Russia’s Economic Blackout Will Change the World

By EmmaZahn on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 9:18am |

I wrote about Russia’s economic blackout could change the world, including the beginning of the end of clean energy complacency in the west and the North Koreafication of Russiahttps://t.co/0yXKzuR48Q
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) March 10, 2022

URL:

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/03/russia-economic-sanctions-wheat-oil/627004/

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also just ICYMI, the Covid lockdown in Shenzhen is going to fuck with the world economy some more.

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 1:54pm

American society will have to move on from a lot of assumptions it built up because of free trade now that significant parts of the global economy are locked or shut down.

It's a much different situation that the last century. The Soviets were often the ones enforcing barriers, with the West hoping to get in. They starved off Ukraine in the Holodomor and punished other groups with starvation.

The American and Euro right have an awkward fascination with Russia because they at least think that they would much rather be there than in the west that has now embraced its own progressive totalitarianism.

All that Soviet stuff was material, however. In a modern technological age, it might actually be possible to cut someone off from funds and therefore from trading with anyone in any capacity. There could end up being a humanitarian catastrophe for the unfortunate people who find themselves cut off due to the actions of Russian oligarchs and despot and Western elites who never took them in to account when making all of these decisions.

by Orion on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 2:10pm

WSJ doing its best to keep the monied informed of clues of what that new world might be like:

Saudi Arabia Invites China’s Xi to Visit Kingdom Amid Strained U.S. Relations https://t.co/aB4J63K75N
— Colin P. Clarke (@ColinPClarke) March 14, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 3:57pm

Some of the most excruciating people I encountered growing up were what the Right calls "virtue signalers." They were/are progressives who would marry or adopt people from exotic (or what they thought were exotic) parts of the world, speak randomly in conversations in random foreign languages, and talk about being "citizens of the world." Everything they did was some sort of imagined statement that would shut up and put in to place the hypothetical backward right wing neanderthal that they imagine comprised the entire rest of the United States. People like this bolstered gentrification of various urban centers. They were empowered by various high paying tech jobs that made it easy to close off from reality.

You will hear and have heard a whole lot less from such people in a world where the United States has internationally backed off. They'll be forced to deal with the actual world around them. The thing is that, much like how FDR promised for some time to avoid being drawn back in to a global conflict, there might not be much choice.

by Orion on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 4:07pm

here's tomorrow's front page for the perhaps even more popular alternative (be sure to check out the whole-page image, where the Shenzhen story leads right after the fold)

Just published: front page of the Financial Times, international edition, Tuesday 15 March https://t.co/CvM2Ih6oNy pic.twitter.com/0LZHFQgj8M
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) March 14, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 6:03pm

80% of traded goods move by sea and face new climate threats, according to a study (via @climate) https://t.co/ss1aXywWFB
— Bloomberg Pursuits (@luxury) March 14, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 6:09pm

meanwhile

pssst (whisper-voice): oil prices have FALLEN below $100-a-barrel today
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) March 14, 2022

and let me just repost Yglesias' chart from a few days ago right here

Worth saying that domestic oil production is in fact rising at a good clip. pic.twitter.com/fGy4JioJ5l
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 10, 2022

edit to add, graph from today:

Oil Price continues to drop, a sign that either the markets believe that the loss of Russian supply can be handled better than expected, or that the war might be over sooner than we think? https://t.co/UfBnMGIz2a
— Phillips P. OBrien (@PhillipsPOBrien) March 14, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 9:45pm

Damn Biden, he's ruining our oil profits.
(just getting the 1st kick in on the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" factory)

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 4:59am

"This war goes far beyond Ukraine... a sword of Damocles hangs over the global economy, especially in the developing world"

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says "Ukraine alone provides more than half of the World Food Programme's wheat supply"https://t.co/v0vDD96GyL pic.twitter.com/lQJHlmInAo
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 14, 2022

Russia, Ukraine and the global wheat supply https://t.co/N90IYTFsiP pic.twitter.com/XgOXVRxTW8
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 10, 2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine arrived when global supply chains were already feeling the COVID shock, leading to wheat being a hot commodity. https://t.co/m0RZHvyi9H
— Motherboard (@motherboard) March 15, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/14/2022 - 11:07pm

Hillary did a good one!

