Other than the UK's monstrous indulgence of oligarchs (remember that Lebedev owns The Independent and Evening Standard, so take anything they report with a pinch of salt), the West is at the limits of what it can do now.
As today's events have confirmed regarding energy supplies
As today's events have confirmed regarding energy supplies
Ukraine needs weapons, it needs planes and helicopters, it needs massive, ongoing financial and humanitarian aid, it needs worldwide resistance to Putin.
But there are no more sanctions we can implement without massively sanctioning ourselves and creating misery for our people.
But there are no more sanctions we can implement without massively sanctioning ourselves and creating misery for our people.
How quickly we (especially Germany and Eastern Europe) can get from A - horrendous dependence on Russian gas and oil - to B, dependence on others, to C, green energy, is paramount here.
It can't be done overnight or anything like it.
It can't be done overnight or anything like it.
Almost comically, there's even a rapprochement going on with Venezuela given the supplies it has.
And Saudi Arabia's right about to become more, not less important. Which doesn't so much re-emphasise our double standards as WHY those double standards exist to begin with.
And Saudi Arabia's right about to become more, not less important. Which doesn't so much re-emphasise our double standards as WHY those double standards exist to begin with.
"No blood for oil! No blood for oil!" chanted the protesters against the Iraq war.
Fair enough. Who could disagree? It's just that without oil, the world as we know it grinds to an absolute halt. If the fuel protests/strikes in 2000 didn't teach you that, nothing would.
Fair enough. Who could disagree? It's just that without oil, the world as we know it grinds to an absolute halt. If the fuel protests/strikes in 2000 didn't teach you that, nothing would.
In the space of a couple of days, the whole of Britain was brought to a juddering stop.
Because no fuel means no transport; no ability to get to work; no means of filling the shelves; no economy; no nothing.
Because no fuel means no transport; no ability to get to work; no means of filling the shelves; no economy; no nothing.
Where we are quite massively at fault is in our colossal failure to transition fully to clean energy long before now.
Sadly, we are where we are. Which is a huge part of why this will be such a long, long haul. Which could take the best part of a decade.
Sadly, we are where we are. Which is a huge part of why this will be such a long, long haul. Which could take the best part of a decade.
Merkel and Obama were, in my view, both great leaders.
But boy oh boy did they both get it wrong on Russia. Calamitously wrong.
But boy oh boy did they both get it wrong on Russia. Calamitously wrong.
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