Sanctions on Russia

Brenda Murphy3 said:Man, we're all circling the drain here...😁

I look around and honestly, it feels like half the people I know are struggling just to put food on the table, let alone keep the heat running through the winter... and it’s all being blamed on those sanctions against Russia🤣 ...man, I wouldn't mind having a slice of that Russian prosperity instead of this total American meltdown...😵

It doesn't matter if 90% of these doom-and-gloom scenarios are complete nonsense. It doesn't matter that energy prices weren't even tied to the sanctions and were already skyrocketing long before the war in Ukraine kicked off... but none of that matters to the usual suspects. They'll just keep shouting about how incompetent the US is, how "stupid" the sanctions are, how "strong" the dollar is becoming, or how the whole system is collapsing. Just endless noise...

Of course, according to them, everything would be fixed if we just scrapped the sanctions entirely and let Russia do whatever the hell they want...
How dense do you have to be to constantly peddle the same garbage that the usual idiots are always spewing?

The European Union isn't going to collapse. That's nothing but a fever dream.
Living standards might drop—and they already are—but that doesn't mean mass starvation or freezing in the streets; it just means we won't be vacationing in exotic spots this year.
Russia will come out much stronger, but as they say, they're used to it. When you're accustomed to being at the bottom of the economic barrel while catering to a handful of oligarchs at the top (who aren't exactly unscathed either), who are we to judge?
By the way, America certainly isn't cheap this season; it's absolutely packed with hungry Europeans and Americans alike.

The benchmark German baseload power price for 2023 delivery climbed 3.1% to reach $519.89 per megawatt hour (MWh) at 16:02 GMT.

German baseload contracts covering November and December 2022, Q4 2023, Q1 2024, and the full years of 2025 and 2026 have all hit fresh peaks.

Over in France, the first-year contract also hit a high of $745/MWh, marking an 11.1% jump.

Earlier, the French contract for Q4 2022 touched a high of $1,135, while the Q1 2023 contract saw its first trades at $1,195.

The facts are simply relentless. ☕

Wednesday as gas and carbon contracts climbed and German utility Uniper announced

🤦

Nathan Evans78 said:

The benchmark German baseload power price for 2023 delivery climbed 3.1% to reach $519.89 per megawatt hour (MWh) at 16:02 GMT.

German baseload contracts covering November and December 2022, Q4 2023, Q1 2024, and the full years of 2025 and 2026 have all hit fresh peaks.

Over in France, the first-year contract also hit a high of $745/MWh, marking an 11.1% jump.

Earlier, the French contract for Q4 2022 touched a high of $1,135, while the Q1 2023 contract saw its first trades at $1,195.

The facts are simply relentless. ☕

Wednesday as gas and carbon contracts climbed and German utility Uniper announced

🤦

And yet... I’m ready for it all.
I've got my thermal blankets bought and enough canned goods in the basement to survive an apocalypse.

Nathan Evans78 said:

The benchmark German baseload power price for 2023 delivery climbed 3.1% to reach $519.89 per megawatt hour (MWh) at 16:02 GMT.

German baseload contracts covering November and December 2022, Q4 2023, Q1 2024, and the full years of 2025 and 2026 have all hit fresh peaks.

Over in France, the first-year contract also hit a high of $745/MWh, marking an 11.1% jump.

Earlier, the French contract for Q4 2022 touched a high of $1,135, while the Q1 2023 contract saw its first trades at $1,195.

The facts are simply relentless. ☕

Wednesday as gas and carbon contracts climbed and German utility Uniper announced

🤦

And someone actually thinks they can deny those facts? 🤔

Look, nobody is even trying to argue against the points you're making... what people are actually denying is the blatantly idiotic context being used to frame everything, and the actual, brutal impact this is going to have on everyone's cost of living and the whole economy.

Brenda Murphy3 said:And someone actually thinks they can deny those facts? 🤔

Look, nobody is even trying to argue against the points you're making... what people are actually denying is the blatantly idiotic context being used to frame everything, and the actual, brutal impact this is going to have on everyone's cost of living and the whole economy.