I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award. https://t.co/4og9S3OCEp
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 15, 2022

Learned a thing or two as Secretary of State.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 3:29pm

It's also funny, not only Trump still talks about Hillary - so does Putin, even tho she's been retired over 5 years. Quite the lifetime achievement indeed - they came, they saw, he cried.

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 3:36pm

one example of enforcement

According to Polish media Russian embassy in Warsaw tried to withdraw 10 000 000 zł (about 2 mln euro) in cash, but was prevented from doing so thanks to anti-money laundering mechanisms
— Tomasz Oryński (@TOrynski) March 15, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 4:35pm

On Israel's play at The New Yorker Daily Comment, what they are up to, by Bernard Avishai (I remember him from the older version of TPM Cafe! circa 2006-7, mebbe)

Israel’s quasi-neutrality on the Russian invasion: condemning it in the UN, but refusing to join in U.S. and European sanctions, and providing residence and tax haven for Russian-Jewish oligarchs, who have funded campaigns and projects of Israeli ministershttps://t.co/lQ1CMDNhQg
— Alfons López Tena (@alfonslopeztena) March 15, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 4:42pm

a good example, here's a guy who is hoping the world is changing a lot:

When Saudi Arabia and the State of Israel unite, we do not need America
— (@SadiiS4) March 15, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 4:56pm

FWIW

Many folks run around claiming to be “free-market” capitalists, but what they actually are is captured market capitalists, using subsidies + restrictive policy to hold us hostage to fossil fuels, for-profit healthcare/housing, etc that many wouldn’t choose if they had the choice
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 14, 2022

If you think gas is expensive now, imagine if we actually had to pay the true price w/o the insane gov subsidies and favoring granted to them.

If fossil fuel companies didn’t have such tipped scales for them it’s very likely we’d be much further along w/ cheaper alternatives
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 14, 2022

If public, socially owned, or cooperative housing was widely available, many would choose that over being held hostage by a private equity co charging 60% of your $ for a small apt.

Or you’d choose to buy a home if it wasn’t being gobbled up by those same co’s capturing the mkt
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 14, 2022

Your medicine would be much, much cheaper if the billions in PUBLICLY funded research and development of treatments were treated like public investments requiring a return rather than multi-billion giveaways to big pharma once a cure is developed.

And so on and so forth.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 14, 2022

I mean seriously. Next time someone wants to brag about how capitalist they are & pop off about how much they believe in and love free markets, challenge them to name them.

Name the significant markets that impact people’s lives that are actual free markets. You’ll learn a LOT
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 14, 2022

You’ll also learn a lot about who has access to public options and who doesn’t.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 14, 2022

Also noted that Cori Bush inserted "no to drilling" and "no to buying from states like Saudi Arabia" sentiments in a strong statement of support for suspending energy imports from Russia:

My statement on the Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act pic.twitter.com/ehNb4LIMbi
— Congresswoman Cori Bush (@RepCori) March 10, 2022

I guess the reasoning is in the meantime, until we get rid of gasoline-fueled cars, we give poor people free gas in their car tanks and farmers free gas in their tractors paid for by whom? Oil companies themselves - price fixing? Or their standard answer, tax the billionaires? Or what? Don't see any suggestions on dropping state and Federal taxes on gasoline, soooo that must mean make the poor continue to pay until nobody can profit off these situations?

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 6:05pm

Russia has overtaken Iran to become the world's most sanctioned country, as Western nations continue to add economic penalties to Russian entities and individuals in response to the Kremlin's war against Ukraine.https://t.co/gwjzktWaYg
— DW News (@dwnews) March 15, 2022

Nobody's paying attention to Kim, soooo -

NEW: South Korea's military reportedly says North Korea fired a projectile, but the launch ended in a failure. https://t.co/CFSyvxBL4o
— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) March 16, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 9:30pm

hmmm, a coincidence that this video is being tweeted by Reason? probably not:

People 4 Cuba, a relief organization founded by Martha @BuenoForMiami, smuggles food and medicine directly into the hands of suffering Cubans to help undermine an oppressive dictatorship. pic.twitter.com/jjwSkiA6so
— reason (@reason) March 16, 2022

freedom of self-determination: it's a hot topic worldwide

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/16/2022 - 6:08pm

Fukuyama notes:

