southfront--2020-04-16--Wells Fargo, ‘a Reckless Megabank’, Gets Bailout Money and Is Allowed to Distribute Government Cash

Wells Fargo, ‘a Reckless Megabank’, Gets Bailout Money and Is Allowed to Distribute Government Cash to Main Street

Wells Fargo has been selected by the Small Business Administration ( SBA ) to distribute billions to small businesses so they can pay employees and survive the coronavirus lock down .
As 17 million Americans have joined the dole queues Wall Street ’ s fourth largest bank , which has subjected its customers to numerous illegal practices , is participating in this programme to help main street .
The mainstream media has glossed over the outrageous decision to allow a criminal enterprise such as Wells Fargo , to become involved in distributing tax payer funds to small businesses .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeatedly caught breaking the law and never faced criminal prosecution .
Instead , it has been forced to pay fines by regulators that are far less than the money it has made from numerous acts of fraud .
Wells Fargo can not be trusted with the important responsibility of distributing tax payer money to small companies .
Never mind the fact that federal oversight of all the stimulus money being distributed will be minimal .
The ‘ main street ’ section of the bail out package opens up a Pandora ’ s box @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barofsky , the Special Inspector General for the 2008 TARP bail out , commented in a recent interview that there will be billions of dollars worth of fraud committed : The mainstream media never raise the question : why doesn ’ t the government give money directly to small businesses through the IRS ?
Why is the Federal Reserve allowing Wall Street banks , with long rap sheets for rampant criminality , to act as middlemen in distributing cash to small businesses ?
Could it be that the Federal Reserve is owned by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same banks will profit handsomely from doing their patriotic duty to provide loans to small businesses courtesy of the Small Business Administration .
Matt Taibi , who is providing excellent coverage of the current bail out of Wall Street , has noted how the criminal mega banks will profit from distributing cash to small businesses : You could write several books about the crime spree of Wall Street banks since 2008 and how they should never be trusted with distributing taxpayer money to main street .
Wells Fargo has excelled at ripping off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ welfare scrounger receiving $ 36 billion in bail out money and a $ 25 billion tax break during the last financial crisis in 2008 .
Wells Fargo used these rewards for years of criminal behaviour to become America ’ s fourth largest bank .
Matt Taibi explains how this huge amount of public bail out cash was used by Wells Fargo , “ to buy a dominating market share – artificially inflating its share price for the next generation , ….
’ and enabling its executives to become fabulously wealthy.
” This sets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ongoing Congressional investigation into Wells Fargo whose public hearings have been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Congresswoman Maxine Waters ’ , co-sponsor of the report , ‘ THE REAL WELLS FARGO : BOARD & MANAGEMENT FAILURES , CONSUMER ABUSES , AND INEFFECTIVE REGULATORY OVERSIGHT ‘ , has asserted that the bank has failed to comply with 5 regulatory orders and , “ clearly demonstrated an unwillingness and inability to stop harming its customers ….
” The report states in no uncertain terms that Wells Fargo should have restrictions placed upon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced last Wednesday that it will allow Wells Fargo to distribute cash from its overwhelmed small business loan programme .
The same programme that is being scammed by hedge funds claiming that they are small businesses in need .
Will the Fed provide oversight of how Wells Fargo distributes this public cash ?
I doubt that very much .
The comments of Congressman Al Green , Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and co-sponsor of the above report , illustrate how Wells Fargo has no place in distributing tax payer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corruption in America ’ s political/administrative system : Sound familiar ?
It should do .
The 113 page report issued by Waters ’ and Green , which took a year to compile , paints a devastating picture of the corruption at the heart of American capitalism .
It brings into sharp relief the dichotomy of American society between the super rich who are the benefactors of past and present bailouts running into the trillions while the rest of the population is left to suffer mass unemployment , homelessness and rapidly declining living standards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fargo board members and senior executives profited handsomely from the banks illegal activities which continued in the face of 5 federal consent orders during 2016-2018 .
The current chair of Wells Fargo Board of Directors is Ms. Elizabeth ” Betsy ” Duke who , previous to joining the bank in 2015 , served on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2008-2013 .
She has also served as Chair of the Federal Reserves Committee on Consumer and Community Affairs .
Ms. Duke was a Fed governor while Wells Fargo was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become chair of Wells Fargo Board of Directors where the bank continued to break the law .
In 2018 Ms. Duke was paid $ 631,004 for her contribution to the banks defiance of 5 federal consent orders while overseeing the banks crime spree against its own customers .
Who said crime never pays ?
The crime spree committed by Wells Fargo shows what a set of banksters sat on the board of directors .
The rap sheet of this ‘ systemically important bank ’ is quite breathtaking .
In 2012 the Department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pay $ 184 million in compensation to black and Hispanic homeowners for the systematic discrimination that they received at the hands of their own bank .
Wells Fargo foisted sub-prime mortgage deals onto tens of thousands of its black and Hispanic customers .
Meanwhile , white customers with the same credit rating were being given prime mortgage deals which had much lower term costs .
The Department of Justice noted that this systematic discrimination between 2004 and 2008 caused significant harm to customers of colour : From January 2011 to September 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the name of existing customers without their knowledge or consent .
Then the bank transferred money from customers authorised accounts into their unauthorised accounts .
About 85,000 of these accounts racked up over $ 2 million in fees .
Not satisfied with this level of fraud the bank went on to submit applications for 563,000 credit card accounts that were not authorised by customers .
Roughly 14,000 of these credit card accounts incurred $ 403,000 in fees .
These fees included things such as annual fees and overdraft protection fees and late fees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used email addresses not belonging to customers to enrol them in on-line banking services without their knowledge or consent .
Besides this , the bank requested debit cards and created pin numbers for thousands of customers without their knowledge or consent .
The settlement order for these egregious acts of criminality imposed a paltry $ 100 million fine on Wells Fargo and ordered it comply with various regulations to prevent such acts of fraud in the future .
The misnamed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) imposed a consent order on Wells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of criminal prosecution for these multiple acts of fraud .
Between October 2005 and September 2016 , Wells Fargo , ‘ forcibly placed duplicative or unnecessary insurance ‘ on hundreds of thousands of its customers with auto-loans .
This was done despite the fact these customers had obtained adequate insurance on their cars .
If customers refused to pay this force-placed insurance then Wells Fargo imposed additional fees leading to many customers experiencing , ‘ delinquency , loan default , and even repossession.
’ At least 27,000 customers had their cars repossessed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fees imposed by Wells Fargo .
In 2016 the Treasury Department ’ s Comptroller of the Currency issued a consent order to Wells Fargo for its violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act ( SRA ) .
The Comptroller found that Wells Fargo was systematically ripping off service members .
Between 2007 and 2014 the bank was charging service members higher rates of interest than allowed under federal law .
Federal law stipulates that there is a 6 % interest cap for service members .
To add insult to injury , between 2006 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disclose service members active duty status when filing affidavits seeking to evict them from their homes .
Under the terms of the SRA banks that seek to evict service members on active duty must notify the court that the service person is on active duty .
Wells Fargo ’ s patriotism knew no bounds when it repossessed many service members cars without a court order between 2007 and 2016 .
Unfortunately , the consent order from the Comptroller of the Currency does not specify how many service members had their cars repossessed or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wells Fargo .
As always , with these consent orders imposed on Wells Fargo for fraudulent behaviour there is no mention of any attempt to criminally prosecute the bank .
Indeed , towards the end of the consent order regarding the abuse of service members there is a clause which has to be read several times to be believed : Let ’ s not beat about the bush here .
The rap sheet of this bankster outfit is huge .
The above examples highlight just a few of the criminal frauds committed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regulators .
Waters ’ and Green ’ s report gives 7 examples of fraud committed by Wells Fargo .
They make it clear that : The crime wave emanating from Wells Fargo since the last financial crash of 2008 has taken place under the noses of the Office of The Comptroller of the Currency ( OCC ) and the Federal Reserve .
Waters ’ and Green ’ s report exposes how from 2009 onwards the OCC was well aware of what Wells Fargo was up to but did nothing to alert the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this white collar crime wave .
It wasn ’ t until 2016 that the OCC was finally forced to take ineffective action against Wells Fargo issuing numerous compliance consent orders against the bank .
It is also worth mentioning that Wells Fargo was also receiving ‘ supervision ’ from the Federal Reserve from 2012 onwards .
Once the federal regulators were forced to issue a series of compliance consent orders between 2016 and 2018 Wells Fargo kept failing to comply thus breaking the law .
In effect leaving the banks customers exposed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Green ’ s report notes : In 2016 the Federal Reserve sent a letter to the board of directors of Wells Fargo admonishing them for their consistent failure to comply with the consent orders and stop breaking the law : Not surprisingly , the Fed failed to take any effective action against Wells Fargo .
Were the board of directors threatened with prosecution for repeatedly breaking the law ?
Yes you guessed it .
Nothing , Nada .
The Federal Reserve and the OCC together with their buddies on the board of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hip .
They are part and parcel of the same corrupt oligarchy that presides over the people of slavelandia i.e .
the United States .
The Waters ’ and Green report goes into forensic detail exposing how Wells Fargo was engaged in back channel communication with regulators , its CEO lied to a congressional committee , withheld information from regulators , repeatedly failed to comply with federal consent orders .
The list of crimes just goes on and on .
Let ’ s face it if any ordinary person fails to comply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their bail or parole then they get whisked off to jail .
Apparently , such consequences don ’ t apply to the executives who run a ‘ systemically important ’ bank .
As I write this tens of thousands of U.S. citizens are lining up patiently , at risk to their health , in long queues to apply for unemployment or get a food parcel .
Meanwhile , a rampantly criminal organisation such as Wells Fargo not only gets bail out money from the Federal Reserve but is allowed to add insult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distributing taxpayer cash to small businesses .
This criminal entity is of course going to be left free to commit further fraud through its distribution of this public money .
You couldn ’ t make this stuff up if you tried .
Meanwhile , the long suffering customers of Wells Fargo are still in jeopardy .
Waters ’ and Green ’ s 4 March 20202 report notes that in 2018 the misnamed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) had come to a cosy agreement with Wells Fargo in 2018 that delayed until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the CFPB , like all of the other federal regulators over the last 11 years , has let Wells Fargo off the hook : Waters ’ and Green ’ s report does an exemplary job of exposing the rampant criminality of America ’ s fourth largest bank and the complete failure of federal regulators , including the Federal Reserve , to do their job and enforce the law against an organised crime entity such as Wells Fargo .
Indeed , what stands out is the complete collusion of the OCC and Fed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ penalties : After amassing a mountain of evidence , revealing Wells Fargo to be a rampantly criminal organisation , Waters ’ And Green conclude their report with an appeal to Congress to force federal regulators to take action against ‘ recidivist megabanks ’ .
I ’ m not holding my breath about anything happening on that front considering the mind blowing scale of the recent Fed bail out of Wall Street sanctified by Congress and Trump .
To their credit the report issued by Waters ’ and Green does make some positive recommendations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump .
Let ’ s not forget his Treasury Secretary is a former Goldman Sachs honcho better known as the ‘ foreclosure king ’ , Steve Mnuchkin .
Considering the 17 million unemployed and massive increases in poverty taking place , Congress may be more favourable to the recommendations for all bank workers to be paid a living wage and protect workers right to unionise .
Waters ’ and Green propose a Bank Workers Bill of Rights giving them whistle-blower protections enabling them to , ‘ speak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consumers , ….
’ Having said all of this , the report contains one sentence that should be widely publicised .
This sentence calls for Congress to ‘ consider ’ compelling federal regulators to take action to close down Wells Fargo .
This would involve it having its banking licence revoked and be broken up with its components distributed to ‘ smaller well-managed banks ’ .
Of course , Waters ’ and Green should have gone much further and called for the criminal prosecution of the board of directors of the bank and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bank .
Much like the Public Works Progress Administration of Roosevelt ’ s New Deal that built more , ‘ than 650,000 miles ( 1,046,000 km ) of roads ; 125,000 public buildings ; 75,000 bridges ; 8,000 parks ; and 800 airports ’ .
Considering the dilapidated state of America ’ s infrastructure , with about one bridge a month collapsing , then this would be a sound idea .
The bought and sold corporate politicians who dominate Congress would never consider such action regarding it as ‘ Communism ’ .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the population forced them to do so .
Much like the mass wave of sit down strikes in the 1930s prompted President Roosevelt to introduce various measures to protect , support and help ordinary workers .
The Wall Street Journal ’ s editorial board provides an unlikely yet accurate analysis of how the main focus of the Fed ’ s bail out actions are to save the wealth of the 1 % who own Wall Street .
It also explains why the Fed refuses to punish the criminal mega banks such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fees for distributing public cash to main street : The unprecedented economic crisis afflicting tens of millions of Americans reveals how paltry is the current political class that is totally beholden to the demands of Wall Street .
It falls far short of the leadership provided by President Roosevelt in the 1930s .
Roosevelt was no revolutionary and presided over violent attacks on workers by employers and the police .
However , he realised the dangers of letting the super wealthy become richer while the masses starved and suffered mass unemployment .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told a roaring crowd in New York that : No prizes for guessing who won the election : Roosevelt by a landslide .

