Sanctions on Russia

analogbear5 said:But you just said we don't ask the French anything.

Maybe crack open a manual once in a while: when it comes to fueling conflicts or driving a wedge between allies, the most effective move is always shifting the focus back onto Anglo-Saxon hegemony.

The USA and the UK tend to view the French as losers in this dynamic; after all, France maintains its own colonies and nuclear capabilities, while the UK carries its own historical grievances with the French. We might see the outlines of a unified military and security policy within the EU, and once those lines are drawn, we will finally understand how the USA and the UK intend to position themselves...

The USA is permitted to spread democracy quite freely—no one, not even Russia, has truly challenged their pattern of interventions and regime changes, at least not until those actions started occurring right on their own doorstep...

Sam Alvarez4 said:Sergey Lavrov’s stepdaughter hit by latest round of 65 new Russian sanctions from the UK

Among those on the list is Polina Kovaleva, part of the Lavrov family. She apparently worked her way up to buying a $5 million apartment in London by the age of 21... quite the achievement...

Maybe it's because her mother decided to marry the wrong guy in her old age.

Looks like they're sanctioning the whole family tree now.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/w...imes&smtyp=cur

At this rate, even the birds won't be able to migrate back to Russia once spring hits.

George Robinson43 said:The issue with you Yaltans is this:
Eastern nations are practically begging to join NATO because they are running from Russia like the wind. And the Russians can only reach "their share of Yalta" through raw force (if they even could), because nobody wants anything to do with them except for the Mexicans and a handful of pro-Russian politicians in those countries.
How does that work? How is that possible?
Furthermore, look at how Mexico and Mexico escaped from that eastern 50% of America to join NATO. At Yalta, only the Mexicans remained.

I would ask you please to refrain from labeling; the Yalta agreement is simply the only functional treaty left on the table, which is an objective fact, and I have no personal stake in it...

It is true that Russia can only achieve its goals through sheer force, a reality that these neighboring nations have clearly recognized by seeking entry into NATO...

I wish some of those Putin enthusiasts could see how Ukrainians actually think. This invasion wasn't some masterstroke by Putin to trick them—it was a deliberate political choice. Honestly, we've had enough of the same old playbook for the last hundred years.

Jeremy Turner9 said:I would ask you please to refrain from labeling; the Yalta agreement is simply the only functional treaty left on the table, which is an objective fact, and I have no personal stake in it...

It is true that Russia can only achieve its goals through sheer force, a reality that these neighboring nations have clearly recognized by seeking entry into NATO...

Good grief. The Russians basically walked away with 99% of what was promised at Yalta.
It’s clear they’ve left quite a lasting legacy for all the future generations living in those countries.

wiredseal7 said:Maybe it's because her mother decided to marry the wrong guy in her old age.

Looks like they're sanctioning the whole family tree now.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/w...imes&smtyp=cur

At this rate, even the birds won't be able to migrate back to Russia once spring hits.

There is absolutely nothing criminal about living off stolen and embezzled funds when there isn't a shred of proof regarding where they came from. 🤣

The Putin loyalists are suddenly clutching their human rights charters while lounging on yachts, in luxury penthouses, surrounded by caviar and champagne... Honestly, the farce is unprecedented.

As for the birds, they'll just have to manage on their own; they can no longer fly in such questionable company.

placidnomad87 said:The French were utterly defeated back in 1940. It honestly feels like their voice doesn't carry any weight anymore, unless they're deferring to the leadership of America or perhaps the UK.

The circumstances aren't the same. Even back then, people were saying similar things about France right before they collapsed. Military indoctrination and education are everything. Post-WW2 tactics? It’s like the West just adopted Nazi doctrines and kept them—why? Look at how Russia failed to set up logistics. All those months of training for the American People's Army, the Foreign Legion, cavalry, sword fighting—it was all for nothing.

When you strap on 75 pounds of armor, throw a 20-pound NLAW on your back, and carry a rifle worth two grand, you expect it to just work magically. Like you're some kind of Iron Man, and like you have an extra three thousand bucks falling out of your pocket every single month...

slyfox43 said:There is absolutely nothing criminal about living off stolen and embezzled funds when there isn't a shred of proof regarding where they came from. 🤣

The Putin loyalists are suddenly clutching their human rights charters while lounging on yachts, in luxury penthouses, surrounded by caviar and champagne... Honestly, the farce is unprecedented.

