“NATO has no role at all to be saying what Europe’s relations with Russia should be. For France, Russia is not an adversary, not a threat,” these words by French President Francois Hollande as he landed in Warsaw to attend the alliance’s summit meeting on July 8-9 bring home the undercurrents in European politics following Brexit.

The Financial Times is as pro-NATO as a newspaper possibly could be. So when it revealed on Sunday the organization is increasingly divided, it confirmed what many sharp analysts have suspected for some time - NATO is split on the ‘Russian question’.

French and German banks.

Contagion is the reason Italy’s banking crisis is all of a sudden Europe’s biggest existential threat. Greece’s intractable problems are out of sight, out of mind; Brexit momentarily spooked investors and bankers; but Italy’s banking woes have the potential to wipe out investors and undo over 60 years of supranational state-building in Europe.

We have numerous reports of BANK RUNS taking place right now throughout Italy. Reports of lines of people at ATM's are draining the automatic tellers of all cash.

This comes after weeks of speculation about the health of several Italian banks, including the oldest Bank Monte dei Paschi, which has been in business since the year 1472 - twenty years before Columbus discovered America!

Snce March of this year, SuperStation95 has been reporting the Italian banking system is a “leaning tower” heading toward collapse at literally any moment. And as Italy’s banks begin to go down like dominoes, it is going to set off financial panic all over Europe unlike anything we have ever seen before.

It was a terrific slap because the British people did not buckle, despite the brutal campaign by the Transnational Elite to force them, using all means at its disposal, including the mass media controlled by them.[2] The `Project Fear dismally failed because, as the flagship of the globalist “Left” pointed out, its “fundamental mistake was that it did not understand that far too many Britons, already living insecure and uncertain lives, felt they had little to lose.

The initiators of the vote are calling for the normalization of relations with Russia and the restoration of old commercial and political ties between the countries of the European Community and Moscow. Of the 50 deputies, 33 supported the bill, 17 abstained, and none voted against it.

Europe is imploding as we speak. From riots in Berlin to ATM runs in Italy to Deutsche Bank begging for a 150B Euro bailout – all the controls are breaking down and there is no way to stop it.

Many people are asking…WHY NOW?

I think it has to do with the BREXIT derivatives that start paying out this week.

Let’s face it – the BREXIT was unexpected by the elite even up to the evening of the vote. TRILLIONS in FX bets were gambled on the outcome and those who were supposed to be “in the know” got it wrong. Now they have to pay up according to the rules set out in the ISDA Master Derivative Agreements and individual derivative contracts on OTC Derivative Market.

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev declared in an interview with radio station Echo Moskvy that if the crisis escalates to another war, this war will be the last.

This picture shows the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, on July 7, 2016, the venue of the upcoming NATO summit
© AFP 2016/ JANEK SKARZYNSKI
NATO Not to Cooperate With Moscow in Usual Format Until Minsk Obligations Fulfilled - Obama
NATO leaders agreed on Friday to deploy military forces to the Baltic states and eastern Poland while increasing air and sea patrols to demonstrate readiness to defend eastern members against the alleged ‘Russian aggression.'
Mikhail Gorbachev reportedly said after the summit that the decisions made at NATO summit in Warsaw should be regarded as a preparation for a hot war with Russia.

On Saturday, Gorbachev told Echo Moskvy in an interview that he sticks to what he had said earlier and that he considers NATO decisions short-sighted and dangerous.

But as the ramifications of the UK’s exit from the EU and the myriad potential problems, pitfalls, and divisions that this process could trigger – or once again force to the surface – begin to become clear, the question can be asked: how will this affect the relationship of NATO allies and the cohesion and stability of the Alliance? If the UK’s divorce from the EU becomes a messy and painful affair it will strain relations between the two and could spill over into the NATO realm. NATO’s integrity being vulnerable may sound far-fetched, but not long ago so too did the UK leaving the EU.

The cards have been tipped, and it appears Italy's Prime Minister may have been right.

In the aftermath of Brexit, much of the investing public's attention has turned to Italian banks which are in desperate need of a bailout as a result of €360 billion in bad loans growing worse by the day (and not a bail-in, as European regulations mandate, as that would lead to an immediate bank run) to avoid a freeze and/or collapse of Italy's banking sector. This has pushed stock prices - and default risk - on Italian banks to record levels. So far Italy's bailout requests have mostly fallen on deaf ears, as Germany's political leaders have resisted Renzi's recurring pleas for a taxpayer funded rescue. However, as we have alleged, and as the Italian Prime Minister admitted last week, the core risk for Europe is not just the Italian banking sector but the biggest bank of all in Europe: Deutsche Bank.

This is what happens when bleeding heart liberals (is there any other kind?) decide that bringing in refugees is more important than addressing homelessness in their own nation. This happened in Sweden in early January. But it’s also happening here in America.

