They talk only about Putin but not with him....This is so weird. Russian media forbidden so they can go with their anti Russian propoganda. History is forgotten and they made a new one. I'm sick of it. Let's go for peace.
How can a Labour government - supposedly the party of the working classes and under privileged - try and take £5 billion from the poorest Britons, whilst simultaneously giving £30 billion to Ukraine and promising to support them financially for the next 100 YEARS? What sort of a clown show is this?
Well done to the Labour MPs that stood against this madness, they are worthy of huge respect for standing up for what is right and not being bullied by Starmer and Reeves.
Simple - Labour has no priority other than the so-called "Special Relationship" in keeping the United States continually embroiled in conflicts so that they can show their American Master who is the loyallest little bitch, standing shoulder to shoulder all stirring and brave.
Those of you who are familiar with the "Looney Tunes" canon may recall the little yappy dog that follows Spike The Bulldog around, singing Spike's praises, getting slapped around by Spike and getting Spike into fights. The uk is that little yappy dog.
Note that the british people, working class or otherwise, don't play a role in this calculus. They do not count.
Spot on, the other point to make is that so many of the Labour MPs are pure careerists and have no interest in rocking the boat, they simply want to make sure they have a nice pathway towards their post-career politics serving on boards etc.
Also, despite doing the occasional good work since it first came to power, the 'Labour' Party is, and always has been, a dedicated capitalist party. It has no interest in any kind of radical change of the capitalist system - just a bit of tinkering at the edges to remove a few of the sharp bits. It is now reduced to the role of filling in for a while when the tories have screwed up so much that they can't get elected, a holding operation - just until the ruling 'elite' (aka rich scum) can get themselves back into convincing the UK public that their lies are true.
There isn't a capitalist among them. These are crony-corporatists running a racket designed to benefit only the elite-approved. I dream of the day the UK actually decides to drop this bastardized socialist/capitalist scam for a true market economy.
This hits the nail pretty square. Sanctions have become more of a ritual than a strategy, something done because it's familiar, not because it's working. And when you step back and look at the raw numbers, it’s hard to argue that Russia’s war machine has been meaningfully dented by all this pressure from Brussels.
The EU, on the other hand, looks like it's bleeding slowly. It's like a game of chicken, but only one side has the appetite (and reserves) for a long haul. Europe’s stuck trying to punish a country that’s already learned how to live with punishment. And meanwhile, Ukraine’s footing more of the human cost every day while the West debates which sanction package to roll out next, as if that’ll somehow turn the tide.
At some point, the logic has to shift from "how do we punish Russia" to "how do we stop the bleeding and give Ukraine a chance to rebuild something real." Maybe that begins with realizing sanctions aren’t a magic lever
Nobody cares about Ukraine or Ukrainians, nobody in Washington, nobody in Brussels, nobody in Kiev.
In fact, as far as Kiev is concerned, the war has been nothing but a boon, the best thing that has ever happened. Take away the war and Ukraine goes from The Beacon Of Democracy, the country so democratic, it need no longer bother with tiresome elections or boring terms of office, no need for outdated notions like "freedom of speech" or "freedom of religion" to a corrupt, backward, nazi-infested shithole.
Hi Ian, have you ever spoken to Emmanuel Todd? He’s a French historian who wrote a fantastic book about the Ukrainian war last year, one of his many interesting points are from a religious and family structure point of view. La Défaite de l’Occident”.
Don’t know if he speaks English but I know he’s an Anglophile :)
What many people do not realize that "sanctions on Russia" are in fact prohibitions for EU residents to sell to or buy from good and services from Russia while Russia is free to trade "with other parties. It is an imposed economic pain, destruction of business done without any ability by populations to change course through democratic means. This will not end well.
Just a thought , with the EU in effect sanctioning itself, perhaps this was part of the overall US strategy, after all they have split the relationship with Russia and Germany, and made the Eu more dependent on Us fuel supplies.
When the 18th sanctions package was proposed on 10 June, Kaja Kallas announced that ‘we do all this because sanctions work, every sanction weakens Russia's ability to fight.’ She also said, ‘Russia has lost tens of billions in oil revenues. Its economy is shrinking, and its GDP has dropped.’
And yet, these assertions do not appear to be true.
