Posts by Morgan Morales4

Ethan Davis34 said:A civil war is brewing in Russia; even a complete idiot could see that coming.

Yeah, sure, something is definitely rolling along... It feels like there's some major power out there trying to "freeze" everything in its tracks very soon.

James Chavez91 said:Alright. Now I’m pretty sure Russia is losing this one...

I'm driving around listening to an NPR broadcast—that "On Air" segment—with Baric and Vidmarovic as guests...
Honestly, Vidmarovic wasn't exactly easy to listen to. Seems like the guy finally sobered up, I guess.

That’s about as much as I can say regarding their expertise—sometimes it’s just better to step away from the microphone and stay quiet.

Dana Robinson4 said:When you really stop to look at what lies beneath your feet, can you actually find any trace of those ancient Celtic or Illyrian civilizations left behind...?

Honestly, it seems like you’re lacking the necessary context and logic to really wrap your head around this. There’s actual data showing that nearly half a million children died because of the sanctions placed on Iraq. What does that mean? Well, apparently, we aren't supposed to talk about it or debate it—it’s just another one of those "taboo" topics pushed by certain power structures to keep people quiet. Have you ever heard anything about what happened to Maor? In a truly free world, there shouldn't be anything off-limits for discussion.

driftingorca16 said:Just a quick refresher:

Article II

Under this Convention, Genocide is defined as any of the following acts committed with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

Killing members of the group;
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml

They slaughtered roughly 8,000 men between the ages of 16 and 60—basically wiping out the entire male genetic line.

Denying the Srebrenica Genocide is just like denying the Holocaust.
I'm done talking about this.

If we’re going to dig up history, look at how colonizers wiped out entire Native American tribes, erasing everyone regardless of gender. What do we call that?

The European Union commission is totally to blame for that third energy package, not to mention all these sanctions messing with the market. They basically tripped over their own feet and caused their own downfall, but honestly, anyone sitting around waiting for them to show some mercy is just plain crazy.

Michael Ortiz68 said:So, let me repeat: what exactly happened on January 22nd?

Oh, you know, just enough little things to get the ball rolling. Honestly, the history of this conflict doesn't just start with the aggression in February like the West likes to claim. You can't just cherry-pick parts of the story whenever it suits your narrative, you know?

Michael Ortiz68 said:And what exactly happened on January 22nd?

I mean, look at how Macron was over at Putin's place sitting at that massive table on February 7th. It’s not like he didn't realize on the evening of the 6th that he could just pop over to The White House whenever he felt like it for his own little reasons.☕

Nancy Gomez26 said:If consumers dislike the price of gas, they always have the option to simply not buy it. The issue isn't the immediate dollar amount on the bill; the issue is the price you will inevitably pay in the future if you tolerate aggression from the Russian Federation. Could the sanctions against Russia have been drafted differently? Likely. Can the Russians turn off the tap whenever they feel like it? Always, regardless of any agreement. Russia uses gas as one of its primary tools for geopolitical leverage; the Baltic states, Poland, and even Ukraine realized this long ago through public appeals. Currently, the nation most in trouble is the one that refused to diversify its supply routes because doing so seemed like a poor investment at the time. If they had financed something other than Nord Stream 2—perhaps a pipeline toward a different supplier—it would have made far more sense for both diversification and securing better pricing across the board. They operated under the naive assumption, much like Putin himself, that the situation could be viewed strictly through a rational, economic lens. They thought he only cared about the bottom line. In reality, his primary objectives have nothing to do with economics. You cannot negotiate with him on purely economic terms; you have to position yourself strategically.

I'm right there with you. Honestly, some people would rather freeze solid just to see Putin fail and watch Russia finally fracture the way certain folks want it to. Tell me, do you have some kind of study showing how an industry, say Dow Chemical, could run just as smoothly without gas as they do with it? Meanwhile, you guys have gone all-in on solar, wind, and thermal pumps, running a company powered by every "miracle" of green tech available.
Russia is a reality, and history didn't just start on January 22nd. Western civilization won't get past this without using both conscience and common sense—and let’s not forget how much less of a "problem" oil, gas, and sunflower oil were when Iraq and Syria were being torn apart. We aren't going to move forward by ignoring that.

Paul Sanders5 said:Winter might get pretty brutal, but my kid sleeps soundly without worrying about some Russian missile crashing through their bedroom ceiling. Ukrainian kids just don't have that luxury.

That’s exactly why these sanctions aren't going anywhere; I don't care how cold it gets, what German industry wants, or how many pro-Russia trolls you guys act like.

Tick tock. Let's check back in a year or two and see where everyone actually stands and which countries are still holding it together.