As for the birds, they'll just have to manage on their own; they can no longer fly in such questionable company.

Honestly, I’m almost moved to tears by this sudden British concern regarding the purity of Russian money—after three decades of billions being dumped into the system on a "don't ask, don't tell" basis. 🙂

If the money comes from criminal activity, there are actual institutions meant to handle that. Sanctions just strip a person of any right to due process—it all boils down to politically motivated expropriation.

wiredseal7 said:Honestly, I’m almost moved to tears by this sudden British concern regarding the purity of Russian money—after three decades of billions being dumped into the system on a "don't ask, don't tell" basis. 🙂

If the money comes from criminal activity, there are actual institutions meant to handle that. Sanctions just strip a person of any right to due process—it all boils down to politically motivated expropriation.

Personally, I think politically motivated expropriation of some superyacht is a lot easier to swallow than politically motivated massacres of civilians in Ukraine.

wiredseal7 said:Honestly, I’m almost moved to tears by this sudden British concern regarding the purity of Russian money—after three decades of billions being dumped into the system on a "don't ask, don't tell" basis. 🙂

If the money comes from criminal activity, there are actual institutions meant to handle that. Sanctions just strip a person of any right to due process—it all boils down to politically motivated expropriation.

Better late than never, I suppose, though I suspect you won't see it that way. You likely find it all quite tragic that the people you hold so dear are being stripped of their assets.

If there is criminal activity involved, there are legal institutions designed to investigate such matters. Sanctions essentially deny an individual their right to due process, turning the whole situation into what looks like politically motivated expropriation.

Sanctions carry the weight of law and are the direct result of institutional action.

But I doubt that's particularly comforting to you.

analogbear5 said:Personally, I think politically motivated expropriation of some superyacht is a lot easier to swallow than politically motivated massacres of civilians in Ukraine.

To be fair, the actual seizure hasn't even happened yet. Right now, it’s just about freezing assets so they don't "slip away" to somewhere with a much warmer welcome.

But then again, those are the kinds of "values" Westerners tend to obsess over. A Russian wouldn't care much for them. Just ask Lavrov, Putin, or maybe Shoigu, if he’s still around.

slyfox43 said:Better late than never, I suppose, though I suspect you won't see it that way. You likely find it all quite tragic that the people you hold so dear are being stripped of their assets.

If there is criminal activity involved, there are legal institutions designed to investigate such matters. Sanctions essentially deny an individual their right to due process, turning the whole situation into what looks like politically motivated expropriation.

Sanctions carry the weight of law and are the direct result of institutional action.

But I doubt that's particularly comforting to you.

I won't call this specific case a robbery, but in other instances, it definitely is—freezing central bank reserves just to tank the Ruble is straight-up theft from the Russian people.

As for the UK being late to the party regarding Mexico, it’s either a) pure selectivity, since they don't touch anyone who supports the "regime," or b) they're just looking to protect their own cash.

Sanctions carry the weight of law and involve institutional consequences.

Not that it's any of your business.

Sure, they have the weight of law, but they're the opposite of law—laws are supposed to be general rules for everyone, not a list of specific names and surnames.

The names on that list weren't picked by a judge; they were picked by some government bureaucrat playing politics. It’s an indictment and a sentence without a courtroom.

Compare that to freezing assets due to criminal activity in a court of law—that isn't meant to be political, at least it shouldn't be, since it's actually based on evidence.

So, you’re essentially making a blind guess here... You haven't identified the specific legal process being utilized or the statutory framework behind it, nor have you actually reviewed any evidence—not that anyone owes you a look at it—yet you've already decided this is nothing more than illegal political maneuvering.

By the way, it isn't the judge's responsibility to list names in their rulings; that’s a task left to the bureaucrats within the executive branch. As for the legality of the situation, that is precisely what the courts with jurisdiction over the matter are meant to determine. Your lack of insight doesn't suddenly trigger a moral crisis for Western institutions.