Another frozen conflict... https://t.co/9RZwaxhv8D
— Francis Fukuyama (@FukuyamaFrancis) March 17, 2022

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/17/2022 - 12:36am

1/ Carmakers Seen Producing 5 Million Fewer Vehicles After Russian Invasion

S&P Global Mobility cuts 2022, 2023 view each by 2.6 million

The forecaster now expects auto companies to make 81.6 million cars worldwide this year and 88.5 million next year." https://t.co/VjYSyiM0pJ https://t.co/LYwStHiJ7q pic.twitter.com/ccCF5x2Ghw
— Tren Griffin (@trengriffin) March 17, 2022

2/ "LONDON (AP) — BMW and Volkswagen warned this week that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is causing shortages of some vital components, forcing them to reduce vehicle production in Europe." https://t.co/hMBC8EePf8
— Tren Griffin (@trengriffin) March 17, 2022

3/ "China’s outbreak of Covid-19 cases is also leading to plant closures in manufacturing hubs including Shenzhen and Changchun. Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and Tesla Inc. are among the companies that have idled factories this week."https://t.co/ocXD2arwEN
— Tren Griffin (@trengriffin) March 17, 2022

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/17/2022 - 6:31am

Putin says pro-Western Russians are 'scum and traitors' who need to be removed from society. I actually watched this video in full and it was really indicative of a famous Hitler speech in which he talked about "an international clique" that would move from European city to European city.

Much like the Nazis (and this is often forgotten history unless you've watched Casablanca), Putin has a shadowy mercenary group, Wagner, that includes quite a few Africans. Europe still has a lot of interests there. God only knows what that could all lead to. Also, Wagner is an odd name for a mercenary group if "denazification" is the goal.

What is really honestly shocking and stirring about this is that, whether it was fake and fatuous, Vladimir Putin spent decades as Russian president with a faux diplomacy, always not quite going there in his rhetoric. I remember him describing Donald Trump as "colorful" and saying that he regretted that his relationship with Barack Obama wasn't better. He may have been hiding something much uglier but it's only now that that ugliness has been stirred enough to show itself to this extent.

Also, whoever is telling Candace Owens what to say, it's not Candace Owens:

Candace Owens: “Ukraine wasn't a thing until 1989. Ukraine was created by the Russians”https://t.co/q7oaHcNGrl pic.twitter.com/dQ0bfLUvnX
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) March 16, 2022

by Orion on Thu, 03/17/2022 - 1:34pm

Putin’s War Could Make Central Banks a Crypto Battlefield. The weaponization of the dollar and the SWIFT network has sent a shockwave around the world. The response may be widespread cryptoization. By @andymukherjee70 https://t.co/L9ufZFEObc via @bopinion
— alain servais (@aservais1) March 18, 2022

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 7:22am

African Dependence on Wheat from Russia and Ukraine pic.twitter.com/I2XvJfdk1H
— Charles Onyango-Obbo (@cobbo3) March 17, 2022

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 7:26am

Yglesias retweeted

Promising sign of pragmatic action from the administration and Senator Manchin. Hopefully a sign of more actions to come! https://t.co/IIZ7SqPZti
— Skanda Amarnath ( Neoliberal Sellout ) (@IrvingSwisher) March 18, 2022

White House Director of the Economic Council:

Coal and energy communities helped make America what it is, the strongest economy in the world and the global leader of democracy.

Nobody should forget that, and President Biden certainly doesn't.

A https://t.co/qVyrql1yU9
— Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) March 18, 2022

Today, as Putin uses Russia’s energy supply as a weapon against other nations, it’s clearer than ever that we need these communities to serve as the 21st Century Arsenal of Democracy.
— Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) March 18, 2022

To secure true US energy independence, these communities will lead the way, breaking our dependence on unreliable foreign supply chains.

Places like WV can become the engine of our economy again, manufacturing clean tech at home, w/ American iron, steel, and critical minerals.
— Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) March 18, 2022

West Virginia is blessed with essential natural resources, geographically central, surrounded by strong universities, and supported by a culture of pragmatic public-private partnership.

