US Economist Take on The Ukraine
Offline This article comes from the Radio Voice of Russia, online on Facebook and such.
en.ria.ru/analysis/20140915/192947280/US-Economist-Western-Strategy-Ukraine-Unpayable%20Debt.html
"Western Countries, particularly the USA are forcing the Ukraine into a massive amount of debt".
(Now granted, this is just his speculation on the matter)
MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti) – Western countries, notably the United States, are planning to force Ukraine into debt that it cannot pay and then compel Kiev to clear it by selling oil and gas deposits, as well as agricultural land to Western investors, Michael Hudson, president of the Institute for the Study of Long-term Economic Trends (ISLET), told Radio VR.
That trend is already visible. “Most of Europe is against gas fracking and yet a lot of the kleptocrats in Ukraine are sending in fracking operations and drilling equipment with the army as they move into the east,” where people have long opposed the controversial technique, the former Wall Street analyst stated. “I don’t think that eastern Ukrainians are any happier to see fracking than the Germans or Americans.”
“Most Americans and Europeans are against genetically modified grains and yet there is a big purchase of farmland and genetically modified crops by Monsanto,” the economist said. The company, which plays a much bigger role in Ukraine than in Europe, has been buying land in the war-torn country for testing.
Hudson also said that what happened to Ukraine is a long-standing US strategy of taking over countries. “You don’t have to invade a country; you can simply buy off its leaders. … You don’t need drones, you don’t need an army, all you need is people willing to take bribes and do what they are told by the US,” the expert said.
Hudson believes that instead of collapsing Ukrainian economy could be in a much better shape. “Ukraine should have been a bridge like Finland or like Austria was after WWII. It could have been a buffer zone between Europe and Russia and profited from that very much. But instead foreign political operatives mainly from the US … corrupted the whole country,” the economist pointed out.
Ukraine could become a bridge and profit from that unique position if it admits that there is a lot of corruption that is sponsored by the United States, takes back what the kleptocrats have stolen and gets rid of the US influence. “Ukraine should do what is best for [its people], not for Washington and its cold warriors,” the economist stressed.
Ukraine is currently on the brink of default, with its authorities seeking international loans. In May, the IMF approved a $17 billion loan to Ukraine in the form of a two-year stabilization program.
“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno
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It would be acceptable if aliens landed on the planet and started to kill off the humans. We are a worthless bunch of ignorant monkeys
You are welcome to start with yourself.
If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X
The US and Russia are equally to blame here. Russia will win in the end simply because it's their backyard and noone is going to fight them straight up. It'd be like Russia trying to protect Mexico from the US. Impossible.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
I wrote a short story about me turning against the human race and siding with aliens. I later got my brains sucked out and Earth was destroyed.
That's a good comparison. I agree that Russia will come out on top. I believe they will survive any economical or political games the US or their allies play.
A big part of the problem is that the Federal Reserve and European central Bank can just 'print' money and give it to the World Bank, IMF and other lenders and bribers. The US citizen pays for this in the form of inflation and low interest paid on savings. The bankers get richer while both the common man in the USA and Ukraine suffer.
Taxation is the price we pay for failing to build a civilized society. The higher the tax level, the greater the failure. A centrally planned totalitarian state represents a complete defeat for the civilized world, while a totally voluntary society represents its ultimate success. --Mark Skousen
Yesterday I heard that Russia is in a world of hurt and it will take a while to recover. I didn't get to hear the entire report but they said that their Ruble is expected to drop another 12 to 15% this next quarter after dropping 12% last quarter. Cars imports are hurting and Russian cars are extremely limited, along with other products. It said they have issues that are compounded because of the sanctions.
Propaganda. I bet Russian media is reporting that the sanctions have similarly hurt the US.
Numerous EU countries are hurting a lot more than Russia is. There aren't even all that many nations joining in sanctions against Russia. They still have plenty of trading partners and tonnes of resources.
All Russia has to do is shut down their pipelines and the EU will start begging for mercy. The fact they haven't done it yet tells me they haven't really been hurt by the sanctions yet.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
I would think they would keep the pipelines open to make money because they were hurting. If they close them down it is because they can weather the storm and they basically do a "fuck you" to the rest of the EU.
they did shut down the pipelines for a week or so back in January, 2009. i remember that. i can't remember the reason why, but yes, things were kind of difficult in slovakia. luckily in the villages, where i live, many people heat with wood anyway, using gas as a backup (including our home). we also had an electric double hotplate, so it was more annoying than anything else (i hate cooking on electric burners, and it's more expensive).
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Thing is, Russia could sell that shit to China and shut the pipes to the EU down for good. I guarantee China would go for it. They need the oil.
I doubt there is a quicker way to get the EU to give up on sanctions than by shutting it down and promising to open it up again if sanctions are dropped. Even completely pulling out and away from the Ukraine wouldn't reverse the sanctions immediately, and Russia is obviously not going to do that.
It would seriously hurt the economies of every country that depends on the oil, forcing everyone to pay more. Which would force most of the world to pay more as demand briefly outstrips supply.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.