‘Refugees’ arriving in Sweden are plied with an endless list of entitlements, as seen in the video. But during the same time frame this family was getting free housing, a homeless Swedish vet froze to death.

Instead of joining forces in the War on Terror in Syria, the War Party in Washington continues to provoke Russia by shifting NATO’s focus to increasing military buildups in Eastern Europe.

There is something NATO — and more importantly Canadian officials — want you to understand about the rising tensions with Russia: This is NOT your grandfather's Cold War.

In fact, throughout last weekend's Warsaw Summit they were really skittish about anyone drawing any comparisons to the nearly half century long standoff between East and West, which brought the world to the precipice of nuclear annihilation.

"The Cold War is history and it should remain history," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared, as though just saying so was more than enough to make it so.

As the West’s elites growl about “Russian aggression” – as they once did about Iraq’s WMD – NATO leaders meet in Poland to plan a costly and dangerous new Cold War, while shunning the few voices of dissent, John V. Walsh warns.

George Soros is trading again.

The 85-year-old political activist and philanthropist hit the headlines post-Brexit saying the event had “unleashed” a financial-market crisis.

Well, the crisis hasn’t hit Soros just yet.

He was once again on the right side of the trade, taking a short position in troubled Deutsche Bank and betting against the S&P via a 2.1-million-share put option on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF.

More interestingly, Soros recently took out a $264 million position in Barrick Gold, whose share price has jumped over 14% since Brexit. Along with this trade, Soros has sold his positions in many of his traditional holdings.

NATO leaders have agreed to deploy thousands of troops in Poland and the Baltic states in a bid to strengthen the 28-nation alliance’s eastern borders in Europe against Russia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance’s ballistic missile defense system in Europe is now operational. The system includes warships, long-range missile defense interceptors and radars placed across the territory controlled by the allied forces.

“Today we have decided to declare initial operational capability of the NATO ballistic missile defense system. This means that the US ships based in Spain, the radar in Turkey and the interceptor site in Romania are now able to work together under NATO command and NATO control," he explained.

Stoltenberg added that the shield is “entirely defensive" and "represents no threat to Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent.”

Currently, there are attempts to organize a new referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union. If Britain remained in the bloc it would be in the interests of the United States and NATO.

Obama Believes UK to Remain Strong NATO Member After Brexit
However, if finally London withdraws from the EU NATO will return to its initial role, Vladislav Jovanovic, a Yugoslavian veteran diplomat and former Yugoslavian ambassador to Turkey, said.

According to him, NATO’s role will be to keep Germany in Europe while keeping Russia as far as possible from Europe. In this situation, the US will remain the most powerful military player on the continent.

Jovanovic suggested that Brexit is only the first step in the weakening of the EU. The Brexit vote has revealed a number of internal contradictions between different country members. Moreover, the EU has structural problems which cannot be resolved with its traditional tools.

President Obama is in Warsaw, Poland today where NATO members are holding a summit to show the alliance will stand firm against new threats, including a “resurgent Russia.” The Warsaw meeting is being held in a district of the capital, Praga, that Poles view as a symbol of Russian betrayal of their nation.

In the meeting, Obama called on NATO to "stand firm" against Russia, terrorism and other challenges even as a key member, UK, retrenches from Europe. In an op-ed published in the Financial Times on Friday, Obama says the U.S. and European nation "must summon the political will, and make concrete commitments" to affirm European cooperation.

“This may be the most important moment for our transatlantic alliance since the end of the Cold War,” Obama wrote. “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine threatens our vision of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.” The US president added that “NATO will once again send a very clear message that we are here.”

“The gathering of NATO Heads of State and Governments in The Warsaw Summit rather will be not in sake of the EU. The NATO’s summit will as usual adopt a series of decisions, a package of US dictations sent earlier to NATO member states. For example, the US President Barack Obama demanded Germany to deploy military forces on the Russian border of Litauen.

From my opinion strengthening the military presence at the Russian borders will have a negative effect on the relation between the European countries and Russia. Which is in the interest of the Transatlantic Pact and of the US, who themselves increased sales with Russia while their so-called partners, the vassal states of the EU, have lost by deploying the sanctions against Russia. “Divide et impera!” at work. When will the European Community stand up against this constant aggression of the US-led NATO and vote for peace and cooperation with Russia?“

President Barack Obama arrived in Poland Thursday for a high-stakes NATO summit, marking what's likely to be his final presidential trip to Europe as the continent faces a moment of historic uncertainty.

The United Kingdom's vote to exit the European Union, which Obama campaigned ardently against, has thrown the bloc into chaos. The undercurrents that pushed "Brexit" through, like opposition to immigration and trade deals, could wind up blemishing Obama's own legacy.

And Russian aggression also is a growing concern for the alliance, with Defense Secretary Ash Carter addressing the issue and the need for increased NATO deterrence when he spoke to reporters on his flight to Poland Thursday.

