Free Republic

Almost unnoticed amid the drama and crisis that hit Latin America every week, in the last days of February the Cuban government asked the United Nations for aid to address a growing food shortage. The unprecedented cry for help from a communist regime that has always prided itself on its social welfare model captures Cuba’s dire economic straits. Hurt by tightened U.S. restrictions, decaying domestic production, a weak post-COVID-19 tourism industry and indifference from its allies, the island is living through its worst economic days since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. A string of...

Roughly traveling through nine states over two and a half days, the “Take Our Border Back” convoy made their way towards Central Texas on Wednesday. The group wants to peacefully protest and call on the U.S. government to secure the border with Mexico. The group made plans to stop in Dripping Spring. Fred Summers, who lives in Leander, posted up on Highway 290 to wave them on and show his support. ”Saw it on Facebook,” Summers said. ”It is a way to say thank you to those guys. This is like fourth of July for me.” While he’s just here...

ransomnote: This video describes a grain supply chain issues with the country's main rail freight hub which have now worsened as a result of Union Pacific's railway embargo.ALL Shipments STOPPED -MAIN Artery for USA - Railways SHUT DOWN - Cars PILING UP | Patrick HumphreyGrain shipments had already been backing up (not delivered) since October (see chart).Now as of December 29, Union Pacific has announced an embargo which will deepen the supply chain problem with grain. Excerpt:The following excerpt sounds like "14 days to flatten the curve.... Here's a map of the Union Pacific hub impacted by the embargo; it...

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich kingdom’s foreign minister said, days after the leader of the world’s most populous nation secured a third term in office. Prince Faisal bin Farhan hailed the “historical and solid relationship” between the major oil exporter and Beijing after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. “Our meeting today comes at an important time, as it precedes the expected visit of the Chinese president to the kingdom,” Prince Faisal said in a video statement broadcast on Saudi television. Saudi Arabia is also “finalising arrangements” for summit talks between China...

But trade and business groups said the new legislation's vague wording threatens to put the bulk of China's $500 billion in annual shipments bound for the U.S. at risk. "The way the law is written could be interpreted as applying to other kinds of goods from other parts of China that allegedly involved forced labor at some point along the supply chain," Doug Barry, a senior director at the U.S.-China Business Council, told Nikkei Asia in an email. There are reports of detainees being moved out of Xinjiang to work in other parts of the country, while components produced in...

This week the European Union is expected to announce a complete import ban on Russian oil. Hungary, in its first real act of defiance, is threatening to veto this; Germany, after some hemming and hawing, has finally decided it can survive such a ban. Assuming Hungary’s objections are eventually overcome, at first blush this looks like yet another energy “own goal” by the people obsessed with soccer. The U.S. has already issued this ban. Because European industry is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas, the conventional wisdom is that the EU Commission is just petulant and incompetent. Are they...

Ukraine has limited exports of sunflower oil, wheat, oats and cattle in an attempt to protect its war-torn economy. Russia has banned sales of fertilizer, sugar and grains to other nations. Indonesia, which produces more than half the world’s palm oil, has halted outgoing shipments. Turkey has stopped exports of butter, beef, lamb, goats, maize and vegetable oils. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has unleashed a new wave of protectionism as governments, desperate to secure food and other commodities for their citizens amid shortages and rising prices, erect new barriers to stop exports at their borders. Sign up for The Morning...

Despite the clear intentions of western government to cripple Russian energy production, loadings of Russian oil have so far been surprisingly resilient, so much so that Russia’s current account balance is at all time highs. According to JPMorgan, shipments in the seven days to April 16 hit 7.3 mbd, only 330 kbd below the 7.58 mbd averaged in February before the start of the war. Remarkably, JPM calculates that Russian crude exports are averaging 360 kbd above pre-invasion volumes, while exports of oil products like fuel oil, naphtha, and VGO have declined by 700 kbd (full report available to pro...

Since Putin's devastating invasion of Ukraine began, 300 companies have announced their withdrawal from Russia in protest.Nevertheless, some western companies have continued to operate in Russia undeterred; we identify several dozen companies with particularly significant exposure to Russian markets. In the days since we initially published our list, many of the "remain" companies have responded to public backlash and decided to withdraw, and we are continuously revising our list to reflect these decisions as they are made. The full, current list of companies that have curtailed operations in Russia as well as those that remain, as of March 8, can...

Gasoline prices are pushing even farther above $4 a gallon, the highest price that American motorists have faced since July 2008, as calls grow to ban imports of Russian oil. Prices at the pump were rising long before Russia invaded Ukraine and have spiraled faster since the start of the war. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline has soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. “I am looking at the possibility of walking to work,” said Asiya Joseph, who had just paid $4.29 a gallon...