*******************
“DO NOT APPEAR”?? They have been clearly spoken by a delusional human being, a VERY common trait amongst members of the Euro Parliament. It is amazing how that group is able to find so many people with such traits.
In actual fact, reduction or elimination of sanctions won’t bring Russia closer to peace. The key is in fact the official, legal recognition and acceptance by all parties involved (all countries of the world) of the new land borders between Russia and the Ukraine - the four new oblasts already incorporated into Russia, Crimea (already 11 years as part of Russia) and parts of whatever other oblasts that have been “liberated” or will soon be as the SMO continues. Already over a million Ukrainians have been killed or incapacitated, and that will simply continue to increase until new land borders are recognised. THIS IS A FACT.
The European sanctions are themselves based upon the flawed premise that the proceeds of Russian fossil fuel (and other products) are “paying for Putin’s war.” You will hear this trope repeated over and over again in the Western corporate media outlets. Yet this can only be true to the extent that Russia relies upon imports to prosecute its military action.
Where is the analysis demonstrating this reliance? Comes there none, because the brute fact is that Russia has both food and energy security (along with vast metal and mineral wealth) and manufactures virtually all of its own weapon systems; all of these, along with all of the associated workforce and soldiery can be purchased domestically with roubles, resulting in precisely zero effect upon its international balance of payments. And what little it doesn’t make domestically it can source from outside the sanctions regimen in China, North Korea or Iran.
Evidently the European (and American) populace doesn’t understand how any of this actually works. Mind you, there is little evidence that the European misleadership class does either … 🙄
I do not know what fellow Peacemonger followers feel about Russian government ministers input during numerous speeches over recent years. I myself am greatly impressed by their professionalism. Long fluent answers to questions, never stumped. Full of correct facts and figures. No referral to notes. They put the West to shame, if only we had representation of a similar quality. Across all parties MP's have great difficulty when it comes to an answer and question session. Because of this they tend to avoid them on the grounds of National Security or some other trumped up reason. As for Mr Putin, he is out on his own as a fluent orator. If only we had such a man. The West has always castigated his every move, the fact is, he has dragged Russia out of the mire and into a prominent position in the world. We can all hark back to Stalin and his evil policies. We can also hark back to British evil policies which we still pursue today regarding Palestine. Deaths from the West's interventions since 1948 to date are horrendous. Their policies of sanctions on food, medicine and fuel are an evil act which they have used time and time again in their quest to subdue any form of indigenous socialist government being created. We remain silent about assassinations carried out by Mossad, Britain and the USA. We have a crap Anti-Palestinian government with no other alternative as all the remaining main parties have taken the Zionist 30 pieces of silver. Farage's only saving grace is his promise that all our small boat uninvited gate crasher's will be ejected. Some hope! I agree with Ian on ending Russian sanctions. We should be trading with them and join BRICS because Europe and the USA are no true friends of ours and we could be left out on a limb.
None of this matters. The sociopaths who rule over us could not care less about historically grounded, well thought out, factually accurate cogent responses to complex questions.
They care about power. In fact, truth and lies are of interest to our rulers, solely to the extent to which they can be weaponized.
I would add that while Germany not-so-slowly de-industrialises as domestic manufacturing becomes unprofitable, competing factories in China have their pricing advantages underwritten by long-term supplies of discounted Russian oil and gas.
Who’s plan? The Ukrainians or the Europeans or the Americans? Not even the Russians expected this to go on for over three years. How could anything have been planned?
Probably no one in particular is planning to do anything about that (the whole problem since the war started), but the RF in general will simply continue to do what it has been doing for over three years now - cleaning house. By the way, just a little while ago, Zelenskiy said that he wants to speak to Putin. Yes, yes, exactly what he said that he WOULD NOT DO for several years already. Putin would never waste his time even speaking to someone who has no official/legal influence in the Ukraine. The war will simply continue until capitulation occurs. The inevitable conclusion is capitulation, because the Ukraine will simply not face reality.
Any Zelenskii statements are for public consumption.
The plan ever always only was for the europeans to step in once Ukraine starts to really run low on warm live bodies, and then for the Americans to be mousetrapped into joining in rather than leave their catamites hanging in the wind.
