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The Sanctions Madness on RussiaMarch 7, 2014

Official Washington is in full meltdown mode as politicians and pundits frantically one-up each other in over-the-top rhetoric on the Ukraine crisis. But now the madness is shifting into legislative excesses to sanction Russia, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.

By Paul R. Pillar

Seventeen years ago, Richard Haass, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote an article titled “Sanctioning Madness.” The crux of his argument was:

“With a few exceptions, the growing use of economic sanctions to promote foreign policy objectives is deplorable. This is not simply because sanctions are expensive, although they are. Nor is it strictly a matter of whether sanctions ‘work’; the answer to that question invariably depends on how demanding a task is set for a particular sanction. Rather, the problem with economic sanctions is that they frequently contribute little to American foreign policy goals while being costly and even counterproductive.”

Haass was not saying to give up sanctions entirely. But they should not be the go-to tool, reached for habitually and unthinkingly, to address any foreign policy problem under the sun.

The American sanctions habit has not lessened at all during the intervening years, especially on Capitol Hill. Now Congress is getting out its sanctions pen yet again to see what it can do to Russia in response to the Crimean crisis. This may be an even clearer indication of the sanctions addiction than the recent unsuccessful effort to impose more sanctions on Iran, given that the latter move was more of a calculated attempt to sabotage an ongoing negotiation.

The multiple drawbacks and limitations of economic sanctions are too infrequently considered before sanctions are enacted. These include issues of who exactly in the target country will be hurt and who might actually benefit. They also include consideration of counterproductive political reactions, including resistance to be seen buckling under pressure.

The costs, including economic costs, to ourselves of sanctions we impose are insufficiently acknowledged. In some situations trade patterns are such that the costs to ourselves may be minimal, but in those circumstances, and for that very reason, the desired impact on the target country is likely to be minimal as well.

This may be the case with Russia today, with which the European Union has much more trade than the United States. Unilateral U.S. sanctions are thus likely to be ineffective with regard to Russia, while being needlessly disruptive to cooperation and common purpose with regard to the Europeans. Of course, any policy conducted with an attitude of “f—- the E.U.” is not likely to be swayed by that concept.

The most important shortcoming to how sanctions tend to be used is a failure to link them carefully to the behavior we would like to see on the part of the target government. This means being very clear about exactly what it is to which we want the other side to say yes. It also means being clear in our own minds how the sanctions fit into an overall set of incentives and disincentives that will make saying yes seem more attractive than the alternative.

Ask someone pushing for sanctions against Russia today what they are intended to accomplish, and the answer is likely to be an end to Russian military occupation of Crimea. But that concept needs clarification, given that a reversal of moves made over the past week would still leave a Russian military presence on the peninsula by virtue of previous treaties and base leases.

Needed also is a more complete package of understandings with the Ukrainians on matters of interest and concern to Russia, ranging from Ukraine not joining NATO to the status of the Russian language within Ukraine. It is unlikely that Russian military withdrawals will take place in the absence of some such understandings. It is thus unlikely U.S. sanctions would do any good unless carefully integrated into such a larger package.

The sanctions habit has persisted because imposing sanctions is a primitive, easy way to “do something” about difficult problems on which there is an urge to do something. It is a gesture. Congress needs to decide whether gestures are more important than making progress in getting out of the current crisis.

https://consortiumnews.com/2014/03/07/the-sanctions-madness-on-russia/

12 Mar, 2023 16:54

US-Ukraine relationship ‘cracking’ – Politico

Vladimir Zelensky is ungrateful for Washington’s support and his war aims are unrealistic, officials have told the news outlet

The US and Ukraine are increasingly at odds over how Kiev intends the conflict with Moscow to continue, and eventually end, Politico reported on Sunday. President Joe Biden’s insistence that Ukraine will decide when to seek peace might not remain “tenable” for much longer, US officials reportedly believe.

Ukraine’s refusal to abandon the encircled city of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) has caused some Biden administration officials to worry that it is “expending so much manpower and ammunition” that it could be unable to mount a counteroffensive against Russian forces elsewhere, Politico claimed.

Although the Pentagon has suggested that holding the city is not strategically important for Ukraine, “Kiev has, for now, ignored Washington’s input,” the report stated.