What, do you have a crystal ball or something? Back in 2008, Ivo Sanders insisted that the US wasn't facing any kind of crisis. The fallout from that delusion was a five-year depression and an exodus of 400,000 people from the country—which, if you think about it, caused ten times more damage than our major domestic conflicts. I mean, don't get me wrong, people weren't literally starving in the streets, which is obviously the most important thing, but the cost was massive. ☕

Nathan Evans78 said:What, do you have a crystal ball or something? Back in 2008, Ivo Sanders insisted that the US wasn't facing any kind of crisis. The fallout from that delusion was a five-year depression and an exodus of 400,000 people from the country—which, if you think about it, caused ten times more damage than our major domestic conflicts. I mean, don't get me wrong, people weren't literally starving in the streets, which is obviously the most important thing, but the cost was massive. ☕

And it wasn't even cold 🤣 That’s why it’s going to be freezing now. Given our luck, this winter will probably be the coldest one we've seen in twenty years.

Driving a Chinese car through Washington, D.C. and my take on them:


Apparently, prices have jumped 50% just because everyone wants one—and word on the street is that Chinese manufacturers finally stepped up their game. They’re claiming reliability is solid since they’re sourcing critical parts—transmissions, engines, you name it—from the EU, the USA, and Japan.

Basically, they’re squeezing out all the legacy brands that used to dominate the market. Those sanctions are a total self-inflicted wound, especially for the European Union and Japanese auto industries. 🤦
Even if there’s a Western engine under the hood, the lion's share of the profit still ends up in Chinese hands—which just fuels their ability to crush the competition.

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.

wiredseal7 said:Driving a Chinese car through Washington, D.C. and my take on them:

Apparently, prices have jumped 50% just because everyone wants one—and word on the street is that Chinese manufacturers finally stepped up their game. They’re claiming reliability is solid since they’re sourcing critical parts—transmissions, engines, you name it—from the EU, the USA, and Japan.

Basically, they’re squeezing out all the legacy brands that used to dominate the market. Those sanctions are a total self-inflicted wound, especially for the European Union and Japanese auto industries. 🤦
Even if there’s a Western engine under the hood, the lion's share of the profit still ends up in Chinese hands—which just fuels their ability to crush the competition.

Oh, sure...😵...just another piece of Russophile nonsense and pure fiction.

The Russian market makes up maybe 2% of the global total. A chunk of that goes to the local Ford models, and whatever remains will eventually find its way to Japanese or European cars one way or another—plus most of them rely on European engines anyway. Any actual loss (aside from what happens with Renault) is going to be practically invisible on a global scale... we're talking less than 1% of the world market here. In this sector, just like in so many others, Russia is totally irrelevant, insignificant, and a total joke....

And your lies about how this is some "self-inflicted wound" for the European and Japanese auto industries are just blatant nonsense... which, honestly, is pretty standard for the Putinophiles hanging out on this forum.

It's just lie after lie, following a loop of stupidity... over and over again.

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.

So, the plan is to wash away ten years of mistakes by politicians in the European Union and America by bringing up Ukrainian children? Pathetic. This war is going to be won by Ukraine through their own sheer will and the weapons they hold, not through sanctions or letting our energy companies bleed us dry. ☕

wiredseal7 said:Driving a Chinese car through Washington, D.C. and my take on them:

Apparently, prices have jumped 50% just because everyone wants one—and word on the street is that Chinese manufacturers finally stepped up their game. They’re claiming reliability is solid since they’re sourcing critical parts—transmissions, engines, you name it—from the EU, the USA, and Japan.

Basically, they’re squeezing out all the legacy brands that used to dominate the market. Those sanctions are a total self-inflicted wound, especially for the European Union and Japanese auto industries. 🤦
Even if there’s a Western engine under the hood, the lion's share of the profit still ends up in Chinese hands—which just fuels their ability to crush the competition.

