Sunday, 17 June 2018

Weekend Update 17/06/2018 Gazprom- N. Korea. Inside Bilderberg.



“You are a slow learner, Winston."
"How can I help it? How can I help but see what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four."
"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder.

George Orwell 1984.

Today as we await the next big news from the Russian hosted world Cup, who really stands to gain from bringing North Korea in from the cold, apart from both Koreas and China that is.  The answer looks like Russia.

Plus the elitist “Lords of the Universe” infiltrated and exposed.

Other interesting things. The Fall of Migrant Mad Merkel?

Gazprom mulls gas pipeline through North Korea

Talks about a gas transmission corridor through the Korean Peninsula have been in the works for the better part of a decade.
June 15, 2018 at 9:49 AM
June 15 (UPI) -- Russia could be collaborating with Seoul on the construction of a natural gas pipeline through North Korean territory, a Gazprom official said Friday.

South Korean officials hinted earlier this year that a thaw in tensions on the Korean Peninsula could open the door to the construction of a Russian gas pipeline through countries divided by the 38th Parallel.

Vitaly Markelov, the deputy CEO at Gazrpom, told reporters Friday the recent diplomatic events in Singapore could make it easier to move forward.

"To date, the political situation has been somewhat different, and the South Korean side has asked Gazprom to resume the project, and a series of talks has been held on this issue, and these talks are continuing," he was quoted by Russia news agency Tass as saying.

Energy talks between Korea and Russia extend back at least a decade. Both sides signed agreements in 2009 to import liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin facility. Gazprom and Korea Gas Corp signed a memorandum of understanding on natural gas supplies in 2008 and moved on exploration deals in 2009.

Russian energy company Gazprom announced in late 2011 that it signed a memorandum of understanding with North Korea to build a natural gas transmission system to the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea is one of the largest natural gas consumers in the world. If built, the pipeline has the potential to bring in more than $500 million each year in transit fees for the North Korean government, reports stated at the time.

U.S. President Donald Trump made a historic handshake this week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In a joint statement, both sides said the diplomatic outreach would lead to "the promotion of peace, prosperity, and security of the Korean Peninsula and of the world."

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted North Korean Supreme People's Assembly Presidium Kim Yong Nam at his office in Moscow. Putin said the détente was welcome and could lead to open doors in the North Korean economy.

"We are ready to continue this work and make all necessary efforts to establish ties, including in economic cooperation, together with you," he said Thursday.

Bulk of S. Korean trading firms want to take part in N. Korea projects: poll

2018/06/17 12:03
SEOUL, June 17 (Yonhap) -- The bulk of South Korean trading companies want to take part in North Korean development projects, with many showing an interest in construction, a local poll revealed Sunday.

According to a survey carried out by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on 1,176 companies, 80 percent said they wished to take part in North Korean ventures once international sanctions are lifted.

Expectations are running high that the successful summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week will lead to Pyongyang's complete denuclearization and the lifting of various restrictions that have blocked all exchange with the reclusive nation.

KITA said that 36.1 percent of the companies polled said they would seek new business opportunities through trade and that 25.1 percent said they wanted to take advantage of low wages in the North. Some 12.5 percent were interested in future social overhead capital projects in the North, while 11.7 percent wanted to use the country to make headway into neighboring China and the Russian Far East.

By industry, 35.1 percent of local companies viewed infrastructure development as the most promising area, followed by 17.3 percent for electronics, 15.3 percent for tourism and 13.5 percent for textiles and clothing.

The latest survey showed that among those that did not have any plans to enter the North, 22 percent cited a lack of reliable information, while 18.6 percent raised concerns about interference by the North Korean authorities. A further 13.7 percent were worried that future South Korean governments would alter course on North Korea, and 11.6 percent had reservations about sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations.

Companies then asked the government to do more to create a favorable environment for cross-border exchange and for joint efforts to build up the North's poor infrastructure, such as roads, electricity and port facilities.

In regards to the effect better inter-Korean relations would have on the national economy, 46.9 percent said they would have a very positive impact, and 39.8 percent said things would be somewhat better. Only 9.4 percent had a neutral view, while those having a negative opinion amounted to 3.9 percent.

In addition, 85.1 percent said improvements in South-North relations would be good for their business.

The international traders organization then said 31.7 percent of companies expected inter-Korean trade to resume in 4-5 years, while 22.3 percent predicted normalization in 2019.
More

Undercover at the world's most secretive society: Mail reporter infiltrates shadowy Bilderberg summit where the West's power brokers set the world to rights

  • Secret conference of the global liberal elite held in luxury hotel on police lockdown for three days 
  • Elusive annual ‘Bilderberg Conference’ is always protected by anti-terror police, military and a no-fly zone 
  • Attended by figureheads of politics, business, banking, academia, royalty, telecoms, technology
  • For the first time in its 66-year history a journalist penetrated security to go undercover at the hotel
  • 2018 agenda items included Populism, where populist political parties threaten to withdraw from EU
  • Conspiracy theories have surrounded Bilderberg for years, such as claims that it selects world leaders to impose a ‘New World Order’

----Although I feign meek subservience, I know very well why levels of security have been ramped up to such histrionic levels at this unassuming four-star hotel in northern Italy, because I am here undercover. My mission is to covertly observe the most secretive gathering of the influential and powerful in the world, known as the Bilderberg Group.

This cabal of the global, largely liberal, elite — with strong ties to the EU — meets every year amid a cloak of secrecy.

At this year’s gathering? With so-called ‘populism’ high on its agenda, passionate Remainers, including former Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and former Chancellor George Osborne, all took time out of their busy schedules to attend.

Over drinks receptions and lavish meals, they rubbed shoulders with former president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, three serving EU prime ministers and a current European Commissioner in charge of the bloc’s budget.

