Abramovich is in Belarus, assisting with the talks between Russia and Ukraine. That just proves how close he is to Putin and the Kremlin
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Mmmmm man not to be trustedā¦
How many years has he been living in the UK? God knows what he might have been up to during that time.
Trueā¦should not be allowed back in this countryā¦
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On a similar theme, hereās Gideon Rachman writing in todayās Financial Times:
Internet is an amazing place (sometimes) 
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ā¬100 billion more for dirty arm merchants, thus ā¬100 billions less for social or infrastructure investments. This is a dark hour for your country Iām afraid, which will of course be followed by others, for other European countries. And the irony: itās a freaking socialist getting this through!
Whilst it is old news, it still makes me giggle Russia Bans āEmasculatingā Photos of Putin to Retain Macho Image
So here goes
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I loved reading his books, a smart guy without a doubt. His arguments corroborate my feelings about all this: Russiaās move is a deeply irrational one. Nothing good can come out of it for Russia. And that again asks the question: why? I still canāt wrap my mind around it. Just saying that Putin is the bad guy isnāt enough to explain all of this.
I ask myself: who are and who will be the winners in this, whatever the outcome? Any clue?
For me, I can identify one party: the arm merchants all over the world. HUGE, previously non-existant markets opening themselves up for them. An absolute, total, lasting gold mine for decades to come.
Anyone else? Maybe those who speculate on droughts or lack of supplies? Ukraine is one of Europeās main wheat producer. If the current war affects that production, the prices of wheat will go up like never before. Some will benefit from that.
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Many of these problems could have been foreseen. My only explanation for such a foolish move is that there are dark forces at work behind Putin and his clique (see my previous post). Or that clique have lost their minds completely.
You donāt mean The Enemy?
I donāt know, but Iām trying to make sense out of something which at first view seems senseless.
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Heās a Social Democrat and Iām glad I donāt have to regret my vote again (as I did with Schrƶder).
Defininitely a dark hour though, but not of our making.
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Sure, I wasnāt implying that. Itās just that those fucking warmongers win once again.
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No, the money should now only be available once in a special fund and has nothing to do with the normal budget. So to speak, for an all-round renewal, modernization. And it should probably also send a strong signal, since in the current desolate state, the Bundeswehr is absolutely not able to defend us in an emergency situation.
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It was an atempt at a Raymond E Feist jest.
Through the whole series, there is an unseen agent of evil which for most of the books is only refered to as The Enemy
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Putin humiliated France and Germany, thatās not clever. Also thereās a good number of countries that have massive grudges.
Never ever sit a small french man at the end of a very long table and lie to him.
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Yes, from one dirty teat to the otherā¦, i.e. from the oil merchants to the arms merchantsā¦
Germany, more than most, has tried to work with Russia but clearly have been stung here. Decades of policy has been turned on its head. The integrity of the EU and Germany is essentially at stake. If Ukraine now, whoās next? Poland, East Germany? What do you propose they do?
Itās probably worth Europe having a common defence policy, with the doctrine of āif one country is attacked, it is an attack on allā. NATO has been āineffectiveā here due to its very nature but at the same time it hasnāt been idle. Iām pretty sure NATOās infrastructure has been used extensively to manage this crisis but there is clearly an argument to have a construct specifically for Europeās defence in the future. Germany due to itās economy has to lead.
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Very true. Although we shouldnāt kid ourselves, that money doesnāt fall from the sky. Especially if Lindner is still hellbound on that debt policy. Anyway, sorry for derailing.
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Some very good background analysis again from the FT, here. The article is free to read, so no subscription is required this time.
https://www.ft.com/content/c039db89-7201-4875-b31f-b41a511496f1
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