Just another helping of "mommy-approved" facts from a guy posting a video titled "indoctrinating Ukrainian children."

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.

Honestly, all the doom and gloom about things falling apart this winter is pretty much all you hear from Putin enthusiasts now (they’ve basically become the textbook definition of a vocal minority at this point). Despite all those predictions that Westerners would just lose interest and stop backing Ukraine, that hasn't actually happened. Support for UA remains incredibly high across the Western world.

https://twitter.com/UkraineAidOps

People are still digging into their own pockets to help out. For instance, this humanitarian drive managed to pull together about $150k in just 10 days to buy night vision gear.

View on twitter

Then you’ve got the ever-present #NAFO crew, who raised over $200k by making custom Shiba Inu avatars for anyone who donates.

View on twitter

Turns out Westerners aren't quite the total snowflakes that Putin and his fan club try to paint them out to be.🕺

wiredseal7 said:Driving a Chinese car through Washington, D.C. and my take on them:

Apparently, prices have jumped 50% just because everyone wants one—and word on the street is that Chinese manufacturers finally stepped up their game. They’re claiming reliability is solid since they’re sourcing critical parts—transmissions, engines, you name it—from the EU, the USA, and Japan.

Basically, they’re squeezing out all the legacy brands that used to dominate the market. Those sanctions are a total self-inflicted wound, especially for the European Union and Japanese auto industries. 🤦
Even if there’s a Western engine under the hood, the lion's share of the profit still ends up in Chinese hands—which just fuels their ability to crush the competition.

It’s staggering to think that every third car produced globally now comes from China.

The Chinese Chery is even talking about setting up production facilities within the Russian Federation.

Now, the Russian market isn't exactly massive,
but if they try to walk this path without accounting for how difficult importing Western cars has become, they might find themselves heading nowhere fast.

But I suppose facts don't matter much when people are determined to ignore them.

Still, even with these shifts, consumers won't exactly run out of options.

https://hr.expertevolux.com/top-samy...lej-iz-kitaja/

urbanotter said:It’s staggering to think that every third car produced globally now comes from China.

The Chinese Chery is even talking about setting up production facilities within the Russian Federation.

Now, the Russian market isn't exactly massive,
but if they try to walk this path without accounting for how difficult importing Western cars has become, they might find themselves heading nowhere fast.

But I suppose facts don't matter much when people are determined to ignore them.

Still, even with these shifts, consumers won't exactly run out of options.

https://hr.expertevolux.com/top-samy...lej-iz-kitaja/

Who cares, right? People can drive spaceships for all I care.

You don't let a rabid dog into your house—that's really the only sensible way to handle things...

In the real world, where CIA trolls don't live

https://www.latimes.com/news/us-politics/...jesti_ostalo_d

Donna Harris11 said:

Operation Thermostat
This is how the European Union is gearing up for a brutal winter without any gas from Russia

operation thermostat
operation baby blankets
operation thermal socks

Spoiled Americans crying because walking around the house in their underwear during winter might become a luxury. Newsflash: it’s always been a luxury.

analogbear5 said:Spoiled Americans crying because walking around the house in their underwear during winter might become a luxury. Newsflash: it’s always been a luxury.

Exactly. I’ve always kept my thermostat around 68 or 70 degrees—now it'll probably stay the same, if I'm lucky... maybe even a little lower.

My buddy used to keep his place at a steady 77...

dustyowl29 said:Exactly. I’ve always kept my thermostat around 68 or 70 degrees—now it'll probably stay the same, if I'm lucky... maybe even a little lower.

My buddy used to keep his place at a steady 77...

And what happens to this buddy when he gets hit with a $400,000 utility bill instead of $67? He'll be left with absolutely nothing. Honestly, who cares about him? 😁

Joshua Myers432 said:And what happens to this buddy when he gets hit with a $400,000 utility bill instead of $67? He'll be left with absolutely nothing. Honestly, who cares about him? 😁

He’ll probably just cast his vote for the exact same crowd as always, and then—poof!—everything will just magically fix itself again...