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FriedButter

Colonel
Registered Member
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US Considers New Russia Oil Sanctions to Weaken Putin Ahead of Trump​

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration is weighing new, harsher sanctions against Russia’s lucrative oil trade, seeking to tighten the squeeze on the Kremlin’s war machine just weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Details of the possible new measures were still being worked out, but President Joe Biden’s team was considering restrictions that might target some Russian oil exports, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.

That step was something Biden had long resisted over fears it could trigger a spike in energy costs, especially in the run-up to last month’s presidential election. But with prices for oil slipping amid forecasts of a global surplus in 2025 and fears growing that Trump may seek to force Ukraine into a quick deal with Russia to end its nearly three-year-old war, the Biden administration is now open to more aggressive action, the people said.

The deliberations highlight how Biden’s team is more willing to take risks in confronting Russia as it prepares to depart, especially with previous efforts to choke the Kremlin’s energy revenues yielding mixed results and average US gasoline prices hitting their lowest level since mid-2021. In its waning weeks, the administration has also moved to surge military and financial support to Ukraine amid questions about Trump’s commitment to continued US support.

The US already bans imports of Russian oil but new restrictions on the exports of one of the world’s largest producers — which could involve singling out foreign buyers of its crude — would upend more than two years of policy set after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The administration was also weighing fresh sanctions aimed at the tanker fleet that Russia uses to transport its oil, the people said. The new limits on the so-called shadow fleet could be be unveiled in the coming weeks, according to the people.

The European Union is planning similar measures on Russia’s shadow fleet before the end of the year. The bloc also is expected to target individuals involved in the trade.

Spokespeople for the National Security Council and the Treasury Department declined to comment on Tuesday.

It’s clear the departing Biden administration will try to leave a “difficult legacy” in US-Russia relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday, in response to a question on the prospect of tougher oil sanctions, the Interfax news service reported.

Oil prices barely budged on the news, underscoring the fact that Trump — who takes office on Jan. 20 — may want to avoid inflation catalysts in the same way that Biden did.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Moscow has by and large managed to keep its oil flowing — albeit to customers in Asia rather than Europe where it mostly went before the attack.

For most of this year, prices for the nation’s crude have also held above a Group of Seven-imposed cap that only permitted western services for cargoes purchased at $60 a barrel or less. That is in part because Russia turned to shadow-fleet tankers, often operating with unknown insurers or owners.

The price cap has tried to simultaneously restrict the flow of oil revenues while maintaining supplies, two goals that are in conflict with one another.

One model for broader US sanctions could be to impose restrictions similar to those on Iranian oil. In that case, buyers of the oil face US punishment. Such a move would be fraught with risk, given that powerful countries including India and China are major consumers of Russian crude.

Most immediately, such limits could spike oil prices, causing global economic strain. Crude futures have held to a tight range since mid-October, with international benchmark Brent trading below $75 a barrel, compared with more than $120 in the months after Russia’s invasion.

It would also inflame tensions with adversaries and partners alike, whose help the US wants to limit exports of sensitive goods such as chips and other technology that fuel Russia’s war machine.

While the moves would seek to capitalize on a softer oil market, they would also be aimed at ratcheting up the pressure on Russia before Trump takes office. The president-elect has pushed for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, and current officials say they want to give the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as much leverage as possible heading into any talks.

With that in mind, squeezing President Vladimir Putin’s finances even further could strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating hand. There’s a chance Trump could unwind measures if he felt they had inflated oil prices, but that risks the potential political cost of looking weak or offering Russia concessions too soon.

Russia has confounded predictions of an economic collapse after the US and its allies imposed unprecedented sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. After slumping initially, the economy rebounded strongly amid huge state spending on defense and measures to help shield domestic businesses from the sanctions. The economy may expand by 3.5% in 2024, according to a survey of 24 economists by Bloomberg News in November.

Still, Russia faces deepening challenges, with the ruble on the slide and the central bank hiking its key interest rate to a record 21% in October to try to curb inflation running at more than twice the 4% target. The bank has warned of the risks of stagflation as growth slows amid labor shortages while inflation remains high.

The latest move would follow restrictions the US rolled out last month on Gazprombank, the last major Russian financial institution that had been exempt from penalties. The Biden administration had previously decided not to levy sanctions against the bank, which European nations use to pay for the gas they still buy from Russia, for fear of causing turmoil in global commodity markets.

Already, Hungary, as well as other countries that rely on Russian gas imports, have warned the US decision poses a potential risk for energy security. Turkey has also sought a sanctions waiver.
One model for broader US sanctions could be to impose restrictions similar to those on Iranian oil. In that case, buyers of the oil face US punishment.

So is the US going to demand that China must stop all the energy pipelines from Russia to China.
 

taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
If you check English speaking Syrian diaspora opinion on reddit and YouTube they are cheering. Interestingly, they were also mostly ungrateful for the aid China gave them during COVID, BRI investments etc.

This is very different from Russians, Iranians and even Indians. Seriously, I've found more positive comments from Indians of all people.

I wonder how many are going back to Syria to aid the democratic reconstruction of Syria, now that the evil dictator is gone. Qian Xuesen went back to China when China had GDP per capita of $150 USD.
Those Syrians are the ones behind the rebels, they hate Assad and China. They are mostly "refugees" moved to the west during the early times of the war, they never received any aid from China. So there is nothing "ungrateful" though. Just think of them as the Taiwan separists or FLG who hate China more than westerners.

They will never return to Syria because they did not fight for the Syrian Arab Republic, nor fought against SAR, what do they care.
 

manqiangrexue

Brigadier
McD's worker: The difference between you and me is that I come from the working class while you come from the elite petite bourgeoisie class.

