How is this not bigger news?
Reuters's @SteveHolland1: "Targeting the Russian energy industry is totally on the table? is that what you are saying, Daleep?
WH's Daleep Singh: "What I'm saying that our measures were not designed to disrupt–in any way–the current flow of energy from Russia to the world." pic.twitter.com/IqkxZTGaKp
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 24, 2022
Come again?
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Daleep Singh, national security adviser and National Economic Council director, described the package as potentially “the most consequential ever levied in history.” Measures include freezing assets that touch the U.S. financial system at top Russian banks, restricting investors from financing for 13 Russian-owned companies and penalizing “Putin’s kleptocracy and their family members those who shared in the Kremlin’s corrupt games, and stored their wealth in yachts and luxury condos and fancy cars.”
“We’ve intentionally scoped our sanctions to deliver severe impact on the Russian economy, while minimizing the cost to the U.S. as well as our allies,” Mr. Singh said. “To be clear, our sanctions are not designed to cause any disruption to the current flow of energy from Russia to the world.”
See, now this creates an interesting issue: you really could have expected the EU to start ignoring/cancelling sanctions on Russia within a year, sooner if the Fall and Winter are cold, because they need that Russian energy. But, if sanctions are not hitting Russia’s energy sector, they’re mostly toothless. And pointless
In response to President Putin's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, the United States, along with Allies and partners, is imposing severe and immediate economic costs on Russia.
Read more: https://t.co/L83Q2uFwKx pic.twitter.com/kpxfNmQvxM
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 24, 2022
Leaving their energy sector alone isn’t particularly severe. Further up in the article Senator Pat Toomey said
“While the sanctions announced today are a small step in the right direction, I fear they will be inadequate to deter Putin from further aggression. By failing to impose significant sanctions on the Russian oil and gas industry, which accounts for the majority of all Russian exports, the administration is intentionally leaving the biggest industry in Russia’s economy virtually untouched,” Mr. Toomey said in a statement late Thursday.
But
That approach would disrupt global energy prices and inflict damage on both the American and European economies, argue energy and trade experts.
“It’s important to send a message to Russia, where we have to be careful though is that we don’t undermine ourselves by impacting what happens in the global oil market,” said Frank Maisano, of Bracewell LLC, a Washington-based firm that represents energy and utility clients.
They aren’t wrong. And the NY Times Editorial Board notes
Mr. Biden stopped short of two especially tough punishments — personal sanctions against Mr. Putin and excluding Russia from the SWIFT system of global money transfers. The latter in particular would do immediate and grave damage to the Russian economy. But it would also damage the countries with which it trades, including the European Union members and the United States. Mr. Biden said that all such sanctions remained on the table.
And, let’s be honest, sanctions won’t stop Putin, and this will all be forgotten about in a year or so, just like Crimea and Georgia.
You know what would help? Let America drill on our own soil, get our own damned energy.
Let’s be honest, the US and the rest of the world doesn’t give shit if Russia invades Ukraine.
If they did they would exclude Putin and Russia from SWIFT.
Brandon’s crime family (along with Romney and Kerry) would never allow that because the Ukraine has been the world’s largest money laundering operation since the Obama administration.
#LetsGoBrandon
#FuckJoeBiden
Bwaha! Lolgf
Our honored host wrote:
How many times here have I pointed out that while sanctions are temporary, President Putin can hope that the conquest of Ukraine will be permanent?
The dummkopf from Delaware cancelled licenses for the Keystone XL pipeline because the once-moderate Democrat has gone full bore ‘progressive’, and while that was for Canadian oil, not our own, it illustrates his what’s-left-of-his-mindset. The Keystone project won’t stop the Canadian oil from being used; it simply stops American workers from making money refining it. Instead it gets shipped to Vancouver, and from there to China, still getting used, but used without any American workers earning paychecks from its refining.
If the dunce from Delaware wants to convert us to all-electric, zero-emissions energy, he’ll need money to do it, and taking productivity, and money, away from American companies and workers doesn’t help with that in the slightest.
This is the problem for ‘progressives’: they wholly lack the ability to think things through! You don’t have to be an economics professor to realize that ‘progressive’ goals still require the money to pay for them, and that cutting off productivity, and the wealth it creates, winds up frustrating their own goals.
In 53 Russian cities, thousands of brave Russians took to the streets to support Ukraine and to oppose Putin’s lies and his unprovoked invasion. Russian authorities arrested over 1000 protesters. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians took up arms to fight against the Russian takeover of their nation.
