Are we about to get dragged into something very messy?

Exactly. It's not about stealing the gas. We can't steal anything from Russia. They'd just knack us. However, the US has a surplus of gas and they want a new market for it. There is no market for it, as Europe gets enough gas from inside Europe (including Russia), and in fact everybody has enough for now. But wait, ooh look, Russia is being naughty, how can we punish them without military intervention? Let's not buy their biggest export. But wait, then western europe and Britain will go short. Ooh look, the US has plenty going spare, lets buy it in from there instead. Ooh now there's an interesting thing that nobody at all thought of, fancy that, a brand new market has just been created for America's surplus gas.

Personally I think its brilliant. Russia is too powerful to be in the hands of nutters. I don't trust the yanks that much but I trust them a hell of a lot more than I'd trust the Russians or any of the former soviets. If we can pull this off, then Russia gets weakened, the US gets strengthened, and then Russia becomes less of a threat long term. Get Ukraine fully on side and then Russia is almost isolated in the world.

 

I agree with you, but at the same time, this is a very, very tricky situation as I see it. We have a treaty to protect Ukraine (who's daft idea was that), and now we're kind of stuck. If we honour the treaty, we could end up in a very tense stand-off with Russia and even factions within Ukraine. If we don't honour our agreement, then that gives the green light for Russia to do as they please.

It gets more tricky, but I think there is a solution, but its pretty extreme. So there's talk of boycotting Russian gas. That will sting them a bit, but China is a rapidly growing economy with rapidly growing energy needs, and an ally of Russia, so surely Russia will just sell their gas to China. China only need and can afford all that energy because they are manufacturing our rubbish for us. We can't refuse to trade with China, but surely we could put massive import duties on anything coming from outside of the EU or US, and the US could do the same, and divert some of the extra tax revenue raised to help fund companies on home turf. That way China goes back to being skint, Russia's powerful ally and buyer of its wares suddenly has no buying power, and Russia has no market.

 

Sounds like an East West split and the end of free trade C1.

I like it, we dont get on with them anyway.

 

Free trade is a good idea in principle, but it could never have worked in practice, as we are seeing now, it doesn't.

Britain used to be world leaders in manufacturing. Not just the mechanics of putting things together, but the genius of deciding what to put together in the first place. But we also have rights here, and that makes us a bit more expensive. What chance has a nation got when it lets its workers earn a living while giving them 2 days off per week, 4 weeks paid holiday, and a 40 hour (or less) working week in a relatively safe environment, compared to a nation that couldn't give a stuff about its people, and will happily let them work 120 hours a week, no paid hols, no safety equipment and for a pittance.

As consumers, its our fault. We get to control our economy by choosing who we give our money too. I think its only fair that we should have to pay roughly the same for an imported product as we would for a comparable product produced in our own country, or at least in our own union. That's not really limiting free trade, it is granting more freedom to local companies, and ultimately to the consumer, who currently has little choice but to buy Chinese because all the retailers have abandoned the more expensive sources.

 

In as much as a strong Russia is a world threat, I honestly believe that a weak, alienated and possibly fragmented Russia would be an even greater problem.
As the old saying goes, "better the devil you know...."

 

As it stands at the moment, what the British and US governments are creating, is a strong, alienated and fragmented Russia.

 

That is one thing that the US/UK/EU are very good at, not learning from their past mistakes.
It's almost as if they want The Cold War Part II.

 

If only I could write exactly what I think of that chap.......

 

The thing that annoyed me was that a whole section of society in Crimea, the Tartars (who I'd never heard of prior to this situation) chose to boycott the vote. Brilliant. A bunch of people who you don't agree with choose to hold a vote on what to do with your home, and you protest by erm, not voting. Crazy. I think for that reason alone, the fact that even people who actually live there clearly couldn't be bothered to resist, we should just wash our hands of them and let them do as they see fit (within reason).

It's like, imagine some people were going to have a vote to decide whether to give your house away. Imagine then saying, 'I don't agree with this, so I'm just going to do nothing and pretend its not happening'.

 

What I can't make out is whether The Ukraine is going to adopt the same sanctions as the EU and USA, or are they going to carry on trading with their neighbour and leave other countries to pick up the tab?