did nothing to suppress Albanian separatism. In fact, the EU supports the illegality of Kosovo’s independence by deploying over 1,000 police officers under the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo mandate and all member states with the exception of Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia, recognizing Kosovo’s independence.
The EU Task Force on Chapter 35 calls for communication channels between medical staff in Serbia and Kosovo to be open as it would allow the exchange of information on the pandemic to be crossed over on a daily basis. This could also perhaps even contribute significantly to the reconciliation of the two entities. Even though Serbia is under EU pressure to help Kosovo, Belgrade should not give in to any concessions offered by Brussels on the Kosovo issue. The promise of EU membership will certainly be mentioned.
The EU is trying to force Serbia to expend their resources to send aid to Kosovo without expecting any acts of good will from the Albanian side. This is a policy that requires Serbia to treat Kosovo as its own territory while the EU still attempts to make Belgrade accept that Kosovo is an independent state. A similar appeal was sent to Serbia from the EU at the time of the migrant crisis when the EU also isolated itself of the problems in Kosovo and asked Belgrade to cooperate with Pristina in controlling migrant flows and make records of illegal immigrants traveling via Kosovo in 2015 and 2016.
While Serbia is expected to help Kosovo, despite the EU’s insistence that it is independent, Serbia is not able to assist the Republika Srpska in Bosnia. As part of Bosnia’s independence deal, two entities were formed, the Serbian-majority Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Hezegovina, where the majority of Muslims and Croatians in Bosnia live. Sarajevo’s political leaders are vetoing the decision of the Republika Srpska National Assembly to introduce a state of emergency in its territory to stop the spread of the coronavirus. For political reasons, Muslim Bosnians are stopping life-saving security measures, which are supported by the international community, and while Serbia is expected to help Kosovo, it cannot help the Republika Srpska.
Bosnia blocked the Republika Srpska so that the borders between the two entities could not be closed as the Serbian entity wanted to do. However, if we look internationally to places like Australia, states in the same country have closed their own borders to those who do not live in a particular state. According to the laws of Bosnia, Republika Srpska cannot close their border without approval from Sarajevo.
Therefore, Sarajevo’s moves are about antagonism and political contradiction at a time when coronavirus can engulf both entities of the country. The Bosnian Muslims have no argument for denying measures to protect people from coronavirus and are using this situation to stir up ethnic tensions rather than seeing this as a medical issue. As already showed earlier, it is not a contradiction to close the borders of the entities as many states and regions around the world have closed their borders despite being the same country.
The Republika Srpska are trying to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously and its National Assembly even voted in a majority to declare a state of emergency. Even EU High Representative to Bosnia, Valentin Incko, welcomed the decision and the commitment of Republika Srpska President Željka Cvijanović to use extraordinary powers in the interest of public health. Incko also pointed out that stopping the spread of the coronavirus and saving the lives of citizens must be priorities for all Bosnian authorities. However, his recommendations did not go into the realm of pressuring Bosnian authorities, and so long as the borders remain open, the people of Republika Srpska remain susceptible to higher rates of infection.
While Serbia is expected to assist Kosovo on the behalf of the EU, despite not being an EU member and the EU insisting on Kosovo’s independence, Belgrade also cannot assist Republika Srpska without being accused of interfering in Bosnian affairs. It is little wonder then that Belgrade has lost interest in appeasing Brussels and no longer responds to promises of EU membership, and rather it continues to build its relations with traditional ally Russia as well as emerging superpower China.
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theduran--2020-04-03--Citigroup, an Admitted Felon with a History of Abusing Customers, Is Handling Billions from the Stim

Citigroup, an Admitted Felon with a History of Abusing Customers, Is Handling Billions from the Stimulus Bill

Yesterday CNBC reported that Citigroup is one of the banks selected by the Small Business Administration to handle billions of dollars earmarked in last week ’ s stimulus bill to help small businesses get back on their feet and keep their employees paid during the coronavirus crisis .
Citigroup ’ s Citicorp subsidiary was charged with , and pleaded guilty to , a criminal felony count brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on May 20 , 2015 for its role in rigging foreign currency trading .
Its rap sheet for a long series of abuses to its customers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breathtaking .
( See its rap sheet at the end of this article . )
During the financial crash of 2007 to 2010 , Citigroup received the largest bailout in global banking history after its former top executives had walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars that they cashed out of stock options .
Citigroup received over $ 2.5 trillion in secret Federal Reserve loans ; $ 45 billion in capital infusions from the U.S. Treasury ; a government guarantee of over $ 300 billion on its dubious “ assets ” ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on its senior unsecured debt and $ 26 billion on its commercial paper and interbank deposits by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation .
Sandy Weill was the Chairman and CEO of Citigroup as it built up its toxic footprint and off-balance-sheet vehicles that blew up the bank .
Weill was also the man who engineered the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act , the depression-era legislation that had safeguarded the U.S. banking system for 66 years before its repeal in 1999 .
Weill needed the Glass-Steagall legislation to vanish so that he could merge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Salomon Brothers and Smith Barney , et al ) with a federally-insured bank full of deposits .
Weill told his merger partner , John Reed of Citibank , that his motivation for the deal was : “ We could be so rich , ” according to Reed in an interview with Bill Moyers .
The repeal of Glass-Steagall meant that the casino-style investment banks and trading houses across Wall Street could now own federally-insured commercial banks and use those mom and pop deposits in a heads we win , tails you lose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ house either bought a federally-insured bank or created one .
( See the co-author of this article testifying before the Federal Reserve on June 26 , 1998 against the Citigroup merger and the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in this video . )
What Weill meant by “ We could be so rich ” was this : If the trading bets won big , the CEOs became obscenely rich on stock-option-based performance pay .
When the bets lost big , the government would be forced to do a bailout rather than allow a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is why the Federal Reserve had to secretly plow $ 29 trillion into Wall Street banks and their foreign derivatives counterparties between 2007 and 2011 and why the Fed had to open its money spigot again on September 17 of last year – months before there were any reports of coronavirus COVID-19 cases anywhere in the world .
Sandy Weill became a billionaire at the merged Wall Street bank , known as Citigroup , through a technique that compensation expert Graef “ Bud ” Crystal called the Count Dracula stock option plan – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not even with a silver bullet .
Nor could you prosecute it , because Citigroup ’ s crony Board of Directors rubber-stamped it .
The plan worked like this : every time Weill exercised one set of stock options , he got a reload of approximately the same amount of options , regardless of how many frauds the bank had been charged with during the year .
( And there were plenty .
See rap sheet below . )
Writing at Bloomberg News , Crystal explained that between 1988 and 2002 , Weill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on an aggregate of $ 3 billion of stock .
Crystal says “ It ’ s a wonder that Weill had time to run the business , what with all his option grants and exercises .
In the years 1996 , 1997 , 1998 and 2000 , Weill exercised , and then received new option grants , a total of , respectively , 14 , 20 , 13 and 19 times.
” When Weill stepped down as CEO in 2003 , he had amassed over $ 1 billion in compensation , the bulk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ options .
( He remained as Chairman of Citigroup until 2006 . )
Just one day after stepping down as CEO , Citigroup ’ s Board of Directors allowed Weill to sell back to the corporation 5.6 million shares of his stock for $ 264 million .
This eliminated Weill ’ s risk that his big share sale would drive down his own share prices as he was selling .
The Board negotiated the price at $ 47.14 for all of Weill ’ s shares .
On May 9 , 2011 Citigroup did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , meaning if you previously owned 100 shares of Citigroup , you now owned just 10 and the price was adjusted upward accordingly .
At yesterday ’ s closing price of $ 38.51 ( actually $ 3.85 if adjusted for the reverse stock split ) , Citigroup ’ s long-term shareholders are still down 92 percent from where Weill bailed out of the stock in 2003 .
Another man that became obscenely rich from Citigroup was Robert Rubin , the Treasury Secretary under the Bill Clinton administration who helped Citigroup advocate for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any meaningful cooling-off period , Rubin went straight from his government post to serve on the Board of Citigroup .
Rubin received more than $ 120 million in compensation over the next eight years for his non-management job .
John Reed had a falling out with Weill and retired from Citigroup in April 2000 .
In Monica Langley ’ s book , Tearing Down the Walls : How Sandy Weill Fought His Way to the Top of the Financial World .
.
.and Then Nearly Lost It All , the author reports that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the date of his retirement .
Langley also writes that “ Reed immediately began selling his Citigroup shares and laid plans with his second wife to buy a house on an island off the coast of France.
” If Reed sold all of his Citigroup shares over the next three months after his retirement at an average price at the time of $ 62 , he would have realized $ 291 million in proceeds .
According to SEC filings ( see here and here ) Reed also received a $ 5 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least $ 2,019,528 annually .
