Posts by urbanotter

brightheron64 said:Well, whenever Putin loses his grip on reality or starts rambling... something inevitable happens.
Sometimes I truly find myself wondering how I ended up on this absolute sinking ship of madness. 🙄

Just looking at a few recent headlines from Index:

United Kingdom imposes new trade sanctions against Russia
The United Kingdom announced today that they are rolling out a fresh wave of trade sanctions aimed at Russia.

Irish Prime Minister: Putin is immorally weaponizing food and energy
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin stated that Putin is acting completely immorally by using food, energy, and migration as weapons of war.

EU: 12 European nations hit by reduced gas supplies from Russia
The reduction in gas supplies coming out of Russia has impacted 12 EU member states, according to EU official Frans Timmermans.

I can't help but wonder who exactly is behind these claims.
For over a century, we've seen the same players pulling the strings—those specific groups that have maintained a firm grip on both the primary energy reserves and the vital shipping lanes required to get that oil to the global market. It reminds me of how certain massive corporations in the States, like ExxonMobil, have historically shaped entire industries just by controlling the flow of resources. It’s a pattern that has repeated itself for generations, where power isn't just about having the fuel, but about owning the very paths it travels on.
It brings to mind that famous observation from Henry Kissinger—one of those thinkers who truly understood the cold mechanics of power—when he remarked that whoever controls the oil routes effectively holds the reins of the world. It’s a heavy thought, isn't it? I remember sitting in a lecture back in college, listening to a professor dissect how global stability often hinges on these invisible lines drawn across maps, dictated by energy flow rather than ideology. It makes you realize that while we focus on headlines and political rhetoric, the real engine of history is often much more pragmatic and, frankly, much more calculated.

It feels like the narrative around Vladimir Putin being labeled a criminal changes depending on who you ask, but if you look closely, there's a deeper economic layer to it all. It isn't just about politics; it’s about control. From where I stand, the frustration from major Western corporations stems from the fact that he isn't simply selling oil on the open market like they'd prefer. Instead, he has effectively seized total control over both the extraction process and the entire trading infrastructure. He’s moved away from being a standard supplier and has instead turned the whole industry into a state-run monopoly under his direct oversight, which naturally puts him at odds with the global corporate interests that want things run their way.

It feels incredibly hypocritical when he starts judging others like this, especially considering there’s a century-long history of people playing these exact same games. It’s the same old pattern where lives in Ukraine are essentially treated as collateral damage just so certain powers can maintain their stranglehold on global oil routes and, increasingly, the control over GMO food production. I remember reading an old article about how energy monopolies used to operate back in the day, and it's unsettling to see that same playbook being used today under a different guise.

Morgan Wright5 said:I suspect the real issue isn't actually the oil, but rather the natural gas.

Well, that’s one way to look at it, I suppose.

The strength of Siberia is being built up at an incredible pace right now; you see them pumping gas out of Jamal at record speeds, while icebreakers are working around the clock to ensure the Northern Sea Route stays open all year round.
The only real drawback is that the Northern Sea Route is still about three or four days longer than the journey from Qatar to China or Europe.

But honestly, those details feel almost trivial when you consider how these "sanctions" are failing to achieve anything of substance.

https://hr.n1info.com/svijet/ruski-r...B7ar39m_rYjoQc

darkdriver said:Now the experts are gonna jump in and explain how easy it is to just bypass buying Russian raw materials.
Like, just grab a shovel, head out to your backyard, and dig up some titanium, nickel, or whatever else your heart desires!
Some genius actually tried to explain to me the other day that it's no big deal that there are only so many tankers and LNG ships on the planet, especially since Japan imports everything by sea.
In those kinds of minds, economics is just basic science.
So, for example, Japan could just stop importing a huge chunk of its raw materials by ship just to free up tonnage for someone else—which would totally screw over their own industry and their own citizens—and voilà, suddenly you've got tons of free shipping capacity.
It's as simple as pie, as they say.

I’ve stepped back from the debate for a bit, though I’m still following along casually. One thing that strikes me as slightly absurd when I read about Russia selling oil to China and India at "discounted prices" is the lack of context.
It makes me wonder: compared to which benchmark are we calling this a "discount"?

