I suspect Russia is doing well economically because the sanctions are only imposed from a small part of the world, on which the Russians have never been very dependent. Most of the world has not imposed sanctions on Russia and they are, on most counts, quite self sufficient.
And while war has supported and promoted economies, it is hard to argue that is the case for the US which has really been at war since it invented itself, and where the levels of poverty and working poor are the worst in the developed world. The American war economy unfortunately makes the rich richer and does nothing for most Americans, except sow the seeds of rage and resentment.
It was a major shock that Russia handled well because it's likely been preparing for it since the overthrow of the Ukrainian government and consequent start of the civil war. They probably played economic war games. They couldn't predict everything the West would do, like confiscate $300bn, but they adapted. The extra willingness of the EU to favour the USA over their citizens was a boon to Russia. Russia will suffer more problems, and each time, no matter the loss, use the opportunity to be more independent or change supply lines. It's major disadvantage is that its technology sector needs to catch up, and it must not allow China to grab too much economic power within.
I spent a bit of time in Russia about 15 years ago and really like the Russians. They have a lot in common with Americans but a better sense of humour.
Yes, I agree, I am sure the CIA coup of 2014 which installed American puppets in Ukraine made it clear to the Russians, who are generally very smart, what was coming. And I still think it is valid to say, the Russians are less dependent on others than most countries, certainly in terms of energy which is critical.
And the Russians have been honed on the wheel of suffering and trials and that makes them tough and resilient. There are things Russians could survive which would knock people in most Western countries, particularly the US, off the rails very quickly. They are stoic.
As to the technology sector in Russia I cannot claim to be any sort of expert but given the brilliance of Russian scientists and techo types I would be prepared to bet that they are more tech savvy than they have allowed the West or the Americans to think. Americans like to think everyone else, particularly Russians are stupid but Russia has a deep and broad history of scientific and literary brilliance.
As to China, I suspect the Chinese are too busy trying to control their own ground without wanting to control Russia. They might give an eye to bits of it but with 1.2 or is it now more, billion people, the Chinese have enough on their plate. As it is they have done brilliantly raising the economic outcomes for its citizens in ways which Americans can only envy.
But, economic security usually leads to other forms of disaffection and I suspect the Chinese know that. They are long-term planners and they are cautious. Their goal is a strong, united China and mucking around in Russia would threaten that goal. Russia as an ally is enough.
As to economic power of China, let us not kid ourselves, the entire Western world has handed China economic power on a plate. What isn't made in China? How easily we would crumble if China was not the global manufacturer. Greed did that, and arrogance and stupidity. The US is run by corporations not by Government and that is why Americans on average have the poorest standard of living in the developed world.
I would like to see Western nations become self sufficient once again. Great to help drag the Chinese out of poverty but only with the ability to be independent can we retain independence.
China views the world long-term, and they will not ignore Russia. That's geopolitics 101. But for now they're handy to Putin and the part of the world that wants the USA to have competition. The USA will not vanish like so many hysterical people on substack hope for. It has a lot of people and resources, and needs a massive wake-up call to shatter its ego into something more humane.
I may admire a lot of Putin's thoughtful action and measured responses, but I'm not a Putinist. I want more competition at the top so we at the bottom have more freedom of choice. My fear is that after I get that friction, and a seemingly more balanced world, that the same money will influence both sides.
I'm intrigued by the Russians, their black humour, their artful depression, and the perseverance of the country folk. I haven't had your direct pleasure so it's mostly been through the movies.
Don't get me wrong about the US. I have spent a lot of time in that country and have family and friends there. I think there are a lot of smart Americans even though they have been severely dumbed down in recent times. They are not as smart as they were.
Unfortunately the US has never been a true democracy, despite its claims, because the rich have always ruled and in more modern times, the rich and vested agendas have ruled. And the US has always ridden on the back of some form of 'slavery,' real in the past and the modern versions of illegals. All of that drags down wages and conditions for ordinary Americans.
I don't think Americans need to be more humane, they just need to make lobbying illegal as most other Western nations have done and become a real democracy. Get rid of the Presidency where a King is elected every four years, highly corrupt, institute a Westminster system which, while flawed is better and do away with the Electoral College, which is centuries out of date and relevance.
Bring in a decent universal education system where schools are not community funded and as good as the wealth of the area in which they sit, and a decent health system where people are not bankrupted by illness.
Putin is a traditionalist with a strong religious bent. The latter is not always a good thing but at its best it is positive. He makes a lot of sense on a lot of issues. But he is Russian and he functions as a Russian for Russians so no system is perfect.