And of course Zelenskii's formal authority is irrelevant. Might as well speak to Yanukovich if you want formal authority. The only question is whether orders given in either person's name are carried out. That is all.
Nobody cares. As long as the european leaders pay no personal price, they are happy to keep pouring money into Ukraine and keep provoking Russia, since Russian dithering and indecision have assured the europeans that Russia doesn't have the stones to respond.
Moreover, the real plan ever always only was, once Ukraine started to really run low on warm live bodies, for the europeans to step in, then the United States to ride to the rescue rather than leave their catamites to twist in the wind.
This plan is proceeding apace, aiding by Russian timidity and Trump's weakness, stupidity and ease of manipulation.
All I've heard over last three weeks is it's a choice between tax rises and cutting disability benefits - no mention at all about billions sent to Ukraine yearly. Just let that sink in. What kind of society are we being forced into because we trust the media to speak truth to power.
They talk only about Putin but not with him....This is so weird. Russian media forbidden so they can go with their anti Russian propoganda. History is forgotten and they made a new one. I'm sick of it. Let's go for peace.
Amen to that
Actually, they are forgetting or pretending that they do not know that VPN exists .
Was it not Russia that invaded its neighbour? The EU countries should accept Putin's demands? Ask ChatGPT if Russia is a threat to the EU countires.
Literally, ‘computer says yes’?
Yes Russia invaded. The real question is why?
When all else is failing, they take you to war.
There not interested in peace nor the well being of UKraine or the people of the UK or the EU.
They want us poor or dead
Techno Facisim is not big on human rights👍
Have a look at the UK government website on the change in wording of an MPs job role🤔
Safe&Effective👍
How can a Labour government - supposedly the party of the working classes and under privileged - try and take £5 billion from the poorest Britons, whilst simultaneously giving £30 billion to Ukraine and promising to support them financially for the next 100 YEARS? What sort of a clown show is this?
Well done to the Labour MPs that stood against this madness, they are worthy of huge respect for standing up for what is right and not being bullied by Starmer and Reeves.
How, indeed! Chippendale's circus has nothing on this shower.
Simple - Labour has no priority other than the so-called "Special Relationship" in keeping the United States continually embroiled in conflicts so that they can show their American Master who is the loyallest little bitch, standing shoulder to shoulder all stirring and brave.
Those of you who are familiar with the "Looney Tunes" canon may recall the little yappy dog that follows Spike The Bulldog around, singing Spike's praises, getting slapped around by Spike and getting Spike into fights. The uk is that little yappy dog.
Note that the british people, working class or otherwise, don't play a role in this calculus. They do not count.
Spot on, the other point to make is that so many of the Labour MPs are pure careerists and have no interest in rocking the boat, they simply want to make sure they have a nice pathway towards their post-career politics serving on boards etc.
Because the Starmerite faction which has taken over the Labour Party is neoliberal to the core and doesn’t give a monkey’s about working people.
Which is exactly why they got rid of Corbyn, he has many flaws but nobody can deny the man is deeply committed to social justice.
Also, despite doing the occasional good work since it first came to power, the 'Labour' Party is, and always has been, a dedicated capitalist party. It has no interest in any kind of radical change of the capitalist system - just a bit of tinkering at the edges to remove a few of the sharp bits. It is now reduced to the role of filling in for a while when the tories have screwed up so much that they can't get elected, a holding operation - just until the ruling 'elite' (aka rich scum) can get themselves back into convincing the UK public that their lies are true.
I think that is very accurate indeed, which raises the point of what exactly is the point of Labour, other than not being the Tories?
Well, their point is just to be a place-holder. Clever chaps, these capitalists.
There isn't a capitalist among them. These are crony-corporatists running a racket designed to benefit only the elite-approved. I dream of the day the UK actually decides to drop this bastardized socialist/capitalist scam for a true market economy.
" These are crony-corporatists running a racket designed to benefit only the elite-approved."
Yes, exactly - like I said - capitalists.
There is no such thing as a 'true market economy' and I hope there never will be, as I don't like sleeping under bridges.
This hits the nail pretty square. Sanctions have become more of a ritual than a strategy, something done because it's familiar, not because it's working. And when you step back and look at the raw numbers, it’s hard to argue that Russia’s war machine has been meaningfully dented by all this pressure from Brussels.