Last weekend, the Mail became the first newspaper in the 64-year history of Bilderberg to penetrate its formidable security, gaining insight into the extreme paranoia of this most elusive of clubs.

I watched as military police guarded the hotel perimeter and sniffer dogs checked for bombs outside. Last week, one freelance journalist, who posted footage online of the empty garden marquee where the Bilderberg banquet was due to be held, reported that Italian police stormed his hotel room at 4.30am breaking down his door and ‘pointing a gun’ at him.

----The conference operates under ‘Chatham House Rules’, which means participants can use and report information exchanged there, but not disclose the source. But with no record of what goes on — Bilderberg was held on exactly the same weekends as G7 and NATO defence meetings, allowing opportunities for conference calls — critics have said it should be much more transparent. Many argue that the event exists solely to serve as a networking and lobbying opportunity for its attendees.

The Bilderberg Group — so called because it first met in 1954 at the Hotel Bilderberg in the Netherlands — is made up of at least 120 self-proclaimed ‘leading citizens’ of Europe and the U.S., who meet annually to discuss ‘issues of common interest’.

Every summer, figureheads from politics, business, academia, finance and defence lock themselves away in a closely guarded hotel for three days to discuss topics of vital global significance about which the rest of us can only speculate.

Hypothesis and conjecture about the content of their talks inevitably abound. At one extreme there are conspiracy theorists who believe that the hounding from office of Margaret Thatcher, the downfall of U.S. President Richard Nixon and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy were all secretly orchestrated by the Bilderberg Group.

-----I’m told by a manager on my first day: ‘It is a top event. It is like the G7 — people from all over the world. The Fiat boss. You can’t tell anyone what goes on here, all the staff are completely sworn to secrecy.’

I’m told not to engage in conversation with these special guests and instead to ‘look down’.

Last week’s meeting in Turin was hosted by Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, owned by the wealthy Agnelli family dynasty, which housed delegates in a hotel converted from its former Fiat car factory.

----Many of the VIPs arrive in private jets at Turin private airport, from where they are driven with police escorts — blue lights flashing, but no sirens — to the hotel.

A flurry of hotel staff greet the disembarking VIPs, while more staff with hotel-branded umbrellas shield them from the lashing rain.

A polite American man approaches me. ‘Excuse me, where’s the bar around here?’ he asks. I clock his name badge: David Petraeus, former director of the CIA and commander of the United States Central Command, as I ask him what he’d like to drink.
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June 15, 2018 / 10:25 PM

U.S. farmers brace for impact of China trade war, soy at one-year low

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures outpaced falls across most other markets on Friday as the trade war with China escalated and Beijing said it would impose tariffs on U.S. soybean imports, the single most valuable U.S. agricultural export product to its Asian rival.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier announced tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports as he demanded better terms of trade from Beijing to close a $335 billion annual deficit.

The dispute is beginning to disrupt the flow of goods and services between the world’s largest economies. China also said it would tax oil and gas imports from the United States.

Soybean futures dropped 2.3 percent and hit their lowest price in a year as farmers prepared for disruption to the $12 billion worth of soybean shipments they send to China annually. Corn and wheat futures each fell less than 0.5 percent.

The steel industry, also susceptible to the trade dispute, lost ground, as the S&P 1500 Steel index .SPCCOMSTEEL fell 2.4 percent. In contrast, the S&P 500 was last down 0.1 percent and the U.S. dollar index was flat.

Soybeans were hit harder because China is by far the biggest buyer, said Chad Hart, an Iowa State University agricultural economist.

“We can’t find other markets through the world big enough to offset the loss of China,” he said.
China said tariffs on U.S. soybeans would take effect on July 6, a blow to U.S. farmers already struggling due to global grains oversupply. Farm incomes are a half of what they were in 2013, following massive harvests that have depressed crop prices.

Soybean futures responded quickly as traders factored in the impact of lower demand for U.S. soy from top global buyer China. The import levies will increase prices for U.S. soybeans in transit to China that arrive after July 6, potentially prompting buyers to cancel purchases.

This happened when Chinese importers cancelled shipments of U.S. sorghum in April over new tariffs.
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'We might have a new situation' German MP predicts Merkel could be OUSTED end of NEXT WEEK

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel could lose her powerful seat in the heart of Europe as soon as next week amid clashes within her coalition Government over EU migration policies, claimed German MP Kai Whittaker.

00:01, Sat, Jun 16, 2018

Speaking on BBC World at One, the German politician claimed clashes between Angela Merkel and German interior minister Horst Seehofer could result in a "new political situation" in Germany by the end of next week.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician said it was still unclear in Berlin what the essence of the disagreement between the Chancellor and Mr Seehofer was and that other members of the coalition had been left "in the blue".

Mr Whittaker said: “We are in a serious situation because the question of the migration crisis evolved into a power question.

“The question is who is leading the Government? Is it Angela Merkel or is it Horst Seehofer?
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And so on to World Cup Sunday and important issues with Costa Rica v Serbia, Germany v Mexico, and Brazil v Switzerland.

“Well, very long ago, on the spot where the Wild Wood waves now, before ever it had planted itself and grown up to what it now is, there was a city - a city of people, you know. Here, where we are standing, they lived, and walked, and talked, and slept, and carried on their business. Here they stabled their horses and feasted, from here they rode out to fight or drove out to trade. They were a powerful people, and rich, and great builders. They built to last, for they thought their city would last for ever.”

Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

The monthly Coppock Indicators finished May.

DJIA: 24,416 +201 Down. NASDAQ: 7,442 +276 Down. SP500: 2,705 +180 Down.
All three slow indicators moved down in March and April and continued down in May. For some a new bear signal, for others a take profits and get back to cash signal. 

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