Are we talking about those exchange prices inflated by speculators, sitting around $100-$120 a barrel, or are we comparing it to the price Russia was getting before the sanctions hit, back when it was closer to $60-$70?

swiftjackal11 said:Russia is actually getting stronger despite the sanctions, so let them have it then.☕

Well, sure, let them keep their gas too.

Europe has plenty of coal plants to fall back on if we need to replace that substance nobody wants to touch anyway.😁

Nathan Thomas12 said:Why would Russia bother lighting anything? They’re actually doing fine despite the sanctions—in fact, they’re pulling in ten times the profit by just pivoting toward India and South Korea.

It’s pretty obvious they don't feel the need to start fires or deal with imposing sanctions on anyone else right now.
I mean, look at the reality of things—oil remains an incredibly high-demand commodity, and its value isn't just limited to the European market.

SINGAPORE - Chinese imports of crude oil from Russia hit record highs this past May, a shift that comes just as Saudi Arabia has lost its standing as China's primary supplier.

https://seebiz.eu/energetika/snazno-...e-nafte/277519

Amanda Allen4 said:We are supposed to be discussing the current war in Ukraine, yet some people insist on dragging up arguments from past conflicts to justify everything happening today.

Imagine walking into a courtroom where the defense attorney tries to justify a murder charge by bringing up other murders that happened years ago—completely unrelated to the case at hand—just to defend their client.

Can you even imagine something more idiotic than that?

Some people seem to hold the conviction that the conflict in Ukraine isn't some kind of existential turning point for life on this planet, and honestly, I can see why they feel that way. It’s easy to get lost in the daily news cycle and feel like we've seen these kinds of geopolitical tremors before, so it's hard to wrap your head around the idea that this specific moment might be different. I remember sitting in a coffee shop back in Chicago a few years ago, listening to people debate whether global shifts actually change our fundamental trajectory, and there was this sense that history just repeats itself in cycles rather than breaking into something entirely new. There’s a certain comfort in believing that even massive conflicts are just more of the same, but I find myself wondering if we are actually standing on the edge of something much more profound than we care to admit.

When they finally hand down a ruling, you'll notice they don't just make a decision out of thin air; they constantly point back to previous legal precedents to justify their stance. It reminds me of that time I was sitting in on a local municipal hearing last year—it wasn't just about the facts at hand, but about how similar disputes had been settled by the courts in the past to ensure everything remains consistent.

As far as I know—and please keep in mind I’m certainly no legal expert—the concept of unifying judicial precedents is something our court system hasn't really encountered before, and that kind of authority falls squarely under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Anthony Moore15 said:It's...
China would almost certainly lose its status as an economic powerhouse if they lost access to Western markets...
Then we could just trade toys to the Russians in exchange for oil... sounds like a perfect world...

Manufacturing migrated from the West to places like China or India simply because of market forces—specifically cheap labor and the lack of strict environmental regulations...
What remains in the West is high-profit production where margins are thick, mostly driven by brand power or extreme technical sophistication, where the actual cost of manufacturing matters much less...
As the standard of living rises within China, those specific market advantages start to evaporate. If China were to enter an economic war with the West, they’d essentially be set back 50 years... For the West, the fallout would mean consumer goods become harder to get (though we'd quickly stabilize production for essential items) and a forced reduction in our already excessive consumerist culture...

The situation with Russia is slightly different since they are primarily an exporter of raw materials...
Since global demand for commodities outstrips supply, Russian resources will always find a way to a buyer. The West will eventually pivot to sourcing materials from other places—offering higher prices than current buyers—which will consequently force the Russians to sell their goods in markets where those commodities are undervalued...
For the Russians, the real issue isn't the raw materials; it's the sanctions preventing them from buying Western goods and technology. They'll end up having to acquire that tech through intermediaries at inflated prices and in much smaller quantities...

Looking at all this, it's clear that in the long run, nobody is going to actually run out of anything (markets will eventually stabilize). Instead, what we'll see is a general rise in prices across the board. In the West, raw material costs will spike relatively more, while in Russia, the cost of everything else will climb significantly...