The EU, on the other hand, looks like it's bleeding slowly. It's like a game of chicken, but only one side has the appetite (and reserves) for a long haul. Europe’s stuck trying to punish a country that’s already learned how to live with punishment. And meanwhile, Ukraine’s footing more of the human cost every day while the West debates which sanction package to roll out next, as if that’ll somehow turn the tide.
At some point, the logic has to shift from "how do we punish Russia" to "how do we stop the bleeding and give Ukraine a chance to rebuild something real." Maybe that begins with realizing sanctions aren’t a magic lever
Indeed.
Nobody cares about Ukraine or Ukrainians, nobody in Washington, nobody in Brussels, nobody in Kiev.
In fact, as far as Kiev is concerned, the war has been nothing but a boon, the best thing that has ever happened. Take away the war and Ukraine goes from The Beacon Of Democracy, the country so democratic, it need no longer bother with tiresome elections or boring terms of office, no need for outdated notions like "freedom of speech" or "freedom of religion" to a corrupt, backward, nazi-infested shithole.
Hi Ian, have you ever spoken to Emmanuel Todd? He’s a French historian who wrote a fantastic book about the Ukrainian war last year, one of his many interesting points are from a religious and family structure point of view. La Défaite de l’Occident”.
Don’t know if he speaks English but I know he’s an Anglophile :)
Thanks for the suggestion, Wouter - will reach out to him
Here is a Pepe Escobar’s review, which focuses a bit too much on the USA, while Todd’s book and interviews have a more general point of view.
https://www.unz.com/pescobar/how-the-west-was-defeated/
What many people do not realize that "sanctions on Russia" are in fact prohibitions for EU residents to sell to or buy from good and services from Russia while Russia is free to trade "with other parties. It is an imposed economic pain, destruction of business done without any ability by populations to change course through democratic means. This will not end well.
Just a thought , with the EU in effect sanctioning itself, perhaps this was part of the overall US strategy, after all they have split the relationship with Russia and Germany, and made the Eu more dependent on Us fuel supplies.
This has been the Michael Hudson analysis all along.
Boomerang sanctions.
The political class in Europe has lost its mind. Where are they going?
Europeans like being slaves.
And just as interesting, where did they come from? US scholarships?
Lemmings?
******************
When the 18th sanctions package was proposed on 10 June, Kaja Kallas announced that ‘we do all this because sanctions work, every sanction weakens Russia's ability to fight.’ She also said, ‘Russia has lost tens of billions in oil revenues. Its economy is shrinking, and its GDP has dropped.’
And yet, these assertions do not appear to be true.
*******************
“DO NOT APPEAR”?? They have been clearly spoken by a delusional human being, a VERY common trait amongst members of the Euro Parliament. It is amazing how that group is able to find so many people with such traits.
In actual fact, reduction or elimination of sanctions won’t bring Russia closer to peace. The key is in fact the official, legal recognition and acceptance by all parties involved (all countries of the world) of the new land borders between Russia and the Ukraine - the four new oblasts already incorporated into Russia, Crimea (already 11 years as part of Russia) and parts of whatever other oblasts that have been “liberated” or will soon be as the SMO continues. Already over a million Ukrainians have been killed or incapacitated, and that will simply continue to increase until new land borders are recognised. THIS IS A FACT.
The European sanctions are themselves based upon the flawed premise that the proceeds of Russian fossil fuel (and other products) are “paying for Putin’s war.” You will hear this trope repeated over and over again in the Western corporate media outlets. Yet this can only be true to the extent that Russia relies upon imports to prosecute its military action.
Where is the analysis demonstrating this reliance? Comes there none, because the brute fact is that Russia has both food and energy security (along with vast metal and mineral wealth) and manufactures virtually all of its own weapon systems; all of these, along with all of the associated workforce and soldiery can be purchased domestically with roubles, resulting in precisely zero effect upon its international balance of payments. And what little it doesn’t make domestically it can source from outside the sanctions regimen in China, North Korea or Iran.
