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Sanctions Killing The West, Not Russia

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I understood your point, LoL.

Let me just leave it with this. If you are a Christian born again by the Spirit of God then you actually do have a way to determine the extent to which supernatural evil is influencing the affairs of men, and you are not asking Him. If you do not, not only will your worldview not be well-informed but you may also make snap judgments about what others are saying based on presumptions that they are speaking from typical empty-headed political mindsets rather than from a spiritual one.

But I do understand your point, and it can be very valid, depending on who you are talking about. Many are indeed guilty of it.

God bless,
- H
And if I do "ask Him" and get a different answer than you do, we can debate who is a "real Christian" and is "really" hearing from God and who isn't - right? I guarantee you, Sally the devout Christian Progressive Leftist and Fred the devout Christian Conservative Right-Winger are going to get very different answers "from God" as to where the evil is to be found. And that's the problem - instead of admitting they're both just fallible humans with different ideologies, they're both going to insist their views are sanctioned by God.
 
And if I do "ask Him" and get a different answer than you do, we can debate who is a "real Christian" and is "really" hearing from God and who isn't - right?

Runner, you should be asking Him and by your own confession are not. You stated you have no way of knowing such things, in fact.
 
Runner, you should be asking Him and by your own confession are not. You stated you have no way of knowing such things, in fact.
My confession?

Are you claiming your original post on this thread was God-informed? This is what God told you about the invasion of Ukraine, the aid and the sanctions? Really? REALLY?

If so, I think you just made my point for me. But I'll let it go now.
 
My confession?

Are you claiming your original post on this thread was God-informed? This is what God told you about the invasion of Ukraine, the aid and the sanctions? Really? REALLY?

I was referring to our discussion on worldviews. I asked if you believe there are those who serve the god of this world, and if so to explain to what extent you believe they exert influence over the affairs of men, particularly International affairs. Your response was "I have no way to determine the extent to which supernatural evil influences the affairs of men." If this is true, why are you presuming to be my advisor?
 
Newsweek, 6/30/2022:
If Russia defaulting on its foreign debt for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution wasn't a clear enough sign of the impact Western sanctions are having on the Russian economy, a new report on the country's socio-economic situation leaves no margin for doubt that the Russian economy is gradually collapsing.

New statistics on the state of the Russian economy, produced by the country's Federal State Statistics Service, show production has plunged in multiple sectors, from vehicles to domestic appliances, as has retail confidence.
...
Even the Russian central bank said it expected a fall in GDP of 7.8 percent this year, almost in line with Western predictions but not quite, as Western experts estimate that the country's economy will shrink by 15 percent by the end of the year, according to the Institute of International Finance's (IIF).

One piece of unexpected good news for Russia came from the jobs market, with a record-low unemployment rate of 3.9 percent reported in May. And yet, as high inflation continues to cripple wages in Russia, it's unlikely this high employment will turn into higher consumer demand able to turn the tide of Russia's likely incoming recession.
 
If Russia defaulting on its foreign debt for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution wasn't a clear enough sign of the impact Western sanctions are having on the Russian economy, a new report on the country's socio-economic situation leaves no margin for doubt that the Russian economy is gradually collapsing.

I was just mentioning this to someone, but I believe there are two different reports being given on the Russian economy due to the fact that the West has no choice but to paint things badly for the Russians because otherwise their own populaces would be upset, seeing as how the sanctions are without question hurting their own economies. But it's always a little hard to tell. The propaganda war is being waged in this arena as well, and on both sides. The thing that stands out to me is that by all accounts the ruble is currently doing very well against the US dollar, and other currencies throughout the world appear to be cratering even more than the dollar by comparison.
Even the Russian central bank said it expected a fall in GDP of 7.8 percent this year, almost in line with Western predictions but not quite, as Western experts estimate that the country's economy will shrink by 15 percent by the end of the year, according to the Institute of International Finance's (IIF).

Reuters is London-based and UK-funded. One would have to expect that they will be pretty slanted towards the West. I looked for outside links in the article to verify some things but couldn't find it.
 
I was just mentioning this to someone, but I believe there are two different reports being given on the Russian economy due to the fact that the West has no choice but to paint things badly for the Russians because otherwise their own populaces would be upset, seeing as how the sanctions are without question hurting their own economies.
Russia defaulting on its loans is remarkably bad for them. Hasn't happened since the 1918 revolution. Even worse is the assessment of the Russian government:

Russian central-bank chief calls outlook ‘extremely uncertain’ with economy forecast to shrink 10% in 2022

MOSCOW — The head of the Russian Central Bank says the outlook is “extremely uncertain” as the country’s economy is expected to contract by up to 10% this year.