According to the SEC filings , Reed was also to receive the following : lawsuit indemnifications arising from company employment ; an office at Citigroup , secretarial support and access to a car and driver for as long as Reed deemed it “ useful.
” If Reed decided he needed an office outside of New York City , that would be provided with secretarial support until age 75 .
When Weill stepped down as CEO in 2003 , he put his General Counsel and personal friend , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Prince took the fall when the company imploded in 2008 .
For being a good foot soldier to Weill , Prince got an exit package of $ 68 million .
And then there was Vikram Pandit , a hedge fund manager whom Robert Rubin selected to run the sprawling Citigroup .
The Wall Street Journal reported that Pandit took home $ 221.5 million during his five years at Citigroup .
Sheila Bair , the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that guaranteed Citigroup ’ s debt during the financial crisis , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a meeting with other bankers in her book “ Bull by the Horns ” : “ Pandit looked nervous , and no wonder .
More than any other institution represented in that room , his bank was in trouble .
Frankly , I doubted that he was up to the job .
He had been brought in to clean up the mess at Citi .
He had gotten the job with the support of Robert Rubin , the former secretary of the Treasury who now served as Citi ’ s titular head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poor choice .
He was a hedge fund manager by occupation and one with a mixed record at that .
He had no experience as a commercial banker ; yet now he was heading one of the biggest commercial banks in the country.
” When the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission concluded its findings into what led to the financial crash of Wall Street in 2008 , resulting in millions of job losses and foreclosures across America , it made numerous referrals for potential criminal prosecutions to the Justice Department .
Three of Citigroup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Robert Rubin , Chuck Prince and former CFO Gary Crittenden .
Nothing ever became of those referrals .
In 2012 the law firm Kirby McInerney agreed to settle a lawsuit against Citigroup on behalf of shareholders for $ 590 million .
The lawsuit charged that Citigroup had lied to shareholders about its financial condition , including its losses from off-balance-sheet accounting tricks .
The plaintiffs wrote this about Citigroup ’ s Collateralized Loan Obligations ( CLOs ) , which were loans to lower credit-rated companies that were then pooled together : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Citigroup would book the difference in the cost of the insurance and the payments of the loan for the entire life of the loan immediately as if the loan had been sold…Additionally , Citigroup engaged in negative basis trades with the billions of dollars of CLO exposure remaining on the Company ’ s balance sheet .
These trades allowed Citigroup to book immediate gain for the entire term of loans by purchasing insurance on their default and , thereby , treat the purchase of insurance as a sale of the loans when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or rather , those CLO tranches ) never left Citigroup ’ s books…In addition to the high fees for CLO creation , the ability to create instant gain through these trades was a powerful incentive for Citigroup to issue ever riskier leveraged loans .
While revenue from fees and negative-basis trades inflated Citigroup ’ s earnings on leveraged loans and CLOs , Citigroup kept its shareholders unaware of the artificial source of the gains or the inherent risks in continuing to operate its ephemeral money-making machine.
” After Citigroup ’ s massive bailout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its crime spree continued .
This is just a sampling of charges brought against Citigroup and its affiliates since December 2008 : December 11 , 2008 : SEC forces Citigroup and UBS to buy back $ 30 billion in auction rate securities that were improperly sold to investors through misleading information .
July 29 , 2010 : SEC settles with Citigroup for $ 75 million over its misleading statements to investors that it had reduced its exposure to subprime mortgages to $ 13 billion when in fact the exposure was over $ 50 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SEC agrees to settle with Citigroup for $ 285 million over claims it misled investors in a $ 1 billion financial product .
Citigroup had selected approximately half the assets and was betting they would decline in value .
February 9 , 2012 : Citigroup agrees to pay $ 2.2 billion as its portion of the nationwide settlement of bank foreclosure fraud .
August 29 , 2012 : Citigroup agrees to settle a class action lawsuit for $ 590 million over claims it withheld from shareholders ’ knowledge that it had far greater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporting .
July 1 , 2013 : Citigroup agrees to pay Fannie Mae $ 968 million for selling it toxic mortgage loans .
September 25 , 2013 : Citigroup agrees to pay Freddie Mac $ 395 million to settle claims it sold it toxic mortgages .
December 4 , 2013 : Citigroup admits to participating in the Yen Libor financial derivatives cartel to the European Commission and accepts a fine of $ 95 million .
July 14 , 2014 : The U.S. Department of Justice announces a $ 7 billion settlement with Citigroup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Attorney General Eric Holder called the bank ’ s conduct “ egregious , ” adding , “ As a result of their assurances that toxic financial products were sound , Citigroup was able to expand its market share and increase profits.
” November 2014 : Citigroup pays more than $ 1 billion to settle civil allegations with regulators that it manipulated foreign currency markets .
Other global banks settled at the same time .
May 20 , 2015 : Citicorp , a unit of Citigroup becomes an admitted felon by pleading guilty to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rigging foreign currency trading , paying a fine of $ 925 million to the Justice Department and $ 342 million to the Federal Reserve for a total of $ 1.267 billion .
The prior November it paid U.S. and U.K. regulators an additional $ 1.02 billion .
May 25 , 2016 : Citigroup agrees to pay $ 425 million to resolve claims brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that it had rigged interest-rate benchmarks , including ISDAfix , from 2007 to 2012 .
July 12 , 2016 : The Securities and Exchange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 7 million for failure to provide accurate trading records over a period of 15 years .
According to the SEC : “ CGMI failed to produce records for 26,810 securities transactions comprising over 291 million shares of stock and options in response to 2,382 EBS requests made by Commission staff , between May 1999 and April 2014 , due to an error in the computer code for CGMI ’ s EBS response software .
Despite discovering the error in late April 2014 , CGMI did not report the issue to Commission staff or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until nine months later on January 27 , 2015 .
CGMI ’ s failure to discover the coding error and to produce the missing data for many years potentially impacted numerous Commission investigations.
” June 15 , 2018 : Citigroup agrees to settle with states for $ 100 million over charges that it rigged the Libor interest rate benchmark .
June 29 , 2018 : Citigroup ’ s Citibank settles with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for $ 335 million in restitution to credit card customers over charges that it violated the Truth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 : Citigroup settles with SEC for $ 10.5 million over inadequate controls , mismarking of illiquid positions and unauthorized proprietary trading .
September 14 , 2018 : Citigroup settles with SEC for $ 13 million over charges it improperly operated its Dark Pool – an internal stock exchange where it is allowed to trade its own stock .
May 22 , 2019 : Citigroup settles a money laundering case with the U.S. Department of Justice for $ 97.44 million .
November 26 , 2019 : Citigroup settles with the Bank of England @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 57 million over charges that it incorrectly reported the bank ’ s capital and liquidity levels .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: April 2, 2020 ~
Yesterday CNBC reported that Citigroup is one of the banks selected by the Small Business Administration to handle billions of dollars earmarked in last week’s stimulus bill to help small businesses get back on their feet and keep their employees paid during the coronavirus crisis. Citigroup’s Citicorp subsidiary was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, a criminal felony count brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on May 20, 2015 for its role in rigging foreign currency trading. Its rap sheet for a long series of abuses to its customers and investors since 2008 is nothing short of breathtaking. (See its rap sheet at the end of this article.)
During the financial crash of 2007 to 2010, Citigroup received the largest bailout in global banking history after its former top executives had walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars that they cashed out of stock options. Citigroup received over $2.5 trillion in secret Federal Reserve loans; $45 billion in capital infusions from the U.S. Treasury; a government guarantee of over $300 billion on its dubious “assets”; a government guarantee of $5.75 billion on its senior unsecured debt and $26 billion on its commercial paper and interbank deposits by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Sandy Weill was the Chairman and CEO of Citigroup as it built up its toxic footprint and off-balance-sheet vehicles that blew up the bank. Weill was also the man who engineered the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, the depression-era legislation that had safeguarded the U.S. banking system for 66 years before its repeal in 1999. Weill needed the Glass-Steagall legislation to vanish so that he could merge his hodgepodge of Wall Street trading firms (Salomon Brothers and Smith Barney, et al) with a federally-insured bank full of deposits. Weill told his merger partner, John Reed of Citibank, that his motivation for the deal was: “We could be so rich,” according to Reed in an interview with Bill Moyers.
The repeal of Glass-Steagall meant that the casino-style investment banks and trading houses across Wall Street could now own federally-insured commercial banks and use those mom and pop deposits in a heads we win, tails you lose strategy. Every major Wall Street trading house either bought a federally-insured bank or created one. (See the co-author of this article testifying before the Federal Reserve on June 26, 1998 against the Citigroup merger and the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in this video.)
What Weill meant by “We could be so rich” was this: If the trading bets won big, the CEOs became obscenely rich on stock-option-based performance pay. When the bets lost big, the government would be forced to do a bailout rather than allow a giant federally-insured bank to fail. This is why the Federal Reserve had to secretly plow $29 trillion into Wall Street banks and their foreign derivatives counterparties between 2007 and 2011 and why the Fed had to open its money spigot again on September 17 of last year – months before there were any reports of coronavirus COVID-19 cases anywhere in the world.