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Written by Dr. Leon Tressell exclusively for SouthFront
Wells Fargo has been selected by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to distribute billions to small businesses so they can pay employees and survive the coronavirus lock down. As 17 million Americans have joined the dole queues Wall Street’s fourth largest bank, which has subjected its customers to numerous illegal practices, is participating in this programme to help main street.
The mainstream media has glossed over the outrageous decision to allow a criminal enterprise such as Wells Fargo, to become involved in distributing tax payer funds to small businesses. This too big to fail bank has been repeatedly caught breaking the law and never faced criminal prosecution. Instead, it has been forced to pay fines by regulators that are far less than the money it has made from numerous acts of fraud.
Wells Fargo cannot be trusted with the important responsibility of distributing tax payer money to small companies. Never mind the fact that federal oversight of all the stimulus money being distributed will be minimal.
The ‘main street’ section of the bail out package opens up a Pandora’s box of opportunity for massive fraud. Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General for the 2008 TARP bail out, commented in a recent interview that there will be billions of dollars worth of fraud committed:
“There will be S&L-type frauds, absolutely ostentatious frauds. I’d be looking for tens of billions of loss to fraud.”
The mainstream media never raise the question: why doesn’t the government give money directly to small businesses through the IRS? Why is the Federal Reserve allowing Wall Street banks, with long rap sheets for rampant criminality, to act as middlemen in distributing cash to small businesses?
Could it be that the Federal Reserve is owned by the Wall Street mega banks? These same banks will profit handsomely from doing their patriotic duty to provide loans to small businesses courtesy of the Small Business Administration.
Matt Taibi, who is providing excellent coverage of the current bail out of Wall Street, has noted how the criminal mega banks will profit from distributing cash to small businesses:
“Banks are scheduled to earn 1% to 5% to underwrite these loans, which are 100% backed by the government, a nice chunk of essentially risk-free money.”
You could write several books about the crime spree of Wall Street banks since 2008 and how they should never be trusted with distributing taxpayer money to main street. Wells Fargo has excelled at ripping off its customers while being a regular corporate welfare scrounger receiving $36 billion in bail out money and a $25 billion tax break during the last financial crisis in 2008.
Wells Fargo used these rewards for years of criminal behaviour to become America’s fourth largest bank. Matt Taibi explains how this huge amount of public bail out cash was used by Wells Fargo, “to buy a dominating market share – artificially inflating its share price for the next generation, ….’ and enabling its executives to become fabulously wealthy.”
This sets the scene and brings us back to the ongoing Congressional investigation into Wells Fargo whose public hearings have been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters’, co-sponsor of the report, ‘THE REAL WELLS FARGO: BOARD & MANAGEMENT FAILURES, CONSUMER ABUSES, AND INEFFECTIVE REGULATORY OVERSIGHT‘, has asserted that the bank has failed to comply with 5 regulatory orders and, “clearly demonstrated an unwillingness and inability to stop harming its customers ….”
The report states in no uncertain terms that Wells Fargo should have restrictions placed upon its activities:
“… there are bolder remedies available to prudential regulators that have been rarely used when a bank egregiously harms consumers and repeatedly breaks the law, including: placing limitations on the activities and functions of a bank, ….the potential for widespread consumer abuse at Wells Fargo remains.”
Yet the Federal Reserve announced last Wednesday that it will allow Wells Fargo to distribute cash from its overwhelmed small business loan programme. The same programme that is being scammed by hedge funds claiming that they are small businesses in need.
Will the Fed provide oversight of how Wells Fargo distributes this public cash?
I doubt that very much.
The comments of Congressman Al Green, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and co-sponsor of the above report, illustrate how Wells Fargo has no place in distributing tax payer funds and reveals the extent of the corruption in America’s political/administrative system:
“This report underscores federal regulators’ repeated failure to hold Wells Fargo accountable for admitted wrongdoing that has harmed millions of Wells Fargo customers. When wrongdoers agree to settlements to make their victims whole, we rely on federal regulators to enforce the terms of those agreements. This report demonstrates not only that Wells Fargo is failing to comply with the terms of multiple settlement agreements dating back to 2016 and 2018, but also that our federal regulators have simply failed to enforce those agreements, despite having ample tools and authorities under existing law to do so.”
Sound familiar? It should do.
The 113 page report issued by Waters’ and Green, which took a year to compile, paints a devastating picture of the corruption at the heart of American capitalism. It brings into sharp relief the dichotomy of American society between the super rich who are the benefactors of past and present bailouts running into the trillions while the rest of the population is left to suffer mass unemployment, homelessness and rapidly declining living standards.
The report details how key Wells Fargo board members and senior executives profited handsomely from the banks illegal activities which continued in the face of 5 federal consent orders during 2016-2018.
The current chair of Wells Fargo Board of Directors is Ms. Elizabeth ”Betsy” Duke who, previous to joining the bank in 2015, served on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2008-2013. She has also served as Chair of the Federal Reserves Committee on Consumer and Community Affairs.
Ms. Duke was a Fed governor while Wells Fargo was committing numerous crimes and then went onto become chair of Wells Fargo Board of Directors where the bank continued to break the law. In 2018 Ms. Duke was paid $631,004 for her contribution to the banks defiance of 5 federal consent orders while overseeing the banks crime spree against its own customers. Who said crime never pays?
The crime spree committed by Wells Fargo shows what a set of banksters sat on the board of directors. The rap sheet of this ‘systemically important bank’ is quite breathtaking.
Racist Discrimination
In 2012 the Department of Justice announced that Wells Fargo was going to pay $184 million in compensation to black and Hispanic homeowners for the systematic discrimination that they received at the hands of their own bank. Wells Fargo foisted sub-prime mortgage deals onto tens of thousands of its black and Hispanic customers. Meanwhile, white customers with the same credit rating were being given prime mortgage deals which had much lower term costs. The Department of Justice noted that this systematic discrimination between 2004 and 2008 caused significant harm to customers of colour:
“Subprime loans generally carried higher-cost terms, such as prepayment penalties and adjustable interest rates that started with low initial teaser rates, and then increased significantly after two or three years, often making the payments unaffordable and leaving the borrowers at a much higher risk of default or foreclosure.”
Industrial scale fraud
From January 2011 to September 2016 Wells Fargo opened 1,534,280 deposit accounts in the name of existing customers without their knowledge or consent. Then the bank transferred money from customers authorised accounts into their unauthorised accounts. About 85,000 of these accounts racked up over $2 million in fees.
Not satisfied with this level of fraud the bank went on to submit applications for 563,000 credit card accounts that were not authorised by customers. Roughly 14,000 of these credit card accounts incurred $403,000 in fees.
These fees included things such as annual fees and overdraft protection fees and late fees.
Its gets worse. Wells Fargo used email addresses not belonging to customers to enrol them in on-line banking services without their knowledge or consent. Besides this, the bank requested debit cards and created pin numbers for thousands of customers without their knowledge or consent.
The settlement order for these egregious acts of criminality imposed a paltry $100 million fine on Wells Fargo and ordered it comply with various regulations to prevent such acts of fraud in the future.
The misnamed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) imposed a consent order on Wells Fargo that makes no mention of any kind of criminal prosecution for these multiple acts of fraud.
Unnecessary auto insurance
Between October 2005 and September 2016, Wells Fargo, ‘forcibly placed duplicative or unnecessary insurance‘ on hundreds of thousands of its customers with auto-loans. This was done despite the fact these customers had obtained adequate insurance on their cars. If customers refused to pay this force-placed insurance then Wells Fargo imposed additional fees leading to many customers experiencing, ‘delinquency, loan default, and even repossession.’
At least 27,000 customers had their cars repossessed following defaults that arose from the added fees imposed by Wells Fargo.
Abuse of service members
In 2016 the Treasury Department’s Comptroller of the Currency issued a consent order to Wells Fargo for its violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SRA).
The Comptroller found that Wells Fargo was systematically ripping off service members. Between 2007 and 2014 the bank was charging service members higher rates of interest than allowed under federal law. Federal law stipulates that there is a 6% interest cap for service members.
To add insult to injury, between 2006 and 2011, Wells Fargo failed to disclose service members active duty status when filing affidavits seeking to evict them from their homes. Under the terms of the SRA banks that seek to evict service members on active duty must notify the court that the service person is on active duty.
Wells Fargo’s patriotism knew no bounds when it repossessed many service members cars without a court order between 2007 and 2016.
Unfortunately, the consent order from the Comptroller of the Currency does not specify how many service members had their cars repossessed or were evicted by the illegal actions of Wells Fargo.
As always, with these consent orders imposed on Wells Fargo for fraudulent behaviour there is no mention of any attempt to criminally prosecute the bank. Indeed, towards the end of the consent order regarding the abuse of service members there is a clause which has to be read several times to be believed:
