This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...

[seminole97]

Inflation will always be the easiest path forward for politicians:

Britons must never again be forced to pay exorbitant energy bills, Liz Truss will declare on Thursday as she promises more North Sea drilling and ditches the fracking ban.

Annual energy bills will be frozen at around £2,500 for the average household both this winter and next, and green levies will be scrapped.

Businesses will get protection from energy price rises in a pandemic-style government intervention that could end up costing more than £150 billion.

But on Wednesday, the pound plummeted to its weakest level since 1985 on the new Prime Minister’s first full day in office as markets appeared to baulk at the scale of the move to tackle bills, underscoring the financial challenges ahead.

 

[TC Nole OX]

 

[noleclone2]

Who would have though on February 24th as we watched missile strikes on Kyiv and listened to rumors that Ukraine would fall in a week that by September, the Russian military would be the laughing stock of world. Such a massive fail by Putin.

 

[seminole97]

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck faced a backlash on Wednesday for saying he could imagine parts of the economy stopping production due to rising energy prices that German firms say are threatening their existence.

Asked whether he expected a wave of insolvencies at the end of this winter due to companies' rising energy bills, Habeck said "No, I don't. I can imagine that certain industries will simply stop producing for the time being."

The answer, in an interview with ARD broadcaster on Tuesday evening, sparked criticism of the minister in charge of Europe's biggest economy, with mass-selling Bild newspaper saying Habeck "has no idea about the economy."

Friedrich Merz, the conservative opposition leader, also took the opportunity to criticize Habeck, Germany's second most popular politician, saying he and his ruling coalition were not taking energy and economy questions seriously.

"One could see how helpless Mr. Habeck you are with these questions last night on German television," Merz told the lower house of parliament.

Habeck's comments come as economists and industry groups warn that rising energy prices are a growing risk for Germany's medium and small-sized businesses, which form the backbone of the economy.

After benefiting from cheap Russian gas for decades, German industry is facing a crunch as Russia cuts supplies, pushing energy suppliers to purchase gas at spiking market prices and pass those costs on to consumers.

Rising energy costs and supply chain bottlenecks contributed to a 26% rise in insolvency proceedings in Germany in August, IWH economic institute said on Tuesday, adding that more insolvencies were expected in the autumn.

In a survey by Germany's BDI industry association of 593 companies, which took place from mid-August to early September, more than a third said their existence was under threat due to rising prices, up from 23% in February.

Some 58% saw skyrocketing costs as a major challenge and almost 25% were considering or in the process of relocating part of their business. One in 10 companies had curtailed or interrupted production due to the price jumps.

The Bavarian vbw industry group on Wednesday said its energy price index had more than doubled in a year by July 2022.

"For more and more industries, energy prices are becoming an existential problem," said vbw head Bertram Brossardt.

Berlin on Sunday announced a 65-billion-euro ($64.33 billion) aid package to help citizens and companies cope with rising prices but BDI head Siegfried Russwurm said the package was not enough, calling on the government to co-finance electricity network charges.

"Politicians must now take action to prevent bankruptcies and further economic and social upheaval," Russwurm said.

 

[noleclone2]

 

[noleclone2]

 

[seminole97]

 

[h-hawk]

 

[h-hawk]

 

[h-hawk]

 

[h-hawk]

 

[h-hawk]

 

[h-hawk]

 

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[h-hawk]

These countries really, really hate Russia.

 

[noleclone2]

Whoa.

 

[h-hawk]

"Ukrainian army advancing on Kherson"

 

[h-hawk]

"The Russian side is reporting Ukrainian artillery bombardment of Russian positions in Savyntsi, 28km from the center of Izyum. There was conflict in the region."

 

[h-hawk]

"German-made PzH 2000 self-propelled guns operate in the Izyum area. This is one of the most modern self-propelled artillery systems in the world, which held the record range for this type of weapon, 56 kilometers."

 

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[noleclone2]

 

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[noleclone2]

These countries really, really hate Russia.

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It is a tell that all these close neighbors and former parts of their empire do not like or trust the Russians when combined with how they have act and continue to act as a country. It’s becoming more and more apparent it is a pretty warped country.

I think it is a bit hard for us to see them as not at all aligned with current westernized European values due to European looks. But they are no more closer to wanting to be westernized than an Iran or a Pakistan or a China.

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

edit: Pepsi. @h-hawk gets up early I see

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

Who would have though on February 24th as we watched missile strikes on Kyiv and listened to rumors that Ukraine would fall in a week that by September, the Russian military would be the laughing stock of world. Such a massive fail by Putin.

Sic semper tyrannis

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

These countries really, really hate Russia.

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Why wouldn’t they? Soviets terrorized their people for decades.

 

[h-hawk]

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Black Russians?

 

[h-hawk]

 

[Slappy Pappy]

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[h-hawk]

 

[h-hawk]

"U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled visit to Kyiv on Thursday as the Biden administration announced major new military aid worth more than $2 billion for Ukraine and other European countries threatened by Russia.

In meetings with senior Ukrainian officials, Blinken said the Biden administration had notified Congress of its intent to provide $2 billion in long-term Foreign Military Financing to Ukraine and 18 of its neighbors, including NATO members and regional security partners, that are “most potentially at risk for future Russian aggression.”

Pending expected congressional approval, about $1 billion of that will go to Ukraine and the rest will be divided among Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, the State Department said."

https://apnews.com/article/russia-u...and-politics-a1f6b3639c6bb69a98bda153de271d93

 

[h-hawk]

Would be interesting to be sure as they said were only supplying BVPs. They don't look like the German tanks heading into Slovakia per the agreement .

 

[h-hawk]

 

[noleclone2]

Things are going to get really intriguing next few weeks. If Putin is vulnerable, what appears to be happening on the entire east front will be getting to the people of Russia. It already is based on monitoring of their conversations and war bloggers. This counter offensive is nearing week 2 and Ukraine is being coy with how it is going. But based on the numbers they releases, it seems like they are handing the Russians their ass. As in almost 200 tanks and 4000 dead in 11 days. For context, the Russians in 6.5 months of war have lost 1/2 as many men as the US has lost in war post WWII (1946-2022)

 

[seminole97]

 

[Herky T Hawk]

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Come on, everybody knows the first rule of fight club.

 

[Herky T Hawk]

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To be fair, I knew a lot of guys that would do exactly this type of thing when they were drunk in college. It is likely the only variable that changed in this video was the college part.

 

[TC Nole OX]

Thread

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]