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There’s much American-oriented comment on the Net about the current Russian economic situation. It’s all bullshit, horse hockey, and utter moonshine. Well-known journalist and political pundit A A Vasserman let the cat out of the bag:
The cost of oil production in Russia is somewhere around 35 USD (1,960 Roubles. 218 Renminbi. 2,216 INR. 41 CAD. 43 AUD. 29 Euros. 23 UK Pounds)… American shale oil costs about 80 USD (4,450 Roubles. 498 Renminbi. 5,065 INR. 93 CAD. 99 AUD. 66 Euros. 52 UK Pounds) to extract. Therefore, even if the USA leaves the oil and gas market due to falling energy prices, we’d still make a profit. Consequently, even if we assume that the USA is playing this game to harm Russia, it’d be very difficult for the Americans to win it.
The rest of the post is here… there’s not an idle word in it.
Before the American speculator bubble began, the Rouble was trading at about 36 to 1 USD. Today, it trades at 56 to 1 USD. Oil was selling at 110 USD per barrel… today, it sells at 60 USD (3,340 Roubles. 374 Renminbi. 3,800 INR. 70 CAD. 74 AUD. 49 Euros. 39 UK Pounds) per barrel. Previously, Russia received 3,960 Roubles per barrel of oil. Today, Russia realises 3,340 Roubles per barrel of oil… it’s lost about 15 percent of its value. However, the US multinationals now only receive 55 percent of their former income from oil sales. That is, the loss in value is only about 30 percent of the loss suffered by American firms. Taxation on Russian firms is in Roubles… NOT USD. This means that the Russian government hasn’t lost much in the terms of revenue, whereas, the American neocons have lost their main sugar daddy in that American multinationals are now subsidising shale oil and deep-drill oil, both of which can’t make money at current prices! That is, the main victim of the present contretemps is the US Republican Party! It’s another biter bit… payback IS a motherfucker.
That ain’t all… there’s more to come, kids. Firstly, this jumpstarts the Russian import substitution programme. Even without sanctions, the new level of the Rouble means that foreign goods are 60 percent more expensive than previously. If the goods’ quality is on a level, or nearly so, then, price becomes the determining factor in consumer decisions. Under such a situation, Russian goods are much more attractive than their Western analogues. In the short-term, this may lead to an exodus amongst Western-leaning “liberals” (neocons)… they’ll go off to their real spiritual home in the West. It might also lead to a reverse migration from the EU as Russians lose jobs in the present nasty “austerity” atmosphere… such people would work in import substitution industries in Russia.
V V Putin is far wiser than the Western asshats are. He’s laying back… as time goes on, the Western sanctions and currency speculation hurt the West much more than it hurts Russia! The USA simply doesn’t have the means, financial, military, political, and economic to pull down Russia. The level of US/Russian trade wasn’t much to begin with… so, why the sanctions? I think that they were more intended to hurt the EU and pressure them into the TTIP, because the loss of their Russian trade (Langley DID do their homework on this one) would knacker EU economies.
One of the biggest ignoranuses amongst the Western pundits is George Friedman of Stratfor. He got it wrong, mainly, because his outfit is a security consulting firm, NOT an intelligence agency. That is, he comes up with whatever sells, not the truth… why tell the truth? His moronic rightwing American neocon clients wouldn’t accept that. I’ve seen some of his latest statements, and let me tell you, I’d like to know who’s selling him his reefer. It’s DY-NO-MITE shit… if one looks at his “conclusions”… one would think that he lives at 666 Jabberwocky Lane! His take on why the USA entered World War I is laughable… everyone knows that it happened because of Woodrow Wilson’s idealism… it had nothing to do with realpolitik. Wilson wasn’t a Clemenceau… for Friedman to juxtapose two utterly different historical figures speaks poorly of his knowledge (I still like Clemenceau’s, “14 Points! Even the good Lord only had ten!”).
The USA has no ground forces to send to Eastern Europe… only understrength and undertrained reserve units not up to TO&E in equipment and troops are left. The fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with insurgencies in Libya and Yemen, coupled with the occupation of Kosovo, leaves the USA with NADA… NOTHING… NICHEVO. The USA has finite resources. VVP knows this… he knows that the most important thing is NOT to stumble into war as the world did in 1914. He’s a student of history… Ted Cruz, Rod Dreher, Rush Limboob, and Lil’ Mizz Sarah are NOT. Whom do YOU believe? I know where I stand (and I know that you know where I stand)… what about you?