“The Bank, without admitting or denying any wrongdoing, consents and agrees to issuance of the accompanying Consent Order by the OCC.” (my emphasis in bold)
Let’s not beat about the bush here. The rap sheet of this bankster outfit is huge. The above examples highlight just a few of the criminal frauds committed by Wells Fargo with the collusion of federal regulators.
Waters’ and Green’s report gives 7 examples of fraud committed by Wells Fargo. They make it clear that:
“These aforementioned consumer abuses highlight only a portion of the misconduct that has occurred across Wells Fargo.”
Systemic collusion between Wells Fargo and Federal regulators
The crime wave emanating from Wells Fargo since the last financial crash of 2008 has taken place under the noses of the Office of The Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve. Waters’ and Green’s report exposes how from 2009 onwards the OCC was well aware of what Wells Fargo was up to but did nothing to alert the public or take any effective action to stop this white collar crime wave.
Waters’ and Green’s report notes:
“From 2009 through 2016, the OCC failed to take serious action to address Bank sales practices that the OCC knew posed danger to consumers.”
It wasn’t until 2016 that the OCC was finally forced to take ineffective action against Wells Fargo issuing numerous compliance consent orders against the bank. It is also worth mentioning that Wells Fargo was also receiving ‘supervision’ from the Federal Reserve from 2012 onwards.
Once the federal regulators were forced to issue a series of compliance consent orders between 2016 and 2018 Wells Fargo kept failing to comply thus breaking the law. In effect leaving the banks customers exposed to further acts of fraud. Waters’ and Green’s report notes:
“More alarmingly, Wells Fargo’s failure to date to establish effective mechanisms for identifying and mitigating risks within the Company after reaching settlements with its regulators leaves consumers exposed to countless potential abuses that may be unknown to the firm’s management, board, regulators, or the public.”
In 2016 the Federal Reserve sent a letter to the board of directors of Wells Fargo admonishing them for their consistent failure to comply with the consent orders and stop breaking the law:
“The [Federal Reserve] considers the board and senior management’s failure to address the sales practice issues over a prolonged period of time (resulting in significant damage to WFC’s reputation, public enforcement actions, fines and additional litigation exposure), as a significant compliance breakdown and a prime example of the impact that uncontrolled risk can have when compliance issues are not comprehensively dealt with in a timely fashion (emphasis added).”
Not surprisingly, the Fed failed to take any effective action against Wells Fargo. Were the board of directors threatened with prosecution for repeatedly breaking the law? Yes you guessed it. Nothing, Nada.
The Federal Reserve and the OCC together with their buddies on the board of Wells Fargo are all inextricably linked at the hip. They are part and parcel of the same corrupt oligarchy that presides over the people of slavelandia i.e. the United States.
The Waters’ and Green report goes into forensic detail exposing how Wells Fargo was engaged in back channel communication with regulators, its CEO lied to a congressional committee, withheld information from regulators, repeatedly failed to comply with federal consent orders. The list of crimes just goes on and on.
Let’s face it if any ordinary person fails to comply with legal directives such as the terms of their bail or parole then they get whisked off to jail. Apparently, such consequences don’t apply to the executives who run a ‘systemically important’ bank.
As I write this tens of thousands of U.S. citizens are lining up patiently, at risk to their health, in long queues to apply for unemployment or get a food parcel.
Meanwhile, a rampantly criminal organisation such as Wells Fargo not only gets bail out money from the Federal Reserve but is allowed to add insult to injury and get paid fees for distributing taxpayer cash to small businesses. This criminal entity is of course going to be left free to commit further fraud through its distribution of this public money. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.
Wells Fargo customers still in jeopardy
Meanwhile, the long suffering customers of Wells Fargo are still in jeopardy.
Waters’ and Green’s 4 March 20202 report notes that in 2018 the misnamed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had come to a cosy agreement with Wells Fargo in 2018 that delayed until July 2019:
“… any decision on whether to resolve seven matters requiring the Bank to take corrective action, including remediating consumers through public enforcement actions or through the Office of Supervision.163 These matters involved potentially thousands of consumers and millions of dollars in consumer harm.164 Resolving these matters non-publicly through the Office of Supervision prevents consumers from learning the true extent of the Bank’s misconduct.”
To cap it all off the CFPB, like all of the other federal regulators over the last 11 years, has let Wells Fargo off the hook:
“The CFPB extended the July 20, 2019 deadline until June 2020, further delaying any potential disclosure of additional consumer abuses committed by Wells Fargo.16”
Waters’ and Green’s report does an exemplary job of exposing the rampant criminality of America’s fourth largest bank and the complete failure of federal regulators, including the Federal Reserve, to do their job and enforce the law against an organised crime entity such as Wells Fargo. Indeed, what stands out is the complete collusion of the OCC and Fed in protecting Wells Fargo from any punitive penalties:
“The regulators repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with Wells Fargo’s progress towards remediating its regulatory issues for years, but have been slow and reluctant to impose additional penalties available to them under existing law.341 Beyond a list of monetary penalties assessed by the regulators,342 the Federal Reserve decided to cap the asset growth of the Company on the last day of Chair Janet Yellen’s time in office, and in January 2020, the OCC took action to prohibit a few former executives from working in the banking industry.343 However, as this report demonstrates, these actions come after many years of continued non-compliance by the Company and after the Committee announced and convened public hearings, and there remain stronger penalties available to prudential regulators.”
Recommendations
After amassing a mountain of evidence, revealing Wells Fargo to be a rampantly criminal organisation, Waters’ And Green conclude their report with an appeal to Congress to force federal regulators to take action against ‘recidivist megabanks’.
I’m not holding my breath about anything happening on that front considering the mind blowing scale of the recent Fed bail out of Wall Street sanctified by Congress and Trump.
To their credit the report issued by Waters’ and Green does make some positive recommendations which may be taken up Congress but would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump. Let’s not forget his Treasury Secretary is a former Goldman Sachs honcho better known as the ‘foreclosure king’, Steve Mnuchkin.
Considering the 17 million unemployed and massive increases in poverty taking place, Congress may be more favourable to the recommendations for all bank workers to be paid a living wage and protect workers right to unionise. Waters’ and Green propose a Bank Workers Bill of Rights giving them whistle-blower protections enabling them to, ‘speak out when they witness actions that harm consumers, ….’
Having said all of this, the report contains one sentence that should be widely publicised.
This sentence calls for Congress to ‘consider’ compelling federal regulators to take action to close down Wells Fargo. This would involve it having its banking licence revoked and be broken up with its components distributed to ‘smaller well-managed banks’.
Of course, Waters’ and Green should have gone much further and called for the criminal prosecution of the board of directors of the bank and converting Wells Fargo into a public infrastructure bank. Much like the Public Works Progress Administration of Roosevelt’s New Deal that built more, ‘than 650,000 miles (1,046,000 km) of roads; 125,000 public buildings; 75,000 bridges; 8,000 parks; and 800 airports’. Considering the dilapidated state of America’s infrastructure, with about one bridge a month collapsing, then this would be a sound idea.
The bought and sold corporate politicians who dominate Congress would never consider such action regarding it as ‘Communism’. They would never contemplate it unless mass action from the population forced them to do so. Much like the mass wave of sit down strikes in the 1930s prompted President Roosevelt to introduce various measures to protect, support and help ordinary workers.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board provides an unlikely yet accurate analysis of how the main focus of the Fed’s bail out actions are to save the wealth of the 1% who own Wall Street. It also explains why the Fed refuses to punish the criminal mega banks such as Wells Fargo. Instead it pays them fees for distributing public cash to main street:
“The Fed may feel all of this is essential to protect the financial system’s plumbing and reduce systemic risk until the virus crisis passes, but make no mistake the Fed is protecting Wall Street first. The goal seems to be to lift asset prices, as the Fed did after the financial panic, and hope that the wealth effect trickles down to the rest of the economy.”
The unprecedented economic crisis afflicting tens of millions of Americans reveals how paltry is the current political class that is totally beholden to the demands of Wall Street. It falls far short of the leadership provided by President Roosevelt in the 1930s. Roosevelt was no revolutionary and presided over violent attacks on workers by employers and the police.
However, he realised the dangers of letting the super wealthy become richer while the masses starved and suffered mass unemployment. At an election rally in 1936 President Roosevelt told a roaring crowd in New York that:
“The forces of ‘organized money’ are unanimous in their hate for me–and I welcome their hatred. I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match, [and] I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces have met their master.”
No prizes for guessing who won the election: Roosevelt by a landslide.
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southfront--2020-04-16--IMF Warns That ‘Great Lockdown’ To Rival Great Depression With 3% Hit To Global Economy

