West’s unilateral anti-Russian sanctions leading to crisis of historic scale — diplomat

tass.com/world/1429343

''The actual causes threatening the global food market with serious turbulence are not in Russia’s actions, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said''

Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya

© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS UNITED NATIONS, March 30. /TASS/.

The West’s unilateral anti-Russian sanctions are leading to a global economic crisis of a historic scale, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Tuesday.

"The actual causes threatening the global food market with serious turbulence are not in Russia’s actions but rather is the unrestrained sanction hysteria the West has unleashed against Russia giving no thought either to the population of the countries of the so-called global south or to their own citizens. The attempt to isolate Russia economically, financially and logistically from the years-long cooperation channels is already entailing an economic crisis of the historic scale. It is clear even for an unsophisticated person that only the refusal from unilateral illegal restrictive measures can ease tensions in the transport and logistics, and financial ties, to ensure uninterrupted supplies and to stabilize international agricultural and food markets," he said.

International liabilities

Russia is strictly committed to its international liabilities and will guarantee security to those Ukrainian troops who will opt to surrender arms, Nebenzia said.

"Russian side fully upholds its international obligations and poses no threat to those Ukrainians who lay down their arms," he told a UN Security Council session on humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

The diplomat said that the Russian resolution, put to vote last week, contained a demand to ensure "respectful and humane treatment of detainees." It was due to "videos of cruel treatment of captured Russian soldiers" posted by Ukrainian nationalists online, Nebenzya continued, asking other participants of the meeting whether they saw those videos.

On Monday, videos emerged on the Internet purportedly showing Ukrainian radical nationalists torturing captive Russian servicemen. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that those involved in the torture of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine must be held accountable for their actions.

>>15976507

Humanitarian pauses

The West is demonstrating inconsistence and hypocrisy when it demands humanitarian pauses in Ukraine, Nebenzia said.

He noted that "many calls have been voiced [at the UNSC meeting] for a humanitarian ceasefire, for providing humanitarian access, for humanitarian pauses and humanitarian corridors." "[UN] Secretary General [Antonio] Guterres came out with the corresponding initiatives yesterday," he said.

"Colleagues, it is hard not to be astonished at your inconsistence," he went on to say. "Last Wednesday, the majority [of UNSC] turned down Russia’s draft of a humanitarian resolution binding on all the parties with a concrete lost of steps to be made to resolve the humanitarian crisis, first of all in eastern Ukraine. Bearing this in mind, today’s statements, especially by the Western delegations, sound quite cynical.".

UN vehicles’ participation in Ukrainian military action

Russia is seeking explanations into why a UN vehicle with diplomatic license plates was used in combat near the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, Nebenzya said.

"Good thing the UN Security Council eventually recognized such violations in Kharkov and Mariupol," Nebenzya said. "We are expecting a response to our latest request, regarding a UN vehicle with diplomatic license plates DP210015 <…near Kharkov, which, according to eyewitnesses, took part in combat operations of Ukrainian nationalists."

"We have also been informed about use of OSCE vehicles by radicals," Nebenzya added. "It is important that both organizations give a fair evaluation of similar facts.".

Medical vehicles

Russia sees the possibility of Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine, carried out with the use of vehicles with medical symbols, Nebenzya said.

"We cannot rule out that under the guise of vehicles of those organizations [UN and OSCE], or vehicles with medical symbols, nearby countries may import weapons, which the West promised to Kiev so generously," he said.

Kiev’s crackdown on public activists

Russia is concerned by reports of the Kiev government’s crackdown on opposition journalists, politicians, and public figures, Nebenzya said.

"In the context of Ukrainian radicals and special services’ harsh treatment of their own citizens, we have serious concerns about the Kiev government’s ongoing purge of public figures, who are out of their favor," he said.

As examples, Nebenzya mentioned the abduction of civil activist Yelena Berezhnaya and reports about disappearances of opposition politician Vasily Volgin, political analysts Dmitry Dzhangirov and Yuri Dudkin, journalists Dmitry Skvortsov and Yuri Tkachev.

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Europe's Plan To Boost LNG Imports From US, Elsewhere Faces Major Obstacles

zerohedge.com/energy/why-us-wont-succeed-weaning-europe-its-dependence-russian-gas

''European leaders have grown quite fond of bandying about the notion of liberating their economies from their dependence on Russian oil and gas. Unfortunately, the numbers just don't make sense.''

On Tuesday, the FT highlighted how Washington's pledge to wean Europe off of Russian gas by boosting LNG exports simply doesn't add up.

As a reminder, the US plan is supposed to work in three steps: first, it will help the EU secure short-term liquefied natural gas supplies to begin displacing Russian gas. Second, Europe will work "toward the goal of ensuring" a bigger market for US gas by 2030. Third, the US would help Europe accelerate its transition to clean energy.