From the beginning, I've argued that we shouldn't impose any sanctions on the sale of Russian raw materials. Instead, we should hit those exports with heavy tariffs. This would incentivize buyers to seek out those same resources in cheaper locations, effectively forcing Russia to sell at a discount. Adjusting supply and demand would be easy enough just by tweaking tariff percentages...
On the flip side, we could heavily tax the sale of almost any product to Russia (except for medicine) and implement a total ban on technological products...
By doing this, we wouldn't trigger shortages, nor would we cause massive shifts in trade routes that—if traders are feeling greedy—result in uncontrolled price hikes for everyone...

At this rate, I might as well go ahead and apply for my Nobel Prize for this dissertation...

I wouldn't go as far as calling it Nobel-worthy,
but I will point out that China produces about 500,000 engineers every year. They actively encourage their scientists to head to the West, and once those individuals implement Western technology abroad, the government offers massive incentives for them to return and work in Chinese labs and research institutes. Alongside their massive consumer goods industry, they are aggressively developing military, aerospace, and other high-tech sectors.

Only about half of the population is actually involved in the Chinese economic miracle, so there is absolutely no reason to believe they will run out of affordable labor. Furthermore, by incrementally raising wages and standards of living, China is essentially building its own massive internal consumer market.
China manufactures a vast array of sophisticated products, but you can't judge their entire economy by a single metric, nor can you expect to buy their most advanced tech at a bargain bin price.

Michelle Young50 said:Brilliant logic there—it's almost as if nobody thought of that before. If you want to progress and build strength, just beg everyone else to slap you with sanctions; everything else will surely fall into place.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; not everyone possesses the same level of shrewdness found in Americans or other Western nations.☕

dustyowl29 said:It’s just how the world works. Globalization over the last few decades has brought its own set of perks and headaches—it's a double-edged sword, really. And let's be honest, Americans acting as the world's police force has been a given since basically World War I.
If we hadn't slapped all those Russia sanctions on them, along with the restrictions on Venezuela, Iran, and Libya, gas and oil prices would probably still look like they did back in 1995.
Instead, they're sitting at about five times higher right now.

That’s a fair point, especially considering how the US began expanding its hegemony right after the Civil War by establishing what we know as the Monroe Doctrine.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Monroe-Doctrine

Fill up your gas tank $237, and diesel is even worse $242!? You might be shocked at how much you were actually paying just two years ago.

https://www.cnn.com/economy/gas-prices-trends

goldenowl73 said:Transit for sanctioned goods headed to the Kaliningrad region has been totally blocked off by rail. Honestly, I’m not even surprised that Putin was out there yesterday throwing a massive tantrum about the sanctions—it's such a classic move, right? He tries to twist the narrative to make it look like he's actually worried about the poor European Union getting squeezed, when in reality, he's just trying to hide how Russia is actually using these sanctions to toughen up. It was honestly kind of hilarious; even his high-profile guest from the Taliban looked like he was nodding off while he was busy spinning those lies.

Lithuania has shut down rail transit for sanctioned goods moving from other parts of Russia up to the Kaliningrad region.

The European Union has slapped a ban on up to 50% of cargo, covering everything from construction supplies and metals to other essential goods being moved by rail.

��Governor of Kaliningrad region Anton Alikhanov https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/...hiVgsE6MMxxKQg

I honestly don't see why he would need to lie when you seem to be the one doing all the fabricating.

I truly believe that Lithuania has indeed blocked the rail transit of goods subject to sanctions moving toward the Kaliningrad region.

But Putin isn't twisting the truth or lying the way you are; if you look at the data, Russia saw a massive surge in energy export revenues during the first 100 days of the conflict, and GDP figures are a much more reliable metric than whatever random nonsense is being posted on Twitter.

Russia earned massive profits from oil and gas during the first 100 days of the war.

https://seebiz.eu/energetika/rusija-...na-rata/277181

It’s honestly quite sad to watch how some people refuse to face the facts, preferring instead to live in their own delusions, constantly leaning on falsehoods and twisting every situation just to validate what they already want to believe.

Jack Hill2 said:So you're going to play dumb and ignore the fact that at least ten of Putin's "enemies" have been poisoned?

