Posts by hollowdriver13

wearydriver40 said:I'm not following, but what is so special about Ukraine anyway? Since when did everyone start obsessing over that place to the point where all of Europe is ready to go broke just to support them? And why the sudden rush to fix everything at light speed? It’s ridiculous. America wasn't even allowed to import a single rifle, yet they're handing over hundreds of tanks to Ukraine? Look, I get it—aggression, madness, whatever—but let's stop with the fairy tales. What is actually so special about Ukraine to the rest of the world?

Is it because this is straight-up a war of conquest? Just plain old grabbing someone else's land?
They aren't even trying to hide the fact that they're attempting to annex territory for Russia anymore.

https://mobile.twitter.com/DemeryUK/...C4iZWO954qAAAA

They're swapping out street signs, putting up statues of Lenin, hoisting Soviet flags... you name it, they're doing it.

Nathan Evans78 said:Is that what they call a total embargo—when Shell suddenly stops taking 49% of their Ural supply just to slap a "Made in the US" sticker on it instead? 🤣

Well, Shell and those other big oil supermajors recently put out a statement saying they’re cutting off all purchases of any blends containing Russian oil, regardless of the percentage.
They probably got word that a massive, systemic embargo on Russian oil and its derivatives within the US is being cooked up.

https://mobile.twitter.com/sentdefen...63580526194688

Looks like even the Azerbaijanis have finally shut down their airspace to the Russians.

Carl Lee27 said:...or honestly, maybe not even then

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/statu...MgrNwUqdA&s=19

If the whole European Union is on board and they’re left standing all alone, things could get pretty ugly for them—especially since they can't really count on Americans to have their backs this time around.
Besides, it wouldn't take much; if individual nations just decide to block Russian oil shipments from crossing their borders, Viktor Orbán can sing whatever battle songs he wants.

Germany: "A ban on Russian fossil fuels 👎, a ban on uranium 👍" 🤦

https://www.politico.eu/article/russ...s-ukraine-war/

Carl Lee27 said:It looks like we’re seeing a soft embargo on Russian oil starting to take shape. After the Swedish people stepped up, now even the Dutch are refusing to unload cargo coming out of Russia.
https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/...paG-94i9g&s=19

I mean, think about it—Rotterdam is such a massive logistical powerhouse, especially when it comes to refining crude, I mean there are literally five different refineries right there in the port alone.

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/statu...C5_YC2zZkqAAAA

Norway is stepping up too, banning Russian ships from passing through their territorial waters or docking at their ports, and they're even banning truck traffic.

feralcanyon73 said:The whole "Russia is collapsing" thing is just a narrative.
That's the same crap Adolf was screaming from his bunker back in AD 1945.

If things are going so incredibly well, why did they pass laws banning economic reports?
I mean, if you're actually winning, you should be out there bragging about it. But instead, it's become a criminal offense just to write down how many barrels of oil they're pulling out of the ground daily.🤔
It’s not like Americans would ever lie about stuff like that... right?

Jessica Long8 said:Has Germany and the rest of the EU officially pivoted their stance on nuclear energy? I’m wondering if there’s any concrete, official word out there regarding the opening of new nuclear plants.

Germany still has a pretty terrible attitude toward nuclear power. On top of that, you’ve got this bloc led by France where we're right there in the mix, pushing hard to get nuclear energy recognized as a green energy source at the EU level.

Joshua Myers432 said:I’m not sure if you even grasp the purpose of NATO or why it was established in the first place. Let’s be honest: expanding NATO eastward and encircling Russia is nothing more than a blatant display of hostility toward them.

Sure, nations have every right to form military alliances as they see fit—but don't act surprised when you end up becoming dependent on hostile energy suppliers because of it. Honestly, the political maneuvering in Europe over the last century has been utterly nonsensical, leading directly to two World Wars on European soil, and now it looks like we're sprinting headlong into a third.

At the end of the day, "villain" and "hero" are just matters of perspective. And yes, I believe Russia is the bad guy here. That's my subjective take, just as yours is yours.

If that 69D chess player in the Kremlin hadn't pulled a few more years out of his sleeve, NATO would probably be falling apart by now due to internal drama and aimless wandering.
And don't even get me started on Europe itself. Before this mess, the US barely gave a damn about them; we were focusing our attention on the Pacific while European countries treated their militaries like some ancient relic or a massive waste of money (just look at the state of the Bundeswehr).
That's a solid assessment of Russia, 👍 though it's almost as much of a toss-up as how hard Ukraine will fight back against the invasion.
Historically speaking, things usually end up going "well" for Russia and the rest of the world only after Europe arms itself to the teeth and the arsenals start firing at each other...

https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/rus...ns-11650677765

If things are going so incredibly well for them economically, and everyone is just sitting around waiting for the West to finally collapse, then why on earth did Russia decide to ban the publication of all those economic stats starting on the 23rd?

steelfox98 said:The Austrians folded almost immediately after yesterday's gas cutoff to Poland and Bulgaria. It looks like the Germans already made their peace with the terms.

