re: Russia defends North Korea Sony Hack

quote:

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Unrelated question.. Are the sanctions on Russia have anything to do with the price of oil being where it's at right now? Isn't 50% of Russia's income come from oil sales?

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Yes and No.

Sanctions can't set global commodity prices, but ours and Saudi Arabia's policies in regulating the supply and demand of oil in particularly will have effects on the market and the prices of commodities.

We've been producing a large amount domestically, using domestically, buying less overseas, which creates more supply. Saudi Arabia and OPEC were begged to lower production to reduce supply. They know who keeps their Kingdom, their kingdom. Us.

We're playing hardball and undercutting Russia to Europe, We're keeping the supply high naturally lowering the price while discounting goods that Russia was selling abroad. We're completely pulling the rug from underneath them in all of their exports and cash flow businesses. We're blocking their access to western loans and capital. We'll break them before they even make us hurt a little bit.

If Putin starts to get cute w/ his military again he won't have the cash reserves to finance military action and he'll not have the support of the Russian people for the prolonged suffering he'll put them through. Any support he'll have will be temporary and we'll outlast him to the point where China will be his only hope to prop up his government and his country's economy and China has enough issues of its own without going face to face with the western world.