mellowsurfer14 said:Just look at Libya. During the 90s and early 2000s, they were one of the most prosperous nations, all thanks to oil. And that massive irrigation project, the Great Man-Made River, is practically a global wonder. 🙏A friend of mine actually worked on that project and was pulling in four or five times the salary he'd ever make here in the States.
Keep in mind, their recent agenda involved moving away from the US dollar and introducing a unified African currency to finally cut ties with the French central bank for good. When the West realized they weren't going to have that kind of control anymore, things went south fast. They called their intervention "promoting democracy," but in reality, they just triggered a civil war that left Libya in total misery, setting the country back two centuries. 🤮
It would be great to have that Libyan oil right now, but we trashed the country instead. Damn.
Well, it would be great to have oil from Venezuela, too, but we tried to pull off a bloody coup there just like we did in Ukraine—a failed attempt that only managed to rally about 1,000 people out of a population of 30 million. We tried to assassinate Maduro, and that flopped, too. We dabbled in some counter-terrorism, caught a few guys. Very democratic stuff.
No point talking much about Iran.
MBS, an American ally, has been ignoring Biden's calls for months. Now, after everything Sleepy said, he’s got to swallow his pride and go begging in Riyadh.
And then we act surprised when our dear savior Borrell whines at the G20 summit about how the world doesn't understand us.
The global battle of narratives is in full swing and, for now, we are not winning. As the EU, we have to engage further to refute Russian lies and war propaganda.
https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/g20-...ilateralism_enTerry Green3 said:So, what’s the consensus here? Are the Russians just going to slap sanctions on their gas deliveries to Germany?
The real issue isn't even about residential heating or household energy bills. It's about heavy industry—take the chemical sector, for example. They rely on gas as a raw material to produce bases used all over the US and the rest of the world, essentially driving the entire economy.
My take? In a worst-case scenario, Putin cuts the flow by about a third, citing some manufactured "technical glitches." It's just a way to flex his muscles and cause chaos in the supply chain. He gets to decide which industries stay powered up and which ones get left in the dark.
What are your predictions? People in Western Europe are having heated debates over this right now. Here in the States, we aren't sweating it too much since our reserves are currently among the lowest compared to other regions.
After a month of lying about how the Russians intentionally throttled gas flow while dodging questions about that controversial turbine, they're suddenly sending it back from service.
Brenda Murphy3 said:Oh, please...😁
Where exactly is the Western standard plummeting? Because I’m really not seeing it... people are traveling more than ever and spending more than ever. All I see is the Russian standard in a freefall (and let's be honest, it was pathetic to begin with), and the same goes somewhat for the Chinese, whose growth depends entirely on Western consumption.
Don't worry about the West—you can bet your life that your kids will head toward the West if it means a better life, and they certainly aren't running to Russia or China...
(And this idea that China and others are growing faster than the West—where are you even getting that from? Can you put that in any kind of rational context? It’s like when some politician claims wages rose by 10% in Mexico while only rising by 5% in America, forgetting to mention that 10% of a $300 paycheck is $330, whereas 5% of a $2,000 paycheck is $2,100... the gap is actually widening, not closing. For the Chinese standard to actually approach the Western one, their growth rates would need to be significantly, massively higher than they are today... just do the math and tell me how realistic that actually is).
Autocratic societies and joke regimes like Russia will never, ever reach the standard of Western democracies. That's just how it works—the system itself hits a ceiling it can't break through. So, feel free to keep talking nonsense about us riding bicycles while being overtaken by regimes that have been decades behind us in quality of life—and in the case of Russia, mentally too.
If the base amount A starts out higher, it stays ahead forever. Doesn't matter how fast the other side grows. I saw this play out once with a hedge fund client back in Chicago—growth rates are just noise if you aren't starting from the right position. Simple math. Cold, hard reality.
This kind of twisted math—where they can't even distinguish between growth rates and actual totals—belongs in a picture frame. I've seen some nonsense in my time, but this? Truly unique.
