Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

Brent crude below $70

And Saudis are very pissed off they cut production only for others (like Russia) to not honour opec+ agreements

From FT

“ Saudi Arabia needs an oil price of close to $100 a barrel to balance its budget, according to the IMF, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seeks to fund a series of megaprojects at the heart of an ambitious economic reform programme.However, the kingdom has decided it is not willing to continue ceding market share to other producers, the people said “

They are going to drive oil prices into the ground again,

Bye bye Russia, last two times Saudis done this Russian economy imploded

https://www.ft.com/content/1d186f62-5941-4f9e-aef1-7d93a8a696cd

And lord knows the British should know all there is to know about imperialistic mafia empires built on corruption. They still have a House of Lords FFS. So if they can see it, it should be clear to the whole world.

kind of ironic alright every empire in the last couple of hundred years has been about self interest and mafia practices including the yanks

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with acknowledging present day evil just because up to a few generations back your own nation was guilty of the same practices, albeit in different times. It shouldn't in any way lessen the comments coming from the UK. They're 100% correct. Discussions about how Britain should face up to its own colonial past are for another day.

who said anything about colonists?, the US empire is more about coercion and maintaining control by any means necessary . its not exactly like Switzerland now is it?

I know its easy to take a pop at the brits and their history (also fun) but they havnt fully distanced themselves from the shadow of it either or as that Humphrey line from Yes Minister put it "its just like old times"

Shame they didn't wait until some Russians were in it.

Absolute strawman nonsense. Because if you don't act like Switzerland you are an empire based on coercion and control?
Pure drivel, plain and simple.
Rather easy for Switzerland to be Switzerland when it is entirely surrounded by NATO and EU members.

We have seen multiple countries, freed from the USSR yoke, voluntarily and democratically join NATO, of which the US is the most important member.
Poland, the Baltics, etc.
Most recently Sweden and Finland, making considered decisions to abandon their long standing neutrality.
Because of fear of a revanchist Russia, seeking to dominate through coercion and control.
The precise behaviour that led to it invading Ukraine.

Why would they do that, if they were just swapping threat of one empire to the domination by another.

Proof positive it is not.

That will give Putin ideas about dropping the conscription age to ten, and he'll send the little turds to the front line.

you seem upset? its much easier to view the US and Russia as competing "mafias" surely

Is anyone else surprised at the amount of coverage the war in Israel gets with RTE, BBC etc compared to a much bigger and deadlier war in Ukraine. It feels like wall to wall coverage Vs an after thought at times.

White phosphorus. Ironically they (US) have no issues with Israel using them and sometimes as alleged by Amnesty International on civilians.

I just wish Ukraine was treated equally among other US allies wrt weapon use.

https://united24media.com/latest-news/pentagon-pushes-for-white-phosphorus-shells-for-ukraine-white-house-resists-2607

I'm wondering if the Hungarians have erased the 1956 uprising from their history books, a rebellion that was quashed by the Soviets. I can't believe that Orban is BFF with Putin. He might wave the white flag if the Russians ever piled in but I'm sure that many Hungarians wouldn't stand for it.

It was same with Syrian war where Russians spent decade helping Assad level the country, kill millions and drive millions more away, and used chemical weapons when not too busy bombing hospitals

Any mention of that just yields true usual “but but whataboutism America” we see on this page

We literally have a post equating the US to Russia only a few posts up, i for one welcome our American “mafia” overlords who helped raise this country from a theocratic poorest country in Europe and pay so many taxes here and provide employment to the point where our per capita incomes are larger than most states

Much better than the Russia mafia who are busy raping, looting, murdering and levelling whole cities on their way across Europe

It’s a pity we can’t ship the extremist cranks to Russia so they can experience first hand the high quality standards of living there and the bright opportunities to die for dear leader in a mud hole

Easy there Mick Wallace. It's 2024, not the 19th century. Last I checked Starmer is not invading a European country for conquest to expand a mafia empire, whereas Putin is. So they have every right to point it out.

And before you open the door of low-brow quips about Iraq or British colonisation or any of that whataboutery. Countries are not people. Starmer is not Gladstone, Biden isn't George Bush. It isn't ironic or hypocritical if Scholz criticises Russia's invasion.