Sandy Weill became a billionaire at the merged Wall Street bank, known as Citigroup, through a technique that compensation expert Graef “Bud” Crystal called the Count Dracula stock option plan – you simply could not kill it; not even with a silver bullet. Nor could you prosecute it, because Citigroup’s crony Board of Directors rubber-stamped it. The plan worked like this: every time Weill exercised one set of stock options, he got a reload of approximately the same amount of options, regardless of how many frauds the bank had been charged with during the year. (And there were plenty. See rap sheet below.)
Writing at Bloomberg News, Crystal explained that between 1988 and 2002, Weill “received 96 different option grants” on an aggregate of $3 billion of stock. Crystal says “It’s a wonder that Weill had time to run the business, what with all his option grants and exercises. In the years 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000, Weill exercised, and then received new option grants, a total of, respectively, 14, 20, 13 and 19 times.”
When Weill stepped down as CEO in 2003, he had amassed over $1 billion in compensation, the bulk of it coming from his reloading stock options. (He remained as Chairman of Citigroup until 2006.) Just one day after stepping down as CEO, Citigroup’s Board of Directors allowed Weill to sell back to the corporation 5.6 million shares of his stock for $264 million. This eliminated Weill’s risk that his big share sale would drive down his own share prices as he was selling. The Board negotiated the price at $47.14 for all of Weill’s shares.
On May 9, 2011 Citigroup did a 1 for 10 reverse stock split, meaning if you previously owned 100 shares of Citigroup, you now owned just 10 and the price was adjusted upward accordingly. At yesterday’s closing price of $38.51 (actually $3.85 if adjusted for the reverse stock split), Citigroup’s long-term shareholders are still down 92 percent from where Weill bailed out of the stock in 2003.
Another man that became obscenely rich from Citigroup was Robert Rubin, the Treasury Secretary under the Bill Clinton administration who helped Citigroup advocate for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act. Without any meaningful cooling-off period, Rubin went straight from his government post to serve on the Board of Citigroup. Rubin received more than $120 million in compensation over the next eight years for his non-management job.
John Reed had a falling out with Weill and retired from Citigroup in April 2000. In Monica Langley’s book, Tearing Down the Walls: How Sandy Weill Fought His Way to the Top of the Financial World. . .and Then Nearly Lost It All, the author reports that Reed owned 4.7 million shares of Citigroup on the date of his retirement. Langley also writes that “Reed immediately began selling his Citigroup shares and laid plans with his second wife to buy a house on an island off the coast of France.”
If Reed sold all of his Citigroup shares over the next three months after his retirement at an average price at the time of $62, he would have realized $291 million in proceeds. According to SEC filings (see here and here) Reed also received a $5 million retirement bonus and a retirement pension of at least $2,019,528 annually.
According to the SEC filings, Reed was also to receive the following: lawsuit indemnifications arising from company employment; an office at Citigroup, secretarial support and access to a car and driver for as long as Reed deemed it “useful.” If Reed decided he needed an office outside of New York City, that would be provided with secretarial support until age 75.
When Weill stepped down as CEO in 2003, he put his General Counsel and personal friend, Chuck Prince, in charge as CEO. Prince took the fall when the company imploded in 2008. For being a good foot soldier to Weill, Prince got an exit package of $68 million.
And then there was Vikram Pandit, a hedge fund manager whom Robert Rubin selected to run the sprawling Citigroup. The Wall Street Journal reported that Pandit took home $221.5 million during his five years at Citigroup.
Sheila Bair, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that guaranteed Citigroup’s debt during the financial crisis, wrote this about Pandit’s persona at a meeting with other bankers in her book “Bull by the Horns”:
“Pandit looked nervous, and no wonder. More than any other institution represented in that room, his bank was in trouble. Frankly, I doubted that he was up to the job. He had been brought in to clean up the mess at Citi. He had gotten the job with the support of Robert Rubin, the former secretary of the Treasury who now served as Citi’s titular head. I thought Pandit had been a poor choice. He was a hedge fund manager by occupation and one with a mixed record at that. He had no experience as a commercial banker; yet now he was heading one of the biggest commercial banks in the country.”
When the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission concluded its findings into what led to the financial crash of Wall Street in 2008, resulting in millions of job losses and foreclosures across America, it made numerous referrals for potential criminal prosecutions to the Justice Department. Three of Citigroup’s executives were among those referrals: Robert Rubin, Chuck Prince and former CFO Gary Crittenden. Nothing ever became of those referrals.
In 2012 the law firm Kirby McInerney agreed to settle a lawsuit against Citigroup on behalf of shareholders for $590 million. The lawsuit charged that Citigroup had lied to shareholders about its financial condition, including its losses from off-balance-sheet accounting tricks. The plaintiffs wrote this about Citigroup’s Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs), which were loans to lower credit-rated companies that were then pooled together:
“After purchasing insurance on a CLO tranche, Citigroup would book the difference in the cost of the insurance and the payments of the loan for the entire life of the loan immediately as if the loan had been sold…Additionally, Citigroup engaged in negative basis trades with the billions of dollars of CLO exposure remaining on the Company’s balance sheet. These trades allowed Citigroup to book immediate gain for the entire term of loans by purchasing insurance on their default and, thereby, treat the purchase of insurance as a sale of the loans when, in fact, those loans (or rather, those CLO tranches) never left Citigroup’s books…In addition to the high fees for CLO creation, the ability to create instant gain through these trades was a powerful incentive for Citigroup to issue ever riskier leveraged loans. While revenue from fees and negative-basis trades inflated Citigroup’s earnings on leveraged loans and CLOs, Citigroup kept its shareholders unaware of the artificial source of the gains or the inherent risks in continuing to operate its ephemeral money-making machine.”
After Citigroup’s massive bailout by taxpayers and the Federal Reserve, its crime spree continued. This is just a sampling of charges brought against Citigroup and its affiliates since December 2008:
Citigroup’s Rap Sheet:
December 11, 2008: SEC forces Citigroup and UBS to buy back $30 billion in auction rate securities that were improperly sold to investors through misleading information.
July 29, 2010: SEC settles with Citigroup for $75 million over its misleading statements to investors that it had reduced its exposure to subprime mortgages to $13 billion when in fact the exposure was over $50 billion.
October 19, 2011: SEC agrees to settle with Citigroup for $285 million over claims it misled investors in a $1 billion financial product. Citigroup had selected approximately half the assets and was betting they would decline in value.
February 9, 2012: Citigroup agrees to pay $2.2 billion as its portion of the nationwide settlement of bank foreclosure fraud.
August 29, 2012: Citigroup agrees to settle a class action lawsuit for $590 million over claims it withheld from shareholders’ knowledge that it had far greater exposure to subprime debt than it was reporting.
July 1, 2013: Citigroup agrees to pay Fannie Mae $968 million for selling it toxic mortgage loans.
September 25, 2013: Citigroup agrees to pay Freddie Mac $395 million to settle claims it sold it toxic mortgages.
December 4, 2013: Citigroup admits to participating in the Yen Libor financial derivatives cartel to the European Commission and accepts a fine of $95 million.
July 14, 2014: The U.S. Department of Justice announces a $7 billion settlement with Citigroup for selling toxic mortgages to investors. Attorney General Eric Holder called the bank’s conduct “egregious,” adding, “As a result of their assurances that toxic financial products were sound, Citigroup was able to expand its market share and increase profits.”
November 2014: Citigroup pays more than $1 billion to settle civil allegations with regulators that it manipulated foreign currency markets. Other global banks settled at the same time.
May 20, 2015: Citicorp, a unit of Citigroup becomes an admitted felon by pleading guilty to a felony charge in the matter of rigging foreign currency trading, paying a fine of $925 million to the Justice Department and $342 million to the Federal Reserve for a total of $1.267 billion. The prior November it paid U.S. and U.K. regulators an additional $1.02 billion.
May 25, 2016: Citigroup agrees to pay $425 million to resolve claims brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that it had rigged interest-rate benchmarks, including ISDAfix, from 2007 to 2012.
July 12, 2016: The Securities and Exchange Commission fined Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $7 million for failure to provide accurate trading records over a period of 15 years. According to the SEC: “CGMI failed to produce records for 26,810 securities transactions comprising over 291 million shares of stock and options in response to 2,382 EBS requests made by Commission staff, between May 1999 and April 2014, due to an error in the computer code for CGMI’s EBS response software. Despite discovering the error in late April 2014, CGMI did not report the issue to Commission staff or take steps to produce the omitted data until nine months later on January 27, 2015. CGMI’s failure to discover the coding error and to produce the missing data for many years potentially impacted numerous Commission investigations.”