International sanctions and falling consumer demand are squeezing the economy as inflation rises.

The Central Bank cut its key interest rate from 17% to 14% on Friday and predicted the economy would shrink by between 8% and 10% this year.

The Central Bank said annual inflation was 17.6% as of April 22 and forecast it would rise to between 18% and 23% by the end of the year.


“After a temporary surge, consumer demand is decreasing in real terms, accompanied by a rise in households’ propensity to save. The decline in imports due to the introduction of external trade and financial restrictions is outstripping the decline in exports,” the Central Bank said in a statement.


“Despite the gradual change in the country and commodity structure of exports and imports as new suppliers and sales markets emerge, businesses are experiencing considerable difficulties in production and logistics.”


Of course, we're seeing a different story from people on social media, but the Russian central bank is a pretty good source.
 
Russia defaulting on its loans is remarkably bad for them. Hasn't happened since the 1918 revolution. Even worse is the assessment of the Russian government:

Russian central-bank chief calls outlook ‘extremely uncertain’ with economy forecast to shrink 10% in 2022

MOSCOW — The head of the Russian Central Bank says the outlook is “extremely uncertain” as the country’s economy is expected to contract by up to 10% this year.

International sanctions and falling consumer demand are squeezing the economy as inflation rises.

The Central Bank cut its key interest rate from 17% to 14% on Friday and predicted the economy would shrink by between 8% and 10% this year.

The Central Bank said annual inflation was 17.6% as of April 22 and forecast it would rise to between 18% and 23% by the end of the year.



“After a temporary surge, consumer demand is decreasing in real terms, accompanied by a rise in households’ propensity to save. The decline in imports due to the introduction of external trade and financial restrictions is outstripping the decline in exports,” the Central Bank said in a statement.


“Despite the gradual change in the country and commodity structure of exports and imports as new suppliers and sales markets emerge, businesses are experiencing considerable difficulties in production and logistics.”

Of course, we're seeing a different story from people on social media, but the Russian central bank is a pretty good source.

I think the reason it's uncertain is because they are entering a time when their borrowing from lenders will be much more limited, but the thing is, it was about to be limited anyway so they likely decided they weren't going to be losing much either way, and defaulting means at least they don't have to pay back their loans.

I haven't looked into it much yet, but my sense is that they made a calculated decision in their own favor given the circumstances. But their economists are likely going "Ummm, oh-kay...."
 
The point is that a rapidly shrinking economy means a rapidly shrinking standard of living for Russians. It's already caused pain. For Putin, too; the defense budget had to be cut over the past few years, and now the Ukrainians are chewing up the resources he could afford to buy. That's why we're seeing huge numbers of obsolete tanks in the war; there aren't enough modern ones left to carry out the mission:

A new study shows Russia's defense budget has taken a big hit. In its annual report on global military spending, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute highlighted a 20 percent drop in Russian defense spending between 2016 and 2017.

Russia to cut defence spending in bid to prop up ailing economy

Defence spending will be cut by 5 per cent, taking it below the level of spending on state-backed industries for the first time since 2014.

Russia is set to cut military spending next year in favour of boosting the national economy, marking the first time in seven years the two areas have traded places in the government’s budget plans.


They were in trouble before they got bogged down in Ukraine and before sanctions. Now, it's critical.


Moscow (CNSNews.com) – The Russian economy will suffer a significant downturn and high inflation this year as a result of unprecedented Western-led sanctions imposed as a result of the war in Ukraine, one of the country’s top economic officials has warned.

Alexei Kudrin, the head of Russia’s main financial auditing body, told lawmakers this week Russia’s GDP could decrease by more than 10 percent in 2022, while the annual inflation rate is expected to reach 17-20 percent.


Less money to go around, and it won't buy as much as it used to. Not a good prospect.
 
After losing more than 700 of its best T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks in Ukraine in the first three months of fighting, the Russian army got pretty desperate for functional armored vehicles


So desperate that, in May, the army pulled from long-term storage what might be at least a battalion’s worth of 60-year-old T-62 tanks—perhaps 50 in all. Two weeks later, some of the museum-ready T-62s have been spotted rolling toward the front line outside Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.