The International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) is expecting severe deterioration in the global economy , including global budget balances and public , debt ratios due to the developing COVID-19 outbreak and the imposed lockdown measures .
In fact , the IMF predicts the deepest recession in almost a century this year as economic activity shuts down to contain the COVID-19 pandemic .
The sudden shock caused by the spread of the coronavirus meant it had been forced to tear up an estimate it made just three months ago of 3.3 % global growth this year and replace it with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ According to the IMF , global fiscal deficits will more than double to 9.9 % of gross domestic product this year from 3.7 % in 2019 .
The IMF notes that global debt will jump 13.1 percentage points to 96.4 % of GDP , with the figure jumping to 122.4 % of GDP in advanced economies from 105.2 % in 2019 .
The developed economies of the West will likely shrink by 6.1 % on average .
Italy and Spain – the two worst-affected European economies from COVID-19 – will see the GDP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , respectively .
The UK ’ s drop in output is put at 6.5 % .
China ’ s growth rate is expected to fall from 6.1 % last year to 1.2 % in 2020 , while India is on course to expand by 1.9 % , down from 4.2 % .
Adjusted to take account of population changes , the IMF ’ s forecasts were even gloomier .
GDP per head – one measure of living standards – is expected to fall globally by 4.2 % in 2020 and by 6.5 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on the situation in the Arab region says that it will contribute to the poverty and food insecurity : The Arab region will witness an additional 8.3 million people falling into poverty .
The economic slowdown caused by COVID-19 is expected to negatively impact jobs , incomes , business and the flow of remittances in the Arab region , resulting in a shrinking middleincome class .
Consequently , an estimated 8.3 million people will fall into poverty , meaning that a total of 101.4 million people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poor .
The consequences of this crisis could be particularly severe on vulnerable groups , especially women and young adults , and those working in the informal sector who have no access to social protection and unemployment insurance .
The challenge is further compounded by a lack of social protection floors and noninclusive social protection schemes in some Arab countries .
The economic downturn is expected to intensify existing food insecurity in the region , specifically for the poor .
Currently , around 50 million people are undernourished in the Arab region .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1.9 million people becoming undernourished .
With the closure of schools in several countries , school feeding programmes that substantially contribute to children ’ s food security have been interrupted .
The Arab region spends around $ 110 billion on food imports , which is about 4 per cent of its GDP .
More than 50 per cent of daily calories consumed in the Arab region are from imported food .
Wheat is the main consumed cereal in the region , with about 127 kg per capita annually , but 65 per cent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is another major consumption item among cereals , but the region is a net importer of rice .
Wheat and rice together represent around $ 11 billion of the region ’ s trade deficit .
The Arab region may witness food shortage and price hikes if a The IMF says that governments around the world have taken fiscal actions amounting to about , including more than in the US .
Over the past weeks , the IMF has been consistently calling on governments to pay more attention to the economic situation despite the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this advice .
The current economic crisis will deliver the main blow to the lower middle class and the working class of the world population .
The negative economic developments will contribute to the increase of mortality and unemployment rate , and the decrease of standards of living .
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expecting severe deterioration in the global economy, including global budget balances and public, debt ratios due to the developing COVID-19 outbreak and the imposed lockdown measures.
“Once the recovery has happened and we are past the pandemic phase, for advanced economies it would be essential to undertake a broad-based stimulus,” IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath told reporters. “This would be even more effective if it were coordinated across all the advanced economies.”
In fact, the IMF predicts the deepest recession in almost a century this year as economic activity shuts down to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sudden shock caused by the spread of the coronavirus meant it had been forced to tear up an estimate it made just three months ago of 3.3% global growth this year and replace it with an expected contraction of 3%.
According to the IMF, global fiscal deficits will more than double to 9.9% of gross domestic product this year from 3.7% in 2019. The IMF notes that global debt will jump 13.1 percentage points to 96.4% of GDP, with the figure jumping to 122.4% of GDP in advanced economies from 105.2% in 2019.
The developed economies of the West will likely shrink by 6.1% on average. Italy and Spain – the two worst-affected European economies from COVID-19 – will see the GDP falls of 9.1% and 8%, respectively. The UK’s drop in output is put at 6.5%. China’s growth rate is expected to fall from 6.1% last year to 1.2% in 2020, while India is on course to expand by 1.9%, down from 4.2%.
Adjusted to take account of population changes, the IMF’s forecasts were even gloomier. GDP per head – one measure of living standards – is expected to fall globally by 4.2% in 2020 and by 6.5% in advanced countries.
The UN report on the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on the situation in the Arab region says that it will contribute to the poverty and food insecurity:
The Arab region will witness an additional 8.3 million people falling into poverty. The economic slowdown caused by COVID-19 is expected to negatively impact jobs, incomes, business and the flow of remittances in the Arab region, resulting in a shrinking middleincome class. Consequently, an estimated 8.3 million people will fall into poverty, meaning that a total of 101.4 million people in the region will be classified as poor. The consequences of this crisis could be particularly severe on vulnerable groups, especially women and young adults, and those working in the informal sector who have no access to social protection and unemployment insurance. The challenge is further compounded by a lack of social protection floors and noninclusive social protection schemes in some Arab countries. The economic downturn is expected to intensify existing food insecurity in the region, specifically for the poor. Currently, around 50 million people are undernourished in the Arab region. Increased poverty could lead to an additional 1.9 million people becoming undernourished. With the closure of schools in several countries, school feeding programmes that substantially contribute to children’s food security have been interrupted. The Arab region spends around $110 billion on food imports, which is about 4 per cent of its GDP. More than 50 per cent of daily calories consumed in the Arab region are from imported food. Wheat is the main consumed cereal in the region, with about 127 kg per capita annually, but 65 per cent of wheat consumption is imported. Rice is another major consumption item among cereals, but the region is a net importer of rice. Wheat and rice together represent around $11 billion of the region’s trade deficit. The Arab region may witness food shortage and price hikes if a prolonged Corona pandemic disrupts global food supplies.
The IMF says that governments around the world have taken fiscal actions amounting to about $8 trillion, including more than $2 trillion in the US.
Over the past weeks, the IMF has been consistently calling on governments to pay more attention to the economic situation despite the global COVID-19 hype. Germany already followed this advice.
The current economic crisis will deliver the main blow to the lower middle class and the working class of the world population. The negative economic developments will contribute to the increase of mortality and unemployment rate, and the decrease of standards of living.
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southfront--2020-04-16--Military Situation In Yemen On April 16, 2020 (Map Update)