Russian Energy giant Gazprom on Wednesday halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay for gas in roubles. Nehammer Said They Had declined to Use The Payment system through Gazprombank that Austria, Germany and others have adopted.

https://www.reuters.com/business/ene...es-2022-04-27/

https://apa.az/en/europe/austria-agr...-rubles-374600

https://twitter.com/karlnehammer/sta...36100375601152

The Austrian Chancellor actually chimed in to say that's not true—apparently, it’s just fake news meant to stir up trouble.
But man, you guys sure were eager to jump on any "win" for that big-time chess player and his Asterix crew.

So, how's that business selling oil for rubles in Asia going?

https://www.euractiv.com/section/pol...n-oil-imports/

And how's the oil sales over to ExxonMobil looking?

ironpuma29 said:THAT'S JUST PURE GREED!

The folks running Shell are so loaded they have to find ways to fatten their bottom line, so now they're dodging sanctions under the table!!!!

🙂Can't post above here

Technically speaking, they aren't actually breaking any rules since there aren't direct sanctions on oil right now. It's more about the PR nightmare—it looks terrible, so they either steer clear entirely or just sneakily pick up smaller amounts through third-party middlemen to keep things quiet.

It’s getting to the point where we might actually see Asia trading oil with Russia using rubles, which would basically be the final nail in the coffin for the petrodollar.
I mean, look at the Rosneft auction for oil priced in rubles—literally zero buyers showed up.

https://twitter.com/phildstewart/sta...23635976151048

Looks like another massive military aid package worth about $800 million is headed our way from the US.

Carl Lee27 said:It looks like we might actually be seeing the beginning of Russia splitting off from the rest of the global internet

https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/statu...cZ5vU40HA&s=19

Honestly, they’ll probably just end up building an even bigger, faster, and better version of the web. Plus, their local payment system will likely step in to replace SWIFT, and the ruble will eventually take over for that messy petrodollar.🙄

https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/stat...67333894664195

The USA is sending over some Stormer systems to help out Ukraine.

wiredseal7 said:It isn't bankruptcy—the Americans would have to file for that. They aren't missing payments because they can't afford them; it's just that their funds are frozen in Switzerland (😵)

"Despite the ruling, Amtrak argued in a statement on Tuesday that it had fulfilled its obligations on the Swiss franc bond worth $268 million, as it had tried to pay but had been blocked due to sanctions, Bloomberg reported."

A default is when you fail to meet payment obligations—basically bankruptcy.

Or am I totally off on how "default" is being translated lately?

And honestly, what does it matter if they didn't pay because some foreign entity like a Swiss bank blocked the funds? It’s like someone getting blocked by the Fed and then somehow ending up with even more debt they can't settle because of that very blockage. It just drags them deeper into the hole.

They’ll probably keep running fine within their own borders because the government will just act like nothing happened. It’s the same way they claim Russia isn't sliding toward a default even after the 4.4% hit and all those missed payments.

I don't think suppliers—even Chinese ones—really care about the whole "we've got plenty of cash, man" excuse if you aren't actually paying your bills. Who's going to sell you more stuff if there's zero guarantee you're actually going to pay for it?

Bankruptcy incoming

https://markets.businessinsider.com/...-us-2022-4?amp

So, looks like the big state-run railroad company over in Russia just missed a massive $268 million payment, and now they're officially being treated as insolvent. Basically, they've hit bankruptcy status.

Nathan Thomas12 said:Word is there's a massive amount of Russians living in Israel... they probably don't need any more domestic drama to deal with.

It’s not just "apparently," it's a fact. There are about 1.3 million Russians in Israel, which is basically 15% of the whole population.

northernangler8 said:People like you are nothing more than warmongers. Honestly, I bet there are plenty of people on this forum acting as agitators, whether they're pushing political agendas or just looking for a fight. Just look at what Irish MP Clara Daly has been saying. Sanctions aren't going to stop a war; if anything, they just drag it out. All they really do is punish ordinary citizens while the politicians and the elites stay perfectly fine. Those are the first ones to flee when things actually go south in Ukraine. People like you, who constantly back these conflicts, clearly haven't learned a single thing from history, which is why we keep seeing the same mistakes repeated over and over.

Look, sanctions hit a country's economic muscle and its ability to sustain a long-term conflict. An average Russian is just collateral damage here; it's much easier for a hungry Russian to get fed again than it is to bring a dead Ukrainian back to life.

The best move would have been to just let Putin steamroll through Ukraine. That’s how it works. Instead, we get all this whining in that typical Russian style about how "you're arming Ukraine and prolonging the conflict."