Vladimir Putin has officially declared war on Ukraine

Cancelling Russia while China observes.

The power of the "superpowers" and the "superempowered" (big banks, rich people, big tech, etc.)

"We have already seen three “weapons” deployed in ways we’ve never seen before or not seen in a long time, and China would be wise to study them all. Because if China doesn’t help stop Russia now, these weapons will either ultimately hammer Putin into submission — which means they might be used against China one day, should it seize Taiwan — or damage Russia so badly that the economic effects will radiate everywhere. These weapons might even prompt Putin to do the unthinkable with his nuclear arms, which could destabilize and even destroy the global foundations on which China’s future rests.

The most important innovation in this war is the use of the economic equivalent of a nuclear bomb, simultaneously deployed by a superpower and by superempowered people. The United States, along with the European Union and Britain, has imposed sanctions on Russia that are crippling its economy, critically threatening companies and shattering the savings of millions of Russians at an unprecedented speed and scope that bring to mind a nuclear blast.

Putin has now figured that out — and said so explicitly on Saturday: The U.S.- and E.U.-led sanctions are “akin to a declaration of war.” (Vladimir, you haven’t felt the half of it yet.)

Second, because the world is now so wired, superempowered individuals, companies and social activist groups can pile on their own sanctions and boycotts, without any government orders, amplifying the isolation and economic strangulation of Russia beyond what nation-states are likely to do. These new actors — a kind of global ad hoc pro-Ukraine-resistance-solidarity-movement — are collectively canceling Putin and Russia. Rarely, if ever, has a country this big and powerful been politically canceled and economically crippled so fast.

The third weapon is both new and old, and it’s a spiritual and emotional one: The West has rediscovered its voice. Faced with the raw, primitive onslaught by Russia against a flawed but aspiring democracy like Ukraine, the free world has been aroused. America and liberal societies in general can often look and act dumb and divided — until they aren’t. Ask Adolf Hitler.

These three weapons should be enough to get China’s attention. So let’s look closer at how they work in practice."

www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/opinion/putin-ukraine-china.html

It's no secret I’m a Pelosi admirer, but this is a godawful idea. I can’t even believe my senator is supporting this.

The US is not dependent on Russian crude oil but we still import anywhere from 3%-5% to meet our needs. We don’t have any other source at the moment to offset this loss if an embargo is implemented now. Working people and the poor in the US are already being squeezed tight with the double whammy of inflation and high gas prices. This will exacerbate the situation. We can use our reserves but our own gov’t reports our reserves have decreased.

Where can we source? One of Canada’s ministers said their country is maxed out; they cannot export any more than what they’re already doing. OPEC (i.e., Saudi Arabia) is refusing to up production. The US is now talking to Maduro to determine if we can get it from Venezuela. What would be the motivation of Maduro who is an ally of Putin, and whom we sanctioned, to fulfill this?

(Not to mention it’s virtually impossible for Europe to do same as they are heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil and they have more or less only a 3-month reserve.)

And is this really going to hurt Putin when he can easily sell to China if the West institutes embargoes? Who’s really likely to suffer from this—Putin or the West?

At least wait until we can reliably source from somewhere else before doing this.

Can we increase production of US oil, or decrease what we export? I read that we're now a net exporter of crude oil. Can't some of that stay right here?

And yeah, some of the price increase can be attributed to the gas companies setting prices that net them record profits. Let's lay that blame where it belongs.

Did you see how they know he was killed?

The Russians lost secure communications, so the on-site FSB officer had to call Moscow on a Ukrainian SIM card. So of course the communication was intercepted. Hollywood would dismiss these happenings as unrealistic.

Also of note, this general is the nephew of General Valery Gerasimov, who is one of the two guys and the end of that very long table with Putin.

Sweden is part of the EU so wouldn’t there be grounds for active help?

It's no secret I’m a Pelosi admirer, but this is a godawful idea. I can’t even believe my senator is supporting this.

The US is not dependent on Russian crude oil but we still import anywhere from 3%-5% to meet our needs. We don’t have any other source at the moment to offset this loss if an embargo is implemented now. Working people and the poor in the US are already being squeezed tight with the double whammy of inflation and high gas prices. This will exacerbate the situation. We can use our reserves but our own gov’t reports our reserves have decreased.

Where can we source? One of Canada’s ministers said their country is maxed out; they cannot export any more than what they’re already doing. OPEC (i.e., Saudi Arabia) is refusing to up production. The US is now talking to Maduro to determine if we can get it from Venezuela. What would be the motivation of Maduro who is an ally of Putin, and whom we sanctioned, to fulfill this?

(Not to mention it’s virtually impossible for Europe to do same as they are heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil and they have more or less only a 3-month reserve.)

And is this really going to hurt Putin when he can easily sell to China if the West institutes embargoes? Who’s really likely to suffer from this—Putin or the West?

At least wait until we can reliably source from somewhere else before doing this.