[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by Sebring

More importantly, old Biden has messed up US relations with Saudi, UAE, China, India, Pakistan etc. If they start sanctions, it's going to be like shooting themselves in the foot-sending everybody towards Russia

Well US is out of ammo on its financial weapon it planned to use against Russia as they have now already included Oil under the sanctions list.

Hence, Europe is no longer on the same page with US as they need to find an alternate to fill a 40% void for both Oil and Gas as against 6 to 8% for US if they push ahead with the Energy sanctions on Russia. Ultimately they will have no option but to bow down to Russia and say goodbye to the US.

The American media on the other hand has been selling stories to its own citizens to avoid panic.





The CPI data for Feb stands at 7.9% and if it is calculated according to the format it was done in the 80’s it is at 16%. And now with the spike in Oil prices the data will be something most Americans will be shocked to see and only a matter of time they start hoarding essentials as their currency is loosing purchasing power fast and debt is going to get expensive with interest rates hike. Not an ideal situation the Fed and Joe Biden has put them into.

Media and government will soon blame Russia for the inflation and not money printing by the Fed. But the citizens need to ask how a war in Ukraine affected them so badly, when America itself has gone to so many wars around the world and their economy continued to grow back then?

[Fuldagap]

USA is currently the number one crude oil producer since 2018. Thanks to its breakthrough years back in extracting shale oil technology, it started the oil price war by giving massive support to its shale oil producing companies whose production costs used to be around $60 per barrel till few years back. Saudi costs used to be around $40 per barrel while costs for Russia used to be even lower, considerably lower than that of Saudi. This meant that Brent crude oil prices came tumbling from $140 a barrel to $40 a barrel several years ago.

USA is outside of OPEC and the number one producer right now. Costs for american companies must have reduced further by 2022 owing to advancement in technology and economies of scale.

War for the masses means destruction while nations play games. Nobody is seen actively discussing oil clients of USA or whats happening to them or how many new clients USA is going to gain.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

USA is currently the number one crude oil producer since 2018. Thanks to its breakthrough years back in extracting shale oil technology, it started the oil price war by giving massive support to its shale oil producing companies whose production costs used to be around $60 per barrel till few years back. Saudi costs used to be around $40 per barrel while costs for Russia used to be even lower, considerably lower than that of Saudi. This meant that Brent crude oil prices came tumbling from $140 a barrel to $40 a barrel several years ago.

They don't have that advantage anymore.

The United States became a net oil exporter in 2020 under Trump's leadership, marking the first time in the 70 years the government has tracked the trade in petroleum that America shipped more oil abroad than it imported. But after Biden took office the US is again a net importer thanks to his administration pursuing policies to squeeze oil-and-gas producers to limit production and eventually go out of business in the US. Hence, there is a growing call for the industry to be revived again and bring down Energy costs.

[speedmiester]

This is why Social Media giants needs to be curbed.

Such an arbitrary policy calling for hate speech and death threats will open up a sea of worms. Will Facebook/Meta Iraqis, Syrians, Afghans to issue death threats to US presidents?

Facebook and Instagram to permit posts calling for violence against Russians and death of Putin

Already Russians restaurants are facing the ire of Americans with cancellations and fake reviews. Irony is most of the restaurants are run by Ukrainians.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyl...ukraine-report

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

USA is currently the number one crude oil producer since 2018. Thanks to its breakthrough years back in extracting shale oil technology, it started the oil price war by giving massive support to its shale oil producing companies whose production costs used to be around $60 per barrel till few years back. Saudi costs used to be around $40 per barrel while costs for Russia used to be even lower, considerably lower than that of Saudi. This meant that Brent crude oil prices came tumbling from $140 a barrel to $40 a barrel several years ago.

Fuldagap - Isn't few years back OPEC and Russia were flooding the market with oil to push Shale gas producers of USA to go out of business (at the level that it doesn't make sense to do fracking but just buy the oil) and then started raising the prices? Also, isn't during Pandemic Saudi and Russia both were again pushing the prices down after failed negotiations on production cuts and finally agreed on the prices after bleeding themselves severely?

Can USA now simply not produce enough Shale gas to stabilize its pump prices? I know the US is the biggest consumer of energy but is their need so high that they cannot be self sufficient with Shale Gas? Or is it simple case of economics that those corporations just use this high prices for profiting?

@SnS_12 - I saw your reply while posting this only. Please add your answers.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Can USA now simply not produce enough Shale gas to stabilize its pump prices? I know the US is the biggest consumer of energy but is their need so high that they cannot be self sufficient with Shale Gas? Or is it simple case of economics that those corporations just use this high prices for profiting?.