The American Right (American Wrong?), without embarrassment, lionizes the despicable trumpiss despot, Putin.
Putin’s enormity will STRENGTHEN NATO and weaken Russia. Will Russian authorities be able to kill all the Ukrainians and all the Russian protesters? Trumpiss Putin will try.
A bit of perspective here on Putin and the Ukraine invasion.
I know this is Dr. Steve Turley who has become a darling of the Trump extremists, but he does give a good talk about how this thing all got its start and WHY?
But More importantly one needs to understand why Putin and China have grown to despise the west even more than they already do.
Putin Warns Wokeness Is Destroying The West: It Happened In Russia, It’s Evil, It Destroys Values.
Now I want you to watch the NATO commercial that Putin has seen many times most likely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAXWAA5GnEI
You think Putin is afraid of that Nato. Or the USA under Biden?
Turkey, The Middle East, India, China, Pakistan, Iran, and Russia along with Hungary, the Baltics, Ukraine, Poland, and others are NOT woke and have nothing in common with the lunacy coming out of the west. In addition, Central and South America are not woke. This leaves the USA/Canada and the EU isolated from the rest of the world.
Putin will not stop with Ukraine. It is why he said that he has nukes and implied he will use them. Wokeness terrifies him and the EU/Canada/UK is about as woke as they come, with the USA following suit headlong into stupid.
The west is not strong enough to stand up to Putin or China. Those two now run the world, the USA is nothing more than an afterthought under Biden and in 3 more years if we get a Gopher in the White House I am afraid it will be too late.
China and Putin despise the West more than when? More than during the Cold War? LOL. More than during Maoism? LOL.
est: The west is not strong enough to stand up to Putin or China.
Absolute BS nonsense. Putin and Xi realize they cannot test the resolve of the American people. We welcome the success of freedom loving peoples everywhere but dislike the authoritarian impulses of autocrats – the so-called Emperors for Life. When their hubris tempts them to invade neighboring democracies… But all responses by the West to the excesses of despots are measured against national and global interests.
If you don’t think Putin fears NATO you couldn’t be more wrong.
The West will go to great lengths to avoid WWIII, despite the provocations of the Russian Rightist, Putin. Putin realizes that there is no winning route to a direct confrontation with the West, ESPECIALLY the US. Even a sociopath/psychopath like Putin is unlikely to poke the real bear, America. Not only is our military superior to theirs (contrary to what the anti-American right shouts), but the American will, based on the righteousness of our causes, is second to none.
Right-wing haters with their anti-American and shocking pro-despot proclamations need to knock it off. Criticize the policies all you want but don’t offer succor to our enemies and diminish America.
Right-wing haters with their anti-American and shocking pro-despot proclamations need to knock it off. Criticize the policies all you want but don’t offer succor to our enemies and diminish America.
Follow your own advice. Giving succor to the enemy by saying China and Putin are not afraid of the USA or nato??!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA……….DOWD is DELUSIONAL. Delusional Dowd went up the hill to fetch a pail of Wokeness, he fell down. Obviously.
China and Putin are laughing at the demented Biden and the woke lunatics on the left. He is laughing at the Diversity of NATO….LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL…..
WERE HITTING THEM WITH THE MOTHER OF ALL SANCTIONS….Okay SADDAM BIDEN!!! Meanwhile Russia is hitting Ukraine with the mother of all bombs. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…..
THE LEFT HAVE BECOME WARMONGERS BECAUSE THE RIGHT IS NOT….That’s it DOWD defend those poor homies that gave Biden and Hunter so much money.
I wonder if the big guy gets a cut from Putin for hiding in his basement?
The Kintuckistan Kommandant, like the esteemed host, wants to look away from the trumpissian Putin as he invades Ukraine. The sanctions won’t stop the invasion and occupation of Ukraine, so why bother?
“Nothing to see there, folks. By the way, dismantle NATO while you’re at it. Why should the US care about Ukraine, Russia or for that matter any other nation on Earth? America First!!”
As much as the proto-authoritarian trumpissians disdain liberty and democracy, freedom is actually a good thing, not just a slogan to be used as a shillelagh. The USA is not an island with no interconnections with other nations.
Ukrainians are fighting for their nation and their lives, while American trumpissians are whining about mask requirements. FREEDUMB!!
What’s your solution to Ukraine. Do you want to send 250,000 Nato and USA soldiers to fight Putin?
