The winners and losers after the sledgehammer strike.
In the aftermath of the sledgehammer strike, it’s worth trying to have an informed guess as to what the new world will look like after all the pieces fall back to the ground and begin to be reassembled into a different jigsaw puzzle by geo-political forces. Who will be the winners, who will be the … Continue reading
They’ve got much better ones than us.
The Germans decided to seize three tankers transporting Russian Liguified Natural Gas (LNG), so in response Russia effectively nationalised the huge joint venture of the Sakhalin-2 oil and LNG project to an as yet to be created Russian holding company. This is in all but name nationalisation in retaliation and looks to be the ideal … Continue reading
The reaction to the sledgehammer by West block Europe.
First of all, let’s define terms. West block Europe is NATO and the EU combined since the latter is now totally perceived by the East block as nothing more than the hostile political arm of NATO being used to wage the economic sanctions war on Russia. The UK is a member of NATO but has … Continue reading
The Sledgehammer.
Over last weekend a conference called the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) took place. The chances are you might not even of heard it occurred but it did and what came out of it confirmed my worst fears of how dire a situation the US, EU and the West in general have managed to … Continue reading
When all the lying had to stop.
If you haven’t realised it yet, you must know by now that it was all a bloody pack of lies all along. And you’ve yet to feel the full impact of falling for it all. Your standard of living in the US, EU and Western Europe is dropping like a stone, your currencies are wrecked … Continue reading
Getting out of there while you’ve still got a shirt on your back.
A number of developments of late concerned with Russia’s “special military operation” have signalled a ground shift in the West’s whole approach to the thing. The first was various attempts by America to open some public channels of communication with the Russians. The Biden administration is massively concerned with PR and spin, but there’s no … Continue reading
Turning off the war
Of late you might have noticed the volume control knob of the anti-Russian hate propaganda machine in the media has been slowly turned down. An easy explanation for that is hate fatigue. A two minute hate anyone can handle but when it drags into three months of a non-stop barrage and you’re supposed to be … Continue reading
The Ukraine war – how close to the endgame are we?
We’ve had nearly three months of propaganda about how sanctions by the West is destroying the Russian economy and the Ukraine is winning the war. Neither was ever true but the Ukrainian regime aided by the Biden administration have used the MSM massively to promote both ideas. A glance at the strength of the ruble … Continue reading
The Ukraine war – Russia modifies its tactics.
America’s proxy war against Russia is proving to be a disaster for both America and the world in general. It’s a two-pronged attack, one being a concerted effort to destroy the Russian economy and the other one an indirect military action to kill as many Russian soldiers as possible by supplying the Ukraine with what … Continue reading
The Ukraine war – Russia finally retaliates.
Over the years, I’ve met and became friends with more than a few Russians. Once you really take on board their habitual and well-justified suspicion of westerners and all things western, then as a people they have a lot of personal qualities I find quite admirable. That’s not a common attitude but then again I’ve … Continue reading
Are people finally getting sick and tired of big tech?
Sometimes it takes a while until the penny drops, but the longer it takes, the harder it hits the ground. I was having a casual conversation about something unrelated with one of my sons when he said quite out of the blue that he’d come to the conclusion that social media was toxic. That’s quite … Continue reading
The power of your pennies.
Over the past few years we’ve all had too many of those “Oh for God’s sake” moments where you’re watching and enjoying something and then suddenly a political message is brutalised into your leisure time. Obscenely overpaid and pampered athletes taking the knee and disrespecting the national anthem, watching a racially re-balanced production of Macbeth … Continue reading
The Ukraine war – the military realities.
If you’ve any lingering belief in the worth of the mainstream media’s authority, you’ve no doubt watched them interviewing various old fogey generals who’re offering various opinions on how the Red Army is really screwing up the Ukrainian campaign. It only takes a moment’s reflection to realise they all generalled lightning quick wins against essentially … Continue reading
Ukrainian war crimes and Russia.
Back in 1985 at the height of the Lebanese Civil War, four low-level diplomatic staff from the Russian’s embassy in Beirut were kidnapped. Such abductions of foreigners had become common but none of the numerous groups knocking about at the time had ever taken a Russian, never mind a diplomat, but terrorists had been emboldened … Continue reading
Remind me again, which country’s economy was sanctions going to devastate?
Before the whole Russia/Ukraine bomb went off in everyone’s face, the Biden administration told the world that if Russia invaded Ukraine, then they’d impose harsh sanctions on it. That would deter Russia we were assured by all the major figures of the administration. Putin evaluated the threat, tokened the odds and after making some advance … Continue reading
One foreign policy blunder being compounded by another.
There are times we’ve all met people in high authority who appear to be making moves you can’t quite understand, but usually that’s because they have access to information you don’t have or they’re executing a particularly Machiavellian plan. On the other hand, sometimes you realise in a blinding flash of insight into them that … Continue reading
After the Ukraine, will Russia kiss and make up with the West?
As a small child, I once asked my father why he didn’t beat or slap us, which was not an uncommon practice back then. He’d lots of strong-willed children who’d try the patience of a saint but he glanced down at me knowing I’m sure what had prompted the question. A day or two before, … Continue reading
Having a nuclear WW III should help the Dems with the mid-terms.
The British sitcom “One foot in the grave” had a central grumpy character called Victor Meldrew whose catch phrase was “I don’t believe it” as he watched something totally outrageous happening before his very eyes. As I see this Ukrainian situation unfolding, I’m beginning to start uttering that phrase. All I see is madness and … Continue reading
Russia, America, China and the Ukraine.
At this moment in time, there are only three power blocks of any consequence in the world; China, Russia and America. China is walking a tightrope between allowing a limited form of capitalism to make it prosperous while at the same time keeping a strict Soviet style grip on its population. Russia is a populist … Continue reading
Get your cash out of Canada, right now.
Retail banking is a remarkably simple business. You have a current account, money gets paid into it on a regular basis and you draw it out for household or living expenses. You’re not charged for having an account or for everyday transactions. How do they make a profit then? Quite simple, they loan out the … Continue reading
I found Pointman many years ago on WUWT. He always provided a thoughtful perspective that I valued. Slowly the anchors…
What sorrow is in me. Another stalwart dies too young. Commiserations to all his well loved family. "May you recieve…
RIP Tony, I have over the years loved your blog. Pointmans blog will be missed. Regards to his whole family,…
Discovering Pointman some years ago when he was railing against the AGW madness was a blessing for me. I enjoyed…
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My belated condolences. I always enjoyed reading his posts and will miss his insight and wide ranging views. May hew…