The economic potential is high.
— Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) March 18, 2022

That’s why today, agencies announced a series of new investments, including a $5M grant program to support up to five workforce training pilots that will increase the number of union jobs across the domestic battery supply chain within energy communities.
— Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) March 18, 2022

This builds off earlier progress:

Last mth, DOD awarded MP Materials $35M for its magnet facility in CA, and MP then announced another $700M to create an end-to-end domestic magnet supply chain by '24.

Key input for EVs, wind turbines, electronics, etc.https://t.co/7U9lvfP4Z4
— Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) March 18, 2022

We've seen the impact of a decadal decline in our domestic manufacturing base and supply chains.

It’s time to rebuild them, and that can happen here. We know you've heard talk before, but now @POTUS is bringing action.
— Brian Deese (@BrianDeeseNEC) March 18, 2022

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 8:46pm

Biden March 16:

Oil prices are decreasing, gas prices should too.

Last time oil was $96 a barrel, gas was $3.62 a gallon. Now it’s $4.31.

Oil and gas companies shouldn’t pad their profits at the expense of hardworking Americans. pic.twitter.com/uLNGleWBly
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 16, 2022

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 8:51pm

Hillary offered $30bill to WVa to build to new energy but someone had to play gotcha Calvinball (like the MSM? GOP? Mnuchin?) so the dumb fuckers got nothing waiting for Trump to deliver on his bullshit promises. Sucks to be gullible. Meanwhile 7 years later $5 million is a big deal. Kind of like watching the ruble devalue.

https://www.vox.com/2016/3/21/11278138/clinton-coal-gaffe

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 11:07pm

WTF?! “India, the world’s biggest oil importer behind China and the United States, has agreed to purchase 3 million barrels of Russian oil at a heavy discount, an Indian official said Thursday.”
— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) March 18, 2022

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 9:09pm

Much of the developing world will likely take Putin's side. See South Africa: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/18/update-1-s-africas-ramaphosa-blames-nato-for-russias-war-in-ukraine

by Orion on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 11:04pm

And what makes you say that? Does Angola have good vibes towards Russia despite past proxy wars? Even Uzbekistan is refusing to go along. Do Kenyans like Russia? Mozambique fighting off rebels? Uganda with it's economy growing? Moldova prefers Europe. Think Nepal supports colonialist powers? Does Vietnam prefer to keep increasing it's trade or fall back to the 70s? Bangladesh has huge outsource work lifting it's economy - even seem to have control of flood season now. Do they want to suck up to Russia? We may even have a detente with Venezuela out of this.

South Africa's an outlier, go-it-alone grandstanding. We'll see how long this lasts or spreads. Of course Trump & Putin worked a lot on India & Brazil.

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 11:18pm

March 2: The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution on Wednesday demanding that Russia immediately end its military operations in Ukraine. @ newsUN.org

Known informally as the world’s “town hall”, the Assembly is where all 193 UN Member States have a voice. A total of 141 countries voted in favour of the resolution, which reaffirms Ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

Assembly President Abdulla Shahid struggled to read the results of the vote as ambassadors began applauding, and then standing up, as he started speaking.

'Unconditionally withdraw'

The resolution demands that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”

It was sponsored by more than 90 countries and needed a two-thirds majority in the Assembly to pass.

Five countries - Belarus, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (more commonly known as North Korea) Eritrea, Russia and Syria - voted against it, while 35 abstained [....]

....141 of the 193 member states voted for the resolution, while 35 abstained, five voted against and 12 didn’t vote at all.... by Emily Ferguson @ inews.co.uk

Full list of countries that voted against:

Russia

Belarus

North Korea

Eritrea

Syria

Which countries abstained?

Just under one fifth of member states chose to abstain from the vote to deplore Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Russia’s key ally China was among them, as well as India, Iraq and Iran.

India and China both previously abstained on a separate motion at the UN Security Council motion, with India reliant on Russia for military equipment, while China’s Xi Jinping has been reluctant to break off ties to Mr Putin as he seeks to rival Western influence.

Justifying his abstention, China’s UN ambassador Zhang Jun said of the resolution “does it take full consideration the history and complexity of the current crisis?”, while India’s permanent representative T. S. Tirumurti called for more peace talks and said he was abstaining “keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation”.

China, which has grown increasingly close to Russia in recent years, says it will not participate in Western sanctions against Moscow.

