Russia-Ukraine
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The-Real-Deal82
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And so, it begins.
Putin Wants Hostile States to Pay Rubles for Gas, Interfax Says
Russia plans to demand ruble payments for natural gas purchases from European nations, deepening its standoff with the west and potentially aggravating Europe’s worst energy crunch since the 1970s.www.bloomberg.com
The UK has pledged to cease buying Russian gas by the end of this year. Germany is in the worse position as they get most of theirs from Russia. My gas bill is about to go up over a 100% from next week.
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Brilliant, barbed, bitter, and well worth watching.
Watch This Russian Journalist and Former Politician Predict the Outcome in Ukraine Back in April 2021
Aleksandr Nevzorov seemed to see exactly how things would play out. Why didn't Vladimir Putin?www.esquire.com
So it seems when you surround yourself with yes men you don’t always get the outcome you believed.
I’m tempted to make some US connections on that one but I won’t derail the thread.
Thanks for sharing, @Chew Toy McCoy.
yaxomoxay
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If I remember correctly UK doesn’t get much gas from Russia, they should barely feel it. Germany, Spain, Italy etc will feel it.
Mariupol today, 3/23/2022:
Or should I say, what’s left of it.
I know the West doesn’t want to escalate tensions, but this is criminal insanity. It’s high time the West gets tough with their language. Besides, the last thing Putin wants is conflict with NATO, especially considering his army is floundering before his eyes.
I think the west needs to tell Putin if he continues this scorched earth campaign targeting civilians, the West will respond in devastating (non-nuclear) force to entities participating in such war crimes at a time and place of our choosing. ie That destroyer off the coast shooting cruise missiles will be blown out of the water. If he wants to occupy Ukraine, he’s going to have to do it fighting the Ukrainian forces like a civilized military.
I am so utterly disgusted by this. Honestly, what is the end game here? Ruling over a smoldering pile of ash and corpses? Or does he think he’ll win the hearts and minds of Ukrainians completely destroying everything they once knew?
Or should I say, what’s left of it.
I know the West doesn’t want to escalate tensions, but this is criminal insanity. It’s high time the West gets tough with their language. Besides, the last thing Putin wants is conflict with NATO, especially considering his army is floundering before his eyes.
I think the west needs to tell Putin if he continues this scorched earth campaign targeting civilians, the West will respond in devastating (non-nuclear) force to entities participating in such war crimes at a time and place of our choosing. ie That destroyer off the coast shooting cruise missiles will be blown out of the water. If he wants to occupy Ukraine, he’s going to have to do it fighting the Ukrainian forces like a civilized military.
I am so utterly disgusted by this. Honestly, what is the end game here? Ruling over a smoldering pile of ash and corpses? Or does he think he’ll win the hearts and minds of Ukrainians completely destroying everything they once knew?
Yes, it's possible that it will go into negotiations....that's always a good way to stall any action.
Cutting off gas would certainly cause problems for some EU and NATO countries, but such an action might not get the reaction that Putin wants, indeed it could turn out to be another miscalculation on Putin's part.
I’ve heard a number of analysts suggest one way or another Russia is likely to cut off the gas supply to Europe. The reality is the world is dependent on oil, it’s just a shame Europe is so dependent on one country, in this case Russia.
If Russia wants rubbles, fine, pay them in rubbles. If they want to shut off the gas entirely, go ahead. But then the West and our allies should sanction the crap out of every single last import Russia. Crash their market further and let China buy up every last resource they have.
I’m not an economist but I’m not sure how much this will even help them. I don’t think this will help them repay their upcoming debt payments due in USD and Euros. Most western banks don’t want to touch the ruble right now. Changing the payment method is likely a breach of contract too.
Yoused
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Looks like enough Russians saw Arnold's message that State Media felt compelled to respond
Russian TV retaliates against Schwarzenegger after his video message reached millions
In the middle of March, former California governor and global action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger recorded a video that he said he hoped would serve as counterpropaganda for Russian citizens regarding the invasion of Ukraine. Schwarzenegger, who is...
www.dailykos.com
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If they cave, the Russian POS wins. Next we'll see Orange POS back in charge 2024 and we'll be friends with Russia once again.And so, it begins.
Putin Wants Hostile States to Pay Rubles for Gas, Interfax Says
Russia plans to demand ruble payments for natural gas purchases from European nations, deepening its standoff with the west and potentially aggravating Europe’s worst energy crunch since the 1970s.