June 15, 2018: Citigroup agrees to settle with states for $100 million over charges that it rigged the Libor interest rate benchmark.
June 29, 2018: Citigroup’s Citibank settles with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for $335 million in restitution to credit card customers over charges that it violated the Truth in Lending Act.
August 16, 2018: Citigroup settles with SEC for $10.5 million over inadequate controls, mismarking of illiquid positions and unauthorized proprietary trading.
September 14, 2018: Citigroup settles with SEC for $13 million over charges it improperly operated its Dark Pool – an internal stock exchange where it is allowed to trade its own stock.
May 22, 2019: Citigroup settles a money laundering case with the U.S. Department of Justice for $97.44 million.
November 26, 2019: Citigroup settles with the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority for $57 million over charges that it incorrectly reported the bank’s capital and liquidity levels.
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theduran--2020-04-03--Civilized, Barbarians, Savages (Part 2)

Civilized, Barbarians, Savages (Part 2)

Slavery of the Mind and Lack of Ethics At the same time , unification has developed–complicity I would say–between economic , military , political , religious , intellectual , media and scientific elites from all countries in any of the categories .
The New World Order of the third millennium is characterized by haves vs have nots , that is , who accumulates money vs. who is prevented from doing so .
The number of billionaires grows exponentially with the spread of misery : the famous 1 % against the remaining 99 % .
The class war that Karl Marx @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bull ’ s eye .
The present rat race is who is going to be the first individual trillionaire .
Money addiction by definition .
Keep in mind that this is all under the same Capitalist/Protestant/Judaic/Industrial Revolution/Anglo Saxon/Civilized ‘ ethics.
’ Today slavery is of the mind , conscience , awareness , aided by the Main Stream Corporate Entertainment Social Media and communication technology .
Wall Street is a Church .
The goals–profits , favors , privileges , powers–justify any means necessary .
Armies are their faithful servants .
Does this survival of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that advocated by Darwin two centuries ago ?
Is this state of affairs natural , normal ?
We are destroying the planet–its oceans , rivers , forests , insects , animals , the atmosphere–for whom or what to be the fittest ?
Those who win a nuclear war ?
Something went definitely wrong on the way to heaven .
We must extinguish from our collective psyche the idea that human beings are naturally divided into economic , social , or other spurious classes by birth .
We learned to reason collectively from within @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ a theory and not a science , I repeat ] , which implies competition rather than cooperation .
The nomenclature has changed and adapted to new conditions , but the prejudice remains ; it must be eliminated .
We are not royals or commoners , slaves , barbarians , savages , capitalists or workers ; our primary identity is humans .
Period .
Global finance capitalism is not and should not be seen as a last word .
Its greatest deficiency lies in providing an unequal , unjust and unfair distribution of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The cruelty and aggression of this system against nature reached its peak at the beginning of this century , especially among international elites that , allied , constitute the aristocracy that nourishes and maintains the royal family of industrialized countries , the most apt among the Fittest .
What a farce !
A false , illusory and illogical socio-economic engineering that is incompatible with the intelligence , compassion , imagination and nobility of character inherent in human beings and humanity , revealed in the arts , culture , science , even in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kill , control and dominate for selfish delusional purposes .
The three pillars of high finance and international movers are : International capitalism has become hopelessly dependent on the activities of organized crime , in fact adopting its Modus Operandi .
Government officials are hostage to their complicity with lobbies .
The mafia entered the system and imposed its ethics .
This state of affairs is not resolved with terrorism , but with radical changes not only in the paradigms of economic , political and social structures , but also and especially in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that are beget in the womb of reality .
We are the builders of our own realities–from the personal to the collective .
Need for an Alternative For each Hitler there is a Gandhi .
For eachTrump there is a Nelson Mandela .
For each Bolsonaro or Boris there is a LutherKing .
Those who are not part of the solution are , by necessity , part of theproblem in a world with a record population of 8 billion interdependent beingswhere everyone affects everyone and nobody is an island .
We represent a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ merely numbers , statistics orresources to be exploited .
It is undeniable that societies classified asCivilized , First World or Developed , led by the USA and the West but spreadthroughout , retain the reins of world markets , politics , economics and culture , being the main producers of weapons , technology , science and atmospheric pollutantsas well as wealth ( or poverty , depending on the viewpoint ) and materialisticvalues .
As such , they also retain the greater share of responsibility for themisery that spreads throughout the so-called Third World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Union , the number of members of theunderdeveloped has increased , not because poverty has expanded , but because thelabels have changed places .
In English , there is a rhyme : the West and theRest .
We need a viable alternative–more benign–tothe ‘ trickle down ’ economy , more aptly named ‘ trickle up , ’ which slowly andinexorably corrodes and erodes the spirit of nobility in everyone ’ s character , whether labeled or believed to be civilized , barbaric or savage .
We becomeslaves to the monster we believe in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is outrageous , ignominious .
God is not the God ofthe affluent , white people .
This is an incongruity , heretic , unadulteratedprimitivism .
Our mental paradigm must change , bothindividually and collectively , towards cooperation , nonviolence , conflictresolution by peaceful means , and sharing–with equity and reciprocity–of theplanet ’ s resources , instead of lethal competition for them ; passing through theelimination of sick nationalisms and sociopathic and homicidal patriotisms thatkill legally en masse .
Our mental constructions must be modified byourselves , by education , and not by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there would be no wars as generals do not fight each other .
We mustachieve a degree of civilization that does not require authority , police , justice , militarism or weapons of any type or size for collective control anddestruction .
Replaced by social servants , leaders .
Utopia ?
I believe not ; if wework for it .
United in our diversity and accepting ourdifferences instead of dividing us into races , we may , in any future , acquire aConsciousness of Civilized Beings–and act on it .
Without this shift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Darwin ’ s myopic andethnocentric theory will continue to influence our lives , private and public , and our spiritual ( not religious ) evolution .
Antonio Carlos da Silva Rosa ( Antonio C.S .
Rosa ) , born 1946 , is founder-editor of the pioneering Peace Journalismwebsite , TRANSCEND MediaService-TMS ( from 2008 ) , an assistant to Prof. Johan Galtung , Secretaryof the International Board of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment , and recipient of the Psychologists forSocial Responsibility ’ s 2017 Anthony J. Marsella Prize for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is on the Global Advisory Board of HumanDignity and Humiliation Studies and completed his B.A.
, M.A.
, andgraduate Ph.D. work in the fields of Communication-Journalism and PoliticalScience-Peace Studies/International Relations at the University of Hawai ’ i.Originally from Brazil , he lives presently in Porto , Portugal .
Antonio waseducated in the USA where he lived for 20 years ; in Europe-India since 1994 .
Books : Transcender e Transformar : Uma Introdução ao Trabalho deConflitos ( from Johan Galtung , translation to Portuguese , 2004 ) ; PeaceJournalism : 80 Galtung Editorials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ editor ) ; Coberturade Conflitos : Jornalismo para a Paz ( from Johan Galtung , Jake Lynch & Annabel McGoldrick , translation to Portuguese , 2010 ) .
TMS articlesby Mr. Rosa HERE .
Videos HERE and HERE .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Slavery of the Mind and Lack of Ethics
At the same time, unification has developed–complicity I would say–between economic, military, political, religious, intellectual, media and scientific elites from all countries in any of the categories. The New World Order of the third millennium is characterized by haves vs have nots, that is, who accumulates money vs. who is prevented from doing so. The number of billionaires grows exponentially with the spread of misery: the famous 1% against the remaining 99%. The class war that Karl Marx’s foresaw–also two centuries ago–hitting the bull’s eye. The present rat race is who is going to be the first individual trillionaire. Money addiction by definition. Keep in mind that this is all under the same Capitalist/Protestant/Judaic/Industrial Revolution/Anglo Saxon/Civilized ‘ethics.’
Today slavery is of the mind, conscience, awareness, aided by the Main Stream Corporate Entertainment Social Media and communication technology. Wall Street is a Church. The goals–profits, favors, privileges, powers–justify any means necessary. Armies are their faithful servants. Does this survival of the fittest have anything to do with that advocated by Darwin two centuries ago? Is this state of affairs natural, normal? We are destroying the planet–its oceans, rivers, forests, insects, animals, the atmosphere–for whom or what to be the fittest? Those who win a nuclear war? Something went definitely wrong on the way to heaven.
We must extinguish from our collective psyche the idea that human beings are naturally divided into economic, social, or other spurious classes by birth. We learned to reason collectively from within the confines of the Theory of Evolution [a theory and not a science, I repeat], which implies competition rather than cooperation. The nomenclature has changed and adapted to new conditions, but the prejudice remains; it must be eliminated. We are not royals or commoners, slaves, barbarians, savages, capitalists or workers; our primary identity is humans. Period.