Having a pipeline is the most cost effective and efficient system. But the US has seen project delays and cost overruns, due to anti-pipeline protest, emissions concerns and environmental impact leading to high litigation costs. Plus the oil producers need a certain price to remain profitable, which is easily targeted by other global producers including Russia who can produce at incredibly low cost.

[SnS_12]

More info on the biological research labs and how the Russians have planned this attack and their objective.

From the video..

US goes to Iraq in search of WMD and come back empty handed. Russia goes to Ukraine and finds WMD.

Russia has been fighting this war with one hand tied at the back and which the West is showing as Ukraine is giving them a tough time and are pushing them back.

Ukrainian’s themselves are saying that the Russian military has been very polite to them and all this is said by a former US Marine Corps Intelligence officer..

https://youtu.be/lh4ClXnv9w8

[NH08]

I admire the height of 'wisdom' shown by Meta in allowing posts on Facebook and Instagram asking for Putin's death.

"As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as 'death to the Russian invaders'. We still won't allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians," a Meta spokesperson was quoted as saying.

The New York Times said this temporary policy applies to people using the service from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

Source

This is a remarkable step taken by Meta. When Putin and his army see so many death threats on Facebook/Instagram, fear will grip them and they will leave Ukraine. So, people of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania etc.. please let your fingers dance on your keyboards and send some cute messages to invaders.

Seriously, dear Meta, it is not some election in a democratic country where your gang of influencers will be able to influence the outcome. It is a real battle, where real bullets and missiles are raining, from the mouth of a deadly opponent who will be strengthened only by your childish reactions. More and more Russians will now be inclined towards him.

Zelensky, you do have some true friends. Like Shell, Meta..

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

They don't have that advantage anymore.

The United States became a net oil exporter in 2020 under Trump's leadership, marking the first time in the 70 years the government has tracked the trade in petroleum that America shipped more oil abroad than it imported. But after Biden took office the US is again a net importer thanks to his administration pursuing policies to squeeze oil-and-gas producers to limit production and eventually go out of business in the US. Hence, there is a growing call for the industry to be revived again and bring down Energy costs.

As per sources on the web, they are preparing for massive production increase currently and after August 2020 it has been increasing considerably and consistently. Shutting Russia gives clients to the 'reviving' oil industry of USA. One of the sources is below:

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/0...ussia-00014778

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Fuldagap - Isn't few years back OPEC and Russia were flooding the market with oil to push Shale gas producers of USA to go out of business (at the level that it doesn't make sense to do fracking but just buy the oil) and then started raising the prices? Also, isn't during Pandemic Saudi and Russia both were again pushing the prices down after failed negotiations on production cuts and finally agreed on the prices after bleeding themselves severely?

USA started to push the prices down first. They actively supported their fracking companies to indulge in price war against Russia. Russia did not budge though. In this price war Saudi suffered a lot because its crude oil costs were much higher than those of Russia's, although lower than that of US shale companies producing oil through fracking. During the pandemic, USA cut down on oil production too, so much so that some of its companies went bankrupt.

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Can USA now simply not produce enough Shale gas to stabilize its pump prices? I know the US is the biggest consumer of energy but is their need so high that they cannot be self sufficient with Shale Gas? Or is it simple case of economics that those corporations just use this high prices for profiting?

USA is doing that consistently. As per the source cited above they have been increasing it considerably since August 2020. Alaska floats on oil they say. Self sufficiency is not always the goal even if a country has considerable reserves of a commodity. Commodities like coal and crude oil are also used for other goals related to long term macro and strategic plannings and decisions. IMHO USA couldn't win against Russia in the oil price war so trying different tactics to get Russia engaged in geographic conflicts aimed at destroying Russia's economy and its relations with other countries. However, China has come out to be a very strong supporter of Russia, the degree of which was not so much evident earlier that it would be so high. Just before the onset of this war, Russia secured a 30- year oil deal with China.

Originally Posted by SnS_12

More info on the biological research labs and how the Russians have planned this attack and their objective.

From the video..

US goes to Iraq in search of WMD and come back empty handed. Russia goes to Ukraine and finds WMD.

Russia has been fighting this war with one hand tied at the back and which the West is showing as Ukraine is giving them a tough time and are pushing them back.

Ukrainian’s themselves are saying that the Russian military has been very polite to them and all this is said by a former US Marine Corps Intelligence officer.

Whenever I see "spies", "int officers", "agents" and terms like that on the media, I tend to ignore them mostly. This community, from whichever country, is tight lipped even after retirement or leaving the job if they actually worked on something. People, even from India, who claim on Youtube or other media to be former employees of int agencies or 'spies' or 'agents' are simply bluffing or just looking for fame. Even the likes of AS Dulat or B Raman or any other significant int figure from our country, never revealed much even in the best books they wrote. Same is true for other countries as well. Since the well trained or the really important seldom come to light, such "int officers" as the one cited in the video become honeypots for the civilians. As a Private in the Marine Corps, it is quite doubtful he'd know as much as he claims or would have gotten his hands on as important subjects as discussed in the video. There are many on the internet who claim to be what they never were. There is almost nothing that can be done to ascertain the veracity of such videos, discussions or interviews.

