EU sanctions on Russia will hit UK economy’–Frign Secrtry

[vtsnowedin]

Of course, the US are keen to get their claws into the Ukrainian shale gas plays (even if their economic potential is far from certain) and one of the two plays is in the rebel held east (very close to the downed airliner).

Ukraine could be seen as a straight East West resource war.

We could save ourselves so much bother if we just built wind turbines instead.

Well the US based big oil corps will happily drill a hole anywhere on the planet that can turn a profit for them after all taxes and bribes are paid. On the other hand I don't think the US government gives a gnat's wing about gas production in the Ukraine as long as it doesn't lead to war in Europe.

[emordnilap]

We could save ourselves so much bother if we just built wind turbines instead.

And it would all be seen for the stupidity it is if we had TEQs.

[Lord Beria3]

http://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/8641 ... war-russia

A good summary on what is going on at the moment.

It is difficult not to conclude that the West is run by and large by inexperienced idiots who know very little history or even diplomacy. Cameron - anyone?

[mr brightside]

The image at the head of that blog reminds me of every anti-Russia propaganda poster i've ever seen, all the way back to the 'Russian Steamroller' posters pre WW1. It's just tripe.

[Mr. Fox]

Interesting article in Handelsblatt regarding effects of sanctions from a German perspective:

http://www.handelsblatt.com/meinung/kom ... 08406.html

Orlov (yeah, again) offers the following commentary:

Gabor Steingart, the the publisher of Germany’s leading financial newspaper Handelsblatt, just let loose with an editorial directly challenging Washington's idiotic anti-Russian policies.

The appearance of this document is very timely: just yesterday Russia unleashed the first round of counter-sanctions, banning the import of foodstuffs from the US and the EU. These counter-sanctions are cleverly designed to cause pain in proportion to the level of anti-Russian activity of the country in question; thus, the three Baltic countries, which are virulently anti-Russian in spite of having large Russian populations and surviving largely through trade with Russia, face staggering losses, followed by equally anti-Russian Poland, followed by the rest of the EU, including poor Greece, which is friendly to Russia and should be considered collateral damage. The greatest beneficiaries of these sanctions are all those countries that opposed (11) or abstained (58 ) when the UN voted to condemn Russia's annexation of Crimea: they get to leapfrog over EU and US economically by exporting foodstuffs to Russia. Russia's consumers and Russia's agricultural sector are also among the winners: Russians will eat healthier food, with no GMO contamination, while profits that used to flow to the US and the EU will now be invested in domestic agriculture, making Russia more self-sufficient in food and aiding in the development of rural districts. Another clever element to these sanctions is that farmers tend to be politically vocal and influential. I see tractors clogging the streets of Europe's capitals and dumptruck-loads of manure decorating the steps of government buildings before too long.

As to his diagnosis of Obama's true motivation, I think he has it wrong. It's not all about pleasing the Tea Party. They, and American voters in general, are irrelevant, it makes no difference who gets elected, and Obama's policies are not Obama's. There is a deeper reason why the oligarchs who own and operate the country formerly known as America are currently attempting to enlarge every problem they see, be it stoking civil war in Ukraine or provoking ISIS into attacking Americans: they are desperate to avoid a scenario where the US collapses on its own, with no external enemy to blame. Not only would it be just too humiliating, but also the population, suddenly brought out of its stupor, might turn on those actually responsible rather than helplessly blame some foreign scapegoat. Putin has to fit the bill, reality be damned.

Steingart's editorial is full of appeals to reason, ethics, morality, and historical wisdom. But he is the publisher of a financial newspaper, and I suspect that he did some arithmetic prior to writing his piece, and that his motivation for writing it might be rather basic: he realized that Obama just took away his sausage. I hope that other Germans, and other Europeans, make this realization as well, and start behaving accordingly.

http://cluborlov.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08 ... ath_8.html

[emordnilap]

they are desperate to avoid a scenario where the US collapses on its own, with no external enemy to blame. Not only would it be just too humiliating, but also the population, suddenly brought out of its stupor, might turn on those actually responsible rather than helplessly blame some foreign scapegoat. Putin has to fit the bill, reality be damned.

It's a plausible and attractive theory, isn't it? What do others here think? Are "they" really that clever and organised, that far-seeing? Is there any hard evidence to support Orlov's theory?

You know, part of me wants it to be true but it seems too neat. I mean, this bit would be too good to be true:

turn on those actually responsible rather than helplessly blame some foreign scapegoat.

[another_exlurker]

they are desperate to avoid a scenario where the US collapses on its own, with no external enemy to blame. Not only would it be just too humiliating, but also the population, suddenly brought out of its stupor, might turn on those actually responsible rather than helplessly blame some foreign scapegoat. Putin has to fit the bill, reality be damned.

It's a plausible and attractive theory, isn't it? What do others here think? Are "they" really that clever and organised, that far-seeing? Is there any hard evidence to support Orlov's theory?

You know, part of me wants it to be true but it seems too neat. I mean, this bit would be too good to be true:

turn on those actually responsible rather than helplessly blame some foreign scapegoat.

In short, yes.

If you've not seen it already, I highly recommend "The Power of Nightmares" by Adam Curtis. You should be able to find it, in parts, on You Tube, but here's a brief synopsis from Wikipedia:

The Power of Nightmares.

[Tarrel]

Wow. That looks like a "must watch"!

[Tarrel]

"Power of Nightmares" here:

http://vimeo.com/84414208