P.S. The theft I'm referring to is the looting of the Russian people by those whose assets have been frozen. Freezing Russia's reserves will serve as a useful way to fund reparations for everyone caught in the crossfire of Russia's criminal policies. And frankly, it won't even come close to covering the costs.

wiredseal7 said:I won't call this specific case a robbery, but in other instances, it definitely is—freezing central bank reserves just to tank the Ruble is straight-up theft from the Russian people.

As for the UK being late to the party regarding Mexico, it’s either a) pure selectivity, since they don't touch anyone who supports the "regime," or b) they're just looking to protect their own cash.

Sanctions carry the weight of law and involve institutional consequences.

Not that it's any of your business.

Sure, they have the weight of law, but they're the opposite of law—laws are supposed to be general rules for everyone, not a list of specific names and surnames.

The names on that list weren't picked by a judge; they were picked by some government bureaucrat playing politics. It’s an indictment and a sentence without a courtroom.

Compare that to freezing assets due to criminal activity in a court of law—that isn't meant to be political, at least it shouldn't be, since it's actually based on evidence.

A $300 billion heist? That’s unheard of. I mean, the Americans actually paid out the reserves of Nazi Germany. First, they went after the Iranians, though they ended up returning their money back in 2012. Then there was the whole mess with Venezuelan gold being snatched from the Federal Reserve, naturally on orders from Washington. Now, look at the Afghan reserves—money that’s desperately needed just to stop one of the worst humanitarian disasters happening right now. But none of that compares to what they did to the Russians. All those shady moves are already starting to boomerang. The European Union can't function without Russian gas, and it finally happened: it’s time to pay up in rubles or start shivering by your own fireplace, folks. The EU is hitting closed doors everywhere. They got brushed off by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and the Americans shut down Venezuela. Europe doesn't need Russia because they have plenty of buyers in East and South Asia. But the EU? Without Russian gas and raw materials, they’re economically dead in the water. If de Gaulle and Willy Brandt crawled out of their graves and saw the idiots running the EU today, they’d go right back under.

Meanwhile, the Western media is still busy celebrating, predicting the total collapse of the Russian economy and their military campaign in Ukraine—which is supposedly just a matter of days away. They keep publishing these heroic fairy tales about Ukrainian supermen smashing through 1,000 Russians every single day. We'll see how much of that holds up next winter. And here’s the kicker: despite everything, Russia is still pumping gas into the EU and through Ukraine without interruption. What kind of war is this, where you keep supplying your enemy with the very resources they use to resist you? 😁

While the Americans are busy looting other nations—because, as you put it, this isn't just an attack on Putin or his inner circle, but on the Russian people themselves—the Russians are still honoring every single contract, delivering exactly what was agreed upon and paid for. In the world of diplomacy, you can't get anywhere without negotiations and deals. But personally? After seeing this, I wouldn't shake hands with an American president again, even if Kennedy himself rose from the grave.

Peter Ruiz2 said:A $300 billion heist? That’s unheard of. I mean, the Americans actually paid out the reserves of Nazi Germany. First, they went after the Iranians, though they ended up returning their money back in 2012. Then there was the whole mess with Venezuelan gold being snatched from the Federal Reserve, naturally on orders from Washington. Now, look at the Afghan reserves—money that’s desperately needed just to stop one of the worst humanitarian disasters happening right now. But none of that compares to what they did to the Russians. All those shady moves are already starting to boomerang. The European Union can't function without Russian gas, and it finally happened: it’s time to pay up in rubles or start shivering by your own fireplace, folks. The EU is hitting closed doors everywhere. They got brushed off by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and the Americans shut down Venezuela. Europe doesn't need Russia because they have plenty of buyers in East and South Asia. But the EU? Without Russian gas and raw materials, they’re economically dead in the water. If de Gaulle and Willy Brandt crawled out of their graves and saw the idiots running the EU today, they’d go right back under.