Global finance capitalism is not and should not be seen as a last word. Its greatest deficiency lies in providing an unequal, unjust and unfair distribution of wealth between producers/capitalists/shareholders and wage-workers, consumers. The cruelty and aggression of this system against nature reached its peak at the beginning of this century, especially among international elites that, allied, constitute the aristocracy that nourishes and maintains the royal family of industrialized countries, the most apt among the Fittest. What a farce! A false, illusory and illogical socio-economic engineering that is incompatible with the intelligence, compassion, imagination and nobility of character inherent in human beings and humanity, revealed in the arts, culture, science, even in the new technologies unfortunately used primarily to kill, control and dominate for selfish delusional purposes.
The three pillars of high finance and international movers are:
oil,
armaments (legal and illegal),
drugs (legal and illegal).
International capitalism has become hopelessly dependent on the activities of organized crime, in fact adopting its Modus Operandi.
Government officials are hostage to their complicity with lobbies. The mafia entered the system and imposed its ethics. This state of affairs is not resolved with terrorism, but with radical changes not only in the paradigms of economic, political and social structures, but also and especially in the minds, in the individual consciences/consciousnesses that are beget in the womb of reality. We are the builders of our own realities–from the personal to the collective.
Need for an Alternative
For each Hitler there is a Gandhi. For eachTrump there is a Nelson Mandela. For each Bolsonaro or Boris there is a LutherKing. Those who are not part of the solution are, by necessity, part of theproblem in a world with a record population of 8 billion interdependent beingswhere everyone affects everyone and nobody is an island. We represent a colonyon earth—not a globalization construct, not merely numbers, statistics orresources to be exploited.
It is undeniable that societies classified asCivilized, First World or Developed, led by the USA and the West but spreadthroughout, retain the reins of world markets, politics, economics and culture,being the main producers of weapons, technology, science and atmospheric pollutantsas well as wealth (or poverty, depending on the viewpoint) and materialisticvalues. As such, they also retain the greater share of responsibility for themisery that spreads throughout the so-called Third World. After thefragmentation of the former Soviet Union, the number of members of theunderdeveloped has increased, not because poverty has expanded, but because thelabels have changed places. In English, there is a rhyme: the West and theRest.
We need a viable alternative–more benign–tothe ‘trickle down’ economy, more aptly named ‘trickle up,’ which slowly andinexorably corrodes and erodes the spirit of nobility in everyone’s character,whether labeled or believed to be civilized, barbaric or savage. We becomeslaves to the monster we believe in, our Leviathan. The so-calledCapitalist/Protestant ethics is outrageous, ignominious. God is not the God ofthe affluent, white people. This is an incongruity, heretic, unadulteratedprimitivism.
Our mental paradigm must change, bothindividually and collectively, towards cooperation, nonviolence, conflictresolution by peaceful means, and sharing–with equity and reciprocity–of theplanet’s resources, instead of lethal competition for them; passing through theelimination of sick nationalisms and sociopathic and homicidal patriotisms thatkill legally en masse. Our mental constructions must be modified byourselves, by education, and not by the state. If there were no soldierslogically there would be no wars as generals do not fight each other. We mustachieve a degree of civilization that does not require authority, police,justice, militarism or weapons of any type or size for collective control anddestruction. Replaced by social servants, leaders. Utopia? I believe not; if wework for it.
United in our diversity and accepting ourdifferences instead of dividing us into races, we may, in any future, acquire aConsciousness of Civilized Beings–and act on it. Without this shift inconsciousness any other meaningful change is unlikely as Darwin’s myopic andethnocentric theory will continue to influence our lives, private and public,and our spiritual (not religious) evolution.
I recommend the works of Prof.Johan Galtung.
End Part 2
________________________________________________
Antonio Carlos da Silva Rosa (Antonio C.S. Rosa), born 1946, is founder-editor of the pioneering Peace Journalismwebsite, TRANSCEND MediaService-TMS (from 2008), an assistant to Prof. Johan Galtung, Secretaryof the International Board of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment,and recipient of the Psychologists forSocial Responsibility’s 2017 Anthony J. Marsella Prize for the Psychology of Peace andSocial Justice. He is on the Global Advisory Board of HumanDignity and Humiliation Studies and completed his B.A., M.A., andgraduate Ph.D. work in the fields of Communication-Journalism and PoliticalScience-Peace Studies/International Relations at the University of Hawai’i.Originally from Brazil, he lives presently in Porto, Portugal. Antonio waseducated in the USA where he lived for 20 years; in Europe-India since 1994. Books:Transcender e Transformar: Uma Introdução ao Trabalho deConflitos (from Johan Galtung, translation to Portuguese, 2004); PeaceJournalism: 80 Galtung Editorials on War and Peace (2010, editor);Coberturade Conflitos: Jornalismo para a Paz (from Johan Galtung, Jake Lynch& Annabel McGoldrick, translation to Portuguese, 2010). TMS articlesby Mr. Rosa HERE. Videos HERE and HERE.
End
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theduran--2020-04-03--You can take the Red pill, The Blue Pill or the Black pill.

This was a video that I should have made .
This guy is gutsy & tells the truth in a direct attack .
Great !
People should wake up .
anything could happen now .
We are possibly in the opening events of WW3 .
The Elite are already in their bunkers , the Pentagon are in their bunkers & the Democrats are sabotaging the US Navy .
Populations are being attacked in China , Italy & the USA with Coronavirus & 5G .
But how did we ever get to be so weak , so unaware of the dangers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the UN manage to get our Local Governments to implement their 5G installation .
Was it bribery , was it corruption or was an ideological play .
They led the left into a socialist republic of their dreams .
But then it just evaporated into UN Nazi Fascism .
And as the Globalist UN Empire strikes back our sleeping Fraud loving politicians have already sold all the UK assets to the enemy .
Look at how our local Governments have lapped up the bribes for accepting Migrants for a bounty of millions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Local Governments have accepted the bribes to eresct 5G Radiation Weapons on our residential Street lamp posts .
And look how our government kow towed to the Chinese & the United Nations crooks to wipe out 90 % of the Western Population .
And we still look to the local bobby to maintain Law & Order .
The worst thieves in the YUK have been our politicians & Prime Ministers .
The whole UK administration is corrupt from the bottom to the top .
And our brave fighters in the British Army , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign shores as their Generals move to Barbados on their wealth .
OK everybody .
Ready for WW3 ?
You Fuckwits .
You can take the Red pill , The Blue Pill or the Black pill .
But knowing me knowing you ;

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
This was a video that I should have made. This guy is gutsy & tells the truth in a direct attack. Great!
People should wake up. anything could happen now.
We are possibly in the opening events of WW3.
The Elite are already in their bunkers, the Pentagon are in their bunkers & the Democrats are sabotaging the US Navy.
Populations are being attacked in China, Italy & the USA with Coronavirus & 5G.
But how did we ever get to be so weak, so unaware of the dangers of radiation. And then How did the UN manage to get our Local Governments to implement their 5G installation.
Was it bribery, was it corruption or was an ideological play. They led the left into a socialist republic of their dreams. But then it just evaporated into UN Nazi Fascism.
And as the Globalist UN Empire strikes back our sleeping Fraud loving politicians have already sold all the UK assets to the enemy.
Click to access 5G_Sanctuary.pdf
Look at how our local Governments have lapped up the bribes for accepting Migrants for a bounty of millions. (Charity Fraud)
Look how our Local Governments have accepted the bribes to eresct 5G Radiation Weapons on our residential Street lamp posts.
And look how our government kow towed to the Chinese & the United Nations crooks to wipe out 90% of the Western Population.
And we still look to the local bobby to maintain Law & Order.
The worst thieves in the YUK have been our politicians & Prime Ministers.
The whole UK administration is corrupt from the bottom to the top.
And our brave fighters in the British Army, our defenders, have been dispatched to foreign shores as their Generals move to Barbados on their wealth.
OK everybody. Ready for WW3? You Fuckwits.
You can take the Red pill, The Blue Pill or the Black pill.
But knowing me knowing you;
It’ll be TV, Beer & wine as usual.
Buy now
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theduran--2020-04-03--Civilized, Barbarians, Savages (Part 1)

Civilized, Barbarians, Savages (Part 1)

A civilizationor culture is defined as a set of customs , traditions , ethics , values , language , music , dance , gastronomy , clothing , religion , and social andpolitical organization of a people , ethnic group , tribe , or nation .
British scholars of the 19th century classified the peoples and races as Civilized , Barbarians and Savages , based on their respective “ evolutions.
” Such classification was based primarily on three factors : the Industrial Revolution in the beginning of industrial capitalism ; and the Reformation of the Catholic Church , the schism from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made the field fertile for the appearance of a Capitalist/Protestant ethic , which would produce today ’ s capitalist system .
The Theory of Evolution ( not a science , but a theory ) postulates that only the most capable , among the various species of living organisms , survives and evolves .