Click to see the full-size image A brief overview of the recent developments in Yemen : • Clashes between Ansar @ @ @ @ @ reported on the Qaniya front ; • Clashes between Ansar Allah and Saudi-led forces were @ @ @ @ @ Shaaf front ; MORE ON THE TOPIC :

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A brief overview of the recent developments in Yemen:
Clashes between Ansar Allah and Saudi-led forces were reported on the Qaniya front;
Clashes between Ansar Allah and Saudi-led forces were reported on the Khab and Shaaf front;
Ceasefire violations were reported in al-Hudaydah;
Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck the Sarwah area 11 times;
Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck the Kitaf area 3 times;
Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck the Majzar area 2 times.
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southfront--2020-04-16--Military Situation In Syria On April 16, 2020 (Map Update)

Click to see the full-size image A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria : • Israeli airstrikes hit @ @ @ @ @ of Jdaidit Yabws .
The vehicle was allegedly belonging to Hezbollah ; • Hayat Tahrir @ @ @ @ @ : the Talhah ibn Ubaydullah Brigade , the Ali ibn Abi Talib Brigade , the @ @ @ @ @ • The Syrian Army eliminated Abu al-Walid Tell Hadya , a prominent Hayat Tahrir al-Sham @ @ @ @ @ • Kurdish sources claim that former ISIS members held a meeting in the Turkisih-occupied town @ @ @ @ @ ON THE TOPIC :

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A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria:
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southfront--2020-04-16--U.S. Space Command Says Russia Tested Anti-Satellite Missile

On April 15th , the US Space Command said that Russia had tested a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile .
“ Russia ’ s DA-ASAT test provides yet another example that the threats to U.S. and allied space systems are real , serious , and growing , ” SPACECOM boss Gen. Jay Raymond said in the release .
“ The United States is ready and committed to deterring aggression and defending the nation , our allies , and U.S. interests from hostile acts in space.
” “ This test is further proof of Russia ’ s hypocritical advocacy of outer space arms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the United States while clearly having no intention of halting their counterspace weapons programs , ” Raymond said .
There was no claim at what specifically the Russians were allegedly aiming at , but spokeswoman Lt. Col. Christina Hoggatt said that no space debris was being tracked as a result .
SPACECOM said Russia ’ s missile can destroy satellites in low Earth orbit , which stretches up to 1,200 miles above the Earth .
Direct-ascent weapons try “ to strike a satellite using a trajectory that intersects the target satellite without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies .
Raymond has called on governments to adopt norms for responsible behavior in space .
In a recent executive order signed by US President Donald Trump , this “ responsible behavior in space ” is outlined as Washington ’ s hegemony in space , since it can ’ t be considered a “ global commons ” and as such , the U.S. should be allowed to decide what happens in it , plus also be allowed enforce the rules with strength if other ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Raymond in February called out Russia for deploying an “ inspector ” satellite dubbed Cosmos-2542 that ejected a sub-satellite , Cosmos-2543 that was reportedly chasing USA 245 , a classified imaging satellite owned by the National Reconnaissance Office .
Space weapons expert Brian Weeden , of the Secure World Foundation , said the weapon tested was a Nudol ballistic missile test , and Russia put out a warning that it would be launching one .
“ This appears to have been the 9th or 10th test of the Nudol system since 2014 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been in development for a while , ” Weeden said .
According to American data , this is the eighth test of the Nudol missile , whether it was successful is not reported .
The previous ( successful , according to American intelligence sources ) test of the Nudol missile was carried out from Plesetsk on December 23rd , 2018 , when a missile launched from a mobile launcher flew 1864 miles in 17 minutes .
The launching sites for testing the Nudol missiles in Plesetsk are allegedly located on the former launch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So far , according to US data , prior to April 15th , the system has been tested 7 times , out of which 5 were successful : • First launch on August 12th , 2014 – from the Plesetsk training ground , according to the US Department of Defense was unsuccessful , however , according to the web resource planet4589.org , it was successful ; • Second launch on April 22nd , 2015 – from Plesetsk – according to the US Department of Defense and the planet4589.org web resource , was unsuccessful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2015 – from Plesetsk , and it was successful ; • Fourth Launch on May 25th , 2016 – from Plesetsk , and it was successful ; • Fifth launch on December 16th , 2016 – made from a base in the central part of Russia , possibly the Kapustin Yar training ground and it was successful ; • Sixth launch on March 26th , 2018 – from Plesetsk , with a standard mobile launcher and it was successful ; • Seventh launch on December 23rd , 2018 – from Plesetsk , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was successful .
Transfer and launch of the The Nudol DA-ASAT system has been under development since at least 2011 and may form the mobile ASAT portion , or is possibly an offshoot , of the proposed A-235 anti-ballistic missile ( ABM ) system ( RTTs-181M ) –OTR ( operational tactical rocket ) , codename Samolet-M –that has been under development since 1985 .
The A-235 is intended to replace the Moscow-area A-135 Amur ( ABM-4A ‘ Gazelle ’ /ABM-4B ‘ Gorgon ’ , sometimes also designated ABM-3 ‘ Gazelle ’ /ABM-4 ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ various components including the 53T6M endoatmospheric interceptor , which is a modified 53T6 ( ABM-4A ‘ Gazelle ’ ) from the A-135 , currently undergoing testing .
Regardless , Moscow maintains that it is against the deployment of weapons in Space , and it is also no surprise that it is developing capabilities to counter any weapons in space , by using ground-based means , if the United States is keen on sabotaging all attempts to reach an agreement in the field that doesn ’ t directly and only cater to Washington ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ :

