Sanctions on Russia

Kate Lewis3 said:The second blunder is just flushing taxpayer money down the drain on specialists the country doesn't even need right now—or anytime soon, for that matter. And don't even get me started on those liberal arts degrees that serve absolutely no practical purpose in today's economy.

Well, I have to disagree there because if this were a functioning nation with actual, high-quality corporations, even those philosophy majors would find steady work in essential roles, likely within the private sector. But since we’re living in a backwater economy run by small-time entrepreneurs typical of isolated regions, we end up with what we have: these illiterate, unprofessional companies that are honestly embarrassing themselves without even realizing it...

Kate Lewis3 said:The second blunder is just flushing taxpayer money down the drain on specialists the country doesn't even need right now—or anytime soon, for that matter. And don't even get me started on those liberal arts degrees that serve absolutely no practical purpose in today's economy.

My point is—looking at how things are in America—electrical engineers and mechanical engineers aren't exactly "unnecessary personnel." They aren't working in hospitality or serving tables.

It’s not even about the sanctions—it's more about what the future holds for the Ukrainian economy. We're looking at a massive fire sale:
https://multipolarista.com/2022/09/0...e-wall-street/

It feels like a bit of déjà vu—reminds me of those botched privatizations we saw back in the day where Western interests just swooped in to clean up.

Honestly, you don't even have to state the obvious—in a war zone like this, everything is going to be sold off for pennies on the dollar—especially when Uncle Sam decides only certain "vetted" Wall Street firms get a seat at the table.

It’s basically a textbook case of American plundering—from the "people's revolution" straight to the final bill being collected.

They’d honestly be better off taking twenty nukes to the face than being swallowed up by the Russian sphere of influence.

analogbear5 said:My point is—looking at how things are in America—electrical engineers and mechanical engineers aren't exactly "unnecessary personnel." They aren't working in hospitality or serving tables.

I suppose an electrical engineer or a mechanical engineer could always find work in service or rentals, but you can't really flip that logic around, which I think is where the real issue lies.

wiredseal7 said:It’s not even about the sanctions—it's more about what the future holds for the Ukrainian economy. We're looking at a massive fire sale:
https://multipolarista.com/2022/09/0...e-wall-street/

It feels like a bit of déjà vu—reminds me of those botched privatizations we saw back in the day where Western interests just swooped in to clean up.

Honestly, you don't even have to state the obvious—in a war zone like this, everything is going to be sold off for pennies on the dollar—especially when Uncle Sam decides only certain "vetted" Wall Street firms get a seat at the table.

It’s basically a textbook case of American plundering—from the "people's revolution" straight to the final bill being collected.

Luckily for the Ukrainians, they already finished their own privatization process, so it might be harder for people to spin the narrative that outsiders forced them into a war with Russia just to grab their companies.

The absolute worst-case scenario for Ukraine—on top of all the destruction caused by Russian aggression—is joining the European Union, where the "old guard" members will likely try to protect their own turf by crushing any Ukrainian industry that actually poses a threat to their dominance.

Kate Lewis3 said:Luckily for the Ukrainians, they already finished their own privatization process, so it might be harder for people to spin the narrative that outsiders forced them into a war with Russia just to grab their companies.

The absolute worst-case scenario for Ukraine—on top of all the destruction caused by Russian aggression—is joining the European Union, where the "old guard" members will likely try to protect their own turf by crushing any Ukrainian industry that actually poses a threat to their dominance.

I’m curious, though—how exactly would those established European Union nations go about eliminating Ukrainian industry?
Don't hold back on the details!

Kate Lewis3 said:Luckily for the Ukrainians, they already finished their own privatization process, so it might be harder for people to spin the narrative that outsiders forced them into a war with Russia just to grab their companies.

The absolute worst-case scenario for Ukraine—on top of all the destruction caused by Russian aggression—is joining the European Union, where the "old guard" members will likely try to protect their own turf by crushing any Ukrainian industry that actually poses a threat to their dominance.

