[Cid_Yama]

As I have stated before, the new enemy of Western banking interests, is an alternative to themselves, and a challenge to their global hegemony. The economic war against Russia is merely the first salvos in a larger struggle. A global struggle pitting Western banking interests seeking global monopolistic domination, and nations attempting to establish an alternative economic system to challenge that domination.

We, as individuals, are faced with the choice as to whether our personal interests actually align with the will of the Western elite.

If you found yourself living in 1930's Germany, would you align yourself with the Nazis? They were, after all, your nation's leaders. Or would you recognize that their interests were not your own.

After seeing the misery they have inflicted on others, would patriotism or nationalism override reason and blind you to what you have seen?

I have always found that monopolistic power is bad and alternatives are good. Alternatives tend to keep the game honest. But that is my take. You must decide for yourself.

Sergey Naryshkin, speaker of the Russian parliament, said the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping "reinstates once again the impossibility of creating a unipolar world", referring to the Western banking monopolists.

"The Russia-India-China troika is becoming each year more weighty factor internationally in ensuring international and regional stability and security," he said at the Russian Cultural Centre here.

"I want to state that strengthening relations in the RIC is to strengthen security in the world."

Naryshkin also said that they are working on the possibility of "creating a parliamentary dimension of BRICS" - the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The BRICS summit is to be held in Ufa city in Russia in July 2015.

"Within our chairmanship of BRICS we are planning to have a parliamentary forum in Moscow in April," he said, adding that it would be a meeting of the heads of parliament of BRICS countries.

"We are working on the agenda of the BRICS meetings and the parliamentary dimension," Naryshkin added.

He said during the Russia-India inter-parliamentary forum meeting here on Thursday, he had suggested holding a parliamentary format in the RIC format too.

The RIC countries held the 13th Foreign Ministers Meeting in Beijing earlier this month.

Earlier, during a talk at the Observer Research Foundation, Naryshkin said Russia would be chair of the BRICS this year and the Russian Duma had ratified the setting up of the BRICS Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), which were agreed upon during the last BRICS summit in Brazil in July last year.

The BRICS summit had agreed to set up a New Development Bank (NDB) with an initial capital of $50 billion, contributed equally by all the five countries. This would eventually go up to $100 billion over time.

They also agreed to set up a Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) or a reserve pool of currencies of $100 billion to serve as a cushion against temporary balance of payment difficulties.

The two institutions are designed to serve as alternatives to the West-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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[GHung]

"We, as individuals, are faced with the choice as to whether our personal interests actually align with the will of the Western elite."

Sure. How does that work? Do we move to the country/region of the elite of our preference? 'Cause they're all pretty much the same to me. Is there some primer on how to 'align' ourselves in a world drowning in complexity, political impotence and clueless self-declared demigods and their head-pieces?

[dissident]

People in the west should be praying for the success of the RIC. The Orwellian propaganda levels in western media are truly scary. There has to be an alternative power center to undermine what really is becoming global scale totalitarianism. BTW, it is best to read both "Brave New World" and "1984" together to get the message. People think that totalitarianism is all about sadistic state control. That is nonsense since such a regime cannot last due to basic human nature. The most stable totalitarianism is where the proles are content and their views are controllable without any coercion. This is what the west is closest to today. Media consumers swallow the BS dished out to them by the transparently biased media as if it was the word of God.

[Cid_Yama]

"We, as individuals, are faced with the choice as to whether our personal interests actually align with the will of the Western elite."

Sure. How does that work? Do we move to the country/region of the elite of our preference? 'Cause they're all pretty much the same to me. Is there some primer on how to 'align' ourselves in a world drowning in complexity, political impotence and clueless self-declared demigods and their head-pieces?

Why do you have to align yourself with anyone?

A quote from Deus Ex: "I don't know that I've joined anything, except maybe the people."

What you do is speak out. They survive by treating the masses like mushrooms, keeping them in the dark and feeding them shit.

There are 99 of you to every 1 or 2 of them. That is their weakness. They MUST work from the shadows. You just need to shine a light in the dark corners.

Martin Niemöller, a prominent Protestant pastor who was an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler, said it best.

