Funny how things work out sometimes. Tubularsock was just sitting minding his own business as he tends to do on Mondays. And Tubularsock got to thinking about his old friend Vlad and what he was up to, so Tubularsock called him on his Bunker-Secure-Phone.
Now the BSP is a low tech NSA proof phone that connects to Vlad’s house, or palace or whatever. He’s got 20 Palaces he can spend time in as well as 58 aircraft at his disposal. Oh yeah, and then there is that £47,000 toilet but who counts. After all the guy is worth $70 Billion according to those who say they know.
Anyway Vlad and Tube were commiserating over all the shit Obummer is laying down against Vlad’s friends with all those economic sanctions. Obummer announced the new asset freezes and visa bans against rich or politically connected members of Putin’s inner circle. Seventeen Russian companies and seven of Vlad’s associates.
Wow, what a sore looser Obummer happens to be. After all his net worth is a pauper sum of $12.2 Million. Hardly enough for a cup of coffee in today’s market place.
But, wait a minute, Obummer stated that, “The goal here is not to go after Mr. Putin, personally. The goal is to change his calculus with how the current actions he’s engaging in in Ukraine could have an adverse impact on the Russian economy.”
Oh gosh. Could these sanctions against Russia possibly have an impact on OUR economy?
Or Europe?
Well, damn straight!
That is why these sanctions don’t apply to Gazprom. Gazprom is a major Russian energy consortium and provides natural gas to Ukraine and much of Europe. The question becomes will Europeans be willing to pay twice the price for natural gas this winter in order to allow the United States to attempt to pressure Russia and be the big boy on the block?
That is why the U.S. has left Gazprom alone for now but if and when Obummer attempts to up the ante with sanctions against Gazprom that is when China and others will be happy to take as much of that natural gas that Russia can supply.
And if and when this showdown occurs Russia is already planning how to survive economic sanctions: how to sell its goods in rubles. People will buy because Russia is too big of a producer to ignore.
And China and Russia could easily form a real non-dollar bloc dealing in Yuan or rubles and this will affect the worlds economies. No longer will the dollar hold as significant of a position.
Now Tubularsock has trouble balancing his own Bunker-Check-Book so there is no pretense that Tubularsock is the last word on explaining the world’s economic issues but when Tube figured Vlad may need a short-term loan we penned an agreement.
To be sure, Tubularsock’s bunker will be warm this winter ……. it pays to think ahead!