Sanctions on Russia

Noah Diaz said:Russia is one of those incredibly rare countries that is truly self-reliant in almost every sense.

During the Cold War, they manufactured everything under the sun—from sewing needles to space stations. Frankly, talking about sanctions against them feels a bit ridiculous. For instance, they won't just jump on a Boeing or an Airbus; they'll simply stick to their own Boeing or Lockheed Martin models.

Yeah, right. And American grain was the only thing keeping them from starving.

Noah Diaz said:Things will get hilarious this winter. It’ll be even funnier when the European Union vassals realize they’re completely tethered to outside suppliers. Imagine if the Suez Canal gets "accidentally" blocked, or a few tankers "coincidentally" sink near Hormuz. Throw in some "accidental" explosions at LNG terminals or sudden shortages of basic supplies, and you’ve got a comedy of errors.😁

What kind of post is 🙏

Phenomenal stuff right here. You're basically admitting as a pro that Russia is actually turning into a terrorist state, because what you're describing are straight-up acts of terrorism.
...not to mention that an act of terrorism can pretty much be used as a justification for war... so, if they really think they can take on all those countries at once... 🍿

I’ve been reading that some of the smaller gas stations across the US are shutting down, leaving people stranded without diesel.

It’s fascinating to watch how these sanctions are opening up entirely new perspectives in this brave new world we find ourselves in....

We felt a bit of a sting when similar measures were applied to South Korea, Iraq, or Iran... but seeing the devil manifest now, it turns out the spirit that escaped from "our" bottle was far more elusive than any of us ever imagined.

Gas prices have spiked due to a strike by Norwegian workers
Natural gas prices surged across European markets, driven by fears of supply shortages following a strike by oil workers in Norway and the announced maintenance shutdown of the Russian Nord Stream 1 pipeline. On the Dutch exchange, futures prices climbed to approximately €190 per megawatt-hour, hitting their highest levels since March. By the afternoon, prices had jumped about eight percent compared to Monday's figures.

Supply issues have also flared up in Norway, where oil workers have walked off the job demanding higher wages to keep up with rising inflation. For the moment, it doesn't look like deliveries to other European nations have been hit, but if production stays halted for much longer, exports could definitely take a massive hit.

The strike kicked off overnight, and both unions and company reps are forecasting a 13 percent drop in gas production this week. The petroleum industry association released a statement on Sunday estimating that by Wednesday, production will fall by 292,000 barrels of oil equivalent, which marks a 13 percent decrease.

And that is all there is to say about the strategic planning of our illustrious politicians...

hollowdriver13 said:What kind of post is 🙏

Phenomenal stuff right here. You're basically admitting as a pro that Russia is actually turning into a terrorist state, because what you're describing are straight-up acts of terrorism.
...not to mention that an act of terrorism can pretty much be used as a justification for war... so, if they really think they can take on all those countries at once... 🍿

A single nation terrorizing the entire globe—or simply backing such chaos—would be a monumental blunder. History suggests that after attacks of that scale, serious warnings follow. If those warnings fail to bite, you start seeing "accidental" disasters hitting gas pipelines in remote, inaccessible regions. Even Badave wouldn't be able to rely on their energy wealth if the transport infrastructure starts collapsing overnight. Imagine trying to fix things when it's -40 degrees outside. Protecting critical infrastructure from terrorist strikes is practically impossible, which shifts the strategy toward preemptive action against those deep in the hinterlands who facilitate the terror, should the need arise. This is why any serious power wouldn't even entertain such a game; the blowback would be devastating. Even the masters in the Kremlin, despite their penchant for hybrid warfare, understand this. They won't pull moves like that because, at the end of the day, it would come back to haunt them.

brightheron64 said:It’s fascinating to watch how these sanctions are opening up entirely new perspectives in this brave new world we find ourselves in....

We felt a bit of a sting when similar measures were applied to South Korea, Iraq, or Iran... but seeing the devil manifest now, it turns out the spirit that escaped from "our" bottle was far more elusive than any of us ever imagined.