But how much more gas can the US even export? Limits on both exporters' capacity and Europe's infrastructure and ability to absorb gas imports by boat suggest that, for the foreseeable future, the notion of offsetting Russian energy exports is pretty much a pipe dream.

The US says it aims to add 15 billion cubic meters of LNG to the EU this year, with more in the years to come. It didn't specify the origins of the gas, noting it would "work with international partners". By comparison, Russia currently exports 155 billion cubic meters a year of gas to the EU.

However, the baseline for this 15 billion pledge isn't clear. While the US shipped about 22 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe in 2021, it has already sent about 10 billion in the first quarter of this year. All of it is in the form of LNG, which is much more expensive to ship than gas that flows through a pipeline (as most of the Russian gas arriving in the bloc does).

Since October, America's LNG exports to Europe have already more than doubled.

Source: FT

Looking ahead, a team of analysts at Goldman Sachs warned clients in a recent research note that there's little scope for the US to boost LNG exports between now and 2025.

Another major obstacle to replacing Russian gas with American (or Qatari, or Saudi or Australian) LNG is the lack of necessary infrastructure available in Europe. LNG must be carefully offloaded and "regasified" from its liquid state after arriving at its destination. And most European countries simply don't have the necessary infrastructure to accomplish this. Perhaps this is why European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on the EU to "pool its resources", while Germany has suggested renting floating "regasification" vessels.

And even though the bloc's energy situation is more precarious than it has been in years, the clean-energy partisans are have vehemently opposed the construction of more of this LNG infrastructure for fear that it could undermine their agenda of renewables-first.

This is a U-turn from previous EU purchasing decisions as many buyers had stopped negotiating with US developers for LNG due to ESG [environmental, social and governance] concerns,” said Sindre Knutsson at Rystad Energy, a consultancy.

Environmentalists were scathing. “Allowing for the expansion of new and expanded gas export facilities would lock in decades of reliance on risky, volatile fossil fuels and spell disaster for our climate,” said Kelly Sheehan at the Sierra Club.

Even if Europe did manage to rapidly build out the infrastructure (which is unlikely, given the opposition from the ESG fanatics), they would likely have trouble convincing exporters to cut them in. After all, why would the Saudis (who have so far steadfastly refused to boost production in the face of the Ukraine conflict), or the UAE reroute their oil and gas from rapidly growing Asian markets (where demand is expected to remain robust for years to come) to Europe (where any short-term increase in demand is expected to be quickly offset by the bloc's pivot to renewables?).

That's a question President Biden and his European compatriots have been struggling to answer.

''Number of French that agree with Moscow on Ukraine revealed''

rt.com/russia/552894-french-people-narrative-ukraine

29 Mar, 2022 13:52 HomeRussia & FSU

''Over half said Moscow had a point, while a third disapproved of silencing Russian media amid the crisis, recent poll shows''

FILE PHOTO. Newspaper seller sets up his stand in Paris, France. ©Kiran Ridley / Getty Images

A substantial number of French people remain skeptical about the Western narrative on Russia’s attack against Ukraine and want to hear what Moscow has to say about its actions, results of a new poll released on Monday have shown. More than half of respondents queried by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) agreed with at least one Russian “hypothesis” of why its attack against Ukraine was justified, the polling firm said in a report.

The most agreed-with argument was that the US and the EU had “encouraged Ukraine to request integration with NATO” to gain leverage in its standoff with Russia. A total of 30% of people polled said this was true, with 29% calling it false.

The argument that the persecution of Russian-speaking Ukrainians by their government had validated Moscow’s military action was accepted by 28% of people and rejected by 31%. The statement that discrimination has been ongoing for years in some parts of the country was backed by 23%, with 32% rejecting it.

Russia’s claim that its national security had to be protected by all means due to NATO’s drive to integrate Ukraine was deemed true by 22% of respondents, while 42% thought it false.

European retail giant won’t leave Russia

The statement that Ukraine has been ruled by a “junta infiltrated by neo-Nazi movements” sounded truthful to 10% of the people polled. A majority of 53% rejected it.

IFOP remarked that the results demonstrated that “French people [were] far from being impervious to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s narrative,” about the Ukraine attack. Euractiv, an outlet specializing in covering EU politics, went further and labeled the five hypotheses as Russian “conspiracy narratives,” without explaining to readers what these actually were.

EU member-states escalated their opposition to Russian messaging since the start of hostilities in Ukraine, including by banning news outlets RT and Sputnik in their jurisdictions. When asked by IFOP whether they approved the decision to ban, 34% of French people said they did not.

