As the EU destroys itself, Ukrainian comic turned president Volodymyr Zelensky says the threat from ‘Putin the Nazi’ outweighs the pain of rising energy bills. Easy for him to say.
The Ukrainian leader praised Boris Johnson and criticized Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz for not doing enough. He says the western cost of living fears is “incomparable” to the threat from Russia, according to The Times UK.
THE EU WILL CAP RUSSIA’S INCOME
According to ABC News, finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial powers have pledged to implement a system designed to cap Russia’s income from oil sales, an idea the nations’ leaders had promised to explore in June.
The ministers said they would impose the cap by barring insurance or shipping companies from helping Russia sell oil at prices above the set limit.
Meanwhile, skyrocketing energy prices have fed inflation, squeezing consumers in rich and poor countries and threatening to push Europe into recession.
They’re suicidal. So is the US, which is guiding this.
RUSSIA WON’T SELL OIL TO COUNTRIES PUTTING A PRICE CAP ON ITS CRUDE
Russia’s deputy prime minister has said Moscow wouldn’t sell oil to countries that try to impose a price cap on its crude, just before finance ministers from the US and allies meet to discuss the plan.
The US has been pushing to limit the price of Russian oil to slash Moscow’s revenues and cool inflation. Finance ministers from the G7 group of leading economies are meeting virtually on Friday to hammer out details, and five officials told the Financial Times a deal is likely.
The country’s invasion of Ukraine led to a barrage of unprecedented sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow and choking off its access to international financial markets. That hasn’t happened as planned.
While sanctions have not directly targeted Russia’s energy exports yet, the US said on Sunday that the US and its European allies are considering a ban on its oil imports. Russia is the world’s third-largest producer of oil and one of the biggest gas producers. A ban would send its customers scrambling for any kind of alternative at any price.
Just the potential for some kind of ban saw Brent crude futures surge to over $130 a barrel Monday, their highest since mid-2008.
That idea won’t work well. Russia isn’t just dominant in the oil trade. It’s one of the biggest producers of wheat and coal. And some experts believe Western leaders will stop short of outright embargoes, given that their economies could be too badly damaged by the ensuing price rises.
AND RUSSIA SHUTS DOWN NORD STREAM I
Russia just cut off Nord Stream 1 entirely. No one could have predicted that. Oh, wait, Donald Trump did.
The supply of natural gas to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was indefinitely terminated after an engine oil leak was found in the main gas turbine during an inspection in St. Petersburg, Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Friday.
The company added that a joint inspection was carried out at the Portovaya compressor station near St. Petersburg with Siemens Energy, which maintains the turbine.
Gazprom stated that the oil leak detection report “was also signed by representatives of Siemens,” citing the German company as saying that the necessary repairs could only be done in “the conditions of a specialized workshop.”
According to the Russian firm, the turbine cannot operate safely until the leak is repaired. It gave no timeframe for the resumption of supplies via the key gas route to Europe.
MASSIVE DEMONSTRATIONS
70,000 Czechs are unhappy, and it’s only just begun.
PRAGUE – Wenceslas Square 70,000 citizens demand the Government resign for working against the people and lower gas and electricity.
Winter is coming. 🔥
— Bernie’s Tweets (@BernieSpofforth) September 3, 2022
BREAKING: Massive demonstration in Prague in the Czech Republic against the government, soaring prices and the energy crisis.
Protesters threaten strike and coercive action if government doesn’t resign by September 25 🚨
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) September 3, 2022
It’s not going well elsewhere, either.
They still laughing?https://t.co/o1MtVKquGp
— Thomas Jefferson (@JOINORDIE17761) August 27, 2022
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