Look, winter is definitely coming—the last few summers were weird enough as it is—but we didn't sit around weeping for children in Syria or Iraq, and we didn't shed tears for little Medina who lived just a stone's throw away from us. Of course, those sanctions will stick around for at least a few weeks until the first snowfall hits, because neither I nor anyone else wants our kids getting attacked on their way to school by people who clearly don't have the patience to wait a couple of years to see how the geopolitical dust settles.

rowdytiger13 said:China is feeling the heat too. It started with the real estate market, and things got messy enough that the central bank had to step in.
Asian markets are just sliding.
The Euro is hitting its lowest levels in two decades, while the Pound is holding steady. Meanwhile, the Dollar is surging—banking experts are saying this momentum is pretty serious.
Well, now things are getting interesting.

Winter usually starts rolling into the US around early November, bringing that first snowfall.
That’s going to be something else to watch. To be honest, I’m no Wall Street economist when it comes to analyzing the Dollar's current surge, so I can't say for sure what the endgame is.
But if you ask me? Opening up Phase 2 is going to feel like dancing in a long-awaited summer thunderstorm.

I honestly find myself wanting to pull this German minister aside and ask him straight up: why are we buying from Qatar? It’s wild when you think about the legitimate suspicions regarding terror financing—why should the citizens of Germany have to foot the bill for terrorists? It feels like nobody there is actually brave enough to ask him those questions, or maybe they just aren't allowed to.

Gerald Chavez7 said:No, nobody is actually expecting a new color revolution here—there's just this lingering hope that someone from one of those three-letter Russian agencies will finally take care of Putin...

At their core, sanctions aren't really designed as a way to topple a regime for any specific reason. In reality, they hit the civilian population the hardest, and that’s often the actual goal—to cripple the people without ever firing a single bullet. The folks imposing these sanctions know full well that regular citizens aren't going to overthrow a political body on their own; history shows us that these are almost always deeply entrenched, authoritative political systems. Without some kind of help "from abroad", it’s incredibly unlikely that the public will take to the streets to topple the government.
There's this one incredible documentary on YouTube about how sanctions impacted the people in Iraq.
And the title itself is just haunting... Iraq Destruction of a nation

George Robinson43 said:Why would they announce something that has only been agreed upon rather than officially signed?

I mean, maybe this falls under that category of preliminary discussions, you know, like a letter of intent regarding cooperation. Honestly, human rights have to take a backseat this time around. It reminds me of what one geopolitical expert once pointed out... pay attention here: a Saudi prince orders the execution of nearly 100 people, and guess who shows up shortly after? Yep, a former U.S. President.

Cahit;91717267 said:I don't think anyone imposing sanctions actually believes Putin will be toppled because of them. That's not the end goal; it's more of a potential side effect. The real objective is to economically bleed Russia dry over the long haul, especially since their entire military machine and economy rely heavily on exporting energy to the European Union. If anyone thinks Russia can just pivot their exports elsewhere overnight and maintain the same revenue levels, they clearly haven't looked at the actual numbers[/QUOTE]

But then what? If Russia collapses, what happens next? Isn't it arguably more dangerous to have nuclear warheads up for sale than it is to have oil on the market?

rustywalker82 said:Just speculating about massive sanctions on Russian energy might actually push Ukraine closer to surrendering, because right now they’re basically funding the aggressor who is selling it back to them at much higher prices.
It would be even more expensive if every single country didn't jump on board with these sanctions. If everyone implements them before other producers can fix the tech or logistics to fill the gap, these sanctions will mostly just hurt the countries that don't have the infrastructure to find new suppliers. For example, if there's pressure on someone like Canada to support this, then the shortages should be spread out equally among all nations.

The tactic being played here could actually boost Putin's revenue while driving third-world countries into an economic abyss—some might even face famine if they can't afford to plant crops because everything got too pricey. That's a huge fail, because effective sanctions are supposed to drive down the value of the target goods, not make them more expensive.

All this nonsense regarding sanctions is going to look incredibly stupid if things escalate and Putin suddenly cuts off all exports to the West right before he falls. Then, the same people demanding sanctions today will be the ones writing articles saying we need to level Moscow to the ground because people in developing nations are starving.
Basically, it's total madness to speculate like this before relations improve or before oil and gas production ramps up in places like Venezuela or Iran... plus, replacing Russian coal takes time (that should have happened a long time ago).

Exactly. The way the media frames sanctions is that they're this grand tool meant to make the Russian people rise up and topple a criminal like Vladimir Putin. But honestly, if we're being real, how much effort was actually put into helping the people in Ukraine tackle the systemic corruption within their own borders? Because when you see stories about officials landing in foreign countries with suitcases full of cash, it really makes you stop and wonder what's actually going on behind the scenes. The whole idea that Putin is just going to collapse under pressure—especially while direct lines of communication between the US and Russia are staying wide open—just sounds... well, let's just say I'm not buying it.