With the US reportedly said to vote as soon as Tuesday on a proposal to ditch trade relations with Russia and Belarus, including suspending oil imports despite repeated objections from Germany which has stated that a collapse in supply threatens “social cohesion”, Russian Deputy PM Novak said that a ban on Russian oil would result in catastrophic consequences for global market according to Interfax, warning that Europe is pushing Russia towards an embargo on gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1, which is currently filled to maximum capacity, although Moscow has not taken this decision yet. Warning that “no one would...

The self-imposed embargo of Russian oil is spreading to Kazakhstan crude, with three shipments canceled in the past 24 hours. The Wonder Vega, Free Spirit and Stealth Haralambos, all Marshall Islands-flagged vessels, were Black Sea-bound for the Port of Novorossiysk. S&P Global informed clients of the three canceled loadings, citing the war risk premium associated with the grade of oil. These latest cancellations led the Chevron-led consortium at Tengiz — Kazakhstan’s highest-producing oil field — to issue a statement that it was “monitoring developments.” Production is continuing, according to the consortium. ... “CPC Pipeline (Caspian Pipeline Consortium led by Chevron),...

What Six Years of ‘Reset’ with Russia Have Wrought by CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER August 27, 2015 On September 5, 2014, Russian agents crossed into Estonia and kidnapped an Estonian security official. Last week, after a closed trial, Russia sentenced him to 15 years. The reaction? The State Department issued a statement. The NATO secretary-general issued a tweet. Neither did anything. The European Union (reports the Wall Street Journal) said it was too early to discuss any possible action. The timing of this brazen violation of NATO territory — two days after President Obama visited Estonia to symbolize America’s commitment to its...

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Russia's ambassador to Iran has said Moscow will consider selling its advanced S-400 anti-aircraft missile system to Tehran, despite U.S. objections and threats. Ambassador Levan Jagarian told the Resalat daily newspaper Sunday that Russia would have "no problem" selling S-400 systems to Iran when the United Nation arms embargo on the country expires on October 18, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported. "We are not afraid of U.S. threats and we will live up to our commitments," Jagarian said, explaining that Russia will properly consider Iranian arms requests despite continued pressure from the U.S. for nations to further isolate Tehran. President...

Five Iranian oil tankers are currently making their way to Venezuela, where they intend to bust an economic blockade established by the Trump administration on President Nicolas Maduro . . . Iranian military leaders said their oil tankers would reach the Caribbean in the coming days. In response, the U.S. Navy has already deployed several ships to the area. Both Iran and Venezuela have threatened violence if the United States intercedes in the shipment. And while the Trump administration would not telegraph any actions it may be planning, U.S. officials made clear the United States does not intend to let...

Turkey's AKP government has over the past year shipped drones, armored vehicles, "laser weapons," and other arms and ammunition to Libya's Tripoli-based pro-Islamist Government of National Accord (GNA), which is led by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj and which the UN recognizes as Libya's legitimate government.[1] The AKP government has also trained GNA military and police personnel. While this military support has been reported since as early as 2015, it appears to have expanded in 2019. The policy represents Turkey's role in the ongoing Second Libyan Civil War, which began in 2014 and is now characterized largely by fighting between the...

Cuba's Useful Idiot By Humberto Fontova FrontPageMagazine.com | 4/16/2008 Last month Dan Rather’s new gig as host of HDNET's “Dan Rather Reports” found him, as so often during his CBS days, “reporting” from Cuba. From Dan we heard of “dramatic changes” down there, of a “remarkable transformation.” “The door (to the U.S.) is open, “explained Dan. “The best time to talk is now.” Dan was chanting a familiar tune, one we've heard almost nonstop from the MSM's pet “Cuba Experts'” for the past 21 months. As usual when dealing with Cuban matters, a sober look behind the carefully constructed and...

When given a chance to demonstrate a measure of moral clarity, too many UN members are cowards and too often decide to punt – whether the issue involves outrageous behavior by the Cuban regime, the Iranian regime, Palestinian terrorists or other wron The United Nations General Assembly once again singled out the United States, by far the UN’s largest financial contributor, for condemnation. This time, the issue was the U.S. embargo against Cuba, an issue that the General Assembly considers and votes upon as an annual ritual that has been going on for 27 years. By a recorded vote of...

<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that the U.S. is still considering restricting the sale of oil from crisis-torn Venezuela.</p> <p>Tillerson said in Argentina's capital that the U.S. wants "free, fair, and verifiable elections" in Venezuela, and wants to apply enough pressure to end the crisis in the South American country. The government there has faced widespread criticism over its decision to push up presidential elections under conditions that opponents say overwhelmingly favor President Nicolas Maduro.</p>