At to money influencing everything, well, more so in the US than anywhere else. Capitalism is no different to Communism if it is not well regulated. Capitalism without rules and regulations is greed and fascism. The US needs regulated capitalism but will never get it until it makes lobbying illegal.
But, no doubt it is all a great experiment for we mere mortals.
Well said and the only caveat for me is that by humane I mean less belief in the USA as 'exceptional', which, in the trickle down effect, would then be more humane, in the traditional sense, for Palestinians, Russians etc.
Yes, it is ironic really the American belief in their exceptionalism which means superiority of course, given the clear evidence there is really nothing exceptional about the US or its people. Never let facts get in the way of propaganda.
To that degree Americans and Israelis/Jews are alike in that they believe they have a mission from God to be a 'light unto the world' and they are, as humans, exceptional, better than and superior to all
other humans. The lack of reason and logic to such a position exists because they are literally brainwashed from birth. There are exceptions of course but in both cases they are a minority unable to change anything.
Such societies/cultures tend only to be changed forcefully and violently because eventually they destroy themselves. But not after doing a lot of harm because they are incapable of seeing the humanity of others and understanding that what you give out is what you get back in essence.
Good comments about how PRC grew economically, but you might also appreciate that it now controls supply chains and dominates upstream markets in many sectors while also having grown its domestic markets to the extent that its rate would slow but not crumble. It's relevant to this thread because Germany (and Europe) is paying to free itself from Russian leverage, while PRC's monopsony power is paying prices well below market rate, and its monopoly power is selling products with even greater margins.
What evidence do you have for "the CIA coup of 2014 which installed American puppets in Ukraine"? Although it should be a separate thread, I'm going to challenge you on this ... (smiley face)
The CIA involvement in the 2014 so-called Maidan Revolution is well known. Victoria Nuland played a major part in handpicking replacements.
Quote: Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs “Toria” Nuland was the “mastermind” behind the Feb. 22, 2014 “regime change” in Ukraine, plotting the overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Viktor Yanukovych while convincing the ever-gullible US mainstream media that the coup wasn’t really a coup but a victory for “democracy.”
Thank you for your response. I've finished my working day, and will research your source and come back here. I am happy with any source so long as they have the evidence. We learn new things everyday.
Totally agree, MSM is losing its grip on people, it's like they're living in a virtual reality, not sure they believe it though, maybe they're hoping that people would, and maybe eventually the delusion would somehow manifest itself...... that's why folks in the WEF are panicking!
The Germans belatedly realised they'd made themselves dependent on Russian hydrocarbons. Those attuned to imperialism would know that, even if they didn't read the news of the reasons why the EU is trying to wean itself off having to kowtow to Putin.
That's supply & demand - which is pretty much what the title of your post is about, isn'it!
If we in Europe want to cut the use of hydrocarbons - and we are investing heavily in alternative energy - we will need to turn the North Sea tap back on, just for a while until North Sea Wind is satisfying more demand. But this will take time. I hope we're learning our lesson.
I appreciate that South Africa is a long way from Europe, but there are hundreds of millions of people here who have witnessed what Putin and post-Soviet Russia has done to its neighbours since Boxing Day 1991, threatens to do, and could threaten to do. It's why Finland and Sweden joined NATO.
If you prefer, you can view him and Russia as simply a Great Power doing what Great Powers do (either the Defensive or Offensive Realist perspectives). But few here morally equate the USA for all its faults with Russia.
Yes, I'm with Mearsheimer on great powers but there can be niggly points in between, such as Europe is allied with the USA which is an empire which affects your politics, and has been involved in more illegal wars and coups than any other nation. That's the starting point, before we get to the fact that the USA paints its enemies into demons.
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics is an engaging theory.
"Europe is allied with the USA" because they are liberal democracies. Democracies don't go to war against each other. They have created an oasis of peace while all around them the international anarchical system (which Mearsheimer describes very well) is not unlike Hobbes' state of nature.
That's why nobody here in Europe likes Putin. While holding our noses, we traded with him, until the stench became too noxious. Plenty fear him, and some of them reason that we should give in to him because otherwise he will press The Button. But nobody likes him.
I suspect Russia is doing well economically because the sanctions are only imposed from a small part of the world, on which the Russians have never been very dependent. Most of the world has not imposed sanctions on Russia and they are, on most counts, quite self sufficient.
And while war has supported and promoted economies, it is hard to argue that is the case for the US which has really been at war since it invented itself, and where the levels of poverty and working poor are the worst in the developed world. The American war economy unfortunately makes the rich richer and does nothing for most Americans, except sow the seeds of rage and resentment.
