Putin is going to get everything he wants. And will get to keep "peacekeepers" east of the Dnieper River. They might even simply pull a western european colonial move and draw a straight line south from the Russia/Belarus/Ukraine border intersection With Russia peace keepers to the east of the line.
Russia will get Crimea, and the separatist regions formally ceded to Russia. And will get to place intermediate range nuclear weapons in Belarus.
As Bill noted on the strategic mineral supplies that Russia supplies to the world, the addition of massive new access to Ukrainian natural resources and food as a primary trading partner will increase Russian GDP by over $100B.
Don't forget, Hawaii and Massachusetts both get their natural gas and oil supplies from Russia. Thanks to Massachusetts' environmentally conscious politicians who won't allow pipelines from the Midwest and Dakotas. And California's refusal to load oil and gas tankers for delivery to Hawaii - Even while that sovereign state imports power and fresh water from just about everybody else due to their environmental policies.
I very seriously doubt that Putin will be overthrown by internal forces. He has too many supporters and sycophants in the Kremlin and military.
I admire the hell out of the courageous Russians who have gone to the streets to demonstrate against the war, but hundreds, if not thousands of them, have already been arrested. If the demonstrations keep up, Putin will probably lose patience with them and order the military and police to open fire and kill them. Russia has a long history of gleefully slaughtering its own people, and it's never resulted in an uprising to overthrow the government, yet. I don't see that changing, now. And, the Russian people don't have a Second Amendment-like right to keep and bear arms, so they have no way of fighting back.
As far as the Russian economy collapsing . . . Don't hold your breath on that one, either. Russia has been buying gold like mad for several years. If things really get bad, Putin could decide to start selling Russia's gold reserves. He may even do it at a discount if he's really desperate. Do you think any country in the world (including the U.S.) would pass up a deal like that? I don't.
I hope you're right, but I'm not holding my breath. The same could have been said for Hitler. His own military even tried to kill him, once. They failed and continued to support him and millions of more people died as a result.
And, don't forget Putin's nukes . . . He's made a threat to use them and he put his nuclear forces on high alert. The pundits say he's just saber-rattling. I don't. He's crazy enough to order a nuclear strike out of pure spite if he sees the Russian economy crashing. If he thinks he's losing power, he's enough of a megalomaniac and a murderous psychopath to take the entire world with him when he falls. Will his generals fail to launch if he orders it? Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it.
You are right to be bracing for a major cyber attack over the coming days/weeks. No way to stop it from happening with the current Russian malware out there that was used on Ukraine - somebody will retake it to be used on the West.
As for Russia becoming an economic smoldering ruin, I agree with Bill Bonner's article of Tuesday, March 1, 2022. One of the items that few people know, or followed over the last couple of years, is that the BRICKS have been buying and hoarding gold bullion in their national banks in preparation for being cut off from the SWIFT system. They have their own electronic central bank payments systems and they are already rising up as the SWIFT system cuts off banking in Russia.
And the Chinese are more than willing to take other currencies than the U.S. dollar for payments. So too are the Iranians and Indians.
So long as Xi supports him, Putin will succeed in his game. Chess is a game of intelligence, memory and nerve. This is a very interesting game the bankers are playing, in this 21st century. In the end, I see a stalemate, with a goal accomplished…watch my left hand while my right stabs you in your back….
Can Hillary resist any chance to get attention? What better time to distract from Biden failures than now. One thing for sure, she does not feel our pain, or anyones.
Xi had Putin wait until the Olympics were over. Putin is now just a puppet of Xi, as I stated in the past. Putin did try to reach out to Bush and Obama, about the threat of China, but was shut out because he wouldn’t convert to a globalist. Trump would have agreed with Putin to keep nations sovereign, and against the New World Order. Don’t know if you noticed the attack on Trump with so called Russia Collusion, but it started on day one, after election, to guarantee no meetings between them and get Americans against Putin. All based on a lie, like the Biden presidency, treason based attacks on our nation. Putin was left with no option…The powers that are will be known soon…..
I thoroughly enjoy reading your post every day. You masterfully distill current events and I want to just say thank you!