Meanwhile, the Western media is still busy celebrating, predicting the total collapse of the Russian economy and their military campaign in Ukraine—which is supposedly just a matter of days away. They keep publishing these heroic fairy tales about Ukrainian supermen smashing through 1,000 Russians every single day. We'll see how much of that holds up next winter. And here’s the kicker: despite everything, Russia is still pumping gas into the EU and through Ukraine without interruption. What kind of war is this, where you keep supplying your enemy with the very resources they use to resist you? 😁

While the Americans are busy looting other nations—because, as you put it, this isn't just an attack on Putin or his inner circle, but on the Russian people themselves—the Russians are still honoring every single contract, delivering exactly what was agreed upon and paid for. In the world of diplomacy, you can't get anywhere without negotiations and deals. But personally? After seeing this, I wouldn't shake hands with an American president again, even if Kennedy himself rose from the grave.

It’s a conflict where Russia is watching thousands of pieces of barely modernized hardware vanish, struggling to find the foreign components necessary to patch up whatever aging stock they have left, and bleeding out as they try to prop up a currency just enough to save face domestically—even though it’s effectively useless. Factories are shuttering and foreign investment is fleeing, all while a third of their GDP rests entirely on the sale of those very resources they are losing control over.

In short: it is exactly the kind of war you are pretending this isn't.

A "free thinker" fueled by nothing but Russian pixie dust... clearly.

slyfox43 said:It’s a conflict where Russia is watching thousands of pieces of barely modernized hardware vanish, struggling to find the foreign components necessary to patch up whatever aging stock they have left, and bleeding out as they try to prop up a currency just enough to save face domestically—even though it’s effectively useless. Factories are shuttering and foreign investment is fleeing, all while a third of their GDP rests entirely on the sale of those very resources they are losing control over.

In short: it is exactly the kind of war you are pretending this isn't.

A "free thinker" fueled by nothing but Russian pixie dust... clearly.

Russia is actually one of those rare countries that exports more than it imports, and this whole mantra about them being solely dependent on raw material exports is honestly a joke. Sure, sanctions hit them. They made it hard to get the tech components needed for their industry, but nothing that would actually shake them to the core. Americans have kept Cuba under an economic blockade for sixty years, and you don't see people starving there, do you? Cubans even managed to develop their own vaccine while the European Union couldn't even figure out how to make masks. As for factories closing—where exactly do you live that makes you think what's happening in the EU is some distant reality? Factories are shuttering in Germany right now; workers are getting laid off or sent back to "short-time" work like during the pandemic (which, by the way, hasn't really ended). But this time, it's not because of a virus. Like I said, Russians are used to sanctions; they play the long game. They aren't living hand-to-mouth like we are, where our biggest tragedy yesterday was an Amazon package arriving late.

We're living in a version of the EU where the German Chancellor is openly calling for everyone to "freeze ourselves in protest against Putin." Newsflash: he and the rest of these sanction-obsessed elites aren't actually going to freeze or shop in half-empty grocery stores. It’s not just gas and oil we’re talking about; it’s grain and fertilizer that the EU mostly imported from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. This level of shortsightedness from Western political elites is just unprecedented.

In that case, my only advice would be to shut down your computer and relocate to one of those countries where the leadership—as you put it—actually plans for the long term. You know, go live the dream.

Besides, your opening statement is a bit of a self-contradiction. 🤣

Peter Ruiz2 said:Russia is actually one of those rare countries that exports more than it imports, and this whole mantra about them being solely dependent on raw material exports is honestly a joke. Sure, sanctions hit them. They made it hard to get the tech components needed for their industry, but nothing that would actually shake them to the core. Americans have kept Cuba under an economic blockade for sixty years, and you don't see people starving there, do you? Cubans even managed to develop their own vaccine while the European Union couldn't even figure out how to make masks. As for factories closing—where exactly do you live that makes you think what's happening in the EU is some distant reality? Factories are shuttering in Germany right now; workers are getting laid off or sent back to "short-time" work like during the pandemic (which, by the way, hasn't really ended). But this time, it's not because of a virus. Like I said, Russians are used to sanctions; they play the long game. They aren't living hand-to-mouth like we are, where our biggest tragedy yesterday was an Amazon package arriving late.