Just look at where China stood compared to the West forty years ago versus where they are today. It’s staggering. As for why they're outpacing us, it comes down to their entire culture—not that anyone bothered to write enough about it back then. Sure, starting from nothing gave them a massive advantage, but let's be real: they're closing the gap fast.
[User Not Found] [User Name] says:
My humble take? Putin will just keep playing this balancing act—trying to squeeze enough revenue to stay afloat while constantly screwing over the EU. A third of the supply isn't enough to build up any real reserves, but it’s just enough to keep the EU hooked on gas. He'll keep making threats, trying to walk into winter with as much leverage as possible to jack up the prices. Seen it all before.
Germany's stance on Putin and Russia is a mess. Disappointing, really. If it were up to Annalena, she’d have cut off that Russian gas supply in a heartbeat. I remember seeing similar hesitation back when we dealt with energy shifts in the States—just endless stalling.
We’ve all sat here reading those dire warnings from German experts about how this would trigger a massive recession. Even Robert Habeck said as much. Since he's the Secretary of Commerce, he's coming from the same party line. Given her track record and everything she's said lately, it's hardly surprising they pushed her to the back burner these last few months.
Ninety-five percent of the chemical industry relies on gas. Everything else just hooks onto those derivatives. Some sectors depend on it directly, too. It’s all a mess. We're looking at a projected 5 million unemployed. Just another day in this economy.
I don't know what to tell you. Just more noise in an already loud room. It’s all just going in circles. [User Name] says:
Putin has been pulling the strings on European politicians for ages through those non-market gas price concessions. It’s the same old story. I remember seeing similar backroom deals during my time working in DC; once the energy supply is leveraged, the sovereignty vanishes. Pure cynicism.
It’s the same old story. It’s like letting Russia hand-pick their own Prime Minister. I've seen this movie before.
After he sells out his own country to benefit Russia and finishes his term, I'm sure Putin will have a cushy job waiting for him at Gazprom. Typical.
Therein lies the fundamental divide between the American free-market system—which the Russian mafia types love to trash—and that shady Russian "godfather" alternative. I've seen enough of these power plays to know how they work.
Putin can offer his resources however he pleases, but the EU—like any sovereign nation wanting to remain so—should be defending such practices on their own end.
Is it really Germany's fault for choosing the cheapest supplier, someone who kept them supplied with cheap gas for 20 years just to stay competitive?
It's hardly a coincidence that after prices hit the stratosphere, Germany—after 30 years—had a month where they actually imported more than they exported.
Nathan Thomas12 said:Russia has some deep, structural issues with their population demographics and birth rates. This isn't new—it's been brewing for a long time, and they're in a way worse spot than we are. You can look that up yourself.
The war definitely isn't helping matters.
You made an inaccurate claim, so per the forum rules, it's on you to provide a link.
Besides, it isn't hard to verify how their population has increased over the last 10 years (excluding Crimea), whereas we recently had our census and saw how things truly stand.
Jack Hill2 said:Gas imports: Then vs. Now (weekly average over the last 4 weeks)
2022
LNG 2,732 (38.4%)
Norway 2,711 (38.1%)
Russia 1,009 (14.2%)
Algeria 660 (9.3%)
__________________________
Total: 7,112
2021
Russia 3,057 (41.2%)
Norway 2,018 (27.2%)
LNG 1,654 (22.2%)
Algeria 701 (9.4%)
__________________________
Total: 7,430
Currently, Europe has sourced 6,103 out of the 7,430 units imported during this same period last year from sources other than Russia. This means Europe's reliance on Russia has dropped from 40% down to just 17%.
Meanwhile, Russian gas exports to Europe have plummeted from 3 billion to 1 billion...
Counting oil doesn't make sense here. Europe isn't dependent on Russia for oil at all. By the end of the year, 98% of oil will be imported from other sources.
I don't know if these statistics were coincidentally taken from the last 4 weeks, but Russia just slashed deliveries by 60% during that specific window due to turbine maintenance. So, the picture looks quite different.