“Their presence on the battlefield highlights Russia's shortage of modern, combat-ready equipment,” the U.K. Defense Ministry stated, referring to the T-62s.

 
After losing more than 700 of its best T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks in Ukraine in the first three months of fighting, the Russian army got pretty desperate for functional armored vehicles


So desperate that, in May, the army pulled from long-term storage what might be at least a battalion’s worth of 60-year-old T-62 tanks—perhaps 50 in all. Two weeks later, some of the museum-ready T-62s have been spotted rolling toward the front line outside Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.


“Their presence on the battlefield highlights Russia's shortage of modern, combat-ready equipment,” the U.K. Defense Ministry stated, referring to the T-62s.


I think this is the real problem right here. I'm not certain sanctions will be at all effective, but it is a war of attrition now, and the numbers of losses on the Russian side are just staggering.

I was posting elsewhere - maybe I have that thread here as well - that there was dream a friend shared at the very beginning of the war that suggested the Russians were going to have their military machine blown to pieces in this war, and that's what is likely going to happen as they are paying a heavy cost in hardware and men already. I believe the globalists wanted this war to go on for as long as possible, so they will try to prolong it for as many years into the future as they can, but I knew from Day #1 Russia was fighting a war they could never win. I think they got suckered into thinking Zelensky was going to capitulate like Crimea did, but it was a ruse and a deception, and now hundreds of thousands of men are dying and will continue to die.

War is a horrific thing.

Thanks for the links. Not many I can discuss this with who are clear-headed. Most are touting one party line or the other, though I assume they think the same of me.
 
I think they got suckered into thinking Zelensky was going to capitulate like Crimea did, but it was a ruse and a deception, and now hundreds of thousands of men are dying and will continue to die.
It's the trap dictators fall into. They get away with something, and then decide it will always work. But once they're in something that doesn't work, all they can think to do is pour more resources into the rathole, hoping it will eventually fill up. This is what Stalin did in his war with Finland. And while he got a scrap of territory for it, his military was greviously weakened and his enemies strengthened.

So it is going for Putin. Sweden and Finland will join NATO, which is the very thing he most wanted to avoid. I do not doubt that Ukraine will eventually come to an agreement if not membership in NATO, merely to assure survival. And Russia will have become weaker and more vulnerable as a result.
 
Anyone seen Albanese?.

You know the newly elected PM who said if he was PM won't go missing when the going gets tough or pose for photos and disappear when a job needs to be done and will step up and stand up everyday.

Aside from recently being elected and been to the US, Japan, and the Ukraine posing for photos, maybe he forgot there is a flood crisis and a lot of work that needs to done, anyhow I think he's going to India soon.
 
Anyone seen Albanese?.

You know the newly elected PM who said if he was PM won't go missing when the going gets tough or pose for photos and disappear when a job needs to be done and will step up and stand up everyday.

Aside from recently being elected and been to the US, Japan, and the Ukraine posing for photos, maybe he forgot there is a flood crisis and a lot of work that needs to done, anyhow I think he's going to India soon.

I'm not up on Australian politics, but Anthony Albanese sounds like another servant of the globalists, at least on the surface. If he's buddy-buddy with Joe Biden then that's not a good sign.
 
I'm not up on Australian politics, but Anthony Albanese sounds like another servant of the globalists, at least on the surface. If he's buddy-buddy with Joe Biden then that's not a good sign.

I got no idea, I just remember him saying if he's elected PM he won't go missing and pose for photos when work needs to be done and will stand up.

Its just not long after he is elected there is a flooding crisis and also there is always alot of work that needs to be done in the country in general. last I knew I think he was in Ukraine posing for photos, not sure if that was after his US visit or maybe Japan, I don't bother keeping up with it. Anyhow I'm sure the people get through and support one another why there Leader is in some foreign country claiming they won't go missing when work needs to be done. Obviously nothing needs to be done if they can travel the world.
 
But why the country is in crisis you know giving France like 800 million dollars in compensation not to hurt there feelins or giving Ukraine another 100 million in military aid, you know, it's not like the citizens of the country and tax payers could do with that money themselves.
 
The country and its citizens have been through hell the last couple years and times are tough and there is flood victims, so what do they do, why not give like a billion dollars to some other country who can look after themselves.
 
Crooked Dan was probably the most lock everyone down person in the world. I don't think anyone in the world had harsher mandates than big daddy Dan. Maybe communist China.
 
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