Hold on a second—wasn't the push toward the European Union one of the primary triggers back in 2014?🤔
Isn't this whole narrative about the dangers of the European Union and the West to Ukraine largely just a cornerstone of Russian propaganda?🤔 🤔

Best regards,

wiredseal7 said:It’s not even about the sanctions—it's more about what the future holds for the Ukrainian economy. We're looking at a massive fire sale:
https://multipolarista.com/2022/09/0...e-wall-street/

It feels like a bit of déjà vu—reminds me of those botched privatizations we saw back in the day where Western interests just swooped in to clean up.

Honestly, you don't even have to state the obvious—in a war zone like this, everything is going to be sold off for pennies on the dollar—especially when Uncle Sam decides only certain "vetted" Wall Street firms get a seat at the table.

It’s basically a textbook case of American plundering—from the "people's revolution" straight to the final bill being collected.

Poor Ukraine, opening its doors wide to foreign investment. Zelensky is busy inviting wealthy corporations to pour billions into the country, seemingly just so the local Ukrainians can be worked like slaves. These intentions go so far that he even wants to turn Ukraine into an IT hub. To make matters worse, he wants to overhaul the tax system and tighten legal frameworks to ensure total transparency. It looks like a clear attempt to ensure a struggling Ukraine becomes even poorer and more underdeveloped.

In all honesty, things might have been much better if they had stayed under Russian influence and been allowed to prosper.
🤦

Bryan Booth82 said:Hold on a second—wasn't the push toward the European Union one of the primary triggers back in 2014?🤔
Isn't this whole narrative about the dangers of the European Union and the West to Ukraine largely just a cornerstone of Russian propaganda?🤔 🤔

Best regards,

The drop in Ukrainian industrial output caused by the war has hit German industry right where it hurts—we're seeing shortages in everything from automotive wiring to construction materials and cement, which is creating a massive ripple effect of problems.

The notion that older European Union members are somehow conspiring to dismantle Ukrainian industry is honestly a pretty wild theory; I can't wrap my head around WHY they would want to do that, let alone HOW they could possibly pull it off.

But I'm sure our colleague here will dive into all the specifics and walk us through the reasoning...

Morgan Wright5 said:I suppose an electrical engineer or a mechanical engineer could always find work in service or rentals, but you can't really flip that logic around, which I think is where the real issue lies.

That’s just how it seems to you. 😉 But magic buttons don't actually solve everything. 😁

Can you even fathom a technical director who can't manage to put together a simple twelve-line cost estimate in Microsoft Excel? Believe it or not, those people actually exist...

Now, that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the war. Or does it? 🤔

wiredseal7 said:It’s not even about the sanctions—it's more about what the future holds for the Ukrainian economy. We're looking at a massive fire sale:
https://multipolarista.com/2022/09/0...e-wall-street/

It feels like a bit of déjà vu—reminds me of those botched privatizations we saw back in the day where Western interests just swooped in to clean up.

Honestly, you don't even have to state the obvious—in a war zone like this, everything is going to be sold off for pennies on the dollar—especially when Uncle Sam decides only certain "vetted" Wall Street firms get a seat at the table.

It’s basically a textbook case of American plundering—from the "people's revolution" straight to the final bill being collected.

The author of this piece is the Russian propagandist Benjamin Norton

Kate Lewis3 said:Luckily for the Ukrainians, they already finished their own privatization process, so it might be harder for people to spin the narrative that outsiders forced them into a war with Russia just to grab their companies.

The absolute worst-case scenario for Ukraine—on top of all the destruction caused by Russian aggression—is joining the European Union, where the "old guard" members will likely try to protect their own turf by crushing any Ukrainian industry that actually poses a threat to their dominance.

Europe actually needs Ukrainian heavy industry. Ukraine has this labor-intensive heavy sector that doesn't pack much high-end value but requires massive amounts of manpower. Meanwhile, Western nations lean on capital-intensive industries loaded with robotics and automation to churn out high-margin products.