The dispute over Bakhmut’s value has been reported by US media already, but it is just one area of disagreement highlighted by Politico. President Vladimir Zelensky’s attitude towards military support from the US is another. While the=US has given Ukraine tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons out of a $113 billion fund, Zelensky has repeatedly demanded more.

“There have been grumblings about the constant requests and, at times, Zelensky not showing appropriate gratitude,” Politico wrote, citing two anonymous White House officials.

Biden has repeatedly stated that the US will keep American weapons flowing into Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” and that Kiev alone will decide when to sit down to peace talks with Russia. However, officials reportedly worry thatZelensky’s promise to capture Crimea – which voted to join Russia in 2014 – will only “extend the war,” and could trigger “a dramatic escalation from Moscow.”

Politico’s report is not the first indication that Washington doesn’t back Zelensky’s plans for Crimea. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley warned in January that attacking the Russian peninsula would be “very, very difficult,” while the Pentagon has reportedly been telling Congress that Ukraine lacks the capability to launch such an operation in the first place.

“Biden continues to stick to his refrain that the United States will leave all decisions about war and peace to Zelensky,” Politico wrote. “But whispers have begun across Washington as to how tenable that will be as the war grinds on.”

Ukraine’s decision-making has also been called into question by US intelligence agents, who told the New York Times last week that a “pro-Ukrainian group” was behind the September 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Although the spies stressed that Zelensky’s government was not involved, Politico claimed that the Biden administration has signaled to Kiev that “violence outside of Ukraine’s borders will not be tolerated.”

The New York Times article contradicted earlier reporting by journalist Seymour Hersh, which blamed the explosions on the Biden administration and CIA. Moscow described its publication as a “coordinated hoax” aimed at shifting blame away from the US and toward Ukraine.

https://www.rt.com/russia/572860-us-ukraine-relations-cracking/

(Bidan Admin got the delay they wanted, time for Zelensky to move along. Politico is mouthpiece for DS and the marching orders of DS Admin)

12 Mar, 2023 18:23

German minister lied to advance career – media

Karl Lauterbach falsely claimed to be a government-funded researcher while applying for a job in the 1990s, Die Welt has reported

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach claimed to have led a government-funded breast cancer research project when he applied for a professorship at the University of Tubingen in 1995, Die Welt reported on Sunday.However, the study never existed, according to the outlet.

Lauterbach was 32 years old at the time, and had just received a Doctor of Science degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. Back in Germany, he applied for the position in Tubingen, claiming that he was the head of a research project into breast cancer diagnostics and therapy at an oncology department in Aachen.

Lauterbach said that the project had received two million Deutschmarks (around $1.38 million at the time) from the German government, a portion of which he reportedly promised to transfer to the cash-strapped university if hired.

However, the government and the Aachen oncology center told Die Welt that the project – as described by Lauterbach – never existed. A similar cancer study did take place at Aachen, the paper noted, but Lauterbach was not listed as an author.

Lauterbach also claimed to have raised funding for a study at Princeton University in the US, which staff at the university deny, and to have received 20,000 Deutschmarks for a book project, which ultimately was never paid as he never finished the book.

The minister was offered the position at Tubingen, but turned it down in favor of a placement in Cologne. Questioned by Germany’s Merkur news outlet on Sunday, Lauterbach said that he “can no longer recall the specific case.”

According to Die Welt reporter Tim Rohn, Lauterbach turned down an invitation to speak to the newspaper.

https://www.rt.com/news/572864-german-health-minister-lied/

Kek health minister with no experience! There’s no way they didn’t know this at the time, they just need to get rid if him because of Covid restrictions! Blame it on that guy!

12 Mar, 2023 16:55

Kiev’s top diplomat slams German pacifists

Dmitry Kuleba has accused demonstrators of effectively calling for Ukraine’s downfall

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has claimed that German protesters who oppose weapons deliveries to Kiev are essentially calling for the destruction of his country. The diplomat also argued that Ukrainian servicemen are more peace-loving than pacifist demonstrators in Berlin.