An anecdote from the 19th century:

Sidney Reilly, the so called greatest spy ever, used to work for Britain (now MI6/5). In his very long, amusing and complicated exploits, one was when he was operating in Russia and helped Germany secure a massive Russian order for marine weaponry and vessels. Britain was supposed to get it, it being the ace of marine force in the world at that time and also due to the fact that Reilly himself was supposed to fetch that massive order for Britain.

Britain was pissed off with Reilly so much so that he was considered a traitor. Only 2 or 3 people in Britain's agency knew what Reilly was really upto. Being in a prominent position in Soviet, Reilly had influenced the decision makers there to grant the order to Germany instead of Britain. He did that so as to gain access to the 'blueprints' of German marine vessels and pass on those to his boss in Britain's agency. This made sure that Britain had an edge over Germany in any oncoming tussle in the seas. This was a secret till decades of time to come.

Reilly was later killed by Joseph Stalin, mostly what happens to real guys who actually work.

Lesson being, what happens behind the top secret curtains can never be known to anyone. There is no media or an analyst who has access to such a high level of decision making.

IMHO the real objectives of the war in Ukraine can never be ascertained from USA's or Russia's perspective. It could only be revealed in bits and pieces over an extremely long period of time. As an observer sometimes even a passionate civilian with no connection whatsoever to the 'machinery' might also be able to 'see' what is going on but that will best be categorised as speculation.

Why the host of the video looks like James May though?

[download2live]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

However, China has come out to be a very strong supporter of Russia, the degree of which was not so much evident earlier that it would be so high. Just before the onset of this war, Russia secured a 30- year oil deal with China.

It was not reported in mainstream media but Russia actually withdrew soldiers from Russia China border to redeploy them for this war. Tells us everything about how strongly China is standing behind Russians.

[Poitive]

If seen in a narrow sense, the post might be kind of OT; if seen in a wider sense, not really.

Originally Posted by vishnurp99

I really like the way you have put it here. I have come around to the view that no media source should be fully trusted. Everybody has an agenda. The best thing to do is to get information from multiple sources and use your reasoning and common sense to build what the truth is.

Had missed this post. Sorry; and thanks . Your post triggered some thoughts which I am sharing in only a partly structured manner below.

Yes, multiple sources help build a much better understanding, and common sense surely is valuable. Further:

• Stats are good, but often misleading. A lot can be influenced by how stats are collected and interpreted. (sample the now popular clip from the masterpiece Yes Prime Minister below.) Much can be manipulated at interpretation level too.
  .
• Follow the money trail. It often leads to interesting insights, possibilities, and likelihoods.
  .
• If any big event has happened, look for other significant things which were happening before that. The big event might have been triggered to divert attention from it, or to influence it's outcome.
  .
• While it is common sense to give credence to common sense, I think at times, it is good to leave it behind and consider options - options one would otherwise not consider. And at the next stage, once things have been seen from different perspectives, apply the common sense filter to make a firmer opinion.
  
  Why, you might ask. When we think with common sense, we limit the possibilities of what we consider. As it is said, truth is stranger than fiction, and we might miss out considering worthwhile things. Also, what we call common sense, is also partly based on our conditioning from childhood; conditioning based on all that surrounds us, of which media (which in a sense could be seen as a form of propaganda) is a big part. Let us allow ourselves to at least look and consider beyond 'common sense'.
  
  Especially if there was no internet, it might have been common sense to call Russia as the main perpetrator of the situation, but as one sees on the thread, other options are widely considered.
  .
• Look beyond popular and 'authoritative' sources. With how the world and capitalism works, all is fair game to be promoted and presented as authoritative (awards in any field are often 'interesting'). It may often be influenced by funding or otherwise by ones who have big interests in the bigger game. It is fair to question where the authority of the source comes from, and it's credence would often depend on one's personal world-view.
  
  Such sources are also relatively more restricted in what they can publish based on what they can defend - reputation can be a double edged sword. A 'lesser' source has lesser limitations in propounding points/theories to consider.
  
  Of course, this also leads to various nonsensical theories, some of which may be valid or invalid conspiracy theories. With time, one is able to invalidate the junk more easily. It remains subjective and intuition one has built over time helps.
  