Darwin labeled his theory Survival of the Fittest .
This competition for survival and evolution would be in genetic , biological , adaptive and/or mutative terms , in relation to the environment from which they would have evolved and where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been labeled Homo Sapiens , representatives of the supposedly most evolved species–the most apt .
The civilized , barbaric and savages represented an attempt to hierarchize Homo Sapiens .
To speak of capitalist ethics is to incur a contradiction in terms as capitalism does not have an ethic , but a single overriding value : profits .
On the other hand , a Protestant ethics is based on the Old Testament of the Bible and on the doctrine of Martin Luther that God , a supposedly elderly , male , white entity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ material wealth , power , good life to those most deserving and for whom He feels greater affection .
The subtext is that the poor are poor because they are sinners .
And Jesus , the messiah son of that God , was a white Jew .
The pieces fit together historically .
• In the Civilized category would be the European , white and Christian colonial empires , with Anglo-Saxons being the civilized par excellence .
• Labeled as Barbarians would be Asians ( yellow skinned , in their classification ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Eskimos , all non-Christians ( pagans ) , as well as all dark-skinned races that were not in the category of savages , such as the Indians ( from India ) .
• Finally , the Savages would be the inhabitants of black Africa , the Indians of the American continent , the so-called primitives of the Pacific Islands : Aborigines , Maori , Polynesians , Melanesians , Micronesians , etc.
, and cannibals .
The only two other civilizations respected by this novel Western Civilization were the Greek and the Roman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure , built and sustained by wars , conquests and slavery .
There were also the Slaves , captured like animals from the Savage group , who in the 19th century came predominantly from the native peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas .
Christians believed that these savages , like animals , did not have a soul .
Hence the legality and morality of their objectification by Christians who sold them as merchandise .
Arabs also exploited the slave trade , a major source of investment/profits .
A corollary of such doctrines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ barbarians and savages through Christian missions that would take European religious organizations to evangelize the African , American and Asian continents , as well as the Pacific Islands .
Such missions gave rise to genocides and exterminations of nations and native peoples who refused to be ‘ evangelized ’ and ‘ civilized ’ .
Spain ( Corona de Castilla ) is an extreme example of this in South and Central America where its conquistadores decimated the Inca , Maya and Aztec civilizations among others .
The religious missions exist and persist today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much influence and credibility .
From the First to the Third World The 20th century witnessed a change in the English classification , with the advent of Communism in Eastern Europe .
The conceptualization of the divisions was then redefined as First World , Second World and Third World .
• Within the First World , were grouped the most affluent capitalist societies that were economically , politically and/or militarily dominant , and whose citizens were Jewish-Christians of white color .
• As Second World , were labeled all those countries that adopted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Third World was left with everybody else : poor , destitute , barbarians , savages , all people of color , etc .
; the majority of earth ’ s population .
God remains a white entity who rewards material wealth , and civilized Anglo Saxons and Judeo-Christians remain His chosen people .
After WWII , the divisions were renamed by the International Monetary Fund as Developed , Developing and Underdeveloped countries ( IMF country classification.pdf ) .
These labels remain in effect with the prejudices intact in the world ’ s deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all non-economic considerations were then discarded .
Japan and the Soviet Union , for example , were accepted into the exclusive Developed Club of the First Civilized World , although the Japanese were Eastern , non-Christian and non-white , and the Soviets were Communists and atheists .
The North American empire claimed world leadership from the British empire and the Capitalist/Protestant ethics , with Anglo-Saxons always at the helm , acquired an irresistible and unstoppable momentum , with science and technology , the planet ’ s riches and resources becoming servants of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ WWII was the determining factor for the definitive establishment of the capitalist market economy globally .
It overcame Socialism/Communism and today stands above all the governments of the planet whose armed forces , police , and intelligence services are manipulated and used against anyone and everything that dares to challenge the Free Market Capitalist Economy whose foundation are the banks , central banks , financial institutions , hedge funds , and so on .
A Mafia–by definition–getting what they need/want through lethal force , sanctions , Machiavellic manipulations , bullying , threats , @ @ @ @

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
A civilizationor culture is defined as a set of customs, traditions, ethics, values,language, music, dance, gastronomy, clothing, religion, and social andpolitical organization of a people, ethnic group, tribe, or nation.
British scholars of the 19th century classified the peoples and races as Civilized, Barbarians and Savages, based on their respective “evolutions.” Such classification was based primarily on three factors:
Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution;
the Industrial Revolution in the beginning of industrial capitalism; and
the Reformation of the Catholic Church, the schism from which Protestantism arose.
False premises that led to false conclusions.
Such a classification made the field fertile for the appearance of a Capitalist/Protestant ethic, which would produce today’s capitalist system.
The Theory of Evolution (not a science, but a theory) postulates that only the most capable, among the various species of living organisms, survives and evolves. Darwin labeled his theory Survival of the Fittest. This competition for survival and evolution would be in genetic, biological, adaptive and/or mutative terms, in relation to the environment from which they would have evolved and where they would live. Human beings have been labeled Homo Sapiens, representatives of the supposedly most evolved species–the most apt. The civilized, barbaric and savages represented an attempt to hierarchize Homo Sapiens.
To speak of capitalist ethics is to incur a contradiction in terms as capitalism does not have an ethic, but a single overriding value: profits. On the other hand, a Protestant ethics is based on the Old Testament of the Bible and on the doctrine of Martin Luther that God, a supposedly elderly, male, white entity, distributes His blessings in the form of material wealth, power, good life to those most deserving and for whom He feels greater affection. The subtext is that the poor are poor because they are sinners. And Jesus, the messiah son of that God, was a white Jew. The pieces fit together historically.
In the Civilized category would be the European, white and Christian colonial empires, with Anglo-Saxons being the civilized par excellence.
Labeled as Barbarians would be Asians (yellow skinned, in their classification), nomadic peoples, Arabs and North Africans, Eskimos, all non-Christians (pagans), as well as all dark-skinned races that were not in the category of savages, such as the Indians (from India).
Finally, the Savages would be the inhabitants of black Africa, the Indians of the American continent, the so-called primitives of the Pacific Islands: Aborigines, Maori, Polynesians, Melanesians, Micronesians, etc., and cannibals.
The only two other civilizations respected by this novel Western Civilization were the Greek and the Roman, their progenitors–not very civilized to be sure, built and sustained by wars, conquests and slavery.
There were also the Slaves, captured like animals from the Savage group, who in the 19th century came predominantly from the native peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas. Christians believed that these savages, like animals, did not have a soul. Hence the legality and morality of their objectification by Christians who sold them as merchandise. Arabs also exploited the slave trade, a major source of investment/profits.
A corollary of such doctrines and beliefs were attempts to ‘civilize’ barbarians and savages through Christian missions that would take European religious organizations to evangelize the African, American and Asian continents, as well as the Pacific Islands. Such missions gave rise to genocides and exterminations of nations and native peoples who refused to be ‘evangelized’ and ‘civilized’. Spain (Corona de Castilla) is an extreme example of this in South and Central America where its conquistadores decimated the Inca, Maya and Aztec civilizations among others. The religious missions exist and persist today, albeit in derisory numbers and without much influence and credibility.
From the First to the Third World
The 20th century witnessed a change in the English classification, with the advent of Communism in Eastern Europe. The conceptualization of the divisions was then redefined as First World, Second World and Third World.
Within the First World, were grouped the most affluent capitalist societies that were economically, politically and/or militarily dominant, and whose citizens were Jewish-Christians of white color.
As Second World, were labeled all those countries that adopted the Communist/Marxist-atheist ideology/economy.
And the Third World was left with everybody else: poor, destitute, barbarians, savages, all people of color, etc.; the majority of earth’s population.
God remains a white entity who rewards material wealth, and civilized Anglo Saxons and Judeo-Christians remain His chosen people.
After WWII, the divisions were renamed by the International Monetary Fund as Developed, Developing and Underdeveloped countries (IMF country classification.pdf). These labels remain in effect with the prejudices intact in the world’s deep culture/structure.
In this new characterization, all non-economic considerations were then discarded. Japan and the Soviet Union, for example, were accepted into the exclusive Developed Club of the First Civilized World, although the Japanese were Eastern, non-Christian and non-white, and the Soviets were Communists and atheists.
The North American empire claimed world leadership from the British empire and the Capitalist/Protestant ethics, with Anglo-Saxons always at the helm, acquired an irresistible and unstoppable momentum, with science and technology, the planet’s riches and resources becoming servants of the lords of capital.
The outcome of WWII was the determining factor for the definitive establishment of the capitalist market economy globally. It overcame Socialism/Communism and today stands above all the governments of the planet whose armed forces, police, and intelligence services are manipulated and used against anyone and everything that dares to challenge the Free Market Capitalist Economy whose foundation are the banks, central banks, financial institutions, hedge funds, and so on. A Mafia–by definition–getting what they need/want through lethal force, sanctions, Machiavellic manipulations, bullying, threats, and so forth.