In an interview with Bild published on Sunday, Kuleba suggested that German protesters “must be honest and rewrite their slogans.”Instead of placards reading “Stop the war! No weapons deliveries,” the diplomat stated that demonstrators should “write what they really mean: Let the Russians kill, torture and rape Ukrainians.” Kuleba insisted that this is “precisely what will happen if we don’t have weapons to defend ourselves.”

“Every single Ukrainian, even the soldier in the trench… wants peace more than the most pacifist demonstrator at the Brandenburg Gate [in Berlin],” the minister added.

When asked if he thought Germany was doing enough in terms of military support for Kiev, Kuleba replied that Berlin “could really help more with artillery ammunition.” He also accused the German government of dragging its feet on signing contracts when arms manufacturers are supposedly ready to meet Kiev’s needs.

In late February, tens of thousands of Germans gathered in central Berlin to demand peace talks in Ukraine and an end to further weapons shipments for Kiev, at an event organized by prominent Die Linke (Left Party) politician Sahra Wagenknecht and author Alice Schwarzer.

Wagenknecht urged Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government to make Russia “an offer” so that Moscow and Kiev could sit down at the negotiating table.

A similar protest was held around the same time outside the Ramstein US Airbase in southwest Germany, where Western officials have regularly convened over the past year to coordinate aid to Ukraine.

A petition launched by Wagenknecht and Schwarzer last month, titled ‘Manifest for Peace’, has to date been signed by nearly 750,000 people.

Scholz, in turn, has repeatedly argued that peace talks are unlikely at this point as Moscow is supposedly unwilling to negotiate in good faith.

However, Russia has made it clear on multiple occasions that in principle it is open to talks with Ukraine, on condition that the authorities in Kiev recognize the “reality on the ground.”

(When the US pulls out, Ukraine will get a firey response from Germany. Ukraine has gone too far and they will be left without any allies soon.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/572849-ukrainian-top-diplomat-slams-german-protesters/

12 Mar, 2023 16:54

Elon Musk’s plans for SpaceX ‘utopia’ revealed – WSJ

The billionaire has reportedly bought as much as 6,000 acres in Texas, where he hopes to build a refuge from regulation

Elon Musk has been accused of sacrificing transparency for speed in his attempts to build a “Texas utopia along the Colorado River,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The billionaire has been snapping up thousands of acres of land in Bastrop County, Texas, a development that has drawn the ire of many locals.

The modern-day company town is growing with minimal input from locals, and Musk wants even less, according to the report, which cites land records and other paperwork associated with the project this week.

Called Snailbrook and located 35 miles (56km) outside the capital city of Austin, Musk’s privatized paradise will sit next to the Texas facilities currently under construction for his space exploration company SpaceX and his tunneling concern Boring Co., housing employees from both companies. The plot is also intended to house workers from Tesla, whose Texas Gigafactory is also nearby.

Boring Co. executives want to incorporate Snailbrook in order to clear any regulatory hurdles, which would allow Musk to construct new homes and rent them at a fraction of the market rate exclusively to tenants working for any of his Austin-area companies, insider sources told the WSJ. Employees who leave or are fired will have 30 days to move out and will have to then contend with average rates in the area, which are nearly three times higher.

While Snailbrook currently boasts a group of modular homes, a gym, outdoor sports area, and pool, a Musk-controlled holding company has already filed paperwork to build 110 more houses. Boring Co. management is allegedly thinking much bigger, along the lines of an entire city, which would require electing a mayor, text messages seen by the WSJ confirm.

However, Bastrop County hasn’t even received an application for incorporation from Musk or his companies, a county spokeswoman told the WSJ. A town needs at least 201 residents to incorporate.

While local land records seen by the WSJ showed that Musk and his proxies have snapped up more than 3,500 acres near Austin in the last three years, some officials claimed the real number is as high as 6,000 acres. The billionaire reportedly plans to build a separate private compound at some distance from employee housing for his personal use.

The speed of the transformation – the once-sleepy county sprouting giant tunnels and huge warehouses seemingly overnight – has spooked some locals and triggered calls for increased transparency, something Musk left California to avoid.

The Tesla tycoon moved the electric car firm’s headquarters to Texas in late 2021, leaving behind the “overregulation, overlitigation, and overtaxation” of California.