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On April 15th, the US Space Command said that Russia had tested a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile.
“Russia’s DA-ASAT test provides yet another example that the threats to U.S. and allied space systems are real, serious, and growing,” SPACECOM boss Gen. Jay Raymond said in the release. “The United States is ready and committed to deterring aggression and defending the nation, our allies, and U.S. interests from hostile acts in space.” “This test is further proof of Russia’s hypocritical advocacy of outer space arms control proposals designed to restrict the capabilities of the United States while clearly having no intention of halting their counterspace weapons programs,” Raymond said.
There was no claim at what specifically the Russians were allegedly aiming at, but spokeswoman Lt. Col. Christina Hoggatt said that no space debris was being tracked as a result.
SPACECOM said Russia’s missile can destroy satellites in low Earth orbit, which stretches up to 1,200 miles above the Earth. Direct-ascent weapons try “to strike a satellite using a trajectory that intersects the target satellite without placing the interceptor into orbit,” according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Yet another example that the threats to U.S. and allied space systems are real, serious and growing,” Gen. John Raymond said. “This test is further proof of Russia’s hypocritical advocacy of outer space arms control proposals designed to restrict the capabilities of the United States while clearly having no intention of halting their counterspace weapons programs.”
Raymond has called on governments to adopt norms for responsible behavior in space.
“It is a shared interest and responsibility of all spacefaring nations to create safe, stable and operationally sustainable conditions for space activities, including commercial, civil and national security activities,” he said.
In a recent executive order signed by US President Donald Trump, this “responsible behavior in space” is outlined as Washington’s hegemony in space, since it can’t be considered a “global commons” and as such, the U.S. should be allowed to decide what happens in it, plus also be allowed enforce the rules with strength if other’s aren’t playing by them.
Raymond in February called out Russia for deploying an “inspector” satellite dubbed Cosmos-2542 that ejected a sub-satellite, Cosmos-2543 that was reportedly chasing USA 245, a classified imaging satellite owned by the National Reconnaissance Office.
“These satellites have been actively maneuvering near a U.S. government satellite,” Raymond said. “We remain committed to preferring that space remain free of conflict,” Raymond told SpaceNews. “But other nations have turned space into a warfighting domain,” he added. “Russia is developing on-orbit capabilities that seek to exploit the United States’ reliance on space-based systems.”
Space weapons expert Brian Weeden, of the Secure World Foundation, said the weapon tested was a Nudol ballistic missile test, and Russia put out a warning that it would be launching one. “This appears to have been the 9th or 10th test of the Nudol system since 2014, so we known this system has been in development for a while,” Weeden said.
According to American data, this is the eighth test of the Nudol missile, whether it was successful is not reported.
The previous (successful, according to American intelligence sources) test of the Nudol missile was carried out from Plesetsk on December 23rd, 2018, when a missile launched from a mobile launcher flew 1864 miles in 17 minutes.
The launching sites for testing the Nudol missiles in Plesetsk are allegedly located on the former launch pad of the Tsyklon launch vehicles.
So far, according to US data, prior to April 15th, the system has been tested 7 times, out of which 5 were successful:
First launch on August 12 th , 2014 – from the Plesetsk training ground, according to the US Department of Defense was unsuccessful, however, according to the web resource planet4589.org, it was successful;
, 2014 – from the Plesetsk training ground, according to the US Department of Defense was unsuccessful, however, according to the web resource planet4589.org, it was successful; Second launch on April 22 nd , 2015 – from Plesetsk – according to the US Department of Defense and the planet4589.org web resource, was unsuccessful;
, 2015 – from Plesetsk – according to the US Department of Defense and the planet4589.org web resource, was unsuccessful; Third launch on November 18 th , 2015 – from Plesetsk, and it was successful;
, 2015 – from Plesetsk, and it was successful; Fourth Launch on May 25 th , 2016 – from Plesetsk, and it was successful;
, 2016 – from Plesetsk, and it was successful; Fifth launch on December 16 th , 2016 – made from a base in the central part of Russia, possibly the Kapustin Yar training ground and it was successful;
, 2016 – made from a base in the central part of Russia, possibly the Kapustin Yar training ground and it was successful; Sixth launch on March 26 th , 2018 – from Plesetsk, with a standard mobile launcher and it was successful;
, 2018 – from Plesetsk, with a standard mobile launcher and it was successful; Seventh launch on December 23rd, 2018 – from Plesetsk, with a standard mobile launcher and it was successful.
Transfer and launch of the anti-missile defense system A-235 (Nudol) at the Sary-Shagan test site, supposedly on August 30, 2018.
The Nudol DA-ASAT system has been under development since at least 2011 and may form the mobile ASAT portion, or is possibly an offshoot, of the proposed A-235 anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system (RTTs-181M) –OTR (operational tactical rocket), codename Samolet-M –that has been under development since 1985. The A-235 is intended to replace the Moscow-area A-135 Amur (ABM-4A ‘Gazelle’/ABM-4B ‘Gorgon’, sometimes also designated ABM-3 ‘Gazelle’/ABM-4 ‘Gorgon’) ABM system, with various components including the 53T6M endoatmospheric interceptor, which is a modified 53T6 (ABM-4A ‘Gazelle’) from the A-135, currently undergoing testing.
Regardless, Moscow maintains that it is against the deployment of weapons in Space, and it is also no surprise that it is developing capabilities to counter any weapons in space, by using ground-based means, if the United States is keen on sabotaging all attempts to reach an agreement in the field that doesn’t directly and only cater to Washington’s interests.
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southfront--2020-04-16--Germany Arrests 4 ISIS Suspects Planning Attack On US Military Bases

Four suspected ISIS members were arrested in Germany for allegedly planning to attack U.S. Air Force bases , German federal @ @ @ @ @ .
Federal prosecutors said the suspects were arrested by tactical police units early Wednesday at @ @ @ @ @ state of North Rhine-Westphalia .
They identified the men as Azizjon B. , Muhammadali G. @ @ @ @ @ K. — all citizens of Tajikistan .
The suspects ’ surnames weren ’ t released @ @ @ @ @ men ’ s alleged leader , a 30-year-old Tajik man identified only as Ravsan B.
@ @ @ @ @ since March 2019 on unspecified charges .

Four suspected ISIS members were arrested in Germany for allegedly planning to attack U.S. Air Force bases, German federal prosecutors announced on April 15.
The Associated Press reports (source):
Federal prosecutors said the suspects were arrested by tactical police units early Wednesday at various locations in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
They identified the men as Azizjon B., Muhammadali G., Farhodshoh K. and Sunatullokh K. — all citizens of Tajikistan. The suspects’ surnames weren’t released for privacy reasons.
The men’s alleged leader, a 30-year-old Tajik man identified only as Ravsan B., has been in jail since March 2019 on unspecified charges.


southfront--2020-04-16--U.S. Propaganda Went Full Offensive Against China. Now It Blames Beijing For Nuclear Weapon Testing

US warmongers are annoyed at the lack of info shared by the Chinese admin , so lash out with all @ @ @ @ @ american ’ s seem to lose their critical thinking skills when it comes to China @ @ @ @ @ have thought that the cat would be firmly out of the bag after the political @ @ @ @ @ lame media during the last few years .
It also seems that cnn , et @ @ @ @ @ their dwindling audience to remain in moron mode because they keep trying to push the @ @ @ @ @ Chinese are obviously gearing up for a conflict with the US and their nato lapdog @ @ @ @ @ Russia , have no other option because the people of the western societies can not @ @ @ @ @ have been out of control for decades , possibly centuries .

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“China maintained a high level of activity at its Lop Nur nuclear weapons test site throughout 2019. China’s possible preparation to operate its Lop Nur test site year-round, its use of explosive containment chambers, extensive excavation activities at Lop Nur, and lack of transparency on its nuclear testing activities – which has included frequently blocking the flow of data from its International Monitoring System (IMS) stations to the International Data Center operated by the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization – raise concerns regarding its adherence to the “zero yield” standard adhered to by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France in their respective nuclear weapons testing moratoria,” the State Department’s Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments (Compliance Report) says.