The left and Democrats are in charge. Why is it suddenly the fault of the right that Biden is doing nothing? As for Swift, not only Biden but most of the EU does not want to go that far because everyone knows that is an act of war.
Biden in his sanctions is still letting Putin sell oil on the open market at 100+ dollars per bbl to fuel his economy and his war. Why? Because we all know that the left is in tears of joy to these ever-higher gas prices. Lunatics obsessed with global warming is all you need to know about Democrats/leftists/liberals.
He doesn’t need a solution. Just look at the way he writes. It is just trolling for trolling’s sake to get people angry and stay that way. Don’t play his game. Nothing he writes is worth responding to. Nothing.
The perfesser is tired of getting whupped. Run away! Run away!
Kiss my ass, LOL.
No. Who has suggested that US should go to war? There is no good solution aside from Western resolve. Sanctions and treating Putin’s Russia as the pariah it has always been.
What doesn’t help is trumpissian subservience to the ‘savvy genius’ Putin.
The trumpissian hatred of American liberal democrats have blinded them to the realities of the world.
We fully understand that the nuRight puts their hatred of others above all. You need to actually put America first. Now is the time.
The right no more hates the left than the left hates the right.
You should look in the mirror when discussing Hatred. I mean I know your a troll who has no solutions to anything. You simply take whatever side the right doesnt and beat it till its dead.
Your the epitome of a troll. You have no solutions other than resolve? All I hear from Republicans is that the sanctions are not enough. Talk about hatred blinding someone to the realities of the world.
The Right wants MORE and HARSHERS sanctions on Russia. It is Biden who will not do the things that really matter like Stopping Russian oil and gas from hitting the market and drilling more oil.
So folks that read the comments. Dowd is delusional and simply making stuff up as he goes. If the right was beating the drum for war he would be calling us war mongers. As it is the left has taken up that moniker. Just like the left HATES working men and women like you know….Truck Drivers.
In the past several decades, the US population has grown used to the idea that our government and our national news media outlets will lie to us about everything. Thus, it is no wonder that average people cannot bring themselves to care about Ukraine. Everything we know about it is told to us by the same people who are known to lie to us about everything. Here is what we know with certainty:
1. The USA will not intervene with military forces. We won’t because we can’t. We don’t have the ability to get enough forces there in time to matter.
2. The USA will not impose meaningful sanctions on Russia. We won’t because we can’t. Russia doesn’t need the USA. The center of their trade and financial networks is Europe, not the USA.
3. Someone’s son is about to lose his bribery from a Ukrainian Oil Company.
4. Putin didn’t attack the Ukraine during the Trump administration. If, as Jeff suggests, it is because Trump and Putin are close friends, then it would have been in Ukraine’s favor for the USA to keep a few of Putin’s friends in office longer, instead of replacing them with a senile old man.
The true nature of the trumpussyan right has been revealed. They are wetting their panties over the all-powerful Putin.
Fuck Vladimir Putin. Another tinpot dictator managing a socialist, kleptocrat economy the size of California’s. Maybe the US should destroy Russia and take all their oil, gas and metals. And tundra. They have a lot of tundra. For now.
Your hatred of others trumps your abandoned love of country.
“America is too weak to do anything about anything!”, they shriek.
Do you stand for anything? Anything at all?
The American trumpissian movement has a single tenet: own the libs. Sad.
As always, perfesser hell toes the trumputin line.
Putin needed time to quell the dissidents in Russia during the trumputin years. He needed time to build back the military.
The nutty perfesser suggests that the USA should have continued to suck the trumputin wang to keep the world safe. Of course he does. That’s what Putin and the trumpissians wanted.
We understand the desperation of ‘American’ right today. Your Savior has painted you into a corner. Support American and freedom, or support TrumPutin and despotism.
We note which flag YOU chose.
“Woe is me! Nothing can be done.” Wring your hands and blame America for putin’s assault on democracy. It’s America’s fault. By all means side with Russia, komrade… side with Russia.
It’s been reported that 800 Russian attackers have been killed so far and that an airbase in Russia, near the border, was destroyed by Ukrainian missiles (no doubt, American made). President Zelenskyy has stayed in Kyiv to lead the resistance.
Communist China and the US GOP have yet to condemn the unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
GOP lawmakers call for stronger sanctions against Russia but some are careful in their criticism of Biden
Melanie ZanonaDaniella Diaz
By Melanie Zanona and Daniella Diaz, CNN
Top Democrats and Republicans want stiffer sanctions, but GOP divided on Biden abc news.