Full list of countries that abstained:

Algeria

Angola

Armenia

Bangladesh

Bolivia

Burundi

Central African Republic

China

Congo

Cuba

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

India

Iran

Iraq

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Madagascar

Mali

Mongolia

Mozambique

Namibia

Nicaragua

Pakistan

Senegal

South Africa

South Sudan

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Uganda

Vietnam

Zimbabwe

Which countries didn’t vote at all?

As well as those that voted against or chose to abstain from the vote, 12 chose not to vote at all.

Venezuela was unable to vote because its voting rights had been suspended as a result of unpaid UN membership dues.

No vote recorded:

Azerbaijan

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Morocco

Togo

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Venezuela

[....]

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 12:41am

I posted that South Africa news 24 hrs. ago (from Reuters 3/17 lunchtime) on the other thread about International reactions. I'll quote what I posted

S.Africa's Ramaphosa blames NATO for Russia's war in Ukraine!

Very depressing…(and a reminder of how very different perceptions of Putin’s invasion and war are forming and cementing around the world)https://t.co/3hIeT5TSAh
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) March 17, 2022

It is an important news because he blames NATO there, not just lily-livered abstaining for economic reasons like they did at the U.N. but full out anti-NATO, might as well voted against the resolution.

That position that they are dangerous, might have expansive territorial ambitions!

All the more reason to have NATO!

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 12:39am

Putin has friends over basically the whole of Africa and Asia. For whatever reason they appear to be more hesitant in Latin America.

by Orion on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 12:42am

Florida gun store owner arms Ukranians: https://youtu.be/Ay_EQPQ-MUQ

by Orion on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 12:43am

Meanwhile, in Russia: https://youtu.be/8FhGOV7fs64

by Orion on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 1:01am

Ukraine and Moldova have now synchronized their energy grids with that of continental Europe after having previously been linked to the Russo-Belarusian grid.

The first tests were conducted before the war and the plan was initially to do it in 2023, but the war sped it up.

pic.twitter.com/8WOfqesrCP
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 18, 2022

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 2:15am

meanwhile U.S.'s DIA tells House Armed services that there's been "revolutionary" intel sharing between U.S. & Ukraine:

“Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, who heads both Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, said that ‘in my 35 years’ he has never seen a better sharing of accurate, timely and actionable intelligence than what has transpired with Ukraine.” https://t.co/0AdhIoGpkX
— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) March 19, 2022

as in: "revolutionary", as in: we may be doing things differently in the future....

Note head of NSC & Cyber Command basically concurred.

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 2:59am

UN Sec. General:

The war in Ukraine is already disrupting supply chains and causing the prices of fuel, food and transport to skyrocket.

We must do everything possible to avert a hurricane of hunger and a meltdown of the global food system.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 19, 2022

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 1:39pm

When we say Kyiv is winning the information war, far too often we only mean information spaces we inhabit.

Pulling apart the most obvious RU info op to date (as we did using semantic modelling), very clear it is targeting BRICS, Africa, Asia. Not the West really at all. pic.twitter.com/GA5KUQo77S
— Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) March 18, 2022

This is the kind of thing this network shares by the way. Mainly an amplification network pumping a small number of viral pro-invasion meme, largely around themes of western hypocrisy, NATO expansionism and BRICS solidarity, pic.twitter.com/0gS9eibs94
— Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) March 18, 2022

These were the accounts receiving most inward amplification - the higher value accounts actually sending the virals. You'll see they, too, are spread across Asian and African languages + identities. pic.twitter.com/rGpm83yBF0
— Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) March 18, 2022

For anyone who wants to dive more into this network, i'll be sharing more info about it today.

Let's start where we left yesterday. Really the point of this network was to concentrate Retweets to a small number of pro-invasion memes/virals, marked on the map here. pic.twitter.com/SRhM3LNUaF
— Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) March 19, 2022

he continues....

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 3:46pm

Let's jump into the clusters. Disclaimer: I'm going to use real accounts as examples here. I'm not suggesting they're certainly bots or Russian info agents; just that behaviourally they are very similar to a network that - in its entirely - is extremely suspicious.
— Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) March 19, 2022

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 8:02pm

This is an extraordinary thread of sudden and unforeseen change. It's why hope can never pin itself on the assumption that history plods steadily forward. Sometimes it crashes. Sometimes it flies. https://t.co/WAoOJlN05V
— Rebecca Solnit (@RebeccaSolnit) March 20, 2022

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/19/2022 - 8:55pm

by Orion on Sun, 03/20/2022 - 1:07am

McDonald's closed 847 restaurants in Russia and left.