(Musk bought this land in late 2021 early 2022, why is WSJ reporting it now?Twitter files threat?)

https://www.rt.com/news/572861-elon-musk-snailbrook-utopia-texas/

12 Mar, 2023 19:32

Ukrainians give neo-Nazi facelift to signpost in Antarctica

The move was touted as an “incredible job” by Kiev’s Antarctic agency

Ukrainian polar explorers have refurbished a signpost at the country’s Antarctic station, commemorating the country’s “allies,” while alsogiving it a neo-Nazi tint.The makeover was announced by the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine in a Facebook post on Saturday, with the agency praising the explorers for their “incredible job.”

The signpost is located at the Akademik Vernadsky polar station, formerly known as Station Faraday before it was transferred to Kiev by the UK in the mid-1990s. The signpost had remained untouched for some 20 years and direly needed to be repaired, the agency explained.

The ‘upgrade’ of the post included adding plaques for the capitals or “iconic cities” of Ukraine’s top supporters in the ongoing conflict with Moscow, including Ottawa and New York, among others. The work also involved efforts to “de-communize” and “de-Russify” the installation, the agency explained.

The explorers switched the Russian spelling of the cities of Odessa and Vinnitsa to the Ukrainian version, while also changing the name of the city of Kirovograd to Kropivnitsky to reflect a renaming carried out in post-Maidan Ukraine in 2016 amid a “decommunization” drive spearheaded by then-President Pyotr Poroshenko.

The plaques denoting the cities were repainting in the colors of the Ukrainian flag – and also received a neo-Nazi touch. The signpost received plaques for Mariupol, a formerly Ukrainian city in what is now Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, and also for the Kiev suburb of Bucha, the site of an alleged massacre of civilians attributed by Ukraine and its backers to Russian forces.

Both plaques were painted in the red and black of the so-called Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a paramilitary force that originally emerged during the WWII era and was known for collaboration with Nazi Germany and assorted atrocities against Polish and Soviet civilians. In modern Ukraine, the UPA is hailed as a “liberator” force, with its members glorified as Ukrainian ‘heroes,’ while its flag is commonly used by present-day Ukrainian neo-Nazis.

https://www.rt.com/news/572863-ukrainian-antarctic-sign-post/

Nina Jancowikz taught them well in propaganda

12 Mar, 2023 19:36

US ‘sitting still’ amid growing China-Russia influence – Bolton

The former US security adviser has lamented that Washington isn’t doing enough as its enemies strengthen ties with each other

President Joe Biden’s administration is doing nothing to counteract steps by China, Russia, and their allies to work more closely together, jeopardizing US interests and undermining its global influence, former White House National Security Adviser John Bolton has claimed.

“We’re sitting still, and the Chinese, the Russians, Iran, North Korea and several others are moving to shore up their relations and threaten us in a lot of different places,”Bolton said on Sunday in a WABC 770 radio interview. He added that while Beijing follows a clear strategy, “we kind of wander around from day to day.”

Bolton, a longtime war hawk who has called for regime changes in Moscow and Tehran, made his comments in the wake of Friday’s announcement that Saudi Arabia and Iran had agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties under a deal brokered by China. He lamented that the agreement reflected diminishing US influence around the world.

“It’s an indication that the Saudis and others are trying to hedge their bets with China and Russia, because they don’t think the United States has the resolve and the fortitude necessary to do what they need to do to protect the world against Iran and its intentions,” Bolton said.

The 74-year-old Bolton has worked in the administrations of former Presidents Donald Trump, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Chinese officials have bristled at Washington’s threat claims, arguing that the US and its NATO allies behave as if they’re still fighting the Cold War. Beijing has maintained neutrality on the Ukraine crisis, resisting US pressure to condemn Russia over the conflict, and proposed a 12-point blueprint to end the fighting late last month. Biden dismissed the peace plan, saying it would benefit only Russia.

(Bolton complains about the current admin after he supported them and hates Trump. Too bad, so sad)

https://www.rt.com/news/572868-john-bolton-claims-growing-china-russia-threat/

>>18493048

Theil shouted from the rooftops and told everyone to take their money out the day before the crash