Luigi Mangione: True. But there is this similarity—each of us is a traitor to his class.
This isn't even all about class. I don't care about class. The poor can become educated, come up with ideas, and become the rich. The rich can squander their wealth or make huge mistakes and become poor. I have never supported the complaint that since the CEO earns tens of millions while his workers earn tens of thousands that he is unfairly exploiting them because he can't be working a thousand times harder. In the modern world, ideas are worth almost infinitely more than hard labor.

This is different. That CEO was a cold calculating mass murderer. He sat behind his computer screen writing or contracting for code specifically aimed at creating an illusion to his clients that they are buying his company's promise to safeguard their health and then finding loopholes to deny them coverage, effectively leaving them penniless with nowhere to go but death in their time of need. He is the trickster that brings his victims to the guillotine and he is the executioner who drops the blade. He works for not only United Healthcare but Hades himself. Rich CEOs don't deserve to die; he did, and all others who do his job.

I hope McSnitchin' gets none of the money due to loopholes, gets sick from a particularly painful disease, is unable to afford treatment and is found dead in her bed with a letter from United Healthcare clenched in her fists stamped, "DENIED".
 
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FairAndUnbiased

Brigadier
Registered Member
McD's worker: The difference between you and me is that I come from the working class while you come from the elite petite bourgeoisie class.

Luigi Mangione: True. But there is this similarity—each of us is a traitor to his class.

McD worker is getting nothing. And by their kinds logic, everything is fair and everyone gets what they deserve. And so it shall be.
 

GZDRefugee

Junior Member
Registered Member
This isn't even all about class. I don't care about class. The poor can become educated, come up with ideas, and become the rich. The rich and squander their wealth and become poor. I have never supported the complaint that since the CEO earns tens of millions while his workers earn tens of thousands that he is unfairly exploiting them since he is not working a thousand times harder. In the modern world, ideas are worth almost infinitely more than hard labor.

This is different. That CEO was a mass murderer. He sat behind his computer screen writing or contracting for code specifically aimed at creating an illusion to his clients that they are buying his company's promise to safeguard their health and then finding loopholes to deny them coverage, effectively leaving them penniless with nowhere to go but death in their time of need. He is the trickster that brings his victims to the guillotine and he is the executioner who drops the blade. He works for not only United Healthcare but Hades himself. Rich CEOs don't deserve to die; he did, and all others who do his job.

I hope McSnitchin' gets none of the money due to loopholes, gets sick from a particularly painful disease, is unable to afford treatment and is found dead in her bed with a letter from United Healthcare clenched in her fists stamped, "DENIED".
That's literally my point. The McD's worker is supporting the status quo of working class exploitation. While Luigi, whose family is old money, struck fear into the elite class. Hence both of them being traitors to their respective classes.

Zhou Enlai roasting Khruschchev was just a particularly poignant quote for this situation.
McD worker is getting nothing. And by their kinds logic, everything is fair and everyone gets what they deserve. And so it shall be.
Review: 0/5
The establishment has rats.
 

AssassinsMace

Lieutenant General
Saw this online... jm not sure.. is this preemptive? But does it insinuate some thing? Or its fine?View attachment 140744
Do people actually think the West cares…? It’s an excuse to act against China? How do you think they’ll “confirm” that China is not violating any human rights? Guess what? They’ll demand transparency. How will they get that? By giving the West unrestricted access in China. The Western media will lie like they do now but you’ll give credibility to their lies by letting them say they were there to see it themselves. And then they’ll demand China has to do everything they say in order to conform to their standards aka seize total control over China like they’ve always aimed for and wanted. I don’t know why Chinese want to play along with the Western narrative helping them lie that they care about human rights. Are Chinese hoping on hope that the West cares about Chinese because then the alternative would be realizing that they don’t care. When it was discovered that getting AIDS can no longer be a death sentence and was manageable because of medical breakthroughs, there were gays that called for other gays to intentionally infect themselves with AIDS because they didn’t want the gay community to lose the extra attention they were getting. Are the Chinese doing it because they want believe the West really cares…? All I have to say is GENOCIDE IN GAZA and you think they fucking care? Maybe some will think Chinese are special and the West cares more for Chinese than what’s happening in Gaza…

It’s all a lie. The West is using human rights as an excuse to get everything they want from others and not to have to pay for it and not because they care. Look at how the EU places sanctions on China and they cry like baby that China slaps sanctions back. Any reasonable mind would expect retaliation but the EU gets upset because that Chinese money is rightfully theirs and they cry “foul” because they see only apples and oranges. They’re doing it for the good of all so China doesn’t have the right to retaliate. That’s why the West hides behind human rights to get everything they’ve always wanted for themselves or else it’s the just as usual the historic imperialists and colonialists wanting what they’ve always wanted.
 
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manqiangrexue

Brigadier
That's literally my point. The McD's worker is supporting the status quo of working class exploitation. While Luigi, whose family is old money, struck fear into the elite class. Hence both of them being traitors to their respective classes.

Zhou Enlai roasting Khruschchev was just a particularly poignant quote for this situation.
Rich CEO is not the problem. Mass murderer who happens to be a CEO is the problem. MacSnitchin' didn't just betray her class; she betrayed all people with decency, all people trying to survive with an illness and all people who might end up in that situation. Medical treatments in the US can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each treatment, adding to millions. You can literally be rich and still not afford it. Luigi's mother couldn't afford all her treatments even though their family was rich. That's what started this whole thing.
Review: 0/5
The establishment has rats.
That is fucking good. I really LOL'd. 5 star joke!
 
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