End Part 1
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theduran--2020-04-04--Turkey finally releases epidemic figures: coronavirus epicenter in Istanbul

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey faces a “ historic catastrophe ” as the country suffered its deadliest day yet from the coronavirus pandemic and warned against “ political profiteering ” as his government spars with opposition mayors over its response to the fast-spreading outbreak .
Another 79 people died in the last 24 hours , bringing the death toll to 356 people , Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said .
Another 2,456 people tested positive and the country now has 18,135 confirmed cases , he said .
Testing has increased to 18,135 a day — nearly double the rate just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infected 601 medical professionals in Turkey , Koca said on Wednesday .
Cemil Tascioglu , an internist who taught at Istanbul University , became the first doctor to die after testing positive for the coronavirus on March 17 , his son said in a tweet .
Tascioglu , 67 , was also the first medical professional to diagnose the disease in a Turkish patient .
Koca said a retired medical school instructor died on Thursday .
A 33-year-old nurse died last week .
Pharmacists have warned that they too are in danger , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workdays by an hour .
The Istanbul Chamber of Pharmacists said last week its members were falling ill as patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were “ forced to visit pharmacy after pharmacy to fill their prescriptions , making our pharmacies a focal point in the spread of the epidemic.
” A Greek ferry leased by a Turkish company has been quarantined off Athens ’ port of Piraeus after 120 of the 383 crew and passengers tested positive for the virus .
The boat has 160 Turkish crew members on board , the Turkish ambassador @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 980,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 across the globe and some 50,000 have died since the novel coronavirus , which can cause acute respiratory distress , surfaced in China in December .
On Wednesday , Koca released for the first time the locations of cases in Turkey , showing the majority — 8,852 — were in the largest city of Istanbul , followed by 853 cases in Izmir and 712 in the capital , Ankara , as of Wednesday .
The virus has now spread to all of Turkey ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shared data showing one infected patient had spread the virus to 30 others .
The revelation that Istanbul was the site of 60 % of the nation ’ s cases prompted its mayor , Ekrem Imamoglu , to repeat his plea to the government to place the city of 16 million people under a stay-at-home order .
While the government has restricted movement within and without Istanbul and has urged Turks to remain at home , Erdogan has so far stopped short of a full lockdown , arguing the “ wheels of production @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy going .
Istanbul accounts for more than a quarter of Turkey ’ s national output .
“ At a time when we are living through a historic catastrophe , we are in a better place compared to many other countries , but this is not enough .
We are carrying out our struggle without panicking , with smart , balanced and realistic measures , ” Erdogan told mayors from his party and its nationalist partner in a videoconference that TV stations broadcast live .
Mayors of Turkey ’ s three biggest cities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ main opposition party , were not part of the meeting .
Imamoglu and Ankara ’ s mayor filed a lawsuit against a government order shutting down municipal fundraisers set up to help low-income residents .
The ban came after Erdogan announced his own nationwide drive , and he has suggested the cities ’ rival charitable efforts are a form of separatism .
Health professionals are worried the political tug-of-war between state and local officials may strain efforts to contain the contagion , Al-Monitor has reported .
On Thursday , the president issued a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ water down ” and “ tarnish ” the national fundraising campaign .
“ Our people will give the appropriate response to those who think they are outside and above the Turkish Republic state .
I am saying clearly that those trying to dynamite a project that symbolizes the partnership of 83 million [ citizens ] is beyond negligence , ” he said .
“ The mass conscience will not forget those engaged in political profiteering at a time like this.
” Most of the initial donations to Erdogan ’ s campaign came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donations have since expanded to include money from football clubs , families and Turkey ’ s tiny communities of religious minorities , raising 552.5 million lira ( $ 84 million ) .
The central government ’ s request for help will stoke “ suspicions the treasury is empty , ” Ahmet Davutoglu , Erdogan ’ s former prime minister who broke with him to form a new party , told a news site .
“ If you can not see that the economic crisis is burning households , we all need to worry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has introduced a $ 15 billion rescue package , mainly in the form of loan guarantees and tax breaks .
Direct cash support for those impacted by a sharp economic slowdown make up a small portion of aid .
But increased military expenditures during two military campaigns in Syria in the last six months and the use of international reserves to prop up the lira , hit by a currency shock in 2018 , may be weighing on state finances .
Turkish exports plunged 18 % in March , dragging the first-quarter figure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Trade Ministry said Thursday , citing the economic impact of the epidemic on overseas markets .
A $ 35 billion tourism industry won ’ t pick up before the Eid al-Fitr holiday , which begins on May 24 , said Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy .
Turkish Airlines extended its ban on international routes until May 1 , but flights won ’ t return to normal until the end of June , he said .
Turkey is also limiting domestic flights and has closed the country ’ s second-biggest airport .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s growth prospects , with Bank of America becoming the latest with a forecast of a 2.3 % contraction in 2020 , according to Bloomberg .
For now , the government is sticking to its target of 5 % growth this year .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Via Al-Monitor…
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey faces a “historic catastrophe” as the country suffered its deadliest day yet from the coronavirus pandemic and warned against “political profiteering” as his government spars with opposition mayors over its response to the fast-spreading outbreak.
Another 79 people died in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 356 people, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said. Another 2,456 people tested positive and the country now has 18,135 confirmed cases, he said. Testing has increased to 18,135 a day — nearly double the rate just five days ago.
The virus has infected 601 medical professionals in Turkey, Koca said on Wednesday. Cemil Tascioglu, an internist who taught at Istanbul University, became the first doctor to die after testing positive for the coronavirus on March 17, his son said in a tweet. Tascioglu, 67, was also the first medical professional to diagnose the disease in a Turkish patient. Koca said a retired medical school instructor died on Thursday. A 33-year-old nurse died last week.
Pharmacists have warned that they too are in danger, prompting the Istanbul governor to reduce their workdays by an hour. The Istanbul Chamber of Pharmacists said last week its members were falling ill as patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were “forced to visit pharmacy after pharmacy to fill their prescriptions, making our pharmacies a focal point in the spread of the epidemic.”
A Greek ferry leased by a Turkish company has been quarantined off Athens’ port of Piraeus after 120 of the 383 crew and passengers tested positive for the virus. The boat has 160 Turkish crew members on board, the Turkish ambassador to Greece told CNN Turk.
More than 980,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 across the globe and some 50,000 have died since the novel coronavirus, which can cause acute respiratory distress, surfaced in China in December.
On Wednesday, Koca released for the first time the locations of cases in Turkey, showing the majority — 8,852 — were in the largest city of Istanbul, followed by 853 cases in Izmir and 712 in the capital, Ankara, as of Wednesday. The virus has now spread to all of Turkey’s 81 provinces, he said. He shared data showing one infected patient had spread the virus to 30 others.
The revelation that Istanbul was the site of 60% of the nation’s cases prompted its mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, to repeat his plea to the government to place the city of 16 million people under a stay-at-home order. While the government has restricted movement within and without Istanbul and has urged Turks to remain at home, Erdogan has so far stopped short of a full lockdown, arguing the “wheels of production” must keep spinning to keep the economy going. Istanbul accounts for more than a quarter of Turkey’s national output.
“At a time when we are living through a historic catastrophe, we are in a better place compared to many other countries, but this is not enough. We are carrying out our struggle without panicking, with smart, balanced and realistic measures,” Erdogan told mayors from his party and its nationalist partner in a videoconference that TV stations broadcast live.
Mayors of Turkey’s three biggest cities, which are all controlled by the main opposition party, were not part of the meeting. Imamoglu and Ankara’s mayor filed a lawsuit against a government order shutting down municipal fundraisers set up to help low-income residents. The ban came after Erdogan announced his own nationwide drive, and he has suggested the cities’ rival charitable efforts are a form of separatism.
Health professionals are worried the political tug-of-war between state and local officials may strain efforts to contain the contagion, Al-Monitor has reported.
On Thursday, the president issued a veiled warning against rivals’ efforts to “water down” and “tarnish” the national fundraising campaign. “Our people will give the appropriate response to those who think they are outside and above the Turkish Republic state. I am saying clearly that those trying to dynamite a project that symbolizes the partnership of 83 million [citizens] is beyond negligence,” he said. “The mass conscience will not forget those engaged in political profiteering at a time like this.”
Most of the initial donations to Erdogan’s campaign came from state-owned companies and public officials. Donations have since expanded to include money from football clubs, families and Turkey’s tiny communities of religious minorities, raising 552.5 million lira ($84 million).
The central government’s request for help will stoke “suspicions the treasury is empty,” Ahmet Davutoglu, Erdogan’s former prime minister who broke with him to form a new party, told a news site. “If you cannot see that the economic crisis is burning households, we all need to worry about a social explosion.”