Brenda Murphy3 said:🤣🤦

So, what's the verdict here? Seriously though...

No, look, the people in Germany and the German government clearly have no clue what these sanctions actually mean, and apparently, they need to be lectured on it by some notoriously brainless, incompetent Putinophiles on this forum.😁

Aside from the fact that you clearly haven't a clue what you're talking about, everything written above is a blatant lie. And that bit about two-thirds of the world not imposing sanctions? People have been debunking that so much that anyone with even two functioning brain cells would realize how much of a load of crap it is. Too bad most Putinophiles can't even find those two brain cells. 😒

It seems "Putinophile" is just the label thrown at anyone who dares to step outside the mainstream media narrative for even a second.
Germany knows exactly what they're doing; the issue is that certain people, like in Poland, expect them to act differently. Meanwhile, the media keeps attacking Viktor Orbán because he won't solve the crisis by forcing Canadian standards onto everyone else. I'm talking about the reality of potentially seeing up to 8 million new residents entering the European Union.

bluemason3 said:But that assumes the West is some kind of ultimate geostrategic puppet master capable of micromanaging global processes—as if sanctions can be calibrated with surgical precision to achieve very specific outcomes.

The only predictable outcome is a weakened economy. You can't just use sanctions to surgically remove Vladimir Putin from power. It might happen, it might not, or it could even backfire and strengthen him. Reality is full of unpredictable, chaotic elements, especially when a country lacks a strong internal presence capable of influencing its own domestic affairs.

In my view, the only certain result of these sanctions against Putin is the weakening of the EU—specifically Germany—and the worst part is that people don't seem to grasp what that actually looks like on the ground. Everyone forgets about the practical stuff: losing hot water in hospitals, or heating issues in ICUs, pediatric wards, daycare centers, and schools... I could go on. Now, the German Foreign Minister is talking about having to find housing for 8 million refugees across the EU. These economic sanctions show absolutely no sign of breaking Vladimir Putin or removing him politically, and there's no guarantee the world will be any better afterward, especially since two-thirds of the globe didn't join in on sanctioning Russia.

hollowdriver13 said:https://www.neste.com/investors/mark...ice-difference

They’re still out there trying to dump their oil at a massive discount, like $30 cheaper than Brent. Pretty desperate if you ask me.

"The world's second-largest crude oil exporter could be forced to limit output by 3 million barrels per day in April, the International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday , as major oil companies , trading houses and shipping companies shun its exports and demand in Russia slumps. Russia was pumping about 10 million barrels of crude per day"

And honestly, that explains why production might tank from 10 million down to 3 million barrels a day—they just don't have anyone left to sell it to.

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com...eam-1-decline/

Gas deliveries are also dropping off now that the winter chill is fading, plus several European Union nations are already saying they won't be renewing their contracts with ExxonMobil once the current ones run out.

https://www.reuters.com/business/ene...ce-2022-03-18/

On the flip side, you’ve got various producers announcing they’re ramping up gas and oil production at their own sites.

So yeah, things aren't exactly "business as usual" for the guys over in Russia. People are still buying some stuff because, let's face it, you can't just flip a switch and walk away overnight, but their golden era of exporting fossil fuels to Europe is definitely over.

We'll just have to wait and see, because right now this is all just speculation and "what if" scenarios. It feels a bit like theater for the public; it's almost like those who were doing business with them suddenly woke up one morning and shouted, "dolje lopov, long live peace and prosperity!"

analogbear5 said:Look, monopolies and extortion are one thing, but diversification? That’s a beautiful thing. If Russia decides to start a price war just to undercut those 20-year LNG contracts, honestly, I'm all for it.

The real question is who the politicians in Germany are actually going to sell out to.

It’s the same old story with the same people—we always seem to forget that there is absolutely zero morality in politics!

This is going to be a total disaster. Honestly, it looks like tourism is going to be non-existent here this year. I really have to wonder—do our politicians actually grasp how bad this is, or are they just playing dumb?

slyfox43 said:Yeah, the behavior is certainly confusing. brightheron64 makes a fair point. (Let him have his little moment of solace right now.)

On the other hand... the Russian Central Bank has banned the sale of foreign currencies until September. The ruble just isn't a convertible currency anymore.

It’s rarely the shiny weaponry that wins the day; rather, it’s the weight of sanctions that truly tests a hero's mettle.

Think about it—there are nearly 3 billion people who haven't slapped any sanctions on Russia. They’re still out there doing business just like they always have. How are they even going to pay Russia if they aren't using the dollar?