Posted on 12/15/2014 10:12:57 PM PST by elhombrelibre
A funny thing happened on the way to Vladimir Putin running strategic laps around the West. Russia's economy imploded.
The latest news is that Russia's central bank raised interest rates from 10.5 to 17 percent at an emergency 1 a.m. meeting in an attempt to stop the ruble, which is down 50 percent on the year against the dollar, from falling any further. It's a desperate move to save Russia's currency that comes at the cost of sacrificing Russia's economy. So even if it "works," things are about to get a lot worse.
It's a classic kind of emerging markets crisis. It's only a small simplification, you see, to say that Russia doesn't so much have an economy as it has an oil exporting business that subsidizes everything else. That's why the combination of more supply from the United States, and less demand from Europe, China, and Japan has hit them particularly hard. Cheaper oil means Russian companies have fewer dollars to turn into rubles, which is just another way of saying that there's less demand for rubles—so its price is falling. It hasn't helped, of course, that sanctions over Russia's incursion into Ukraine have already left Russia short on dollars.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Man, the hits just keep on coming.
My first, second and third thoughts . . .
Exactly. But they don’t care.
Obama restarted the Cold War.
You don’t think Putin is in any way to blame?
“I don’t care if he is Russian special forces or not. Do you think Russia is not entitled to defend themselves just because of their history? “
Defend themselves FROM WHAT?!? Western europe? LOL! Or were the Ukrainians/Georgians about to invade mother Russia? Or perhaps Russia is being harassed by the ultra aggressive Scandinavians? There really aren’t any serious international security threats to Russia’s west. We’re not under any obligation to take that nonsense seriously, Putin is not that stupid. Cold war nostalgia is an excellent domestic political play for the regime, but they have far more to worry about internally and to their south and east.
I am curious. Why do you post to Free Republic?
I don’t think you are a paid troll. If you were you would probably try to hide your sympathies.
On the other hand, your command of English is quite good. I don’t think I’d be able to understand others and express myself as well in the foreign tongue I speak. But that very ability raises doubts about your motivation. Isn’t your command of English valuable enough to be worth using in a profession that would pay well enough to absorb your time and efforts?
“Obama restarted the Cold War.”
Obama has tried his damnedest to keep energy prices as high as possible. It’s not his doing that the Russian economy is entirely reliant on a volatile commodity.
It doesn’t take much time to check forum and write a comment while reaching out to computer for mail several times during a work day or during an evening dinner.
Think of it as the Russian version of the Monroe Doctrine. ;)
My question to wetphoenix is, how far must Russia's borders expand before it finds a "buffering" [snort] country that does not have some sort of "foreign influence" acting upon it?
LOLOL--talk about word games.
Xactly.
~Think of it as the Russian version of the Monroe Doctrine. ;)
My question to wetphoenix is, how far must Russia’s borders expand before it finds a “buffering” [snort] country that does not have some sort of “foreign influence” acting upon it?
LOLOL—talk about word games.~
What you have just described is actually an original Monroe Doctrine. It is actually about to keep any capable adversary out of Western hemisphere at all. I can understand a philosophy behind it and can’t see it as any wrong with it.
Russian doctrine doesn’t involve the whole Eastern hemisphere, but mostly immediate bordering country. So-called ‘buffer’ nation as you put it is not necessarily a ‘puppet’. The more independent the better because puppets are costly to support. Of course independent means it is not only independent from Russia but with any other capable adversary too.
So, Lithuania should invade and annex a portion of it to create a “buffer” against Russia? LOLOL
it = Belarus
There are no analogies in your abstract constructions. First, I have never heard if Lithuania has declared something like Monroe Doctrine of her own. Second, if you think it is about invasions in the first place you do clearly misunderstand the whole thing. In fact you are mostly misinterpreting not misunderstanding it because unlike other individuals with agenda trolling this type of threads, you seems like have IQ above their average.
If country A, a nuclear power, wants a “buffer” between it and another nuclear power, then why shouldn’t country B (a “buffer” target of country A), want protection against country A?
~If country A, a nuclear power, wants a “buffer” between it and another nuclear power, then why shouldn’t country B (a “buffer” target of country A), want protection against country A?~
It is all far-fetched. No country is actually a “buffer” between nuclear powers unless we are talking about Mongolia. Of course, Mongolia is quite far from this topic but for the last 20 years it is clearly not in an alliance with either bordering nuclear power against another.
Surprisingly it is not suffering from invasions so far.
Nations in question you are talking about probably should take notes.
I just described E. Europe to you, comrade.
I got what you mean and was merely pointing that you are wrong. East Europe is not a border between nuclear powers.
A “near abroad” concept you were questioning lately is actually to prevent it from being such.
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