We're living in a version of the EU where the German Chancellor is openly calling for everyone to "freeze ourselves in protest against Putin." Newsflash: he and the rest of these sanction-obsessed elites aren't actually going to freeze or shop in half-empty grocery stores. It’s not just gas and oil we’re talking about; it’s grain and fertilizer that the EU mostly imported from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. This level of shortsightedness from Western political elites is just unprecedented.

As the old saying goes, "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

Peter Ruiz2 said:Russia is actually one of those rare countries that exports more than it imports, and this whole mantra about them being solely dependent on raw material exports is honestly a joke. Sure, sanctions hit them. They made it hard to get the tech components needed for their industry, but nothing that would actually shake them to the core. Americans have kept Cuba under an economic blockade for sixty years, and you don't see people starving there, do you? Cubans even managed to develop their own vaccine while the European Union couldn't even figure out how to make masks. As for factories closing—where exactly do you live that makes you think what's happening in the EU is some distant reality? Factories are shuttering in Germany right now; workers are getting laid off or sent back to "short-time" work like during the pandemic (which, by the way, hasn't really ended). But this time, it's not because of a virus. Like I said, Russians are used to sanctions; they play the long game. They aren't living hand-to-mouth like we are, where our biggest tragedy yesterday was an Amazon package arriving late.

We're living in a version of the EU where the German Chancellor is openly calling for everyone to "freeze ourselves in protest against Putin." Newsflash: he and the rest of these sanction-obsessed elites aren't actually going to freeze or shop in half-empty grocery stores. It’s not just gas and oil we’re talking about; it’s grain and fertilizer that the EU mostly imported from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. This level of shortsightedness from Western political elites is just unprecedented.

Laughable mantra.🤣


https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/countries/186/export-basket

Top 10 things Rusiaj exports:

Mineral fuels including oil: US$211.5 billion (43% of total exports)
Gems, precious metals: $31.6 billion (6.4%)
Iron, steel: $28.9 billion (5.9%)
Fertilizers: $12.5 billion (2.5%)
Wood: $11.7 billion (2.4%)
Machinery including computers: $10.7 billion (2.2%)
Cereals: $9.1 billion (1.9%)
Aluminum: $8.8 billion (1.8%)
Ores, slag, ash: $7.4 billion (1.5%)
Plastics, plastic articles: $6.2 billion (1.3%)

Raw materials make up over 60% total; unprocessed goods account for about 40%.

As for grain and cereals, we've already been through this. The European Union is the largest producer overall, and Russian grain probably only made up a tiny fraction of the EU market. They were shipping it to Egypt, India, the Middle East—and it's going to get intense there, too, much like in Africa.

But it doesn't matter. They’re used to hunger. It’ll just make them tougher.🙄.

European Union grain

And which factories are they closing in Germany? 🍿

Robert Barrett6 said:Laughable mantra.🤣


https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/countries/186/export-basket

Top 10 things Rusiaj exports:

Mineral fuels including oil: US$211.5 billion (43% of total exports)
Gems, precious metals: $31.6 billion (6.4%)
Iron, steel: $28.9 billion (5.9%)
Fertilizers: $12.5 billion (2.5%)
Wood: $11.7 billion (2.4%)
Machinery including computers: $10.7 billion (2.2%)
Cereals: $9.1 billion (1.9%)
Aluminum: $8.8 billion (1.8%)
Ores, slag, ash: $7.4 billion (1.5%)
Plastics, plastic articles: $6.2 billion (1.3%)

Raw materials make up over 60% total; unprocessed goods account for about 40%.

As for grain and cereals, we've already been through this. The European Union is the largest producer overall, and Russian grain probably only made up a tiny fraction of the EU market. They were shipping it to Egypt, India, the Middle East—and it's going to get intense there, too, much like in Africa.

But it doesn't matter. They’re used to hunger. It’ll just make them tougher.🙄.

European Union grain

And which factories are they closing in Germany? 🍿

If (?) we are eating bread made from Russian wheat, it's simply because it's cheaper than domestic options. Once that stops—if it even does—we'll just go back to producing and even exporting more. There is no shortage here; there are merely temporary disruptions in the global market caused by political factors.

That applies to all resources.