Ukraine related: Was Ukraine Government Is Handing Out Guns To Citizens, What Happened to Gun Control?

[Griswalduk]

When Russia retreats from Ukraine any settlements with China should include the cost of Russia rebuilding the country and discount oil / gas for 20 years.

 

[mat200]

Russian Decoy Ship in Crimea (Kerch Straight)

 

[mat200]

Each day .. it sounds more like a Bond film ...

 

[tigerwillow1]

According to US government data, the US has sent a net of over $9 billion to Russia this year, and continues to send more. Are the sanctions just meaningless political theater? Foreign Trade - U.S. Trade with Russia

 

[mat200]

According to US government data, the US has sent a net of over $9 billion to Russia this year, and continues to send more. Are the sanctions just meaningless political theater? Foreign Trade - U.S. Trade with Russia

View attachment 132836

Sanctions meaningless political theater?

$9 Billion payment to Russia is small compared to what Russia used to get ..

No, looks like Sanctions are hitting numerous aspects of the Russian Economy ..

As noted previously, numerous Russian factories are having troubles now building products which require semi-conductor chips and other inputs which were made in EU and the USA.





JP post the following article in Aprl:

 

[tigerwillow1]

$9 Billion payment to Russia is small compared to what Russia used to get ..

Did you look at the prior years data? The January-to-May trade deficit with Russia is higher in 2022 than in the prior 10 years. It's bigger than russia used to get.

 

[mat200]

Did you look at the prior years data? The January-to-May trade deficit with Russia is higher in 2022 than in the prior 10 years. It's bigger than russia used to get.

Hi @tigerwillow1

Yes, I have been following the data ..

Russia is in big economic trouble .. as is the entire world due to this "special operation" after the massive issues setup by the pandemic.

Putin's war was the last kick in the nutz to the World Economy ..


Basically:
1) Pandemic and pandemic response => created a massive house of cards ..

2) Russia basically was the tempter tantrum child who knocked it all down ..

3) If you give in to the tantrum, the child will continue to knock the next house down .. clearly, the responses after 2014 did not deter this child who likes to play with matches ..



It is a massive global economic problem .. on the scale of WWIII in many ways .. except with everyone wanting to limit the actual physical fighting.

We are in a massive economic war at this time .. just be thankful if you are in the USA or Canada ..


Remember:
This did not need to happen.

It will not end well, just a question of how bad it ends .. Russia has to not make gains in this war, or else there will be a next country it will attack ..

 

[N-i-k-s-o-n]

Hi @tigerwillow1

Yes, I have been following the data ..

Russia is in big economic trouble .. as is the entire world due to this "special operation" after the massive issues setup by the pandemic.

Putin's war was the last kick in the nutz to the World Economy ..


Basically:
1) Pandemic and pandemic response => created a massive house of cards ..

2) Russia basically was the tempter tantrum child who knocked it all down ..

3) If you give in to the tantrum, the child will continue to knock the next house down .. clearly, the responses after 2014 did not deter this child who likes to play with matches ..



It is a massive global economic problem .. on the scale of WWIII in many ways .. except with everyone wanting to limit the actual physical fighting.

We are in a massive economic war at this time .. just be thankful if you are in the USA or Canada ..


Remember:
This did not need to happen.

It will not end well, just a question of how bad it ends .. Russia has to not make gains in this war, or else there will be a next country it will attack ..

It is very convenient for Western politicians to blame Russia for all their mistakes.

Or rejoice that you are in Russia.

There is food, water, gas, electricity and fertilizer in the right amount, you can speak any language, there is no "cancellation" of any culture or nation, the free circulation of drugs is prohibited.

 

[mat200]

Or be glad you are in Russia.
There is food, water, gas, electricity and fertilizer in the right amount, you can speak any language, there is no "cancellation" of any culture or nation.

Yes Russia does have food and energy, which is why the world will encourage all those without to come to Russia for those ..

Russia is only a short walk for most of those from the the Middle East ...

 

[N-i-k-s-o-n]

Russia is only a short walk for most of those from the the Middle East ...

Oh yes, I hope so. Western European countries have more generous social benefits, so immigrants from the Middle East and Africa tend to go there.

 

[mat200]

Enjoy Ryan McBeth .. short quick videos on youtube .. fun to watch ..

 

[tigerwillow1]

Russia is in big economic trouble

I did not intend my noting of billions of $ flowing from USA to Russia to be a commentary on the Russian economy in any way whatsoever. I'm asking 100% about USA actions, where we're told of crippling sanctions having been imposed while at the same time billions of $ are flowing. It has the appearance of the government saying one thing, but doing another. The numbers and the rhetoric do not agree.

 

[mat200]

I did not intend my noting of billions of $ flowing from USA to Russia to be a commentary on the Russian economy in any way whatsoever. I'm asking 100% about USA actions, where we're told of crippling sanctions having been imposed while at the same time billions of $ are flowing. It has the appearance of the government saying one thing, but doing another. The numbers and the rhetoric do not agree.

Well .. not so simple .. Oil Refining makes this a bit more complex ..

Crude Oil comes in different grades ( Heavy to Light, Sour to Sweet ) .. and refineries constructed to deal with a different type(s) .. iirc some USA refineries were built to process Venezuela oil which was heavy, and thus they bought Russian Oil which is also heavy to replace Venezuela Oil when Venezuela became unfriendly.