McDonald's closed 847 restaurants in Russia and left.

Russians turned the logo 90 degrees.

Welcome to "Uncle Vanya".

Similar burgers, fries, etc.

And much lower prices.

Only Russian ingredients. pic.twitter.com/j2OIoIDqp9
— Pepe Escobar (@RealPepeEscobar) March 20, 2022

May be a joke, idk.

by EmmaZahn on Mon, 03/21/2022 - 2:10am

well, they'll have plenty of wheat to make the burger buns if they so chose, though - see NYT food crisis article below

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/21/2022 - 12:36pm

Russia and Ukraine account for 30% of the world’s wheat exports, 17% of corn, 32% of barley & 75% of sunflower seed oil. Russia also exports about 15% of the world's fertilizer.

Now all of that food and fertilizer are stuck.

My story on a looming crisis:https://t.co/mIuWPkqDD9
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

Some more worrisome stats:

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, wheat prices have increased by 21%, barley by 33% and some fertilizers by 40%.

The UN said the war's impact on the food market could cause another 7.6 million to 13.1 million people to go hungry.https://t.co/mIuWPkqDD9
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

Consider: Armenia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan & Eritrea have imported all of their wheat from Russia & Ukraine.

Now they need new sources, but they're competing against bigger buyers like Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh & Iran, which got more than 60% of their wheat from Russia & Ukraine.
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

And all of them will be bidding on an even smaller supply because China is buying much more than usual.

China just revealed that flooding delayed a third of its wheat crop, and now the upcoming harvest "can be said to be the worst in history,” said China’s agriculture minister.
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

North Africa & the Middle East rely on Russian and Ukrainian wheat. High food prices have also long been a catalyst for political upheavals there.

As a result, many governments subsidize food, but now high prices are squeezing budgets.

By @VivianHYee:https://t.co/p1oepGQ1iv
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

The war in Ukraine is exacerbating humanitarian crises elsewhere.

Aid workers in Afghanistan say it is making it more difficult to feed the 23 million Afghans — more than half the population — who already don't have enough to eat.

More from @Tmgneff: https://t.co/Dp3t64OOfd
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

But it's not just food. Russia is the world’s largest fertilizer exporter, and it has told its producers to halt exports.

Another major fertilizer exporter? Russia’s closest ally, Belarus. Just before the war, Belarus’s fertilizer exports were also blocked because of sanctions.
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

Brazil, the world’s largest producer of soybeans, purchases nearly half its potash fertilizer from Russia and Belarus. It has just three months of stockpiles left.

Now farmers are using less, if any, and the soybean crop, already hit by a drought, is likely to be even smaller.
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

Brazil sells most of its soybeans to China, which mostly uses them to feed livestock.

Fewer, pricier soybeans could force ranchers to cut back on animal feed, meaning smaller cows, pigs and chickens — and higher prices for meat.

Read our full story: https://t.co/mIuWPkqDD9
— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 20, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/21/2022 - 12:26pm

^ it's a sure thing; skyrocketing food prices and lots more famine allover the world for a while, all you have to do is read his tweets

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/21/2022 - 12:37pm

Legion of the damned: Inside Ukraine’s army of misfits, veterans, and war tourists in the fight against Russia https://t.co/3uR1rs4d7F
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) March 20, 2022

the question is, what will the world end up with once those guys are done with this project?