CEO of IFOP Helen Lee Bouygues remarked that one could only “deplore the speed with which Russian propaganda has spread … since the start of the war in Ukraine.” She blamed social media and encrypted messaging apps, in particular Telegram, for the lack of public consent to their government’s preferred narrative on Ukraine.

''Macron goes on campaign trail, gets hammered over fuel prices''

rt.com/news/552929-macron-fuel-prices-campaign

29 Mar, 2022 15:50 HomeWorld News

''Amid war in Ukraine and spiraling costs at home, the French president is facing an angry electorate''

''Emmanuel Macron meets voters during his first campaign journey in Dijon, France, March 28, 2022 © Getty Images / Aurelien Meunier–

French President Emmanuel Macron took to the streets of Dijon on Monday ahead of next month’s elections, and was hammered over the rising cost of fuel and electricity. He defended his government’s efforts to keep prices down, but insisted that he has “no magical answer” to the problem, and that the public will “without a doubt” have to deal with some hardship.

Since Russian troops entered Ukraine over a month ago, Macron has portrayed himself as one of Europe’s foremost geopolitical players: Speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin personally, doing photoshoots in a military sweatshirt after negotiations, and last week announcing a yet-to-happen operation to evacuate the Ukrainian city of Mariupol “in the coming days.”

However, with the first round of presidential elections coming up on April 10, Macron headed to the city of Dijon on Monday to meet voters – some of whom were more concerned with domestic issues than a conflict 2,000km away.

“Put yourself in the shoes of an ordinary French family, it’s terrible,” one man told the president. “It’s horrible to do the shopping, to fill up your tank. I used to get decent pay, I was able to go on holiday, save money. But that’s no longer the case, I’ve become a low-income worker!

“How can you fill a tank with fuel if it costs €140 ($155),” the man continued, “it’s monstrous!”

Macron’s answer was firm. “I have no magical answer,” he replied. “The increase in fixed costs is a tragedy for the middle classes.”

The president defended his government’s allocation of €2 billion ($2.2 billion) toward fuel rebates – a spending hike that gives motorists around 15 cents off a liter of fuel, and boasted of similar moves to offset rising electricity costs – which had already soared to record levels long before Russia’s offensive in Ukraine sent shockwaves through global energy markets.

“If you take electricity, if we hadn’t taken measures your bill wouldn’t just have increased like gas, it would have doubled,” Macron told the man. “When there is an increase in the prices of everything at the world level, and also a war begins, which complicates everything, the prices of everything skyrocket.”

“You are talking to me about Ukraine, but what if tomorrow Putin decides to turn off the gas valve for us? What then?” the man countered. “It’s easy to say, ‘Reduce the temperature in your homes by one or two degrees,’ but I already did it, without waiting for someone to tell me this.”

“Without a doubt, this will have to be done,” Macron admitted, echoing similar comments by officials in Germany. There, Baden-Wurttemberg Minister of Agriculture and Consumer Protection Peter Hauk told citizens to get used to wearing sweaters to deal with the cold after he backed a complete ban on Russian oil and gas imports.

Rising fuel prices have rocked Macron’s entire presidency, with a tax hike in 2018 triggering years of near-weekly ‘Yellow Vest’ protests that grew into a show of dissatisfaction with his neoliberal economic policies. Despite persistently low approval ratings and the current spike in living costs, however, Macron is projected to win the first round of elections next month.

If successful, he would likely face off against right-wing stalwart Marine Le Pen, a showdown that polls show him winning, albeit less comfortably than he did in 2017.

''Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action announces early warning level of the Emergency Plan for Gas – security of supply still ensured''

bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2022/03/20220330-bmwk-announces-early-warning-level-of-the-emergency-plan-for-gas-security-of-supply-still-ensured.html

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action today announced the early warning level of the Emergency Plan for Gas. This is a precautionary measure. Security of supply continues to be ensured.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said: “Today, following coordination within the Federal Government, I informed the European Commission that the Federal Government has announced the first level of the Emergency Plan for Gas, the ‘early warning level’. Security of supply continues to be ensured. There are no supply bottlenecks at present. Nevertheless, we need to step up our preventive measures in order to be ready to cope with any escalation by Russia. The announcement of the early warning level means that a crisis team has convened. The crisis team analyses and assesses the supply situation so that – if necessary – further measures can be taken to enhance the security of supply. The Federal Government is doing all it can to uphold security of supply in Germany.”