At the same time, you talk trash about the "unfree West," where people can write whatever they want without fearing for their lives. Well, here you are, spewing Kremlin propaganda right here, which suggests you don't feel threatened. You aren't worried that the US government will throw you in prison for fifteen years because you aren't following the party line. You don't watch what you drink, and you aren't afraid of crossing the line. If you were in Russia spreading Western propaganda so openly, you'd know you wouldn't stay free for long...

Go ahead, send me a link to a Russian forum where I can show up and say whatever I want. It's a democracy, after all—shouldn't be that hard? It doesn't have to be a forum; any group or social media platform that isn't under total state control would do...

I stated quite clearly that I don't give weight to unproven beliefs or someone else's version of the truth; instead, when someone is being accused, I look for verifiable and provable facts.
That was essentially everything I said, yet all I get in return is an ad hominem attack claiming I’m playing dumb, acting blind, or talking nonsense about the free West. You're ignoring my point regarding the power of the media to spread demagoguery and manipulate public opinion.
All your arguments about Russian prisons, the terrifying censorship of Putin's regime, and so on, are just your personal opinions. You aren't providing any verifiable evidence; you're just launching ad hominem attacks.
I keep warning, repeatedly, that our topic is Russia sanctions, and we should stick to debating things that actually pertain to that subject.

p.s.
Of course, I participate in other social networks and occasionally leave comments on news articles,
but I've noticed that truly uncensored media doesn't really exist. You might find a place where you can express your views a little more freely without being sanctioned or kicked off immediately,
but this forum isn't any different from the rest, and you often get sanctioned without anyone even explaining why or telling you which rules you supposedly broke.
There used to be a custom on this forum where you would actually receive an explanation in a private message as to why you were being penalized.
One rule here is that you aren't allowed to argue with a moderator about a penalty; there's a specific corner for banned users, but even there, you rarely get an explanation.
I might even get sanctioned for saying this, since I'm veering off-topic and breaking the forum rules, which are posted on every thread—though if you try to follow them, the moderator always gets the last word.
So, that's my take on freedom of speech and the media. Because of that, we should keep this discussion strictly focused on Russia sanctions within a respectful dialogue, without the trolling (and I know how broad that term can be).

hollowdriver13 said:He poisoned himself. 🙏🙏🙏

We've officially reached a whole new level of brainwashed coping.

It’s entirely possible that Putin actually went through all that effort to poison him personally.

Personally, my gut feeling is that it was probably just Peter from Mrduša or maybe Mike from Mrduša getting a little too carried away.

Good grief, my crystal ball is working overtime today; I really ought to start checking it more often.

Honestly, instead of everyone around the globe losing sleep over his medical charts, someone should probably just focus on figuring out what's actually wrong with Vladimir Vladimirovich.🙏🙏

hollowdriver13 said:Once you run out of actual arguments, you always end up falling back on that good old Soviet-style whataboutism.

"What abooot the US," "what abooot Canada"...

I mean, it’s pretty obvious, isn't it? What else is there left to say? 😁😁
You don't really have any other options since you haven't provided a single shred of evidence—just a collection of wild fantasies fueled by an overactive imagination.

hollowdriver13 said:🙏🙏🙏

"No evidence," he says. Well, I guess I just restructured my face—I was pretty ugly before, but looking much better after this "non-poisoning."

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/...h_fig1_7327824

I don't see any actual proof regarding who "poisoned" him or if he just did this to himself.

You should probably save these kinds of "proofs" for the street corner rather than bringing them to people who understand how the legal system actually works. In a real American courtroom, guilt is determined through a formal process involving both prosecution and defense, where evidence from both sides is presented before a judge reaches a verdict.
And that's assuming we're talking about a court that both parties actually respect.

Let's move past this vigilante justice; if you can, maybe go back to discussing sanctions or go out and protest to soothe the "righteous anger" of the masses.

Kate Cook27 said:Honestly, Ukrainians are a made-up nation—they don't actually exist, just a Bolshevik mistake. Look, there's no proof Viktor Yushchenko was even poisoned. Yanukovych should have been a lifetime president, much like Putin. The fact that he lied to his people isn't really a big deal. Those brazen Ukrainians—pardon me, those Ukro Nazis—just kicked Yanukovych out so he wouldn't keep lying to them and stealing their money.