Gas prices have spiked due to a strike by Norwegian workers
Natural gas prices surged across European markets, driven by fears of supply shortages following a strike by oil workers in Norway and the announced maintenance shutdown of the Russian Nord Stream 1 pipeline. On the Dutch exchange, futures prices climbed to approximately €190 per megawatt-hour, hitting their highest levels since March. By the afternoon, prices had jumped about eight percent compared to Monday's figures.

Supply issues have also flared up in Norway, where oil workers have walked off the job demanding higher wages to keep up with rising inflation. For the moment, it doesn't look like deliveries to other European nations have been hit, but if production stays halted for much longer, exports could definitely take a massive hit.

The strike kicked off overnight, and both unions and company reps are forecasting a 13 percent drop in gas production this week. The petroleum industry association released a statement on Sunday estimating that by Wednesday, production will fall by 292,000 barrels of oil equivalent, which marks a 13 percent decrease.

And that is all there is to say about the strategic planning of our illustrious politicians...

I’m backed into a corner here. I can't bring myself to say exactly what Putin wants to hear, even if it feels like there's no other way out. People want to act like nobody is at fault—as if there should be no sanctions and no consequences. But how can we just look the other way while Ukraine is being absolutely decimated? We're talking about ten million refugees fleeing for their lives because of this madness. How can anyone sit there and claim there's no accountability when the devastation is this absolute?
Let’s get together and start trading.

It’s just not working anymore. We are at war.

lp

analogbear5 said:Some stuff is just impossible to mass-produce commercially—think Russian coffee, cocoa, or bananas—but nothing hits the realm of pure science fiction quite like Russian electronics.

What does a nation actually need to survive? Bananas, cocoa, and coffee?!!

Or is it perhaps more vital resources like energy, industrial capacity, weaponry, food, water, and so on?

And while we're on the subject of "chips"—what exactly has been going on over the last two years? Who is actually suffering from a chip shortage? 🤣

It doesn't really matter—our economy is unfortunately way too dependent on Russian energy sources.

Bryan Booth82 said:I’m backed into a corner here. I can't bring myself to say exactly what Putin wants to hear, even if it feels like there's no other way out. People want to act like nobody is at fault—as if there should be no sanctions and no consequences. But how can we just look the other way while Ukraine is being absolutely decimated? We're talking about ten million refugees fleeing for their lives because of this madness. How can anyone sit there and claim there's no accountability when the devastation is this absolute?
Let’s get together and start trading.

It’s just not working anymore. We are at war.

lp

I am not at war with the Russians or with Russia.

The only ones at war with them are Ukrainians. So, are you Ukrainian or do you live in Ukraine? 🤔

dustyowl29 said:It doesn't really matter—our economy is unfortunately way too dependent on Russian energy sources.

But in Europe, it’s not just the Germans, Frenchmen, and Italians asking the questions. People in Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland, and the Baltics already know they're next on the list if Putin isn't defeated. Fortunately, the Americans and Brits feel the exact same way.

It seems like we have a constant stream of vague cloud-dwellers floating around here:

They claim that after Ukraine, we’re next on the list—that the Baltic states and Poland are just waiting to become Putin's next victims.

What exactly is the issue? Is there a lack of faith in Article 5, or do you just not believe in NATO's nuclear deterrence doctrine? 😵

brightheron64 said:It’s fascinating to watch how these sanctions are opening up entirely new perspectives in this brave new world we find ourselves in....

We felt a bit of a sting when similar measures were applied to South Korea, Iraq, or Iran... but seeing the devil manifest now, it turns out the spirit that escaped from "our" bottle was far more elusive than any of us ever imagined.

Gas prices have spiked due to a strike by Norwegian workers
Natural gas prices surged across European markets, driven by fears of supply shortages following a strike by oil workers in Norway and the announced maintenance shutdown of the Russian Nord Stream 1 pipeline. On the Dutch exchange, futures prices climbed to approximately €190 per megawatt-hour, hitting their highest levels since March. By the afternoon, prices had jumped about eight percent compared to Monday's figures.

