Well GWB... time will prove me right... with or without the latest and greatest tech, which I still maintain won't be a problem... but either way, Putin drags this out for years until Zelenski says uncle. Gotta run.... game time. Have a good day GWB---- and I wasn't being demeaning calling you Andy btw... just making a point about the world being a nasty place. g/l trading today.
Opinion Putin will be livid as Russia officially becomes an economic basket case By Ben Marlow June 28, 2022 https://www.smh.com.au/business/the...-an-economic-basket-case-20220628-p5ax3d.html In recent weeks it has become fashionable to suggest that the effectiveness of Western sanctions against Russia is flagging. That is certainly the line that the Kremlin has been peddling. Emboldened by the recovery of the rouble, $US20 billion ($28.9 billion) of oil and gas revenue in the month of May alone, and spiralling inflation around the globe, Vladimir Putin has accused the West of waging a form of “economic blitzkrieg” that has backfired and been “more harmful” to Europe than Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin regarded the payment of Russia’s overseas debts as a matter of huge pride that reinforced the country’s status as a true global power and rejected the idea of a bailout from the West.Credit:AP You would expect Moscow to say that, of course, but increasingly it seems to be the view of analysts and the commentariat. It is short-sighted. Similarly, those who dismiss the news that Russia has defaulted on its international debt payments for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution of 1918 as little more than a symbolic defeat are missing the point. Asset manager Timothy Ash recalls a meeting in 2000 between then-German chancellor Gerhard Schröeder and Putin, soon after the Russian president assumed power. Russia’s energy revenues are still rolling in but the West continues to turn the screws. Credit:Bloomberg The financial markets were expecting Schröeder to offer debt relief for Russia as it attempted to recover from the financial crisis of the late 1990s. Putin, however, regarded the payment of Russia’s overseas debts as a matter of huge pride that reinforced the country’s status as a true global power and rejected the idea of a bailout from the West. It is unlikely that view has changed. If anything, a regime that thrives off propaganda will be even more desperate to avoid any scenario that adds to the impression that Russia is a rogue creditor or has been weakened by sanctions. Witness the Kremlin’s attempts to dismiss the default as a sham artificially engineered by the US and hostile Western powers. Anton Siluanov, the finance minister, has called the situation a “farce”. It has also made a last-ditch bid to service $US40 billion of outstanding sovereign debt with roubles, a move that creditors have already ruled out. The idea that America is pulling the strings when it comes to Russia’s financial clout will infuriate Putin, but it is a timely reminder of who the real superpower in this battle is. So yes, a debt default is in some ways symbolic – but hugely so because it underlines Russia’s dramatic decline from a country celebrated for its “fortress” economy to an economic and political basket case. But it’s much more than that, even. Siluanov knows that the ramifications potentially spread much wider. This is all about Russia’s access to international financial markets and anything that dents its reputation, however manufactured it may be, with foreign lenders will make it harder for the Kremlin to borrow from them. By affecting the country’s debt ratings, it doesn’t just make it more difficult to access financing, it becomes more costly to borrow too and because it was the US Treasury that forced Russia into default, it will be Washington that dictates when negotiations with its foreign creditors can begin. This means Moscow could effectively be shut out of the global financial system for years, possibly even decades, Ash predicts. The idea that America is pulling the strings when it comes to Russia’s financial clout will infuriate Putin, but there is no doubt that it is a timely reminder of who the real superpower is in this battle. Russia’s president has claimed that sanctions are a “double-edged sword” that are more painful for the West than Russia as Moscow starts to squeeze energy supplies, pushing Europe’s economy into a prolonged stagnationary era. It is of course the unavoidable truth that Western consumers are suffering the price of the war in Ukraine, as energy bills, petrol costs, and food prices all keep being forced up, raising fears of a looming recession. This has tested Western resolve, something that host Olaf Scholz admitted at a meeting of G7 leaders on Sunday in the Bavarian Alps. All the G7 states were worried about the “crises we currently face”, Germany’s chancellor said. Boris Johnson also warned of “fatigue” among “populations and politicians” but reiterated the need to maintain consensus, and Scholz said he was convinced the group would send a “very clear signal of unity and decisive action”. Reports that the G7 is closer to reaching an agreement on a proposed price cap on Russian oil and gas are reassuring. Putin, like any autocratic leader, gains great strength from any sign of weakness in his enemies. Ukraine’s allies must stay the course and keep turning the screws. With Joe Biden and US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen leading the way, Britain, France, and Italy reportedly backing a cap, and Berlin expected to follow suit shortly, the West may soon have a potent new weapon at its disposal. The theory is that a buyers’ cartel would force down the value of the Kremlin’s most lucrative export by only allowing Russian oil and gas to be sold and stored at below a certain price, whereas a full boycott has pushed prices up. A plan to allow China and India access to cheaper Russian energy is also a smart move because previously the Kremlin had been trying to circumvent sanctions by selling its crude and gas to more sympathetic nations. The Kremlin is wrong to claim the war has changed nothing. The default, however “engineered”, is in itself proof that sanctions are well and truly working. Meanwhile, the promise of a fresh round of penalties suggests that far from weary, or cowed, the West remains more determined than ever to help Ukraine defeat Putin’s invading army. Telegraph, London
GWB and others are victims of a massive propaganda campaign to make this all look much better than it actually is. People believe what they want, and frequently discount anything they don't want to hear as "not true".
Well, Zelensky today asked for $5 billion per month to cover their shortfall. An 8" high quality vinyl coated chain-link fence can be installed for about $25/linear foot. That's 200 million feet of fencing per month that could be installed as an inner perimeter around our K-12 institutions, or 2.4 billion feet in one year. Throw in the single point of entry guard shacks for free. Naaa. Lets just pour those dollars into a war that won't end until Putin dies. 10 years? 20 years? No problem.
Lets see, a quick search says there are just under 100,000 public schools total in the US. That's 2000'/month of high quality, aesthetic, vinyl coated, dark green, 8" chain-link fence for each school. For perspective, enough to almost surround two football fields>>>> per month! For every public school in the US. Naaa. Send that money to Raytheon and LMT. Putin might decide to make a move on Poland. Right.