Evidently the European (and American) populace doesn’t understand how any of this actually works. Mind you, there is little evidence that the European misleadership class does either … 🙄
I do not know what fellow Peacemonger followers feel about Russian government ministers input during numerous speeches over recent years. I myself am greatly impressed by their professionalism. Long fluent answers to questions, never stumped. Full of correct facts and figures. No referral to notes. They put the West to shame, if only we had representation of a similar quality. Across all parties MP's have great difficulty when it comes to an answer and question session. Because of this they tend to avoid them on the grounds of National Security or some other trumped up reason. As for Mr Putin, he is out on his own as a fluent orator. If only we had such a man. The West has always castigated his every move, the fact is, he has dragged Russia out of the mire and into a prominent position in the world. We can all hark back to Stalin and his evil policies. We can also hark back to British evil policies which we still pursue today regarding Palestine. Deaths from the West's interventions since 1948 to date are horrendous. Their policies of sanctions on food, medicine and fuel are an evil act which they have used time and time again in their quest to subdue any form of indigenous socialist government being created. We remain silent about assassinations carried out by Mossad, Britain and the USA. We have a crap Anti-Palestinian government with no other alternative as all the remaining main parties have taken the Zionist 30 pieces of silver. Farage's only saving grace is his promise that all our small boat uninvited gate crasher's will be ejected. Some hope! I agree with Ian on ending Russian sanctions. We should be trading with them and join BRICS because Europe and the USA are no true friends of ours and we could be left out on a limb.
None of this matters. The sociopaths who rule over us could not care less about historically grounded, well thought out, factually accurate cogent responses to complex questions.
They care about power. In fact, truth and lies are of interest to our rulers, solely to the extent to which they can be weaponized.
Yes... Minister.
You say:
“Sanctions have become an end [without any reasonabe goals] and policy makers are so invested in sanctions, and so lacking in ideas,..”
The latter is indeed the biggest problem. I added the [ … ].
Good analysis - thank you.
I would add that while Germany not-so-slowly de-industrialises as domestic manufacturing becomes unprofitable, competing factories in China have their pricing advantages underwritten by long-term supplies of discounted Russian oil and gas.
Oh, and never forget those immortal words from Zelenskiy: “No one wants peace more than the Ukraine”.
That pathetic, vile man would rather nuclear war start than even attempt any serious peace talks. His life depends on the continuation of the war.
Who’s plan? The Ukrainians or the Europeans or the Americans? Not even the Russians expected this to go on for over three years. How could anything have been planned?
Zelenskii is lying. He knows he is lying.
What does anyone propose to do about it?
Probably no one in particular is planning to do anything about that (the whole problem since the war started), but the RF in general will simply continue to do what it has been doing for over three years now - cleaning house. By the way, just a little while ago, Zelenskiy said that he wants to speak to Putin. Yes, yes, exactly what he said that he WOULD NOT DO for several years already. Putin would never waste his time even speaking to someone who has no official/legal influence in the Ukraine. The war will simply continue until capitulation occurs. The inevitable conclusion is capitulation, because the Ukraine will simply not face reality.
Any Zelenskii statements are for public consumption.
The plan ever always only was for the europeans to step in once Ukraine starts to really run low on warm live bodies, and then for the Americans to be mousetrapped into joining in rather than leave their catamites hanging in the wind.
And of course Zelenskii's formal authority is irrelevant. Might as well speak to Yanukovich if you want formal authority. The only question is whether orders given in either person's name are carried out. That is all.
Nobody cares. As long as the european leaders pay no personal price, they are happy to keep pouring money into Ukraine and keep provoking Russia, since Russian dithering and indecision have assured the europeans that Russia doesn't have the stones to respond.
Moreover, the real plan ever always only was, once Ukraine started to really run low on warm live bodies, for the europeans to step in, then the United States to ride to the rescue rather than leave their catamites to twist in the wind.
This plan is proceeding apace, aiding by Russian timidity and Trump's weakness, stupidity and ease of manipulation.
Given other Russian neighbours stirring up, I do agree that Russia could be fighting on multiple fronts.
All I've heard over last three weeks is it's a choice between tax rises and cutting disability benefits - no mention at all about billions sent to Ukraine yearly. Just let that sink in. What kind of society are we being forced into because we trust the media to speak truth to power.
I think that 'trust' is substantially smaller than it used to be, and decreasing all the time. But not fast enough.