Putin is going to get everything he wants. And will get to keep "peacekeepers" east of the Dnieper River. They might even simply pull a western european colonial move and draw a straight line south from the Russia/Belarus/Ukraine border intersection With Russia peace keepers to the east of the line.
Russia will get Crimea, and the separatist regions formally ceded to Russia. And will get to place intermediate range nuclear weapons in Belarus.
As Bill noted on the strategic mineral supplies that Russia supplies to the world, the addition of massive new access to Ukrainian natural resources and food as a primary trading partner will increase Russian GDP by over $100B.
Don't forget, Hawaii and Massachusetts both get their natural gas and oil supplies from Russia. Thanks to Massachusetts' environmentally conscious politicians who won't allow pipelines from the Midwest and Dakotas. And California's refusal to load oil and gas tankers for delivery to Hawaii - Even while that sovereign state imports power and fresh water from just about everybody else due to their environmental policies.
When have sanctions ever worked, look at North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela. we will see...
The sanctions will work on the average worker
If they took away 90% of his wealth he would still be rich
The Kremlin already priced in the Sanctions before they made their chess move. Ignorance is bliss.
I very seriously doubt that Putin will be overthrown by internal forces. He has too many supporters and sycophants in the Kremlin and military.
I admire the hell out of the courageous Russians who have gone to the streets to demonstrate against the war, but hundreds, if not thousands of them, have already been arrested. If the demonstrations keep up, Putin will probably lose patience with them and order the military and police to open fire and kill them. Russia has a long history of gleefully slaughtering its own people, and it's never resulted in an uprising to overthrow the government, yet. I don't see that changing, now. And, the Russian people don't have a Second Amendment-like right to keep and bear arms, so they have no way of fighting back.
As far as the Russian economy collapsing . . . Don't hold your breath on that one, either. Russia has been buying gold like mad for several years. If things really get bad, Putin could decide to start selling Russia's gold reserves. He may even do it at a discount if he's really desperate. Do you think any country in the world (including the U.S.) would pass up a deal like that? I don't.
I hope you're right, but I'm not holding my breath. The same could have been said for Hitler. His own military even tried to kill him, once. They failed and continued to support him and millions of more people died as a result.
And, don't forget Putin's nukes . . . He's made a threat to use them and he put his nuclear forces on high alert. The pundits say he's just saber-rattling. I don't. He's crazy enough to order a nuclear strike out of pure spite if he sees the Russian economy crashing. If he thinks he's losing power, he's enough of a megalomaniac and a murderous psychopath to take the entire world with him when he falls. Will his generals fail to launch if he orders it? Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Again, I hope you're right.
You are right to be bracing for a major cyber attack over the coming days/weeks. No way to stop it from happening with the current Russian malware out there that was used on Ukraine - somebody will retake it to be used on the West.
As for Russia becoming an economic smoldering ruin, I agree with Bill Bonner's article of Tuesday, March 1, 2022. One of the items that few people know, or followed over the last couple of years, is that the BRICKS have been buying and hoarding gold bullion in their national banks in preparation for being cut off from the SWIFT system. They have their own electronic central bank payments systems and they are already rising up as the SWIFT system cuts off banking in Russia.
And the Chinese are more than willing to take other currencies than the U.S. dollar for payments. So too are the Iranians and Indians.
So long as Xi supports him, Putin will succeed in his game. Chess is a game of intelligence, memory and nerve. This is a very interesting game the bankers are playing, in this 21st century. In the end, I see a stalemate, with a goal accomplished…watch my left hand while my right stabs you in your back….
Can Hillary resist any chance to get attention? What better time to distract from Biden failures than now. One thing for sure, she does not feel our pain, or anyones.
Xi had Putin wait until the Olympics were over. Putin is now just a puppet of Xi, as I stated in the past. Putin did try to reach out to Bush and Obama, about the threat of China, but was shut out because he wouldn’t convert to a globalist. Trump would have agreed with Putin to keep nations sovereign, and against the New World Order. Don’t know if you noticed the attack on Trump with so called Russia Collusion, but it started on day one, after election, to guarantee no meetings between them and get Americans against Putin. All based on a lie, like the Biden presidency, treason based attacks on our nation. Putin was left with no option…The powers that are will be known soon…..
You're a great writer as well. I could read your comments every day.