southfront--2020-04-16--Fox News Reports Coronavirus Originated In Wuhan Lab

The official story of the US media has evolved to the point when China is not only guilty of spreading the COVID-19 outbreak , but has also created COVID-19 itself .
reports that COVID-19 originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology and that “ patient zero ” was a lab employee who became infected before spreading it in the community – just as we have reported repeatedly over the past three months , in exchange for which Twitter ’ s “ appropriate content ” arbiters deplatformed us without reason or explanation .
According to ‘ multiple sources who have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by China ’ s government , ’ the initial transmission of the virus was bat-to-human , and that the ‘ official ’ story amplified by the MSM – namely that the virus originated at the Wuhan wet market – was a coverup by Chinese officials ‘ in order to deflect blame from the laboratory , along with the country ’ s propaganda efforts targeting the U.S. and Italy , ’ reads the report .
In what may or may not be a bit of narrative shaping from ‘ official sources , ’ reports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working with COVID-19 “ not as a bioweapon , but as part of China ’ s effort to demonstrate that its efforts to identify and combat viruses are equal to or greater than the capabilities of the United States.
” So – lab accident while trying to compete with America ’ s capabilities appears to be the official story .
On Tuesday , the reported that the US State Department received two cables from US Embassy officials in 2018 warning of inadequate safety at WIF , which was conducting ‘ risky studies ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which notes that the cables have “ fueled discussions inside the U.S. government about whether this or another Wuhan lab was the source of the virus.
” Responding to the report , Gen. Mark Milley , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the United States has taken a “ keen interest ” in the theory that COVID-19 originated at the Wuhan lab , but that “ we don ’ t know for certain.
” On Tuesday , President Trump hinted that there was more to the story about the lab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Wuhan Institute and whether the US had considered the possibility that the virus may have leaked .
Trump ’ s response was extremely interesting , to say the least .
As a follow-up , the reporter continued , “ did you ever discuss with him concerns about lax safety protocols about that lab ?
” Trump replied : “ I don ’ t want to talk about what I discussed with him about the laboratory .
I just don ’ t want to talk about it , ” Trump responded .
Meanwhile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent ” suppressed and altered data – destroying samples , scrubbing contaminated areas , and stifling academic articles .
There were doctors and journalists who were “ disappeared ” warning of the spread of the virus and its contagious nature and human to human transmission .
China moved quickly to shut down travel domestically from Wuhan to the rest of China , but did not stop international flights from Wuhan .
Additionally , the sources tell Fox News the World Health Organization ( WHO ) was complicit from the beginning in helping China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now a word from Brendan Carr , commissioner of the FCC to Twitter CEO , .

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The official story of the US media has evolved to the point when China is not only guilty of spreading the COVID-19 outbreak, but has also created COVID-19 itself.
ZeroHedge reports (source):
Fox News reports that COVID-19 originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology and that “patient zero” was a lab employee who became infected before spreading it in the community – just as we have reported repeatedly over the past three months, in exchange for which Twitter’s “appropriate content” arbiters deplatformed us without reason or explanation.
According to ‘multiple sources who have been briefed on the details of early actions by China’s government,’ the initial transmission of the virus was bat-to-human, and that the ‘official’ story amplified by the MSM – namely that the virus originated at the Wuhan wet market – was a coverup by Chinese officials ‘in order to deflect blame from the laboratory, along with the country’s propaganda efforts targeting the U.S. and Italy,’ reads the report.
In what may or may not be a bit of narrative shaping from ‘official sources,’ Fox reports that China’s Wuhan laboratory was working with COVID-19 “not as a bioweapon, but as part of China’s effort to demonstrate that its efforts to identify and combat viruses are equal to or greater than the capabilities of the United States.”
So – lab accident while trying to compete with America’s capabilities appears to be the official story.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that the US State Department received two cables from US Embassy officials in 2018 warning of inadequate safety at WIF, which was conducting ‘risky studies’ on bat coronaviruses, according to the Washington Post, which notes that the cables have “fueled discussions inside the U.S. government about whether this or another Wuhan lab was the source of the virus.”
Responding to the report, Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the United States has taken a “keen interest” in the theory that COVID-19 originated at the Wuhan lab, but that “we don’t know for certain.”
On Tuesday, President Trump hinted that there was more to the story about the lab, after a Fox News reporter asked him about the Wuhan Institute and whether the US had considered the possibility that the virus may have leaked.
Trump’s response was extremely interesting, to say the least.
“More and more we’re hearing the story…we are doing a very thorough examination of this horrible situation that happened.”
As a follow-up, the reporter continued, “did you ever discuss with him concerns about lax safety protocols about that lab?”
Trump replied: “I don’t want to talk about what I discussed with him about the laboratory. I just don’t want to talk about it,” Trump responded.
Trump on reporting that the coronavirus, while a naturally-occurring virus, came from a Wuhan laboratory: “I don’t want to say that … but I will tell you more and more we’re hearing the story…we are doing a very thorough examination” Fox News’ report: https://t.co/dU7bU2qk05 pic.twitter.com/eks49IvbST — JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) April 15, 2020
China’s suppression campaign
Meanwhile, Fox News also reports that China “100 percent” suppressed and altered data – destroying samples, scrubbing contaminated areas, and stifling academic articles.
There were doctors and journalists who were “disappeared” warning of the spread of the virus and its contagious nature and human to human transmission. China moved quickly to shut down travel domestically from Wuhan to the rest of China, but did not stop international flights from Wuhan. Additionally, the sources tell Fox News the World Health Organization (WHO) was complicit from the beginning in helping China cover its tracks. -Fox News
And now a word from Brendan Carr, commissioner of the FCC to Twitter CEO, @Jack.
I’m old enough to remember when posting this would get you deplatformed.https://t.co/zfbqFHiyqe — Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) April 15, 2020
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southfront--2020-04-16--Haftar’s Forces Progress In Tripoli, As Siege Of Al-Watiya Airbase By GNA Begins

On April 15th , Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Mesmari , spokesperson of the Libyan National Army gave a press conference regarding the events of the past several days in Sabratha and Surman .
First , al-Mesmari began by saying that the Government of National Accord ( GNA ) forces were also preparing for an attack towards the east , in an attempt to capture Sirte back from Haftar ’ s forces .
However , due to an LNA operation a large number of enemy forces and equipment were destroyed .
This took place in the Abu Greine area , and currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operation .
LNA intelligence is monitoring the movements of the factions in the direction of the city of Tawarg , the airspace over Misrata is closed .
There are heavy clashes in the area around Castelverde , and the LNA is allegedly with the upper hand , but he provided no additional details .
In Tripoli , the LNA is successfully pushing into Ain Zar and Abu Salim .
LNA entered the Abu Salim quarters from the south and southwest .
On the night of April 13th , it captured several Syrians , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ammunition .
Regarding the events that took place in Sabratha and Surman .
According to him , LNA forces did not enter these cities with weapons .
An example is given with Sabratha – the population did not want the presence of terrorist groups in the city , the operational headquarters of Sabratha was created , all the youth of Sabratha gathered around this headquarters and expelled all terrorist groups .
In 2018 , GNA council president Fayez al-Serraj honored the Sabratha officers , gave them high ranks .
Then they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which made many statements , but did not really follow up on their promises .
Many ISIS fighters from the Mitig prison arrived in the city .
The residents of Sabrahta and Surman were not satisfied with this course of events , and they came to a peaceful protest and appealed to the Libyan government , the House of Representatives and the High Command of the LNA .
The forces that were present there were the self-defense forces of these cities : Surman , Sabratha , al-Ajailat .
And when the attack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Turkish command using UAVs , about which the Turks wrote in their newspapers and on websites , the terrorist groups belonging to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State were able to go on the offensive .
Our forces at al-Watiya airbase are in full readiness .
The aircraft made several attacks on the Shakshuk area , and struck at factions .
In al-Ass , a large number of equipment of the GNA forces were destroyed , who were planning an attack on the airbase .
“ Why is there such an interest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces are close to Mitiga , and the Turks are looking for a replacement for this base , and want to capture al-Watiya.
” He then urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be honest to the Turkish people .
“ We are fighting a war against the Turkish Armed Forces , with all its arms .
We will never stain ourselves with what armed groups do .
When we entered Zliten , al-Adzhayilat and other cities of the region , we did not break into any house .
We went into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This war will be long .
Our Commander-in-Chief said back in 2016 that the war would be long .
We urge Erdogan to explain to the Turkish people how he rules with such a stupid mind , and we urge him not to dream that he can become a new caliph for the Libyans and other nations , and not to dream that everything can be solved with the help of weapons.
” On the ground , the GNA carried out heavy shelling of LNA forces south of Tripoli in Qasr Bin Ghashir @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air strikes mentioned by al-Mesmari took place , on a convoy of at least 30 vehicles moving towards al-Watiya airbase .
LNA Air Force targets the gathering of GNA military vehicles at Al-Raheebat Junction , slightly to the west of Tripoli .
These vehicles were also likely moving towards al-Watiya .
The heavy clashes are on-going , and it appears that the LNA is making progress in Tripoli and towards Mitiga , while the GNA could likely be making progress towards al-Watiya .
UAE drones supporting Haftar ’ s forces had carried out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Western Mountain city of Jadu , killing eight and injuring 15 persons , sources from the city said .
The commander of the GNA ’ s western joint operations room Osama Juwaili called on the cities harboring “ gangs escaping from west coast cities ” to Western Mountain region to kick them out so that Libyan Army forces wouldn ’ t have to carry out military operations in those areas .
Juwaili told reporters that Haftar managed to bring to his side “ criminals and Gaddafi ” loyalists with fake promises and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mobilize those “ gangs at Al-Watiya airbase to bomb Tripoli ” .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Extremist Images Brandished Immediately After Towns “ Liberated ” Away From Haftar ’ s Forces