The Western Press keeps repeating the same message – by leaving the European Union, the British have isolated themselves from the rest of the world, and will have to deal with terrible economic consequences. And yet, the fall in the Pound could be an advantage within the Commonwealth, which is a far greater family than the Union, and present on all six continents. Famous for its pragmatism, the City could quickly become the international centre for the yuan and implant the Chinese currency in the very heart of the Union.

War always starts unexpectedly. Deepest dreams occur before dawn. People cannot believe that their peaceful lives are over. On June 21, 1941 the Soviet nation was more sure than ever that war wouldn’t happen. It was clear to everyone that sooner or later they would have to fight the fascist beast, but not today. Not tomorrow. German troops along our borders were just training. The main thing was not to panic and respond to provocations. Knowing the inevitable, a human heart desperately clings to the hope that the storm will pass. The enemy always takes advantage of this, attacking when least expected.

Public support for the idea of Sweden becoming a NATO member has dropped from 41 to 33 percent in less than a year, a fresh poll has revealed.

A major NATO summit is set to begin later this week in Warsaw, and while the plan was to spend the whole time harping on about “Russian aggression” and making more plans to add more ground troops to the Baltic states.

Then the Brexit happened, and as with everyone else, that’s all a lot of summit goers want to talk about these days. Britain’s referendum was on leaving the EU, and not NATO, but that doesn’t mean a lot of officials aren’t predicting the move weakening the alliance, at least so far as joint NATO-EU operations go.

But with constant predictions from US officials of an imminent Russian invasion of Eastern Europe never panning out, the Obama Administration and other hawks on the Russia issue are looking to shift the focus of the summit back.

And when you think, you’ve seen and heard everything possible and impossible in Greece of austerity and crisis… there comes this incredible human story: a family of five lives in carton boxes. In the city of Patras in western Greece.

The family ended up on the streets after a labor accident of the father. The family has no income. For the last 8 months, the two adults and the three children live in a provisional “shelter” made of carton boxes they have places in a corner of an abandoned and half-constructed building.

The president of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, has called for a referendum on his country’s membership in the EU and NATO. Although Zeman wants to remain in both organizations, he wants the public to have a chance to “express themselves.”

Majority mood of citizens against joining the North Atlantic military alliance, our duty is to enable citizens to express their opinion, stated the Montenegrin opposition.

Several years ago, we were the first to point out the true "elephant in the room", namely Deutsche Bank's $75 trillion in derivatives which as we said at the time was about 20 times bigger than Germany's GDP, and 5 times bigger than the entire economic output of the Eurozone."

Angela Merkel could move to oust Europe’s federalist chief Jean-Claude Juncker 'within the next year', a Germany government minister has said, in a sign of deepening European divisions over how to respond to Britain’s Brexit vote.

The German chancellor’s frustration with the European Commission chief came as Europe split over whether to use the Brexit negotiations as a trigger to deepen European integration or take a more pragmatic approach to Britain as it heads for the exit door.

The Russian military will deploy its newest long-range radars in the Baltic and Black Seas to keep a weather eye on NATO operations, according to Interfax. The radars are capable of monitoring warships and aircraft at a distance of up to 450km.

Last week, during a meeting with Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Finnish authorities about the possible consequences of that country joining the NATO alliance. Commenting on the president's words, Russian geopolitical analyst Boris Stepnov fleshed out exactly what those consequences might be.

Russia is assembling military forces in eastern Europe as it draws closer to a potential Cold War-style standoff with NATO in the Baltic states.

The Russian military has been mobilising troops, trucks and equipment to various bases around Kaliningrad, a crucial outpost between Poland and Lithuania, as well as sites further inland according to Reuters.

Servicemen have been seen working to increase security at important bases and further military radar systems are being constructed, in addition to Russia’s rumoured preparation of new missiles and anti-aircraft systems at Kaliningrad.

Russia says it believes its borders are under threat as NATO forces draw closer, with the increase in military activity likely to be a key talking point when NATO member states meet in Warsaw on July 8.

According to NATO strategists, Russia is layering surface-to-air missiles in Kaliningrad in an effort to block off NATO'S air access to the three Baltic states and areas of Poland.

Exactly one month ago we reported that BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, had downgraded global equities to Neutral, saying "U.S. valuations are elevated." The chief catalyst for that call was BlackRock's assumption that a summer Fed rate hike was imminent, something which now is assured won't happen for years. So overnight BlackRock shifted its attention, and this time sees Brexit as the downside catalyst du jour, one which for Blackrock is enough to cause it to trim its global growth expectations, as it now expects "a modest slowdown over the next 12 months."

More importantly, Blackrock also notes that since "there’s limited scope for monetary policy to reflate the global economy, however, and much-needed fiscal stimulus and structural reform progress looks unlikely over the coming months" it has in response "downgraded European stocks to underweight, with a negative view of the eurozone banking sector."