I am not too worried about Putler's new "pay in rubles" scheme. First of all, it's a bluff — he is just as desperate to sell as EU is desperate to buy. Second, by demanding one-sided contract changes, he is opening a can of worms. Third, price is set in USD/EUR in the contract, so I am sure that EUs economists can devise a scheme to respond to this nonsense in a proper way. And finally, if he indeed cuts gas/oil, I am fairly confident that any inhibitions EU leaders have for imposing stricter sanctions will disappear in an instant.
By the way, if anyone here wants to donate to humanitarian relief in Ukraine, consider buying some merch from here (I am not affiliated in any way, I just like the designs and the people): https://www.saintjavelin.com
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I honestly wonder what Putin’s best case scenario looks like to him at this point. At minimum he has to realize that his dream of rebuilding the Soviet Union and becoming a major power in a new economic world order is toast and with Russian casualties piling up I fail to see how he is going to sell it to the Russian people as totally worth it. Just as troubling, if they reached a peace agreement today I don’t know what he could sell as justifying all the death and destruction up to this point. I think he is aware of that and it’s like he’s just going to continue with the death and destruction until he comes up with a narrative that the Russian people will reasonably buy. He won't be able to shield them from the realities on the battelfield or justified global condemnation for forever.
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I also wonder if that is part of the reason Saudi Arabia is giving us the finger, expecting new customers or increased demands. But the fact is, we could screw Saudi Arabia even harder than Russia and we’ve put up with their shit for way too long, including being the homeland of the 9/11 hijackers. They are way too dependent on Western money, culture, technology, and weapons. Trying to pivot to “made in China” would be a disaster. I dare them to try it and we should force them against the wall on it. They need to be reminded on who has been most responsible for protecting them and allowing them to stay in power.
the response has started and not surprisingly it's to point out that the contracts already specify the required currencies for payment;
The German response to Putin's scheme to switch currencies;
It'll become a question of what Putin will to do next. He'll probably threaten to cut off supplies, but will he actually carry thru with such a threat?
Part of the reason that the Saudis are "giving us the finger" is that Biden has been refusing to talk to Prince MBS on the telephone. Instead he calls the King, much to the annoyance of the Prince who is more or less the de facto ruler of SA
I think Saudi Arabia is ignoring the US is because of the Biden Administration’s stance with the Iran Nuclear deal and lack of support with Yemen’s Civil war. It’s no secret the Biden Administration does not have the same level of cooperation than the previous one.
My thoughts exactly- this should not be too complicated though, the US is the only reason the Saudis have a military. If they’re not going to answer our phone calls, maybe we shouldn’t send them anymore weapons, related parts, or technical support?
We still get 20% of our oil from SA, so best not to get into an economic conflict with them.
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For countless reasons we'd probably be a lot better off shifting our Saudi oil needs to Venezuela, but we kind of stepped on a rake with that relationship.
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Big Russian ship go boom boom
It is believed it was a troop carrier loading up to go help out the attack on Mariupol.
It is believed it was a troop carrier loading up to go help out the attack on Mariupol.
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It's an interesting split in the Republican party on this, who are normally hawks when it comes to this sort of policy, particularly when it includes Russia. But the radicals are so fixated with Putin that they're actually backing him, mostly the same people who supported January 6. Reagan is probably rolling over in his grave over this.
However, many also seem to be aligned against Russia so we can't pin on all of them. I like that Biden is cautious in his approach but don't like that everyone walks on eggshells to placate Putin when he's going out of his way to murder women, children and the sick.
However, many also seem to be aligned against Russia so we can't pin on all of them. I like that Biden is cautious in his approach but don't like that everyone walks on eggshells to placate Putin when he's going out of his way to murder women, children and the sick.
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lizkat
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The barbaric and intentional levels of Putin's cruelty towards civilians --aside from stupidities and errors-- makes one tend to question even any conventional arrangements Putin or his generals may offer on the way to eventual negotiations for an end to open conflict.
For example, I read today in the Boston Globe that a Russian general has arranged for a humanitarian corridor for ships that have been trapped in Ukrainian ports to leave there, gather offshore at a designated area in the Black Sea, and then follow a specified path out of the conflict zone, starting Friday.
First thing into my mind was... yeah... and then he blows them up? I really do dislike being so cynical, but Putin's war on Ukraine is bringing that out in me for sure. I have to work hard to accord them humanity when they so egregiously demonstrate willingness to ignore humanity of Ukrainian civilians during this aggression.
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