5 ms·

How many people complaining about the weaksauce sanctions proposed against Russia would be prepared to deal with the effects of more stringent measures? I'm th

How many people complaining about the weaksauce sanctions proposed against Russia would be prepared to deal with the effects of more stringent measures? I'm thinking especially of people in Europe castigating politicians for not wanting to clamp down hard on the Russian energy sector. The way I see it, the europols are in a no-win situation. If they go easy on Russia and keep the gas and oil flowing, they look like weak and waffling appeasers, which yes, they are. If they cut off the Russian gas supply, will the people posting Ukrainian flags on Twitter remember or care about the noble root causes when faced with unprecedented energy prices? I.e. the politicians know their people better than they know themselves, and they're well aware that showing support on social media is one thing, but being asked to make drastic sacrifices is quite another. These politicians will not survive if they do what their voters are clamoring for them to do. Of course, they probably wouldn't be in this position if they hadn't taken energy strategy advice from Greta Thunberg, but that's neither here nor there.

andrepd 5y ago
> Of course, they probably wouldn't be in this position if they hadn't taken energy strategy advice from Greta Thunberg, but that's neither here nor there. What the fuck? I'm pretty positive that the energy strategy of major western powers was not radically revamped in two years on the advice of a teenager. If anything, they're in this position because they pursued an opposite strategy to what ecologists advocate: reduce dependency on fossil fuels including Russian natural gas, and invest massively in renewables + nuclear to bridge the gap.
- buu700 5y ago
  I think what they were referring to was Germany prematurely decommissioning nuclear plants only to start replacing them with coal and (more importantly) Nord Stream 2, which I never understood either. I can't comment on whether Greta Thunberg had anything to do with that, but I do see in a recent article that she appears to be anti-nuclear: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/21/eu-in-row-over-inclusion-of-gas-and-nuclear-in-sustainability-guidance https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/21/eu-in-row-over...
  - KarlKemp 5y ago
    Replacing them with coal would have been a good idea, at least as far as Russia is concerned, since it’s a local source of energy. In reality it was, indeed, natural gas and renewables. Bringing Thunberg into this discussion serves no purpose except making conservatives giggle because they love hating her. She had nothing to with the decision, and being anti-nuclear isn’t what she’s known for. Northstream 2 was, indeed, a terrible idea. But it never became operational and therefore does not affect the current situation.
    - buu700 5y ago
      Replacing them with coal would have been a good idea, at least as far as Russia is concerned Did Russia have some involvement in Germany's nuclear power infrastructure? I'm not aware of that, but interested to know more. Bringing Thunberg into this discussion serves no purpose except making conservatives giggle because they love hating her. She had nothing to with the decision, and being anti-nuclear isn’t what she’s known for. Sure, it was probably a bit forced. I wouldn't have chosen to bring her up. Either way, her anti-nuclear stance is now a relatively widely publicized recent event; I don't see that GP did something particularly wrong in referencing it. Northstream 2 was, indeed, a terrible idea. But it never became operational and therefore does not affect the current situation. Huh? It's directly related to the current situation.

andrepd 5y ago

> Of course, they probably wouldn't be in this position if they hadn't taken energy strategy advice from Greta Thunberg, but that's neither here nor there. What the fuck? I'm pretty positive that the energy strategy of major western powers was not radically revamped in two years on the advice of a teenager. If anything, they're in this position because they pursued an opposite strategy to what ecologists advocate: reduce dependency on fossil fuels including Russian natural gas, and invest massively in renewables + nuclear to bridge the gap.

buu700 5y ago
I think what they were referring to was Germany prematurely decommissioning nuclear plants only to start replacing them with coal and (more importantly) Nord Stream 2, which I never understood either. I can't comment on whether Greta Thunberg had anything to do with that, but I do see in a recent article that she appears to be anti-nuclear: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/21/eu-in-row-over-inclusion-of-gas-and-nuclear-in-sustainability-guidance https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/21/eu-in-row-over...
- KarlKemp 5y ago
  Replacing them with coal would have been a good idea, at least as far as Russia is concerned, since it’s a local source of energy. In reality it was, indeed, natural gas and renewables. Bringing Thunberg into this discussion serves no purpose except making conservatives giggle because they love hating her. She had nothing to with the decision, and being anti-nuclear isn’t what she’s known for. Northstream 2 was, indeed, a terrible idea. But it never became operational and therefore does not affect the current situation.
  - buu700 5y ago
    Replacing them with coal would have been a good idea, at least as far as Russia is concerned Did Russia have some involvement in Germany's nuclear power infrastructure? I'm not aware of that, but interested to know more. Bringing Thunberg into this discussion serves no purpose except making conservatives giggle because they love hating her. She had nothing to with the decision, and being anti-nuclear isn’t what she’s known for. Sure, it was probably a bit forced. I wouldn't have chosen to bring her up. Either way, her anti-nuclear stance is now a relatively widely publicized recent event; I don't see that GP did something particularly wrong in referencing it. Northstream 2 was, indeed, a terrible idea. But it never became operational and therefore does not affect the current situation. Huh? It's directly related to the current situation.