Posted on 12/17/2014 11:11:24 AM PST by Kartographer
Yes....Saudis are ‘targeting USA shale oil production’ by keeping their production high.
Saudi and Iran are in their own economic war...Saudi wants Iran/Syria out of the picture.
Russia’s toying with the idea of working with all the oil countries the US has connections with....this could prove very dangerous for Israel.
The analogy I use:
Each nation has a total value. Currency evenly divides up that total value into equal representations thereof. As the total value of the nation changes, the value of the currency (as representation of a fraction of the total) changes inversely. Ideally, the mint/central-bank adjusts the available currency in sync with change in national value: as total wealth increases, currency should increase to keep the per-unit value stable. A little inflation/deflation may be desirable to keep money flowing.
The problem is when significant inflation occurs (and likewise with deflation): injecting lots of new currency into the economy steals value from the existing currency, “teleporting” that value to whoever receives the new currency.
And that’s where I usually left it.
But now we have _two_ currencies in the mix: the ruble (fiat), and gold (commodity). And I’m gonna have to think about that one, coupled with your shell game version.
Glad it’s happening to Russia. But worried that Obama will get his way and have it happen to us.
The Kremlin have little debt compared to their GDP. In fact, they have enough dollars to convert the entire economy to dollars if they want.
If the Russians are not buying imports, they are fine. Of course, the Russians import everything.
I see them defending their currency, siding up with Iran to rattle Saudi Arabias boots a little bit, and finding a way to poke us in the eye.
We seem to be worried about movies.
Russia is aware there are bigger issues in the world.
And in the past two years, they’ve annexed Crimea, made moves to prevent several former possessions from joining NATO and allied with Iran.
RSR started with an explosion at a refinery
Very few Russians are rich enough to be able to buy iPhones so this is certainly not representative of their behavior. Meanwhile regular Russians are panic buying buckwheat as it is easy to store for long periods.
Russia has a whole heap of nuclear and chemical weapons.
Maybe Rosh goes to war out of desperation, not lust.
~by Soviet standards a peaceful man who was not willing to get as violent as would have been necessary to hold the country together.
The Lithuanians might beg to differ on that.~
So does Azeris and it is nothing but emotional overreaction. Both are extremely lucky they had Gorby, not Stalin in office at the time.
Yes, lucky. So are you by the way. If it were Stalin you’d be living in a gigantic North Korea now eating grass.
Recent situation has no analogy with 1980s.
First of all there isn’t any ideological confrontation between the West and Russia this time unless you count gay, abortion, pot and minor religious and cultural issues as such.
Reagan had his reasons to push harder and try unconventional approaches to a Cold War which was already in process for decades.
Obama and the rest of American political class has not such reason to restart this war in a hot form.
The only reasons why it happens right now are out of proportion narcissism of current American leader, his habit to see foreign policy as an extension of domestic and solving any problem by rules for radicals as he did since Chicago community organizing. Combined with senile section of Cold Warriors in Congress who still has a secret hidden dream to pull a major Cong’s trick it creates potentially the most dangerous international situation since late 1930s for NO GOOD REASON at all.
I believe Snowden was an embarrassment for a regime but it is illegal in Russia to extradite asylum seekers.
Gay and lesbian issues are important for Obama but he is not a Russian leader to be involved in Russian LGBT issues.
Syria was another embarrassment and had a potential to become an all-out catastrophe but it is not Russian tradition to betray allies.
Obama went ape after the last thing because it made him look like a pussy in face of Saudis who did the bidding.
People here say Russia is an empire but does it lecture US to violate American law to extradite known terrorists who did more damage than Snowden but still harbored only to bring things like Boston bombing? Does Russia lecture US on cultural issues? Has Russia demanded America to stop supporting Saudis based on their human right violations, like Obama demand Russia on Syria to give way to his fellow murdering terrorists?
Maybe it is Obama who are imperor, not a Russian leader?
Do you really think his ago worth such an escalation?
Russia is not only Putin after all. There are responsible middle class which is mostly Pro-Western and cares more about economy than politics, but there are a set of demons, including communists, nationalists and the same senile Cold Warrior cohort seeing a thermonuclear war in their wet dreams.
Needless to say that economy war doesn’t help the middle class which is shrinking giving way to said demons.
Putin is barely a major factor here. He might try to run on the wave or step down or be overthrown - does it really matter?
Do you want to have a Russian version of John McCain on top there, supported by Russian version of local russophobic posters, who believe they have the reason to hate all things American?
But then, you don't have the mentality of a Russian peasant. "It does not matter how poor we are, as long as no one is rich".
This can definitely lead to trouble.
~But then, you don’t have the mentality of a Russian peasant. “It does not matter how poor we are, as long as no one is rich”.
This can definitely lead to trouble.~
Right now it is not the way of thinking of the majority of Russians.
But the more poverty the more in goes mainstream.
Russia is not any unique in that department.
I can see a number of people like that growing elsewhere, along with destruction of middle class.
It's like Gorky says in Lower Depths, 'Miserable being must find more miserable being...then is happy'.
~It’s like Gorky says in Lower Depths, ‘Miserable being must find more miserable being...then is happy’.~
Do you really believe it is a unique Russian cultural phenomenon?
Sadly, no.
It certainly has crept into this country ever since The Great Society.
What I remember most was Yeltsin Standing up and insisting on returning Gorby and watching the tanks rolling down the streets. I was totally shocked and relieved, when they didn’t really do anything to the citizens. It was a surreal thing.
Yeltsin had some brass ones.
He sure did.
Quibble:
Rule of Acquisition #35: “Every once in a while, declare peace”
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