Hey Grid, America Runs On Dunkin and the EU Russian Gas
Here’s one of the founders of the recently launched Grid, Mark Bauman, quoted by the NYT: “We’re writing for anyone who wants or needs greater clarity on the most important stories of the day, and we think there are millions of people out there who fit that description.”
Most news sites have plenty of clarity. Insight is what’s lacking. I had high hopes for Grid.
More so than ever, I read the various nutjobs, crackpots and insanely talented people who write here, on Medium. I will not be adding Grid to my routine. If you are reading this, I am probably one of the crackpots you follow. So without further ado…
Does that headline sound familiar? (I’ve read many variations these past few weeks. It’s probably a talking point of the State Department, when called by journalists like Keating.)
Let me tell you what I think…
Invading Ukraine is a good idea and if I was Putin I’d do it.
Of course, I don’t want that to happen.
Joshua Keating hasn’t given the subject independent thought. I’m sure he’s a bright guy. Maybe he’s on deadline. Maybe he’s just phoning this one in. Who knows.
To write that Russia would “lose access to lucrative European energy markets” is so wrong I don’t know where to begin. I’ll begin with the basics.
In the Northern Hemisphere it gets cold. Cold enough to kill you. That used to happen in Europe. You probably remember reading about German soldiers freezing to death in Russia during WWII. Or close to half a million Irish freezing to death during the potato famine. Maybe Keating was vacationing in Belize when those things were taught in school.
But okay, maybe I’m wrong and like Keating says Europe would stop buying oil, gas and minerals from Russia if they invaded Ukraine.
Instead, they’d buy them from….
I’ll wait for your answer in the comments section.
Grid should have answered that question. For those of you still with me, who understand that for this year at least, and probably a few in the future, there won’t be full comfiness in Europe without Russian gas (especially with Asia buying up all they can).
How did we get here? The “West” has been investing heavily in Teslas and green energy. One can argue all day long that it’s best for the planet. It doesn’t make winter any less colder or deadly!
Unfortunately, green energy has not been able to deliver on its promise to replace fossil fuels when it comes to heating people’s homes in the winter. Again, I hope it does one day (but it hasn’t to-day).
Does the “West” blame themselves because they don’t have enough gas? Do politicians stand up and say, “sorry, my bad”? No, they blame Russia. They accuse Russia of price gouging, etc.
“Free markets”, “Capitalism”, screw that! We’re talking about human beings!!! Sorry, Russia just wants the money.
Europe is under no threat from Russia. NONE. What would Russia gain from a nuclear wasteland? (Sure, Putin wants Ukraine. But why now?)
From the United States’ point of view, the more money Russia makes the more it can build up its military. The “West” doesn’t want that to happen. They simply do not want Russia to get one over on them. Because the U.S. funds much of NATO it is using that as a threat. In short, Ukraine is a power-play between the U.S. and Russia. Europe is caught in the middle, though far from innocent.
I’d love to get into the weeds on this, but we’ll be here all night.
If Russia moves into Ukraine it will deliver a strong dose of reality to the United States and Europe (Europe, which is probably not as against Russia as many in the U.S. believe). It will create a bargaining chip for those “sanctions”, the power of which Keating overestimates.
So if I’m Putin, I march in Ukraine. When I’ve gotten the real attention of the West, especially the U.S., without all the BS, I say “Okay, we’ll leave Ukraine (sort of) if you drop sanctions and stop bullying us about our oil and gas business”.
The U.S. won’t want that. What will happen next? Who can predict? My wild guess is that Europe enters a cold understanding with both Russia and the U.S.
There’s a good chance, however, that people will freeze in the meantime or die fighting (or both, as Mr. Kelley pointed out in the comments).
How that for some clarity?
Much of this inspired by Alexander Mercouris. He’s the kind of analyst/journalist Grid should be pursuing.