First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Social Democrats, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Social Democrat.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out.

Speak out. Expose them to the light.

Light and Truth are your weapons. How righteous is that?

[Cid_Yama]

And God has provided you with the perfect means to deploy them - the internet.

I am a Taoist. We have a perfect Taoist phrase here in the West. Just get the ball rolling and let nature take it's course.

You don't have to organize, hold protests, or fight a war. Just post the truth.

[GHung]

Cid_Yama: "Speak out. Expose them to the light.
Light and Truth are your weapons. How righteous is that?"

I do, and have for years. Not that anyone listens much. My primary strategy is to starve the beasts; adopt as many ways as I can to not participate in their fucked-up economy. This strategy has numerous benefits besides not contributing to their wealth (power), for all the good it'll do. I do these things for me and mine, not because I think it'll have much effect. If enough people adopted this strategy now, most would be forced to eventually. "Voluntary contraction", "dropping out", etc. ; not exactly new or original, but seemed like a fundamental requirement.

How many folks bitch about TPTB but spend a lifetime willingly contributing to their cause? Just askin'.

[onlooker]

As I have stated before, the new enemy of Western banking interests, is an alternative to themselves, and a challenge to their global hegemony. The economic war against Russia is merely the first salvos in a larger struggle. A global struggle pitting Western banking interests seeking global monopolistic domination, and nations attempting to establish an alternative economic system to challenge that domination.

We, as individuals, are faced with the choice as to whether our personal interests actually align with the will of the Western elite.

If you found yourself living in 1930's Germany, would you align yourself with the Nazis? They were, after all, your nation's leaders. Or would you recognize that their interests were not your own.

After seeing the misery they have inflicted on others, would patriotism or nationalism override reason and blind you to what you have seen?

I have always found that monopolistic power is bad and alternatives are good. Alternatives tend to keep the game honest. But that is my take. You must decide for yourself.

I myself have seen enough of what the country I have lived in my entire life has done , meaning the USA. I would not align myself with them. The manipulative, deceiving and ultimately deeply unjust and unequal proceedings of Geo-politics after WWII is mostly the doing of the elite in the US. We could have headed in such different directions, a world disarmed, connected under the banners of human rights, democracy, individual self-determination, a shift in energy policy towards renewables etc. But no under the authoritarian mandate of US elites after WWII, the US was intent on solidifying its role as the preeminent country in the world if not empire. To this end it helped establish entities such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Council. Also being integral in secret groups such as the Bildenberg group, Council of Foreign Relations and others. They were not interested in a egalitarian world, they were interested in forging their military and economic empire. To this end interfering and intervening in other countries to have favorable governments to cooperate with them, building up a tremendous military, quelling all challengers to the financial hegemony of the Western countries, securing the Middle Eastern oil for themselves mostly and coincidentally not seeking alternatives to Fossil Fuels. Why all this to maintain and increase their financial and military clout. So in short, I have no amenity for the Western countries especially the US.

[Cid_Yama]

Russia-China poised to upset US dollar: Economist

According to Simon Hunt, "de-dollarisation" is gathering pace in EU and Asian trade markets with the likelihood of China and Russia's currencies (Russian Rouble and the Chinese RMB) being linked to gold and the eco-strategic alliance the two world powers are forming.

"Russia is selling oil and gas in currencies other than US dollar undermining the importance of the American petro-dollar. It is also converting its export revenue into physical gold," Hunt told IANS at an event organised by Confederation of Indian Industries here.

According to World Gold Council, Russia became the sixth largest economy to have gold reserves pegged at 1,187.5 tonnes while China ranks seventh with the official figure of reserves at 1,054.1 tonnes.

"Gold is a still a premiere currency where no fiat money including the US dollar can match it," he said.

Hunt said while the US dollar is on its way to decline in European Union (EU) as the recent move from the Swiss National Bank to push the Euro in ECB policy signals "mistrust with American policies and the world being US dollar," the superpower perceives the SCO and BRICS blocks as a viable threat to its hegemony.

According to the economist, China is swapping currencies and keeping Russian companies liquid by taking equity positions in state-owned enterprises, making loans and advances both within China and between the two countries.

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