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/21/2022 - 2:36pm

Biden:

“We are at an inflection point..in the world. It occurs every 3 or 4 generations…60m people died between 1900-1946..and now is the time when things are shifting, there’s gonna be a NEW WORLD ORDER out there, and we’ve gotta LEAD IT..”pic.twitter.com/jRHIhwr8Qb
— Maajid أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) March 22, 2022

listen to the whole thing, not just his excerpt

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/21/2022 - 9:06pm

“We are the single most fragile neighbour of Ukraine… we need help to stay on our feet” - @nicupopescu tells @FinancialTimes

Receiving 100,000s of refugees & threatened by Russia’s invasion moving west, Moldova is heavily affected by the war in Ukraine https://t.co/hI7C2aJxDl
— Henry Foy (@HenryJFoy) March 22, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/22/2022 - 3:46am

How Ukraine Unplugged from Russia and Joined Europe's Power Grid with Unprecedented Speed https://t.co/JMvCb9Qk33 ##foryourconsideration #feedly
— Doyu Shonin (@bear_risa) March 23, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/23/2022 - 7:16pm

Prime Minister of Estonia

My messages before today’s @NATO summit and #EUCO EU leaders’ meeting via @nytimes on how to contain the Kremlin’s aggression, support #Ukraine and go an extra mile in our own defence. https://t.co/oMcxhQU9Jh
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) March 24, 2022

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/24/2022 - 4:41am

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has landed in Brussels for the upcoming G-7 meeting and confirmed the North Korea test as an ICBM. He says G-7 countries will discuss how to cooperate on response to NK ballistic missile launches and Japan will work w/US & Korea on response.
— Michelle Ye Hee Lee (@myhlee) March 24, 2022

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/24/2022 - 7:51am

"The soft power and cultural influence that many in Europe and the United States had hoped would someday make militaries obsolete has failed spectacularly to stem the aspirations of autocratic rule."

Open letter from the CEO of @PalantirTech on Ukraine.https://t.co/4HF6Of61uc
— Antonio García Martínez (agm.eth) (@antoniogm) March 31, 2022

they make software and believed in its power, but here he is saying: that was an illusion, we still need that good old fashioned hardware

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/31/2022 - 8:53pm

In the News

Russia plays weak hand in Palestine
Russia plays weak hand in Palestine

submitted by PeraclesPlease 8 months ago

The intra-Palestinian meeting in Moscow has precedent

Russia's hosted such meetings in the past, most recently Feb 2019

Russia has long lamented the US' "monopolization" of the peace process & tried to carve out a niche for itself: mediating among the disunited Palestinians/2
— Hanna Notte (@HannaNotte) February 29, 2024

Read the article at https://twitter.com/HannaNotte/status/1763116222256701787

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Mother Jones is Reaching out to Alternative Party Voters
Mother Jones is Reaching out to Alternative Party Voters

submitted by HSG 9 months ago

Here's what I told them: https://halginsberg.com/vote-for-jill-stein-again/

Read the article at https://halginsberg.com/vote-for-jill-stein-again/

2 comments

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Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes...
Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes into force

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes into force https://t.co/pCoDg05irX
— Gareth Harris (@garethharr) December 28, 2023

Read the article at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/28/brazil-law-indigenous-land-rights-claim-time-marker?CMP=share_btn_tw

1 comment

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Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti (...
Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti (December 25, 2023)

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Location: U.S. Embassy and residential compounds

Events: Heavy gunfire is occuring around the area of the U.S. Embassy and residential compounds adjacent to the Trutier area of Tabarre. All Embassy personnel have been instructed to remain indoors and shelter-in-place until further notice. All others should avoid the area.

Actions to take:

Avoid the area;

Avoid demonstrations and any large gatherings of people;

Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks; and

If you encounter a roadblock, turn around and get to a safe area.

Read the article at https://ht.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-port-au-prince-haiti-december-25-2023/

3 comments

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Pakistan Is Creating the World’s Next Refugee Crisis
Pakistan Is Creating the World’s Next Refugee Crisis

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

By The Editorial Board @ Bloomberg.com, December 8, 2023

A mass expulsion of Afghan migrants could destabilize the region and fuel radicalization. The West should pressure Islamabad to change course.

