Posted on 06/01/2022 1:28:01 AM PDT by Mount Athos
Six million households in Britain face the possibility of morning and evening blackouts this winter to maintain sanctions against Russia, as do consumers across Europe.
This is despite Europe pouring about $1bn a day into Russia to pay for the gas and oil it continues to consume. This seems crazy. Proposals by the EU to halt the payments are understandably being opposed by countries close to Russia and heavily dependent on its fossil fuels; Germany buys 12% of its oil and 35% of its gas from Russia, figures that are much higher in Hungary.
The EU in Brussels seems not to know what to do. The real reason is that arguments over the sanctions weapon have been reduced to macho rhetoric. They are supposed to induce a foreign regime to change some unacceptable policy. This rarely if ever happens, and in Russia’s case it has blatantly failed.
Sanctions may have harmed Russia’s credit-worthiness, but the 70% surge in world gas prices alone has supercharged its balance of payments. Its current account trade surplus, according to its central bank, is now over three times the pre-invasion level. At the same time, sanctions are clearly hurting countries in western and central Europe who are imposing them.
It is absurd to expect Hungary to starve itself of energy and, as it says, “nuclear bomb” its economy, with no fixed objective or timetable in sight.
Millions of innocent people across Europe and far from its shores will suffer as food and energy prices soar. Supply lines are disrupted. Trade links collapse. The victims are overwhelmingly the poor.
The harm done to the rest of Europe and the outside world is now glaring.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Like a child holding its breath to get their way, the EU and the US has discovered that Russia doesn’t care.
The only question is, do our leaders care about the people who are REALLY being hurt? Apparently, not yet.
Now they want to start war crimes tribunals. Shouldn’t that be decided by whoever is the ‘winner’?
The Guardian (like all hard leftist media outfits) were controlled by the Soviets, lock, stock, and barrel. All those Soviet agents of influence didn’t magically retired when the Soviet Union broke up.
You make me laugh. The Guardian has been one of the bigger cheerleaders for the stupid attempt take down Russia because Pootie Poot isn't adhering to the ideals of communism and the former Soviet Union. Its is neocons leftists that look stupid, with egg all over their face, as they crater our economy attempting to hurt Russia.
Most nations are not participating in the sanctions on Russia, so while the US & EU drove up oil prices with their threat of sanctions, Russian oil output is virtually unchanged, but selling at twice the price it was pre-war.
In essence, the EU & US helped Russia fund their war effort.
I think you have it backwards. Compare countries like the U.S. and Great Britain today to the 1980s. They look more like the 1980s-era Soviet Union than a 1980s-era USA or UK.
By all means trade with the enemy. Then they will become like us. /kumbaya
Every nation requires energy.
Some countries have the natural resources to meet their energy needs and can produce excess energy for export. A lot of nations don't have the resources to meet their energy needs and must import.
The golden rule (He who has the gold gets to make the rule) applies.
There is only one way for the U.S. and the E.U. to sanction Russia. Both have to become energy independent.
The U.S. and the E.U. have the natural resources to be energy independent.
The U.S. should unleash the oil industry and the E.U. should resume "clean" coal. Both should resume nuclear power. Windmills and solar panels are not the solution.
The problem is...none of this will happen because the greenies have too much power (control).
The sanctions have always been a joke.
“Russian oil output is virtually unchanged,”
Why do you guys keep repeating that? The head Russian official directly refutes that. He said oil output will be DOWN 8% this year. And that is probably a very rosy number. Is he a western media disinformation agent?
"Permian oil production growth is set to outpace OPEC heavyweight Iraq this year and next as demand for oil surges on historically tight supply, Rystad Energy research shows. Total oil output from the Permian, including both conventional and unconventional, is forecast to grow by almost 1 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, jumping from 4.7 million to 5.6 million bpd, before climbing further to around 6.5 million bpd in 2023."
"In 2023, the Permian is on track to account for about half of all US oil output of 13.2 million bpd, up from about 42% in 2021."
I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everybody once again, that they can all thank Gaia worship for this.
If the nuclear power plants had not been shut down - and more been built, if they could frack on their own land, if they had built some spare storage capacity, if they had not shut down the coal fired power plants and halted coal mining, they would not be nearly so dependent on Russia for their energy needs.
But they were determined to sacrifice to Gaia so now here they are. This is a problem entirely of their own making.
Great news for Texas and New Mexico, however this only tells part of the story.
For the rest of the story, we would have to know the the forecast for global demand increase in 2023 and the forecast for total US oil output for 2023.
My guess is that global demand will increase while total US oil output will remain static.
While Russia's oil output will decrease, they will still continue to export some oil and gas.
“The EU should forget about sanctions – they’re doing more harm than good”
Russia is in the process of giving the Neocons a SPANKING whether they like it or not.
Like I always say, the EU attempting to ‘punish’ Russia with sanctions is equivalent to a 2 year old trying to physically ‘punish’ his parents. Simply not possible.
It didn’t have to be this way, but Europe made decisions over the past few decades that got them to where they are, and they RIDICULED people (as in Trump) who warned them as to what would be the result and to told them to get their act together and especially told them to STOP listening to Greta.
While you cling to a forecast, we are looking at actual production numbers since the start of the year. Russian oil production and export has not slowed yet, despite the forecast you cling to.
Did you notice the big drop in April? The oil majors have pulled out. Russia needs their expertise for future production. It’s comical how every time I quote some Russian official such as the Russia head of the central bank or the Russian head of oil, you guys deny what they are saying and keep trying to run with your fantasy facts.
“Russian oil production and export has not slowed yet,”
Did you even bother to look at your own link? Big drop in April.
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