It was a major shock that Russia handled well because it's likely been preparing for it since the overthrow of the Ukrainian government and consequent start of the civil war. They probably played economic war games. They couldn't predict everything the West would do, like confiscate $300bn, but they adapted. The extra willingness of the EU to favour the USA over their citizens was a boon to Russia. Russia will suffer more problems, and each time, no matter the loss, use the opportunity to be more independent or change supply lines. It's major disadvantage is that its technology sector needs to catch up, and it must not allow China to grab too much economic power within.
I spent a bit of time in Russia about 15 years ago and really like the Russians. They have a lot in common with Americans but a better sense of humour.
Yes, I agree, I am sure the CIA coup of 2014 which installed American puppets in Ukraine made it clear to the Russians, who are generally very smart, what was coming. And I still think it is valid to say, the Russians are less dependent on others than most countries, certainly in terms of energy which is critical.
And the Russians have been honed on the wheel of suffering and trials and that makes them tough and resilient. There are things Russians could survive which would knock people in most Western countries, particularly the US, off the rails very quickly. They are stoic.
As to the technology sector in Russia I cannot claim to be any sort of expert but given the brilliance of Russian scientists and techo types I would be prepared to bet that they are more tech savvy than they have allowed the West or the Americans to think. Americans like to think everyone else, particularly Russians are stupid but Russia has a deep and broad history of scientific and literary brilliance.
As to China, I suspect the Chinese are too busy trying to control their own ground without wanting to control Russia. They might give an eye to bits of it but with 1.2 or is it now more, billion people, the Chinese have enough on their plate. As it is they have done brilliantly raising the economic outcomes for its citizens in ways which Americans can only envy.
But, economic security usually leads to other forms of disaffection and I suspect the Chinese know that. They are long-term planners and they are cautious. Their goal is a strong, united China and mucking around in Russia would threaten that goal. Russia as an ally is enough.
As to economic power of China, let us not kid ourselves, the entire Western world has handed China economic power on a plate. What isn't made in China? How easily we would crumble if China was not the global manufacturer. Greed did that, and arrogance and stupidity. The US is run by corporations not by Government and that is why Americans on average have the poorest standard of living in the developed world.
I would like to see Western nations become self sufficient once again. Great to help drag the Chinese out of poverty but only with the ability to be independent can we retain independence.
China views the world long-term, and they will not ignore Russia. That's geopolitics 101. But for now they're handy to Putin and the part of the world that wants the USA to have competition. The USA will not vanish like so many hysterical people on substack hope for. It has a lot of people and resources, and needs a massive wake-up call to shatter its ego into something more humane.
I may admire a lot of Putin's thoughtful action and measured responses, but I'm not a Putinist. I want more competition at the top so we at the bottom have more freedom of choice. My fear is that after I get that friction, and a seemingly more balanced world, that the same money will influence both sides.
I'm intrigued by the Russians, their black humour, their artful depression, and the perseverance of the country folk. I haven't had your direct pleasure so it's mostly been through the movies.
Don't get me wrong about the US. I have spent a lot of time in that country and have family and friends there. I think there are a lot of smart Americans even though they have been severely dumbed down in recent times. They are not as smart as they were.
Unfortunately the US has never been a true democracy, despite its claims, because the rich have always ruled and in more modern times, the rich and vested agendas have ruled. And the US has always ridden on the back of some form of 'slavery,' real in the past and the modern versions of illegals. All of that drags down wages and conditions for ordinary Americans.
I don't think Americans need to be more humane, they just need to make lobbying illegal as most other Western nations have done and become a real democracy. Get rid of the Presidency where a King is elected every four years, highly corrupt, institute a Westminster system which, while flawed is better and do away with the Electoral College, which is centuries out of date and relevance.
Bring in a decent universal education system where schools are not community funded and as good as the wealth of the area in which they sit, and a decent health system where people are not bankrupted by illness.
Putin is a traditionalist with a strong religious bent. The latter is not always a good thing but at its best it is positive. He makes a lot of sense on a lot of issues. But he is Russian and he functions as a Russian for Russians so no system is perfect.
At to money influencing everything, well, more so in the US than anywhere else. Capitalism is no different to Communism if it is not well regulated. Capitalism without rules and regulations is greed and fascism. The US needs regulated capitalism but will never get it until it makes lobbying illegal.
But, no doubt it is all a great experiment for we mere mortals.
Well said and the only caveat for me is that by humane I mean less belief in the USA as 'exceptional', which, in the trickle down effect, would then be more humane, in the traditional sense, for Palestinians, Russians etc.