If Yanukovych had just climbed onto a tank, similar to how Yeltsin might have handled things, he could have dealt with those protesters in the tents back in May.

Or, you could look at how the authorities in the US handled the people who stormed the Capitol; a few casualties and the whole thing would have been settled quickly.

There are plenty of examples of such resolutions, because a real state deals with street mobs using the official institutions at its disposal.
I think you might recall how Canada handled those truckers who blocked the roads with their rigs for several days, effectively paralyzing the country's movement.

That is how democratic nations operate—through the police, SWAT teams, or if things get serious, the National Guard—rather than letting street thugs decide who gets to be president or how the government should run.

Canada took a hard line against the truckers, though some among them were dangerous extremists.

George Robinson43 said:So, by that logic, was there no legitimate government in America from 1991 to 1995?
Are you even processing what you're typing here?

No poisoning has ever been proven.

Čekak, are you being serious right now?
Are you suggesting Viktor Yushchenko wasn't poisoned with TCDD dioxin?
Let me guess—Alexander Litvinenko wasn't hit by polonium, and the Skripals were fine without Novichok.

Uncle Joe Biden won't mind that people in Yemen are being killed, including women and children.
Well, they're just Houthis after all, and nothing happening in Yemen interests Uncle Joe, much like how nothing in Siberia interests him—even when it stops American philanthropists from helping Russians extract interesting resources.

Personally, I'm more interested in the Trigay war. Shall we discuss that?
Do you even know where that is located?

Then perhaps you should ask yourself who the real hypocrite is.

There is no actual scientific evidence regarding these poisonings; they all feel just like the claims made about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The issue is that you're taking one side's accusation and treating it as established fact.

Do you have any actual confessions or a verdict from an independent court—though those don't really exist anymore—proving anyone actually carried out these poisonings? Or are you just acting like a judge, accusing and convicting people based on hearsay?

America had a legally elected president because even the minority populations had the opportunity to vote and run for office.
If my memory serves me correctly, there were representatives for those minorities in Congress.
America eventually resolved the issue of reclaiming rebellious territories through military action, which was done with a certain level of quiet permission.
It’s hard to blame anyone when Putin’s Russia wasn't standing behind the frontier back then.
If Russia had been what it is today and had supported the rebels within that minority group, we’d probably still be seeing firefights out in the Rocky Mountains.

Harmon assessed the situation quite shrewdly, prioritizing American perspectives and receiving his guidance and approvals from the White House.
I hope you haven't forgotten that during the refugee columns in Operation Storm, the American ambassador P. Galbraith actually traveled with them, hoping his presence would help prevent a higher number of civilian casualties.

George Robinson43 said:Hey now...
Did you ever actually ask when Russia started meddling in sovereign affairs and inciting opposition? I already gave you the timeline.
But back then, it was perfectly fine to topple a legitimate president and install a Russian puppet, wasn't it? The truth is, you don't even realize what actually happened, which is why you're still using phrases like "we are talking about Maidan."
Speaking of Maidan, how many FSB and GRU agents do you think were operating in Ukraine at that time? Who do you think was "arming the people"? Did it just fall from the sky?
Even the current Russian ambassador to the UK admitted during questioning that he was in Kyiv during the Maidan protests. What exactly was his business there?

As for my citizenship papers—you can write whatever you want on a document, but what matters is what's in your heart, right? Don't try to deny that you're clinging to an American identity after seeing your whole world collapse in 1991. You'll spend the rest of your life posting on forums and pining for that old country.😉

Once again, you're veering wildly off-topic. Instead of pacing around aimlessly in your room, you should probably go for a walk; it's actually quite pleasant outside today.

If you can't handle a conversation about sanctions, then don't bother.🕺🕺

p.s.
So far, nobody has actually asked me what's in my heart,
but as far as I know, it consists of two atria, two ventricles, an AV node, and a few coronary arteries along with the myocardium—that's just the main part, anyway. For the finer details, you'd have to consult a cardiologist or a cardiac surgeon.
Of course, everyone else usually insists on seeing my ID, driver's license, medical records, passport, and birth certificate first.😁😉

analogbear5 said:Who exactly are "they"?

