- Joined
- Oct 20, 2019
Interesting video. My quick thoughts on it are as follows:
- Says that anti-war protests were the result of rising energy costs. I wont deny that in some places like Germany that has been a factor but I really feel most of it has been motivated by genuine desire for peace and outrage at a war that many (including me) believe could have been avoided in a way that was best for all parties. This is an American war.
- He says at the end that assets stored in the West are regarded as "a little less safe" following seizures of Russian assets with no recourse to legality or due process but that "you're safe so long as you don't invade your neighbour which shouldn't be too hard". I think this is false. You're safe so long as you don't go against American hegemony. The US has attacked multiple countries without facing such sanctions and with far less justification that Russia's intervention in Donbas and Luhansk. Clearly it's not about invasion and more about US interests. Everybody knows that.
- A point that he could have made but didn't, is that the damage to Europe is self-inflicted. Russia hasn't used economic means aggressively towards Europe to anywhere near the degree that the West has against it. Russia would have been very willing to continue selling oil to Europe. Twas Europe that chose not to do this and the USA or a sponsored group which attacked the Nordstream pipelines to ensure that Europe HAD to choose that.
- He talks about GDP and the impact on it. This is almost always a danger sign. Yes, both Russia and the USA and Europe are suffering from damage from this war but Russia's fundamentals are far better. Nor are they a heavily service-based economy whose industrial capacity has been massively outsourced. Both have been burned, but the US and Europe are sitting on a bigger powder keg than Russia is.
- He talks about Europe and the USA as pretty much a single faction. When actually Europe's loss is the USA's gain as it's forced to buy oil from the USA and European industry relocates to the USA. He has a globalist mindset in viewing the "West" as one faction. In practice that's dangerous and hides real damage to Europe.
- Near the start of the video he talks about how Europe has successfully reduced its energy needs through new measures in industry, turning down the thermostate "one degree" and more efficient insulation. A drop in the ocean and factories running on reduced hours isn't a win because it uses less energy.
- Finally, some of what he says I would want to verify sources on. Feel they lean quite pro-Western. And I don't think his belief in a long-term economic cold war is viable. There are too many other players in the world now for that to be stable.