Read the article at https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-12-08/pakistan-s-expulsion-of-afghan-refugees-risks-another-crisis

6 comments

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Internet shut down in Chad
Internet shut down in Chad

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

All eyes on #Chad right now
Chad has two internet trunks coming into the country: One from the Red Sea via Sudan; the other from Cameroon. Not possible for the totality of the country's internet network to be shut unless done centrally. A lot of rumors swirling; few facts. https://t.co/N6bDJZ2ixO

Read the article at https://x.com/_hudsonc/status/1732891968709992511?s=20

2 comments

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[Economy] where Joe's success falls short
[Economy] where Joe's success falls short

submitted by PeraclesPlease 11 months ago

Read the article at

3 comments

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[CRIME News] 3 loss-prevention employees in Macy’s across...
[CRIME News] 3 loss-prevention employees in Macy’s across the street from Philadelphia City Hall stabbed

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

BREAKING: Three loss prevention employees in Macy’s across the street from Philadelphia City Hall stabbed, one of them has died from stab wounds, @PhillyPolice sources tell me. Police converged on the store as the three workers were rushed to Jefferson Hospital. pic.twitter.com/4U1eKycL4W

Read the article at https://x.com/KeeleyFox29/status/1731713272942940365?s=20

38 comments

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Former U.S. Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As...
Former U.S. Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As Secret Agent For Cuba

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Former US Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As Secret Agent For Cuba https://t.co/LDwo4ZJI1K
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 4, 2023

Read the article at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/manuel-rocha-ambassador-arrested-cuba_n_656d1e2ae4b028b0f3d07478

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[War in Israel, Chapter II] UNRWA under scrutiny
[War in Israel, Chapter II] UNRWA under scrutiny

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

[Chapter I news is HERE, Oct. 7 til today]

You don’t get it.
It’s not about an UNRWA teacher who held an Israeli kid hostage in his house.
It’s all about how for 75 years you have destroyed the future of generations of Palestinians, including my family.
My cousins in Arab countries are still not citizens - not even the… https://t.co/nv6anubGhc
— George Deek (@GeorgeDeek) December 2, 2023

Note 'Community Notes' attached to UNWRA's statement.

Read the article at https://x.com/GeorgeDeek/status/1731020551328579863?s=20

58 comments

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Maduro, Under Pressure, Holds Vote to Annex Territory From...
Maduro, Under Pressure, Holds Vote to Annex Territory From a Neighbor

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Imperialism for me but not for thee?

It's wild that Venezuela is now holding a vote on whether 2/3 of Guyana actually belongs to them! Analysts suggest that Modoru may want military action to pump up his sinking popularity.

Could we have a war in South America?!?

"The people who live in Essequibo are largely… pic.twitter.com/QvMEjkkgwy

Read the article at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/world/americas/maduro-vote-essequibo-guyana.html

6 comments

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[Where is the GOP headed?] Divisions leave Florida’s House...
[Where is the GOP headed?] Divisions leave Florida’s House Republicans powerless

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

The lack of a cohesive delegation has allowed attention-seeking lawmakers to act on their own.

McCarthy: “You have [Rep. Matt] Gaetz, who belongs in jail…”

Gaetz: “Tough words from a guy who sucker punches people in the back. The only assault I committed was against Kevin’s fragile ego.”https://t.co/LctPuz6Pcf

Read the article at https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/29/divisions-leave-floridas-house-republicans-powerless-00129200

10 comments

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‘She got so mad at me’: book on the ‘Squad’ details AOC-...
‘She got so mad at me’: book on the ‘Squad’ details AOC-Pelosi clashes

submitted by artappraiser 12 months ago

By Martinn Pengelly in Washington DC for TheGuardian.com, Nov. 30

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells Ryan Grim life in Congress ‘completely transformed’ after Democratic leader stepped down

Read the article at https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/30/squad-book-aoc-nancy-pelosi?CMP=share_btn_tw

15 comments

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US health insurers Humana, Cigna in talks to merge -source
US health insurers Humana, Cigna in talks to merge -source

submitted by artappraiser 12 months ago

@ Reuters, Nov. 29

Read the article at https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/us-health-insurers-humana-cigna-talks-merge-wsj-2023-11-29/

3 comments

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Central Africa’s dinosaur regimes and the art of coup-...
Central Africa’s dinosaur regimes and the art of coup-proofing

submitted by artappraiser 12 months ago

"Both the AU and the intl community place more weight on whether elections are held than whether they are free and fair. Sanctions/expulsions occur when there is a coup but not necessarily when elections are rigged or if an “institutional coup” occurs." https://t.co/m9dNimJP0D
— Cameron Hudson (@_hudsonc) November 28, 2023

Read the article at https://africanarguments.org/2023/11/central-africas-dinosaur-regimes-and-the-art-of-coup-proofing/

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