To be honest, he's talking about the Germans and everyone else who is feeling the squeeze now that their gas supply is being throttled.

I find it hard to engage in a serious debate about sanctions with someone who needs everything spoon-fed to them because they're clearly being played.🙏

Bakić is basically telling us to go out onto our balconies and cheer just because we have the "privilege" of paying double—and soon triple—for our gas.

BAKIĆ: ‘The privilege is paying twice as much for energy and food just so Putin can rake in more money than ever before.’
'Celebrate! Go out on your balconies with pots and pans; it'll be just as meaningful as when you all celebrated the lockdowns,' Bakić says sarcastically.

Kate Cook27 said:The people elected Yanukovych, and the people removed Yanukovych. It's not his fault if he lied to his own citizens.
They weren't necessarily overthrowing anyone, but they were certainly interfering—take Yushchenko back in 2004, for instance. But I guess the Americans are probably to blame for that, too.
Then there's that Saudi prince people accuse of dismembering journalists. He works hand-in-hand with Putin—one shuts up journalists, the other literally tears them apart.

On that note, the Russians are having a hard time fixing certain oil or gas pipelines because those sanctions are definitely doing something.

Elections have to be accessible to every citizen within the administrative borders, including those who happen to be traveling abroad on election day.
Without those kinds of conditions, you simply cannot claim to have a legally elected president representing the entire nation.

No evidence of poisoning has ever been proven, and based on some people's fantasies, no court is actually convicting anyone.
Regarding Prince Muhammad, I've noticed that Joe Biden and the rest of the U.S. government don't seem to care about that journalist's fate anymore; instead, they're practically rolling out the red carpet for him to beg for an increase in the barrels produced by the company he runs.
Naturally, there's usually a price to pay for such requests, so Uncle Joe will likely have to facilitate Saudi Arabia's purchase of sophisticated weaponry—the same kind of gear they're currently selling to Ukrainians on credit.
It'll be a tragedy when Saudi Arabia finds itself at war with Yemen, but I doubt Uncle Joe will lose any sleep over the Yemeni people, women, and children being killed.
But hey, they're just Houthis, right? And there isn't much happening in Yemen that catches Uncle Joe's eye, unlike whatever Putko is sitting on in Siberia that prevents American philanthropists from helping the Russians extract those interesting resources.

Some people call this behavior hypocrisy, others call it duplicity, and some see it as nothing more than a double standard regarding morality.

And oh well, if all that doesn't work out for them, they'll just claim that the Russians are making way more money now than they were before the sanctions hit.😁😉

I'll leave just one link here so we don't drift too far off-topic, and I think that's plenty.

Even after everything that has unfolded, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, was elected in 2010 and won the parliamentary elections in 2012, largely due to the continued support he receives from the population in the eastern regions of the country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan

George Robinson43 said:Uhmmmmm..
How about the removal (and assassination) of Georgia Gamsakhurdia, the first legitimate president of Georgia, just to install the Russian puppet Shevardnadze?
Does that count?

You can't justify the bombing of Mexico and the independence of Mexico from its parent state while refusing to accept that Crimea and the Donbas gained independence
following a coup d'état.

And what about all the other frontiers? Would you just leave those people in Tiraspol, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia at the mercy of whoever?
Just Crimea and the Donbas? Pfffff, you're being weak here, Jugović.

Look, we are talking about the Maidan protests and the last presidents who were actually elected by the people in every administrative district, including in Crimea and the Donbas.

The actual topic at hand is the sanctions that the West and the Americans have slapped on Russia.
It makes me wonder why everyone is suddenly screaming about blackmail now that the Russians have throttled the gas supply, when they were the ones shouting from the rooftops that they wouldn't touch a drop of Russian gas.
People are strange; first they complain because they can't go, and then once you finally let them, they act like they don't even want to be there anymore.

Where did "Jugović" come from? What am I supposed to be? My family records clearly state my heritage, and I assure you, there isn't a trace of your bitterness mixed into my history.😉