Supply issues have also flared up in Norway, where oil workers have walked off the job demanding higher wages to keep up with rising inflation. For the moment, it doesn't look like deliveries to other European nations have been hit, but if production stays halted for much longer, exports could definitely take a massive hit.

The strike kicked off overnight, and both unions and company reps are forecasting a 13 percent drop in gas production this week. The petroleum industry association released a statement on Sunday estimating that by Wednesday, production will fall by 292,000 barrels of oil equivalent, which marks a 13 percent decrease.

And that is all there is to say about the strategic planning of our illustrious politicians...

How did we go from sanctioning Russia to questioning whether the heart of Europe can even survive?

Nancy Gomez26 said:A single nation terrorizing the entire globe—or simply backing such chaos—would be a monumental blunder. History suggests that after attacks of that scale, serious warnings follow. If those warnings fail to bite, you start seeing "accidental" disasters hitting gas pipelines in remote, inaccessible regions. Even Badave wouldn't be able to rely on their energy wealth if the transport infrastructure starts collapsing overnight. Imagine trying to fix things when it's -40 degrees outside. Protecting critical infrastructure from terrorist strikes is practically impossible, which shifts the strategy toward preemptive action against those deep in the hinterlands who facilitate the terror, should the need arise. This is why any serious power wouldn't even entertain such a game; the blowback would be devastating. Even the masters in the Kremlin, despite their penchant for hybrid warfare, understand this. They won't pull moves like that because, at the end of the day, it would come back to haunt them.

What's going on with grain buyback prices here in the States?

Noah Diaz said:It seems like we have a constant stream of vague cloud-dwellers floating around here:

They claim that after Ukraine, we’re next on the list—that the Baltic states and Poland are just waiting to become Putin's next victims.

What exactly is the issue? Is there a lack of faith in Article 5, or do you just not believe in NATO's nuclear deterrence doctrine? 😵

No, it's just that we don't want things to get to that point in the first place. You've got to crush the snake while it's still small.

Noah Diaz said:It seems like we have a constant stream of vague cloud-dwellers floating around here:

They claim that after Ukraine, we’re next on the list—that the Baltic states and Poland are just waiting to become Putin's next victims.

What exactly is the issue? Is there a lack of faith in Article 5, or do you just not believe in NATO's nuclear deterrence doctrine? 😵

Stop worrying about the Baltics and Poland... Moldova would be the next target.
Are you one of those people who spent two months mocking the idea that those movements in Belarus were just military exercises, claiming Westerners were just pushing propaganda and being overly dramatic?
We can clearly see how those "exercises" are playing out in Ukraine today.

hollowdriver13 said:What kind of post is 🙏

Phenomenal stuff right here. You're basically admitting as a pro that Russia is actually turning into a terrorist state, because what you're describing are straight-up acts of terrorism.
...not to mention that an act of terrorism can pretty much be used as a justification for war... so, if they really think they can take on all those countries at once... 🍿

That isn't news. When looking at terrorism in Europe, the bloodiest year was 1988, with Moscow pulling the strings.

I miss the days when I was living in Moscow during the USSR era, selling my used Levi's for about $2,500 at the official exchange rate. That little transaction was worth three entire Russian engineer salaries back then.

rowdygull90 said:How did we go from sanctioning Russia to questioning whether the heart of Europe can even survive?

Europe's survival doesn't depend on Russia. That said, we'll definitely need to find more rational ways to handle our energy consumption. It’s just that most people won't listen to reason unless they're forced to—we saw how that played out during the pandemic...

feralhawk45 said:I miss the days when I was living in Moscow during the USSR era, selling my used Levi's for about $2,500 at the official exchange rate. That little transaction was worth three entire Russian engineer salaries back then.

Man, forget about that

But tell us this instead: are we ever going to see the day when Bitcoin is worth as much as a brand new Mercedes-Benz?

.