4 ms·

I don't know what it is, but it seems something is not right. On the one hand the US is asking the EU and allies to stop buying oil and whatever from Russia.

by mc32 4y ago

I don't know what it is, but it seems something is not right. On the one hand the US is asking the EU and allies to stop buying oil and whatever from Russia. A few large retailers pulled out of the Russian market due to perceived pressure to do so. We tell India (traditional non-aligned country) not to buy from Russia, we chastised Brazil for buying fertilizer from Russia (despite our objections), we tighten our own embargoes and then we're like, ahhhhh, nevermind..... WE'RE going to buy from Russia. Is it lack of coordination, foresight, credibility, it's something. I am now going to imagine the hysterics Pelosi and Schumer would have if Biden suddenly and for no reason declared himself an "R". At this point maybe he should to save the Dem party.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> tell India (traditional non-aligned country) not to buy from Russia This is an odd one to include given it's almost administration policy at this point to look the other way while New Delhi goes out of its way to buy Russian oil.
- gautamdivgi 4y ago
  And Europe isn’t buying Russian oil? You have NATO members still on Russian energy. Why bother about other countries?
  - vogre 4y ago
    Funniest part is that US and Europe buy Russian oil from India. Because Indians are able to remove all evil totalitarian molecules from it.
    - themitigating 4y ago
      "India has also denied recent reports that Russian crude imported by India was being shipped on as refined products to other countries, including the US." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60783874.amp https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60783874.amp Even if it is true the oil shipments origins are being hidden so the US and Europe don't know it's from Russia. You implied they were aware it was from Russia but were ok because it went through. Article about the hidden sale https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-oil-producers-stay-one-step-ahead-of-sanctions-11654076614 https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-oil-producers-stay-one-...
      - vogre 4y ago
        >don't know it's from Russia Oh these famous Indian URALS oil fields!
      - unmole 4y ago
        > India has also denied recent reports that Russian crude imported by India was being shipped on as refined products to other countries Which makes zero sense. I'll also note that there is no citation. India is one of the largest exporters of refined petroleum products in the world. If the refineries ramp up purchase of Urals crude, guess what ends up in exports?
    - unmole 4y ago
      > Because Indians are able to remove all evil totalitarian molecules from it. The cleansing waters of the Ganges wash all sins away.
nostromo 4y ago
It's political. (I don't mean that as a negative, just reality.) The US is coming up on an election. The party in power is extremely unpopular right now, and about to get walloped according to polls. Polling shows that inflation is a big driver for their unpopularity. So they're trying to square two semi-incompatible positions: support Ukraine via sanctions and fight inflation too.
- themitigating 4y ago
  You can support Ukraine and fight inflation, both are good actions. It's a level of sanctions that has to be adjusted properly. The wrong thing to do would be to drop all sanctions to try to lessen inflation in hopes of getting elected.
- jimbob45 4y ago
  >The party in power is...about to get walloped according to polls. I think this is the most overblown talking point right now. In the most favorable wet dream scenario for Republicans where every tossup goes their way[0], they're still only going to hold a 56-44 Senate lead over the Democrats. That's not filibuster-proof and certainly isn't the doomsday scenario that everyone keeps predicting. Keep in mind that Republican primaries have already screwed a lot of those races too. Herschel Walker, a man with a documented history of DV and a noted evolution-denier, will not be winning over Raphael Warnock no matter what the polls say. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_Senate_elections#Predictions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_Senate_elec...
  - AnimalMuppet 4y ago
    It's not filibuster-proof, and it's even less veto-proof. But it would let the Republicans set the legislative agenda, and nothing would pass without their approval.
    - jimbob45 4y ago
      But that's basically true right now. The Democrats aren't getting anything done without the approval of Manchin and Sinema and still wouldn't post-2022. In 2014, the Republicans held 54 Senate seats after the election. In the very worst case for 2022, we're back to 2014. However, if you actually go look at the upcoming races for this year, it seems much more likely that we'll end up closer to a 50/50 split given how weak many of the Republican candidates are. The apocalypse scenario would be either party acquiring 67 seats in the Senate (to overrule presidential vetoes), which would obviate any need to win the presidency. However, anyone claiming that the Republicans are going to win 67 seats in 2022 is simply wrong.
jason-phillips 4y ago
> On the one hand the US is asking the EU and allies to stop buying oil and whatever from Russia. > WE'RE going to buy from Russia. Having spent three years consulting for federal agencies, this behavior seems to align with my experiences. You learn not to say anything because it's a waste of time and energy. There are other ways to constructively spend your time, like focusing on the mission and the task at hand.