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On April 15th, Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Mesmari, spokesperson of the Libyan National Army gave a press conference regarding the events of the past several days in Sabratha and Surman.
First, al-Mesmari began by saying that the Government of National Accord (GNA) forces were also preparing for an attack towards the east, in an attempt to capture Sirte back from Haftar’s forces.
However, due to an LNA operation a large number of enemy forces and equipment were destroyed.
This took place in the Abu Greine area, and currently there is a lull, following the operation. LNA intelligence is monitoring the movements of the factions in the direction of the city of Tawarg, the airspace over Misrata is closed.
There are heavy clashes in the area around Castelverde, and the LNA is allegedly with the upper hand, but he provided no additional details.
In Tripoli, the LNA is successfully pushing into Ain Zar and Abu Salim.
LNA entered the Abu Salim quarters from the south and southwest.
On the night of April 13th, it captured several Syrians, killed several, seized weapons, equipment and ammunition.
Regarding the events that took place in Sabratha and Surman.
According to him, LNA forces did not enter these cities with weapons.
An example is given with Sabratha – the population did not want the presence of terrorist groups in the city, the operational headquarters of Sabratha was created, all the youth of Sabratha gathered around this headquarters and expelled all terrorist groups.
In 2018, GNA council president Fayez al-Serraj honored the Sabratha officers, gave them high ranks.
Then they were on the side of the Presidential Council, which made many statements, but did not really follow up on their promises.
Many ISIS fighters from the Mitig prison arrived in the city. The residents of Sabrahta and Surman were not satisfied with this course of events, and they came to a peaceful protest and appealed to the Libyan government, the House of Representatives and the High Command of the LNA.
The forces that were present there were the self-defense forces of these cities: Surman, Sabratha, al-Ajailat.
And when the attack happened, which was completely supervised by the Turkish command using UAVs, about which the Turks wrote in their newspapers and on websites, the terrorist groups belonging to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State were able to go on the offensive.
“People often try to blame the LNA for the crimes committed by the armed groups themselves. We want everyone to know that we are fighting the terrorist groups controlled by Turkey through their agent Serraj.”
Our forces at al-Watiya airbase are in full readiness. The aircraft made several attacks on the Shakshuk area, and struck at factions. In al-Ass, a large number of equipment of the GNA forces were destroyed, who were planning an attack on the airbase.
“Why is there such an interest in this base? Because in Tripoli our forces are close to Mitiga, and the Turks are looking for a replacement for this base, and want to capture al-Watiya.”
He then urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be honest to the Turkish people.
“We are fighting a war against the Turkish Armed Forces, with all its arms. We will never stain ourselves with what armed groups do. When we entered Zliten, al-Adzhayilat and other cities of the region, we did not break into any house. We went into the cities to drive out the terrorists. This war will be long. Our Commander-in-Chief said back in 2016 that the war would be long. We urge Erdogan to explain to the Turkish people how he rules with such a stupid mind, and we urge him not to dream that he can become a new caliph for the Libyans and other nations, and not to dream that everything can be solved with the help of weapons.”
On the ground, the GNA carried out heavy shelling of LNA forces south of Tripoli in Qasr Bin Ghashir and Souq Al-Sabt.
Meanwhile, the air strikes mentioned by al-Mesmari took place, on a convoy of at least 30 vehicles moving towards al-Watiya airbase.
LNA Air Force targets the gathering of GNA military vehicles at Al-Raheebat Junction, slightly to the west of Tripoli. These vehicles were also likely moving towards al-Watiya.
The heavy clashes are on-going, and it appears that the LNA is making progress in Tripoli and towards Mitiga, while the GNA could likely be making progress towards al-Watiya.
UAE drones supporting Haftar’s forces had carried out airstrikes on forces loyal to GNA in the Western Mountain city of Jadu, killing eight and injuring 15 persons, sources from the city said.
The commander of the GNA’s western joint operations room Osama Juwaili called on the cities harboring “gangs escaping from west coast cities” to Western Mountain region to kick them out so that Libyan Army forces wouldn’t have to carry out military operations in those areas.
Juwaili told reporters that Haftar managed to bring to his side “criminals and Gaddafi” loyalists with fake promises and money, using Sabratha and Surman to mobilize those “gangs at Al-Watiya airbase to bomb Tripoli”.
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southfront--2020-04-16--11 IRGCN Boats “Harassed” 6 U.S. Warships In Persian Gulf

On April 15th , 11 Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ( IRGC ) navy vessels “ harassed ” 6 US warships operating in the north Persian Gulf , US Navy ’ s Central Command said .
The IRGCN vessels repeatedly conducted “ dangerous and harassing approaches ” of the USS Lewis B. Puller , USS Paul Hamilton , USS Firebolt , USS Sirocco , USCGC Wrangell and USCGC Maui while the U.S. vessels were conducting joint integration operations with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in the international waters of the North Arabian Gulf .
“ The IRGCN vessels repeatedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds , including multiple crossings of the Puller with a 50-yard closest point of approach ( CPA ) and within 10 yards of Maui ’ s bow .
The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio , five short blasts from the ships ’ horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices , but received no response from the IRGCN.
” After about 1 hour of calls , the IRGCN responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries and maneuvered away .
Of course , accusations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ As expected , Iran is continuing to flex muscle amid the global pandemic , because unlike what Iran hawks keep telling you , it ’ s neither deterred nor about to hit the pause button on tensions with the US to focus on public health , ” Ariane Tabatabai , a Middle East fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the US , wrote on Twitter .
There ’ s been no official Iranian comment , but Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted , once again , against US ’ sanctions regime .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Precise Are Iranian Missiles ?
Analysis Of Missile Strikes On U.S. Military Base In Iraq • U.S .
Confirms Deployment Of Patriot Missiles In Iraq .
Iran Prepares For Conflict In Straight Of Hormuz • Iran Deploys Additional Anti-Ship Missiles , Multiple Rocket Launchers On Qeshm Island In Strait Of Hormuz ( Photos , Videos )

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On April 15th, 11 Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy vessels “harassed” 6 US warships operating in the north Persian Gulf, US Navy’s Central Command said.
BREAKING: 11 Iranian #IRGCN vessels repeatedly conducted dangerous & harassing approaches against U.S. naval ships operating in international waters of North Arabian Gulf. U.S. crews took actions deemed appropriate to avoid collision. Details: https://t.co/ZVKPKv738o pic.twitter.com/lKJgDz0l2N — U.S. Navy (@USNavy) April 15, 2020
The IRGCN vessels repeatedly conducted “dangerous and harassing approaches” of the USS Lewis B. Puller, USS Paul Hamilton, USS Firebolt, USS Sirocco, USCGC Wrangell and USCGC Maui while the U.S. vessels were conducting joint integration operations with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in the international waters of the North Arabian Gulf.
“The IRGCN vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds, including multiple crossings of the Puller with a 50-yard closest point of approach (CPA) and within 10 yards of Maui’s bow. The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships’ horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices, but received no response from the IRGCN.”
After about 1 hour of calls, the IRGCN responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries and maneuvered away.
Of course, accusations of Iranian conduct were quick to follow:
“As expected, Iran is continuing to flex muscle amid the global pandemic, because unlike what Iran hawks keep telling you, it’s neither deterred nor about to hit the pause button on tensions with the US to focus on public health,” Ariane Tabatabai, a Middle East fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the US, wrote on Twitter.
As expected, Iran is continuing to flex muscle amid the global pandemic because unlike what Iran hawks keep telling you, it’s neither deterred nor about to hit the pause button on tensions with the US to focus on public health. https://t.co/khWniGkbdm https://t.co/Bs7C10hi7z — Ariane Tabatabai (@ArianeTabatabai) April 15, 2020
Video of #IRGCN vessels conducting dangerous & harassing approaches on U.S. naval vessels in the international waters of the North Arabian Gulf. pic.twitter.com/zL9VKQ0eiQ — U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) April 15, 2020
There’s been no official Iranian comment, but Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted, once again, against US’ sanctions regime.
The world is learning what Iran has known & experienced all along: US regime’s bullying, threatening & vainglorious blathering isn’t just an addiction: it kills people. Like “maximum pressure” against Iran, the shameful defunding WHO amid a pandemic will live in infamy. — Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 15, 2020
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