  No one said getting closer to the truth will be easy.
  .
• That said, use sources relevant for the purpose. Eg. instead of taking in someone's views of what someone said, try to hear the original interview/source.
  .
• Games are most often played not in telling lies, but in selectively telling the truth, to create distorted narratives. This is a classic game.
  .
• A lot is also distorted by the interpretation of facts and events. Most things in the world can be interpreted and connected with selected facts to present a narrative. Figures of authority, depending on their political persuasion and interests, can often singularly, or more often collectively, build a narrative which can become the commonly propagated narrative/view.
  
  Since political persuasions and interests can often be diverse, the narratives (based on interpretations and selection of facts) can also be diverse, and more often even near polar opposites. This is more true if there are two big interest groups at play, as they are able to back up those narratives. Back them up with power, money, influence, media space, 'credible authorities' and more. This can be noticed at various levels - domestic and the international level.
  
  Eventually they often just become tools at the hands of bigger forces at play (which can go beyond who holds current political power)
  .
• While we seek the truth in big political matters, the real motives and behind the scenes parts can rarely be figured out with certainty. Yes, events can be, but not much else.
  .
• One can try to seek the truth, but as the decades pass, I realize that it is almost impossible to get to the truth. Peel one layer, and there is another there which peels off over time. In most such cases, one can only get closer to the truth and not to it - you might have noticed, I wrote "what to trust more, and what to trust less" - as, if one really goes into it, it is difficult to be totally certain. Realistically one can just have likelihoods (different probabilities of certainty).
  .
• And I think the most valuable asset in trying to get closer to the truth is to not be stuck to any opinions and be open to change. For this, not being emotionally attached to any opinion and to not take ownership of any opinion (as 'my' opinion) is really helpful, IMO.
  
  As human psychology works, taking ownership means the unpalatable effect of our pride getting dented if the opinion/'our fact'/version is not accepted. This in turn leads to confirmation bias - we tend to look for sources which confirm what we have (at least sub-consciously) already 'believed'. It also tends to influence how we interpret the information which we come across. Not really a smart way of getting closer to the truth.

The above hasn't been shared as any 'facts' but only as my personal views - one can of course agree, disagree, or ignore them. I imagine wise folks on the forum might have valuable tips and opinions to add to this.

~~~~~~~

The Yes Prime Minister clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZZJXw4MTA

PS: For those interested in politics, the Yes Minister, and also Yes Prime Minister from the 80s are highly recommended. To view them only as comedies is to miss the point of these masterpieces; masterpieces which give many insights, along with classy humour.

[speedmiester]

Desperate move by White House?

After using all the mainstream media, White House is now using TikTok influencers to further it's agenda.

White House meets TikTokers to brief on US’ strategic objective in Russia-Ukraine war

[vishnurp99]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

More info on the biological research labs and how the Russians have planned this attack and their objective.

From the video..

US goes to Iraq in search of WMD and come back empty handed. Russia goes to Ukraine and finds WMD.

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

As a Private in the Marine Corps, it is quite doubtful he'd know as much as he claims or would have gotten his hands on as important subjects as discussed in the video. There are many on the internet who claim to be what they never were. There is almost nothing that can be done to ascertain the veracity of such videos, discussions or interviews.

I just did some googling and found this about Scott Ritter. He was a weapons inspector in Iraq who was originally a republican supporter and believer that Iraq had WMD. Over time, he became a critic of the inspections and finally started talking about how Iraq didn't have WMD. Over time, he has been quoted in many articles in publications like NYT and has written some books too.
He is really controversial though and has got in trouble with the law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Ritter

Some excerpts.

William Scott Ritter Jr. (born July 15, 1961) is a former Marine Corps intelligence officer who served with the United Nations implementing arms control treaties, with General Norman Schwarzkopf in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, and in Iraq, overseeing the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), as a United Nations weapons inspector, from 1991 to 1998. He later became a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. He is a convicted child sex offender for unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communications facility, corruption of minors, indecent exposure, possessing instruments of crime, and criminal solicitation.

Prior to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter stated that Iraq possessed no significant WMD capabilities. According to The New York Times he became "the loudest and most credible skeptic of the Bush administration's contention that Saddam Hussein was hiding WMD. Ritter resigned from the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) on August 26, 1998. According to him the commission was undermined by infiltration from the CIA and lack of support from Washington and the UN Security council.

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

Definitely bad considering immediate job loses as a consequence but definitely good for health of people. The lesser the sugar and synthetic food items the better.

Putin built Russia up financially doing the best they have ever done, then in a bling, totally destroys their economy, and decimates its army in 2 weeks.
It is going to be a huge task and decades for Russia to get it all back again. Isolated, insulted and once again behind the iron curtain, Russians should show him the door, he has had his time, before he destroys their country and the world!.

[JithinR]

Putin uncle really loves his hostages doesn't he:

Growing concerns over three American's detained by Russia