[bd476]

Ping.

[Just mythoughts]

Well at least some northeast RHINO/liberals got cheap oil from Chavez... (sarcasm)

[bill1952]

>Kremlin is determined that industrial muscle will succeed where Marxism failed

Succeed at what, exactly? - Without Marxism, what else is the big deal?

No one can use resources as a weapon forever, even assuming that there is some plausible advantage to do so.

[peterwindof]

Unfortunately, neither Toffler's "Revolutionary Wealth" or Friedman's "Golden Straightjacket" offer substitutes for old and dumb combustible molecules. TINA.

[GarySpFc]

There are two sides to this argument. Some might want to read Gazprom"s Gambit or Blunder at the bottom of the page. There is a discussion on this subject by several American, Russian, Canadian and European scholars.
Contributors: Andrei Tsygankov, Janusz Bugajski, William Dunkerley, Patrick Armstrong, Vlad Sobell, Sergei Roy, Edward Lozansky, Dale Herspring, Vlad Ivanenko, Vladimir Frolov, Nicolai Petro and Ira Straus.

[G-Man 1]

Nuke. power plants don't use much oil. Go nuke.

[Iris7]

This fellow keeps talking about an "Energy Cold War". No war is involved. Such talk is absurd.

The gas is Russian. The Russians want to get what they can when they sell the gas. Some folks don't like this, naturally. Some would prefer that Russia sell the gas at a lower price. Duh. End of story.

[Thunder90]

Like China, our businesses will continue to do business with Russia, even though they both pose threats.

[gonzo]

"...Unless the West understands this – and acts in unison to counteract Russia’s growing imperialistic ambitions – Putin will continue to win the new energy wars..."

There is only ONE thing that a country can do with an overabundance of a commodity like oil and/or gas, and that is to sell it! If they then use the money to improve the life of their citizens, it's a good thing.

I don't see a Communist boogyman behind every move that Putin makes. I think he's doing a good job of reversing over 70 years of failed Communist dogma, and I wish him well.

And I also think that he'd rather sell Russian oil to America than China..............FRegards