Yes, it is ironic really the American belief in their exceptionalism which means superiority of course, given the clear evidence there is really nothing exceptional about the US or its people. Never let facts get in the way of propaganda.
To that degree Americans and Israelis/Jews are alike in that they believe they have a mission from God to be a 'light unto the world' and they are, as humans, exceptional, better than and superior to all
other humans. The lack of reason and logic to such a position exists because they are literally brainwashed from birth. There are exceptions of course but in both cases they are a minority unable to change anything.
Such societies/cultures tend only to be changed forcefully and violently because eventually they destroy themselves. But not after doing a lot of harm because they are incapable of seeing the humanity of others and understanding that what you give out is what you get back in essence.
Good comments about how PRC grew economically, but you might also appreciate that it now controls supply chains and dominates upstream markets in many sectors while also having grown its domestic markets to the extent that its rate would slow but not crumble. It's relevant to this thread because Germany (and Europe) is paying to free itself from Russian leverage, while PRC's monopsony power is paying prices well below market rate, and its monopoly power is selling products with even greater margins.
What evidence do you have for "the CIA coup of 2014 which installed American puppets in Ukraine"? Although it should be a separate thread, I'm going to challenge you on this ... (smiley face)
I didn't remember posting this. Shows how much happened the past 2 months.
https://www.mikehampton.co.uk/p/03-putin-isnt-the-only-monster-in
The CIA involvement in the 2014 so-called Maidan Revolution is well known. Victoria Nuland played a major part in handpicking replacements.
Quote: Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs “Toria” Nuland was the “mastermind” behind the Feb. 22, 2014 “regime change” in Ukraine, plotting the overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Viktor Yanukovych while convincing the ever-gullible US mainstream media that the coup wasn’t really a coup but a victory for “democracy.”
https://truthout.org/articles/the-ukraine-mess-that-nuland-made/
If you do not like this source I suggest you do the research. There are plenty of sources out there across the spectrum.
Thank you for your response. I've finished my working day, and will research your source and come back here. I am happy with any source so long as they have the evidence. We learn new things everyday.
All media sources have bias so it is important to read around.
The video is worth watching.
Erlend Bjortvedt is obviously projecting what is really happening in Europe and repeating NATO's talking points.
He came across as insincere, and the others as believable, something that may not have been as visible to the casual viewer a year ago.
Totally agree, MSM is losing its grip on people, it's like they're living in a virtual reality, not sure they believe it though, maybe they're hoping that people would, and maybe eventually the delusion would somehow manifest itself...... that's why folks in the WEF are panicking!
But when Wrestlemania became obviously false, the American crowd continue to roar for their fake heroes.
Remember when Bugs used to stick the end of his carrot in Yosemite Sam’s gun……?
Yep, Bjortvedt was filling his mouth with those carrots.
The Germans belatedly realised they'd made themselves dependent on Russian hydrocarbons. Those attuned to imperialism would know that, even if they didn't read the news of the reasons why the EU is trying to wean itself off having to kowtow to Putin.
Yes, but it was an amicable relationship. Now they're in a hurtful relationship with American gas.
Thanks for replying, Mike.
That's supply & demand - which is pretty much what the title of your post is about, isn'it!
If we in Europe want to cut the use of hydrocarbons - and we are investing heavily in alternative energy - we will need to turn the North Sea tap back on, just for a while until North Sea Wind is satisfying more demand. But this will take time. I hope we're learning our lesson.
I appreciate that South Africa is a long way from Europe, but there are hundreds of millions of people here who have witnessed what Putin and post-Soviet Russia has done to its neighbours since Boxing Day 1991, threatens to do, and could threaten to do. It's why Finland and Sweden joined NATO.
If you prefer, you can view him and Russia as simply a Great Power doing what Great Powers do (either the Defensive or Offensive Realist perspectives). But few here morally equate the USA for all its faults with Russia.
Yes, I'm with Mearsheimer on great powers but there can be niggly points in between, such as Europe is allied with the USA which is an empire which affects your politics, and has been involved in more illegal wars and coups than any other nation. That's the starting point, before we get to the fact that the USA paints its enemies into demons.
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics is an engaging theory.
"Europe is allied with the USA" because they are liberal democracies. Democracies don't go to war against each other. They have created an oasis of peace while all around them the international anarchical system (which Mearsheimer describes very well) is not unlike Hobbes' state of nature.
That's why nobody here in Europe likes Putin. While holding our noses, we traded with him, until the stench became too noxious. Plenty fear him, and some of them reason that we should give in to him because otherwise he will press The Button. But nobody likes him.