Nathan Thomas12 said:Europe actually needs Ukrainian heavy industry. Ukraine has this labor-intensive heavy sector that doesn't pack much high-end value but requires massive amounts of manpower. Meanwhile, Western nations lean on capital-intensive industries loaded with robotics and automation to churn out high-margin products.

Honestly, you can't sleep on their intelligence; they definitely know what they're doing. Take General Electric, for example—they're one of the biggest jet engine players out there, and even some Chinese companies are still struggling to catch up, sometimes even relying on Russian tech. That’s actually why there was such a push to try and buy out those major manufacturers from Ukraine a few years back.

Then you've got the Morozov technical Bureau and all those connected plants over in Chicago and so on.

The real issue for Ukrainians is just the corruption and the constant struggle with liquidity. If you look past that, they’ve always been a technically advanced nation; while half the North America was still catching up, these guys were already busy assembling tractors.

Ukraine was easily the most technologically advanced part of the USSR.
For instance, Boeing built those massive transport planes—the ones the Russians just finished destroying over in Hostomel..

Huh.
The income from energy just took a massive nose dive. We're looking at a $6 billion hole in the federal budget just for the month of August alone.

Russia’s budget surplus for 2022 has almost evaporated after a sharp drop in energy exports during August led to a monthly deficit of as much as Rbs360bn ($5.9bn).

US recorded a surplus of almost $500bn in the first seven months of the year. But that cumulative cushion shrank down to just $137bn by last month, which points to a massive deficit in August—something economists are pinning on those sudden, steep drops in oil and gas revenue.

https://www.ft.com/content/d9cdc51f-...reType=nongift

https://mobile.twitter.com/NoYardsti...26432471592960

The US is cutting 10% from the expenditure side of the budget, and they aren't making any exceptions.

So, Russia is basically asking the UN🤣 to get the EU to back off on those sanctions against them. Their "peace offering"? They’re supposedly willing to hand over 300,000 tons of fertilizer to developing nations to help ease the global food crisis—even though there aren't even any sanctions on fertilizer to begin with. Just a move to soften the blow, I guess.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacifi...states/2686720

Call Putin a humanitarian if you want, but clearly, those sanctions just aren't doing much.

hollowdriver13 said:So, Russia is basically asking the UN🤣 to get the EU to back off on those sanctions against them. Their "peace offering"? They’re supposedly willing to hand over 300,000 tons of fertilizer to developing nations to help ease the global food crisis—even though there aren't even any sanctions on fertilizer to begin with. Just a move to soften the blow, I guess.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacifi...states/2686720

Call Putin a humanitarian if you want, but clearly, those sanctions just aren't doing much.

This is purely for domestic consumption—an attempt to paint a picture where "the whole world is against them." They know perfectly well that those sanctions aren't going anywhere. Instead, they’re building a classic straw man argument: claiming that a "cruel West" is blocking them from donating fertilizer to developing countries, thereby intentionally triggering global famine. It’s thin. Thinner than thin. But it beats doing nothing; you have to stir the pot if you can't win the fight. This wouldn't even pass muster in an elementary school classroom, but this particular propaganda machine requires some semblance of a "logical" explanation to function. If you broadcast the same lie long enough while choking off all other information channels, eventually, people start believing it.

hollowdriver13 said:So, Russia is basically asking the UN🤣 to get the EU to back off on those sanctions against them. Their "peace offering"? They’re supposedly willing to hand over 300,000 tons of fertilizer to developing nations to help ease the global food crisis—even though there aren't even any sanctions on fertilizer to begin with. Just a move to soften the blow, I guess.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacifi...states/2686720

Call Putin a humanitarian if you want, but clearly, those sanctions just aren't doing much.

I’ve got an idea for this "great Humanitarian"... why doesn't he just stop the War and pull his troops out?? That’s the whole reason the sanctions exist in the first place. They didn't happen because he wants to sell fertilizer.