Last week, Russia announced that it would only be accepting payments for gas imports in roubles. This is a breach of the private-sector supply contracts. In a joint declaration on 28 March 2022, the G7 countries rejected payment in roubles. Despite this, Russia made several statements yesterday making it clear that it would only accept payments in roubles and threatened to halt gas deliveries if such payments are not made. In order to be prepared for potential restrictions or interruptions to supply, the Economic Affairs and Climate Ministry therefore announced today the early warning level under Article 11 of the EU Regulation concerning measures to safeguard the security of gas supply and convened the gas crisis team. This means that the current situation in the gas grid will be closely observed and assessed.

The members of the gas crisis team include representatives of the Economic Affairs and Climate Ministry, representatives of the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), the market area managers for gas and the long-distance gas grid operators, and they are supported by representatives of the Länder. From now on, the gas crisis team will meet regularly in order to monitor the situation on the gas market in the light of daily reports from the long-distance gas grid operators and the market area managers, and to advise the minister and state secretaries of the Economic Affairs and Climate Ministry. Where necessary, the operators of the long-distance and distribution gas grids will take network-specific and market-specific measures in line with their responsibility in accordance with sections 16 and 16a of the Energy Industry Act. The European Commission and the neighbouring countries have been informed about the announcement of the early warning level. The Economic Affairs and Climate Ministry is in permanent contact with the European Commission.

At present, the overall supply to all German gas consumers is ensured. Sufficient gas is available on the markets. This applies to residential customers, welfare services like hospitals, district heating, electricity generation and the business sector. With immediate effect, all gas consumers – from industry to households – are called on to reduce their consumption as much as they can.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the EU must speed up the transition to green energy in order to properly punish Russia, and screamed to them:

“Sanctions against Russia must be ramped up…Constantly…You need to reject Russian oil, block trade with the Russian Federation, close ports to Russian ships”

—yesterday it saw OPEC telling the Western colonial powers that it won’t increase energy supplies, with their spokesman Emirati Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei firmly stating:

“The U.S. and its partners are asking to politicize OPEC’s relationship with Russia….We will not do it”, after which he warned: “We need to decouple politics from energy availability and energy affordability…I'm worried that because we are mixing the two, we could end up in a situation where energy affordability becomes an issue and that would definitely lead ultimately to poverty, and ultimately could lead to a stagnation of the world economy”.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/29/uae-energy-minister-warns-of-worsening-poverty-if-energy-affordability-isnt-tackled.html

https://www.rt.com/russia/552957-ukraine-warns-eu-on-renewable/

>>15976646

How to make Dijon mustard from scratch (try this and never buy Dijon mustard again)

https://youtu.be/6LU02AGrsTk

>>15976750

During the Vietnam War, some U.S. troops believed that Vietnamese traditions held the symbolism of the spade to mean death and ill-fortune and in a bid to frighten and demoralise Viet Cong soldiers, it was common practice to leave an ace of spades on the bodies of killed Vietnamese.

March 29

National Vietnam War Veterans Day – March 29 -

Major

>>15976844

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/03/30/fort-bragg-soldier-pronounced-dead-after-being-found-in-car-identified-as-major/

Fort Bragg soldier pronounced dead after being found in car identified as major

armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/03/30/fort-bragg-soldier-pronounced-dead-after-being-found-in-car-identified-as-major

March 30, 2022 Your Army By F.T. Norton, The Fayetteville Observer

Mar 30, 09:03 AM

This story was first published in the Fayetteville Observer.

''A soldier pronounced dead at the hospital after being found unresponsive in a parked vehicle on Fort Bragg on Friday was identified as Maj. Eric “Adam” Ewoldsen, according to a statement from Fort Bragg’s U.S. Army Special Operations Command.''

Ewoldsen, 38, was pronounced dead at Womack Army Medical Center, officials said.

“The sudden loss of Adam is a tragedy to his family, friends and fellow soldiers,” said Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, U.S. Army Special Operations Command commanding general. “He was an outstanding officer and teammate, and he will be sorely missed.

“We will mourn his passing, and support his family through this difficult time.”

The Army Criminal Investigation Division is handling the probe into Ewoldsen’s death, a USASOC spokeswoman said. A cause of death was not released.

Officials also did not release the time and location where Ewoldsen was found.

A native of Greer, South Carolina, Ewoldsen entered the Army in 2007 as an infantry officer. His duty assignments included stints with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Richardson, Alaska, in 2008; the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 2010; and the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, in 2012.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (fourth award); Meritorious Service Medal (second award); Army Commendation Medal (third award); Army Achievement Medal; Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal (three campaign stars); Iraq Campaign Medal (three campaign stars); Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon (third award); NATO Medal; Ranger Tab; Combat Infantryman Badge; Expert Infantryman Badge; Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge; and Parachutist Badge. the statement said.

This article was authored by Fayetteville Observer’s military and crime editor, F.T. Norton. He can be reached at fnorton@fayobserver.com.