20 hours ago · Republicans push for tougher sanctions on Russia after Ukraine invasion GOP lawmakers urge Biden to cut Russia out of SWIFT system
22 hours ago · Republicans and Democrats back harsh sanctions on Russia The GOP is divided, however, on how Biden has handled the invasion….VOX
Sen. Josh Hawley, the fist-pumping Missourian who helped question the US presidential election results, recently wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioning the wisdom of even entertaining the idea of adding Ukraine to NATO.
It just so happens that Putin’s main goal of halting the expansion of NATO is exactly in line with Hawley’s letter.
Tulsi Gabbert wrote. “sanctions don’t work” but “will increase suffering and hardship for the American people.”
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) is set to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this week, the chair of the group that organizes the gathering announced on Monday.
OH WAIT HILLARY CALLED TULSI A RUSSIAN ASSET…Now I see why. LOLOL.
The Big tent that used to be a small pup tent has been errected thanks to Trump. Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Muslims and ex democrats all entering the BIG TENT…
Oh wait Trump has Errected the MOTHER OF ALL TENTS!!!!!!
The DOWDSTER WROTE:Communist China and the US GOP have yet to condemn the unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
OH NO!
Chinese banks restrict lending to Russia, dealing blow to Moscow
Beijing draws line on support for Moscow after invasion of Ukraine
Hey Dowd. Since Dems run the house and Senate….How come their is no RESOLUTION DENOUCING RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE? Could that be Biden don’t want to lose his Ukranian Gravey Train once Putin is in charge of the country?
Balls in your court dude. Not the GOP.
Attaboy, Joey!
His leadership and command of the situation is comforting.
#LetsGoBrandon
#FuckJoeBiden
Bwaha! Lolgf
The sniveling ShitLips lifts his head long enough to praise Putin and to malign America!!
What did General Teflon Don have to say? The Mar-a-Loggo Malingerer said, “This all happened because of a rigged election’, also calling Putin “pretty smart” in “taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions.”
That explains the morals of a craven transactionist like Donald J. TrumPutin.
This is your hero, wingers. This is your hero…
#FuckTheNuGOP
#FuckVladPutin
#WhatHappenedToTheRight?
DOWD……..LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL……….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH………ROFLMAOROFLMAROFLMA………….LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL>>>>>>>>HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Dowd has lost his mind! It is too funny him blaming Ukraine on The RIGHT….lololololololololololol……
last I looked. DEMS in the WHITE HOUSE….DEMS hold the SENATE…….DEMS hold the HOUSE….This is on them………….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAha!!!!!!!!!!!!
Breaking News
The Gay Pride parade in Kiev Ukraine has been canceled for 2022.
I’m tellin’ you guys I’ve read everything dOwd has commented for the last three days and I swear to you he is as senile as his boy-god sniffin’joe. He’s gone over the edge between his hate for Trump who has no active role in the Brandon-Russia crisis. Brandon has F’d everything he’s touched since 1/20 when he cut the XL pipeline and started the fall of the USA and the end of energy independence and the rid=se of inflation.
Brandon is a joke and now so too is his little puppet dOwd. I’m beginning to think dOwd should consider seppuku to save his family the shame. It would be the honorable thing to do but we all know leftist have no honor. That’s why mass murder is so historically easy for them.
People like dOwd are believers in the cocktail of bullshit their wordsmiths manufacture for the pseudo-intellectuals like him that regurgitate it. They do not really care about race, health, democracy, or any other “noble” sounding reasons for destroying society.
For them there is only power. That is the reason why they do what they do. If some dirt person benefits or another is destroyed, them’s the breaks. But, it is not random. It is all planned. It is not academic. It is reality. It boils down to Good vs. Evil. And for the last 100 years evil has had the upper hand. It has just gotten to the point where they don’t even have any actual opposition, so they can pursue their objectives without any cause to worry. That’s why guys like me snicker when dOwd suggests the “nuGOP” does this or believes that when almost daily there is some supposed GOP’er like Lindsay or Crenshaw or Pence shows their allegiance to the leftist Borg.
Since I’ve been reading dOwds drivel there has not been one single time he has professed what a GOP’er, a tRumpist, a neoCon or any of his other cutsie names believes that has been even close to correct. Ya know why dOwd? Because you never, ever listen or read anything from our side or our opinion so you would never know what we think or believe. We actually read and watch your fools and we reject them and their twisted philosophy.
Let’s go Brandon, see if you can start a world war like your communist and fascist hero’ like to do.