Now that Russia became unfriendly you need to find a replacement for that heavy quality oil or take refinery line off line and modify it to process lighter crude oil ..

This is only a quick summary of the issue .. and one area I am only just learning ..

Understanding Crude Oil Classifications

The first crude oil had actually been discovered by the Chinese in 600 B.C. and transported in pipelines made from bamboo. However, Colonel Drake’s heralded discovery of oil in Pennsylvania in 1859 and the Spindletop discovery in Texas in 1901 set the stage for the new oil economy, but it would...

www.oklahomaminerals.com

 

[garycrist]

Back in the early '90s, the refineries were switched over to sour crude from our light stuff.
IIRC, the Saudis and Venezuela (Citgo) help pay off the crooked politions for that deal. The
refineries were then set-up to run their heavy sour crudes.

So WTI is shipped off as our refineries can not use it now. None of the refineries will retrofit
for the light sweet stuff here in the US.

The last refinery IIRC to be built was in Arizona. It was even voted in by the state voters!
The refinery would have refined WTI and could handle the asphaltic crude from California too.
Naturally the Feds would not issue permits along with the rest of the Government BS.

WTI= West Texas Intermediate

 

[mat200]

Back in the early '90s, the refineries were switched over to sour crude from our light stuff.
IIRC, the Saudis and Venezuela (Citgo) help pay off the crooked politions for that deal. The
refineries were then set-up to run their heavy sour crudes.

So WTI is shipped off as our refineries can not use it now. None of the refineries will retrofit
for the light sweet stuff here in the US.

The last refinery IIRC to be built was in Arizona. It was even voted in by the state voters!
The refinery would have refined WTI and could handle the asphaltic crude from California too.
Naturally the Feds would not issue permits along with the rest of the Government BS.

WTI= West Texas Intermediate

Thanks @garycrist

so having the Keystone XL pipeline would have as I understand it brought heavier Canadian Sands Oil down to the USA Gulf Coast refineries ..

 

[tigerwillow1]

Based on the last 2 posts it sounds like all this talk we heard of being energy independent was yet another lie. Before somebody tells me all we did was swap one grade for another and we produced enough oil inside the US to satisfy our consumption, I will answer if we can't pump AND refine it without importing oil, we're not energy independent. If we're currently buying oil from Russia, this talk of crippling sanctions is a bunch of BS. Explaining why we have to do it is just a diversion from the fact that we ARE doing it (if we are in fact using Russian oil).

 

[mat200]

Based on the last 2 posts it sounds like all this talk we heard of being energy independent was yet another lie. Before somebody tells me all we did was swap one grade for another and we produced enough oil inside the US to satisfy our consumption, I will answer if we can't pump AND refine it without importing oil, we're not energy independent. If we're currently buying oil from Russia, this talk of crippling sanctions is a bunch of BS. Explaining why we have to do it is just a diversion from the fact that we ARE doing it (if we are in fact using Russian oil).

USA imports peaked in 2005 .. thanks to the shale oil USA production increased ..

Remember, USA used to have a lot of refining capacity and other countries had limited refining capacity, so the USA would import crude, refine, and then sell the refined products ..

Data Chart here:

 

[Griswalduk]

It is very convenient for Western politicians to blame Russia for all their mistakes.

Or rejoice that you are in Russia.

There is food, water, gas, electricity and fertilizer in the right amount, you can speak any language, there is no "cancellation" of any culture or nation, the free circulation of drugs is prohibited.

Aside from resources this statement does not reflect reality. Russia is after all trying to ethnic cleanse and cancel Ukraine. It's also alarming a country with plentiful resources including food would feel the need to invade, plunder and profit from another's. Greed is not a good look

It's also worthwhile noting a plentiful supply of fertilizer and diesel could be a major problem

Below are some links for your consideration. There's many more if you care to search

Is Russia stealing and selling grain from Ukraine?

Ukraine officials accuse Russia of stealing ‘several hundred thousand tonnes’ in areas under Russian occupation.

www.aljazeera.com

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow politician gets 7 years for denouncing war

Councillor Alexei Gorinov gets reportedly the first jail term under a law criminalising dissent.

www.bbc.co.uk

Leader of Pussy Riot Band Escapes Russia, With Help From Friends (Published 2022)

After more than a decade of activism, Maria Alyokhina disguised herself as a food courier to evade the police — and a widening crackdown by President Vladimir Putin.

www.nytimes.com

Alcohol and Illicit Drug in Russia: Current Situation and Possible Solution | National Institute on Drug Abuse

B. Lobodov District Center of Prevention and Treatment

nida.nih.gov

Russia's State Duma OKs Controversial Bill Allowing Government To Standardize Indigenous Languages

The Russian parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma, has approved in its third and final reading a controversial bill that would allow the government to regulate the basic pillars of minority languages in the country, including indigenous ethnic groups from Siberia and the Far East.

www.rferl.org

 

[mat200]

So far, .. fairly clear you can not trust Russia / Putin's words ..

This makes diplomacy and any potential peace with Russia similar to diplomacy with Nazi Germany and Hitler .. or USSR and Stalin .. can not trust the papers the peace would be signed on.

This is very unfortunate ..

 

[tigerwillow1]

So far, .. fairly clear you can not trust Russia / Putin's words ..

No argument with that. What world leader's words can you trust any more?