BMD
In São Paulo (São Paulo State. Southeast Region) BRAZIL, a man wearing a Santa Claus costume rode the metro to celebrate the Christmas season.
Voices from Russia 
22 December 2014. Russia Is NOT Going Down the Chute… It Pays Its Bills in Roubles, NOT Dollars, After All
Tags: diplomacy, diplomatic relations, EU, European Union, political commentary, politics, Russia, Russian, Russian diplomacy, United States, USA, Vladimir Putin, war and conflict
____________________________
There’s much American-oriented comment on the Net about the current Russian economic situation. It’s all bullshit, horse hockey, and utter moonshine. Well-known journalist and political pundit A A Vasserman let the cat out of the bag:
Before the American speculator bubble began, the Rouble was trading at about 36 to 1 USD. Today, it trades at 56 to 1 USD. Oil was selling at 110 USD per barrel… today, it sells at 60 USD (3,340 Roubles. 374 Renminbi. 3,800 INR. 70 CAD. 74 AUD. 49 Euros. 39 UK Pounds) per barrel. Previously, Russia received 3,960 Roubles per barrel of oil. Today, Russia realises 3,340 Roubles per barrel of oil… it’s lost about 15 percent of its value. However, the US multinationals now only receive 55 percent of their former income from oil sales. That is, the loss in value is only about 30 percent of the loss suffered by American firms. Taxation on Russian firms is in Roubles… NOT USD. This means that the Russian government hasn’t lost much in the terms of revenue, whereas, the American neocons have lost their main sugar daddy in that American multinationals are now subsidising shale oil and deep-drill oil, both of which can’t make money at current prices! That is, the main victim of the present contretemps is the US Republican Party! It’s another biter bit… payback IS a motherfucker.
That ain’t all… there’s more to come, kids. Firstly, this jumpstarts the Russian import substitution programme. Even without sanctions, the new level of the Rouble means that foreign goods are 60 percent more expensive than previously. If the goods’ quality is on a level, or nearly so, then, price becomes the determining factor in consumer decisions. Under such a situation, Russian goods are much more attractive than their Western analogues. In the short-term, this may lead to an exodus amongst Western-leaning “liberals” (neocons)… they’ll go off to their real spiritual home in the West. It might also lead to a reverse migration from the EU as Russians lose jobs in the present nasty “austerity” atmosphere… such people would work in import substitution industries in Russia.
V V Putin is far wiser than the Western asshats are. He’s laying back… as time goes on, the Western sanctions and currency speculation hurt the West much more than it hurts Russia! The USA simply doesn’t have the means, financial, military, political, and economic to pull down Russia. The level of US/Russian trade wasn’t much to begin with… so, why the sanctions? I think that they were more intended to hurt the EU and pressure them into the TTIP, because the loss of their Russian trade (Langley DID do their homework on this one) would knacker EU economies.
One of the biggest ignoranuses amongst the Western pundits is George Friedman of Stratfor. He got it wrong, mainly, because his outfit is a security consulting firm, NOT an intelligence agency. That is, he comes up with whatever sells, not the truth… why tell the truth? His moronic rightwing American neocon clients wouldn’t accept that. I’ve seen some of his latest statements, and let me tell you, I’d like to know who’s selling him his reefer. It’s DY-NO-MITE shit… if one looks at his “conclusions”… one would think that he lives at 666 Jabberwocky Lane! His take on why the USA entered World War I is laughable… everyone knows that it happened because of Woodrow Wilson’s idealism… it had nothing to do with realpolitik. Wilson wasn’t a Clemenceau… for Friedman to juxtapose two utterly different historical figures speaks poorly of his knowledge (I still like Clemenceau’s, “14 Points! Even the good Lord only had ten!”).
The USA has no ground forces to send to Eastern Europe… only understrength and undertrained reserve units not up to TO&E in equipment and troops are left. The fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with insurgencies in Libya and Yemen, coupled with the occupation of Kosovo, leaves the USA with NADA… NOTHING… NICHEVO. The USA has finite resources. VVP knows this… he knows that the most important thing is NOT to stumble into war as the world did in 1914. He’s a student of history… Ted Cruz, Rod Dreher, Rush Limboob, and Lil’ Mizz Sarah are NOT. Whom do YOU believe? I know where I stand (and I know that you know where I stand)… what about you?
BMD