The government has introduced a $15 billion rescue package, mainly in the form of loan guarantees and tax breaks. Direct cash support for those impacted by a sharp economic slowdown make up a small portion of aid. But increased military expenditures during two military campaigns in Syria in the last six months and the use of international reserves to prop up the lira, hit by a currency shock in 2018, may be weighing on state finances.
Turkish exports plunged 18% in March, dragging the first-quarter figure down 4% to $42.8 billion, the Trade Ministry said Thursday, citing the economic impact of the epidemic on overseas markets. A $35 billion tourism industry won’t pick up before the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which begins on May 24, said Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. Turkish Airlines extended its ban on international routes until May 1, but flights won’t return to normal until the end of June, he said. Turkey is also limiting domestic flights and has closed the country’s second-biggest airport.
International financial institutions are slashing Turkey’s growth prospects, with Bank of America becoming the latest with a forecast of a 2.3% contraction in 2020, according to Bloomberg. For now, the government is sticking to its target of 5% growth this year.
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theduran--2020-04-04--Coronavirus pandemic will inevitably cause food crisis

Submitted by InfoBrics , authored by Lucas Leiroz , research fellow in international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro .
The coronavirus crisis will not end anytime soon .
Day after day , news about the catastrophe becomes increasingly frightening and alarming .
The numbers do not indicate any sign of a truce and we can not see improvements in the world scenario in the near future .
The crisis will affect all sectors of society , damaging politics , economy , education and all branches of civilized life .
However , what is most noteworthy is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the most basic item of human life : food .
There will undoubtedly be a global food production and supply crisis .
This fact was already expected by all analysts .
But everything indicates that the crisis will be even more profound : there is an imminent risk of “ food shortages ” on the world market due to Covid-19 disruptions in international trade and supply chains , warned the leaders of two UN agencies and WTO .
This scarcity will be generated by the growing wave of restrictions on exports , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global society , will invariably cause a drastic decrease in the world circulation of food .
In an unusual statement , Chinese Qu Dongyu , who heads the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) , Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , director general of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) , and Brazilian Roberto Azevêdo , director General of the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) published a text warning about the coming crisis and saying that it is important for all nations to maintain their international business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shortages ” .
In addition , these three international organizations have issued important warnings about the slowdown in the movement of workers in the agricultural industry , which blocks several Western farmers , and with “ border delays for containers of goods ” , generating “ a waste of perishable products ” .
The alert issued jointly by the FAO , WHO and the WTO also affirms the need to protect workers in the food sector in order to “ minimize the spread of the virus in the sector and maintain the food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ By protecting the health and well-being of citizens , countries must ensure that the set of trade measures does not disturb the food supply network ( … ) In periods like this , international cooperation is essential ( … ) We must ensure that our response to the covid-19 pandemic does not involuntarily create an unjustified shortage of essential products and exacerbates hunger and malnutrition ” .
If , on one hand , the alert is of paramount importance in the current global context , on the other , there does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic and the scarcity .
In order to minimize the effects of the new coronavirus in their territories , States are adhering to more restrictive and protectionist measures , overlapping the security of their population to the global need for the circulation of people and resources .
In other words , the coronavirus is changing the history of globalization , increasing the role of the States and revealing flaws and deep deficiencies in international organizations and in the global system of interdependence .
As an immediate reaction to the resurgence of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international organizations are beginning to respond with even more globalist speeches , imploring the maintenance of the free movement of products in the context of the pandemic .
Maximo Torero , Chief Economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization , told The Guardian : “ The worst that can happen is that governments restrict the flow of food ( … ) All measures against free trade will be counterproductive .
Now is not the time for restrictions or putting in place trade barriers .
Now is the time to protect the flow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) Trade barriers will create extreme volatility , ( … ) [ They ] will make the situation worse .
That ’ s what we observe in food crises.
” In practice , how can we expect governments reacting in any other way than what they are currently doing ?
How can we expect all nations to keep their trade relations intact while their populations die infected by a devastating disease ?
Perhaps dreaming of free international trade in the present circumstances is the most utopian globalist wish .
In fact , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ideologically committed to the globalist agenda that they are unable to analyze the case concretely and see the simplest : the whole structure of globalization is flawed and in a context of crisis its effects will be devastating anyway .
Perhaps trade will continue and the pandemic will kill even more ; perhaps trade is restricted and many die of hunger .
The biggest lesson to be learned from the current crisis is that globalization based on financial capitalism and neoliberalism was a very serious mistake .
The foundations of the contemporary world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the problems presented by the pandemic are beginning to increase everywhere .
International organizations harden their globalist discourse and warn on the need to protect international trade , while States are stepping up security measures and downplaying the importance of the circulation of products and capital .
Finally , what will be the winning speech ?
Will we see a return to state leadership or the birth of a new globalization ?
The only certainty so far is that the post-pandemic world will be very different from the previous one .
Perhaps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinking about a world with greater food sovereignty and less inequality between nations .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by InfoBrics, authored by Lucas Leiroz, research fellow in international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
The coronavirus crisis will not end anytime soon. Day after day, news about the catastrophe becomes increasingly frightening and alarming. The numbers do not indicate any sign of a truce and we cannot see improvements in the world scenario in the near future. The crisis will affect all sectors of society, damaging politics, economy, education and all branches of civilized life. However, what is most noteworthy is the impact that the pandemic will have on the most basic item of human life: food.
There will undoubtedly be a global food production and supply crisis. This fact was already expected by all analysts. But everything indicates that the crisis will be even more profound: there is an imminent risk of “food shortages” on the world market due to Covid-19 disruptions in international trade and supply chains, warned the leaders of two UN agencies and WTO. This scarcity will be generated by the growing wave of restrictions on exports, which, in the context of contemporary global society, will invariably cause a drastic decrease in the world circulation of food.
In an unusual statement, Chinese Qu Dongyu, who heads the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Brazilian Roberto Azevêdo, director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a text warning about the coming crisis and saying that it is important for all nations to maintain their international business, “in particular to avoid food shortages”. In addition, these three international organizations have issued important warnings about the slowdown in the movement of workers in the agricultural industry, which blocks several Western farmers, and with “border delays for containers of goods”, generating “a waste of perishable products”.
The alert issued jointly by the FAO, WHO and the WTO also affirms the need to protect workers in the food sector in order to “minimize the spread of the virus in the sector and maintain the food supply chains”. Finally, concludes: “By protecting the health and well-being of citizens, countries must ensure that the set of trade measures does not disturb the food supply network (…) In periods like this, international cooperation is essential (…) We must ensure that our response to the covid-19 pandemic does not involuntarily create an unjustified shortage of essential products and exacerbates hunger and malnutrition”.
If, on one hand, the alert is of paramount importance in the current global context, on the other, there does not seem to be any alternative between the pandemic and the scarcity. In order to minimize the effects of the new coronavirus in their territories, States are adhering to more restrictive and protectionist measures, overlapping the security of their population to the global need for the circulation of people and resources. In other words, the coronavirus is changing the history of globalization, increasing the role of the States and revealing flaws and deep deficiencies in international organizations and in the global system of interdependence.
As an immediate reaction to the resurgence of the State as the main international agent, international organizations are beginning to respond with even more globalist speeches, imploring the maintenance of the free movement of products in the context of the pandemic. Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, told The Guardian: “The worst that can happen is that governments restrict the flow of food (…) All measures against free trade will be counterproductive. Now is not the time for restrictions or putting in place trade barriers. Now is the time to protect the flow of food around the world (…) Trade barriers will create extreme volatility, (…) [They] will make the situation worse. That’s what we observe in food crises.”
In practice, how can we expect governments reacting in any other way than what they are currently doing? How can we expect all nations to keep their trade relations intact while their populations die infected by a devastating disease? Perhaps dreaming of free international trade in the present circumstances is the most utopian globalist wish. In fact, the agents of these international organizations are so ideologically committed to the globalist agenda that they are unable to analyze the case concretely and see the simplest: the whole structure of globalization is flawed and in a context of crisis its effects will be devastating anyway. Perhaps trade will continue and the pandemic will kill even more; perhaps trade is restricted and many die of hunger.
The biggest lesson to be learned from the current crisis is that globalization based on financial capitalism and neoliberalism was a very serious mistake. The foundations of the contemporary world are breaking and the discourses on solutions to the problems presented by the pandemic are beginning to increase everywhere. International organizations harden their globalist discourse and warn on the need to protect international trade, while States are stepping up security measures and downplaying the importance of the circulation of products and capital. Finally, what will be the winning speech? Will we see a return to state leadership or the birth of a new globalization? The only certainty so far is that the post-pandemic world will be very different from the previous one. Perhaps, the best thing to do is thinking about a world with greater food sovereignty and less inequality between nations.
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