by mc32 4y ago

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> tell India (traditional non-aligned country) not to buy from Russia This is an odd one to include given it's almost administration policy at this point to look the other way while New Delhi goes out of its way to buy Russian oil.

gautamdivgi 4y ago
And Europe isn’t buying Russian oil? You have NATO members still on Russian energy. Why bother about other countries?
- vogre 4y ago
  Funniest part is that US and Europe buy Russian oil from India. Because Indians are able to remove all evil totalitarian molecules from it.
  - themitigating 4y ago
    "India has also denied recent reports that Russian crude imported by India was being shipped on as refined products to other countries, including the US." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60783874.amp https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60783874.amp Even if it is true the oil shipments origins are being hidden so the US and Europe don't know it's from Russia. You implied they were aware it was from Russia but were ok because it went through. Article about the hidden sale https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-oil-producers-stay-one-step-ahead-of-sanctions-11654076614 https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-oil-producers-stay-one-...
    - vogre 4y ago
      >don't know it's from Russia Oh these famous Indian URALS oil fields!
    - unmole 4y ago
      > India has also denied recent reports that Russian crude imported by India was being shipped on as refined products to other countries Which makes zero sense. I'll also note that there is no citation. India is one of the largest exporters of refined petroleum products in the world. If the refineries ramp up purchase of Urals crude, guess what ends up in exports?
  - unmole 4y ago
    > Because Indians are able to remove all evil totalitarian molecules from it. The cleansing waters of the Ganges wash all sins away.

nostromo 4y ago

It's political. (I don't mean that as a negative, just reality.) The US is coming up on an election. The party in power is extremely unpopular right now, and about to get walloped according to polls. Polling shows that inflation is a big driver for their unpopularity. So they're trying to square two semi-incompatible positions: support Ukraine via sanctions and fight inflation too.

themitigating 4y ago
You can support Ukraine and fight inflation, both are good actions. It's a level of sanctions that has to be adjusted properly. The wrong thing to do would be to drop all sanctions to try to lessen inflation in hopes of getting elected.
jimbob45 4y ago
>The party in power is...about to get walloped according to polls. I think this is the most overblown talking point right now. In the most favorable wet dream scenario for Republicans where every tossup goes their way[0], they're still only going to hold a 56-44 Senate lead over the Democrats. That's not filibuster-proof and certainly isn't the doomsday scenario that everyone keeps predicting. Keep in mind that Republican primaries have already screwed a lot of those races too. Herschel Walker, a man with a documented history of DV and a noted evolution-denier, will not be winning over Raphael Warnock no matter what the polls say. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_Senate_elections#Predictions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_Senate_elec...
- AnimalMuppet 4y ago
  It's not filibuster-proof, and it's even less veto-proof. But it would let the Republicans set the legislative agenda, and nothing would pass without their approval.
  - jimbob45 4y ago
    But that's basically true right now. The Democrats aren't getting anything done without the approval of Manchin and Sinema and still wouldn't post-2022. In 2014, the Republicans held 54 Senate seats after the election. In the very worst case for 2022, we're back to 2014. However, if you actually go look at the upcoming races for this year, it seems much more likely that we'll end up closer to a 50/50 split given how weak many of the Republican candidates are. The apocalypse scenario would be either party acquiring 67 seats in the Senate (to overrule presidential vetoes), which would obviate any need to win the presidency. However, anyone claiming that the Republicans are going to win 67 seats in 2022 is simply wrong.

jason-phillips 4y ago

> On the one hand the US is asking the EU and allies to stop buying oil and whatever from Russia. > WE'RE going to buy from Russia. Having spent three years consulting for federal agencies, this behavior seems to align with my experiences. You learn not to say anything because it's a waste of time and energy. There are other ways to constructively spend your time, like focusing on the mission and the task at hand.