Anyone..

The flurry of sanctions the U.S. announced this week against Russia are some of the hardest hitting that Moscow has ever faced, but the slow pain they inflict may not be enough to deter President Vladimir Putin from escalating his invasion of Ukraine, experts said.

President Joe Biden and several U.S. allies, including the European Union, the United Kingdom and Japan, have vowed to review further restrictions on Moscow as punishment for the invasion.

The sanctions already announced are significant in size and scope. Nevertheless, the Russian economy is already feeling the effects of war, and the sanctions could over time further cause the Russian stock market to falter, deflate the value of the ruble which hit an all-time low and make doing business in Russia increasingly difficult.

Comment:

Anything about diplomacy at all? Anyone is concerned about the Ukraine Country?

Anyone is doing something that help stop the war? Or just yak, yak and yak.

Failed..

 

Americans can expect increasing pain at the pump as rising oil costs continue to push up prices at gas stations across the U.S. That spike is unlikely to ease anytime soon as Russia's war with Ukraine intensifies, experts say. 

In addition to the actions taking by the Biden's administration that reduced the oil production in USA and as a result tripled the prices of oil far before the Ukraine issue started.

Oil prices surged another $7 per barrel on Wednesday after an agreement by the U.S. and other major governments to release 60 million barrels from their national reserves — half of them U.S. barrels — failed to quell supply concerns over Russia's attack on Ukraine. The price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, rose to nearly $113 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest level since 2014. The U.S. benchmark topped $107, according to Bloomberg.

The decision made by the 31 member nations of the International Energy Agency was intended "to send a strong message to oil markets" that there will be "no shortfall in supplies" as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, but failed to move markets.

Just a "Failed Admin." thought.

Base..

 

Kosovo is asking the U.S. to establish a permanent military base in the country as Russia's invasion of Ukraine accelerates.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Kosovo Defense Minister Armend Mehaj said establishing the permanent base and accelerating Kosovo's membership to NATO are "immediate need[s] to guarantee peace, security and stability in the Western Balkans," Reuters reported. 

Kosovo's independence is recognized by more than 110 countries, but not by Russia and four NATO members. The nation is also not a member of the United Nations.

The U.S. currently contributes 635 troops to Kosovo as part of a NATO peacekeeping mission in the country that began in 1999.

More military for more wars. Jst a thought.

Convoy..

 

A convoy, named "Freedom Convoy USA 2022," is now encouraging truckers to join up with the "The People’s Convoy" and the "Texas Convoy" instead. All three convoys are modeled after the Canadian trucker convoys that have made international headlines. 

Cynthia Miller-Idriss, who runs the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University, said security officials have to be careful to “thread that needle” between playing down alarmist messaging and preparing for all possibilities.  

Security and law enforcement officials were caught flat-footed on Jan. 6, 2021, failing to take online plotting and threats seriously ahead of the violent mob storming the Capitol.  Just a "Loud Voice" thought.

War-2

 

"I hate War"

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Barack Obama may have agonized over every targeted killing and major military decision, but he also ramped up the drone war, sent additional troops to Afghanistan to no good purpose, helped turn Libya into a failed state, and tacitly backed the Saudi-led war in Yemen. 

And when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (!), his acceptance speech focused as much on defending America’s role in the world—including its widespread use of military force—as it did on extolling the virtues of peace and the measures that must be taken to advance it.

Ironically, though Donald Trump loves military parades, flybys, and the other visible trappings of military power, he seems rather leery of war. 

Trump as president, he cared about economics, and the lives of poor people. America First. He does seem to recognize that starting some new war could hurt him politically, even as his more hawkish advisors keep pushing him in that direction. 

During his presidency, no war started, and no encouragement for war. He softens the North Koreans, and have Peace with the Arabic World and Israel. He believed in the virtues of peace as candidly as Roosevelt did in 1933.

Just a thought.

War..

 

I have seen war. 

I have seen war on land and sea. 

I have seen blood running from the wounded. 

I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. 

I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. 

I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. 

I have seen children starving. 

I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. 

I hate war.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Live..

 

Just..

 

Gift..

 

Former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry blasted the Biden administration who he says gave Russian President Vladimir Putin "leverage" by killing American energy efforts and "rubber-stamping" the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Europe.

"#Putin got an assist from incompetent world leaders who propped up #Russia while risking their own energy security," the former Republican governor of Texas tweeted. "By killing the #KeystoneXL pipeline and rubber stamping NS2, the Administration increased Russia’s leverage over global energy markets, which got us here."

The United States can rescue Europe from a looming energy crisis by opening the Keystone XL pipeline and exporting US LNG to provide Europe with a reliable energy supply so they don't have to rely on #Russia," Perry tweeted.

Perry has been joined by several Republican politicians and conservative pundits across the country in calling out the Biden administration for clamping down on oil and gas energy production in the United States which they say has benefitted Russia.

Diversion..

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US officials will deliver two classified briefings on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to members of the House and senators this afternoon, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The separate briefings are expected to cover the Biden administration’s next steps on sending military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as the US intelligence community assessment of the situation, the source said.


The briefings - set to take place on Capitol Hill at 5:15pm for members of the House and at 7:15pm for senators - are also expected to drive the Biden administration’s request for Congress to provide $6.4bn in emergency funding to help Ukraine.

We created the problem, we pretend to help, we cause life devastation on both sides, we send funds and then divert the USA Citizen attention to a man created problem. 

 Just a thought.