Speaking of trolls, where's Putin's Russian Ministry of Propaganda special envoy and official gatekeeper for the TERBanian special ops disinformation and Russian approved, shit slinging operations?
Putin state propaganda and the Russian home front situation
- Thread starter mandrill
- Start date
That really depends on how fast Germany and the EU can wean themselves from Putin's oil.
And once they are off, they will never go back.
Why The West Is Easing Its Sanctions On Russia
Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice,com,
Aug 03, 2022
The sanction potential is reaching its end, but this is no reason for the EU to relieve the pressure, that official will say, as many have in conversations with the media.
And yet, the EU has quietly begun to unwind its sanctions against Moscow.
The UK's Express called it caving in to Putin. Bloomberg dubbed it "corrections to previous sanctions." Whatever it is called, it comes down to the same thing: the EU is loosening the noose. And it's not just the EU, either.
For starters, the European Union decided to add exemptions to Russian sanctions, which would allow countries from outside the bloc to deal with sanctioned Russian entities, including banks and state companies such as Rosneft. Per the Bloomberg report, these exemptions are for entities "deemed essential to shipments of food, agricultural goods and oil to third countries outside the EU".
The EU appears to be putting a lot of effort into convincing whoever is listening that their sanctions against Russia have absolutely nothing to do with either food or energy supply disruptions or, at the very least, they did not aim for them to happen.
It said it directly in a news release by the Council of Europe that announced the latest round of sanctions that targeted Russia's gold.
There's more, too. While the EU tweaks its sanctions to allow the trade of more Russian oil in order to avoid another spike in oil prices, the UK is hesitant to join the block in its oil insurance ban on Russian vessels. The UK's participation in the insurance squeeze is essential because of the market share British-based insurers hold in shipping insurance and yet they are stalling.
A recent Financial Times report on the topic suggests this might have something to do with the UK's big geopolitical brother and its concern about oil prices. The U.S., unlike the EU and its embargo, has opted for an alternative way of trying to reduce Russia's oil income: price caps. The UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, France, and Italy have agreed to pursue this cap.
Judging by the latest news from the G7 camp, however, the cap is not moving ahead as planned. A lot of people - analysts, shipping industry insiders, and the head of Russia's central bank, among others - said that a price cap on Russian crude would not work. It appears that G7 has not heard them.
Per a Reuters report from earlier this week, the G7 is looking into "a comprehensive prohibition of all services that enable transportation of Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products globally, unless the oil is purchased at or below a price to be agreed in consultation with international partners."
Talk, however, is cheap, while action is not. Yet talking is important when the world is watching you, so the G7 planners also said that "In considering this and other options, we will also consider mitigation mechanisms alongside our restrictive measures to ensure the most vulnerable and impacted countries maintain access to energy markets including from Russia."
In other words, just like the EU, the G7 would be wary of causing unintended damage to countries not involved in the Ukraine mess by making sure Russian oil reaches them freely. And then, refined products made from Russian oil will head back to the EU.
India buys Russian oil, runs it through its refineries, and sells 'Indian refined products' where? To the EU. Ditto for other cargos. Ditto for Saudi Arabia. Those vessels' bills of lading won't mention Russia as they arrive at their EU destination.
The U.S. even issued a fact sheet to clarify that its sanctions do not target Russian fertilizer exports, or, indeed, agricultural product exports. And this while Amos Hochstein said that "Their economy has nothing else. They produce weapons and they produce and they drill for oil and gas."
It appears that 'their economy" has at the very least a lot of fertilizers and agricultural produce that serves to feed people outside Russia as well, and that's without mentioning the metals, too. As for the oil, it seems pretty critical as well: nothing short of critical would force the EU, the UK, and the U.S. to loosen the sanction noose.
Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice,com,
Aug 03, 2022
- While the EU remains determined to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, a shortage of energy and food is forcing the group to ease sanctions.
- The EU has already added exemptions to its sanctions to reduce disruptions to essential goods, while the U.S. is now pushing an oil price cap instead of an embargo.
- More recently, it seems that the UK is increasingly hesitant about joining the oil insurance ban despite its significant market share in the industry.
The sanction potential is reaching its end, but this is no reason for the EU to relieve the pressure, that official will say, as many have in conversations with the media.
And yet, the EU has quietly begun to unwind its sanctions against Moscow.
The UK's Express called it caving in to Putin. Bloomberg dubbed it "corrections to previous sanctions." Whatever it is called, it comes down to the same thing: the EU is loosening the noose. And it's not just the EU, either.
For starters, the European Union decided to add exemptions to Russian sanctions, which would allow countries from outside the bloc to deal with sanctioned Russian entities, including banks and state companies such as Rosneft. Per the Bloomberg report, these exemptions are for entities "deemed essential to shipments of food, agricultural goods and oil to third countries outside the EU".
The EU appears to be putting a lot of effort into convincing whoever is listening that their sanctions against Russia have absolutely nothing to do with either food or energy supply disruptions or, at the very least, they did not aim for them to happen.
It said it directly in a news release by the Council of Europe that announced the latest round of sanctions that targeted Russia's gold.
What all this effectively amounts to is an admission that sanctions against Russia are not working too well in their intended way and are instead hurting or threatening to hurt third parties not involved in the Ukraine conflict.
There's more, too. While the EU tweaks its sanctions to allow the trade of more Russian oil in order to avoid another spike in oil prices, the UK is hesitant to join the block in its oil insurance ban on Russian vessels. The UK's participation in the insurance squeeze is essential because of the market share British-based insurers hold in shipping insurance and yet they are stalling.
A recent Financial Times report on the topic suggests this might have something to do with the UK's big geopolitical brother and its concern about oil prices. The U.S., unlike the EU and its embargo, has opted for an alternative way of trying to reduce Russia's oil income: price caps. The UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, France, and Italy have agreed to pursue this cap.
Judging by the latest news from the G7 camp, however, the cap is not moving ahead as planned. A lot of people - analysts, shipping industry insiders, and the head of Russia's central bank, among others - said that a price cap on Russian crude would not work. It appears that G7 has not heard them.
Per a Reuters report from earlier this week, the G7 is looking into "a comprehensive prohibition of all services that enable transportation of Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products globally, unless the oil is purchased at or below a price to be agreed in consultation with international partners."
Talk, however, is cheap, while action is not. Yet talking is important when the world is watching you, so the G7 planners also said that "In considering this and other options, we will also consider mitigation mechanisms alongside our restrictive measures to ensure the most vulnerable and impacted countries maintain access to energy markets including from Russia."
In other words, just like the EU, the G7 would be wary of causing unintended damage to countries not involved in the Ukraine mess by making sure Russian oil reaches them freely. And then, refined products made from Russian oil will head back to the EU.
India buys Russian oil, runs it through its refineries, and sells 'Indian refined products' where? To the EU. Ditto for other cargos. Ditto for Saudi Arabia. Those vessels' bills of lading won't mention Russia as they arrive at their EU destination.
It must have dawned on EU, UK, and U.S. policymakers that sanctioning Russia would not be as easy as sanctioning a smaller oil exporter, especially if this oil exporter also exports a lot of other vital stuff, such as food and fertilizers.
The U.S. even issued a fact sheet to clarify that its sanctions do not target Russian fertilizer exports, or, indeed, agricultural product exports. And this while Amos Hochstein said that "Their economy has nothing else. They produce weapons and they produce and they drill for oil and gas."
It appears that 'their economy" has at the very least a lot of fertilizers and agricultural produce that serves to feed people outside Russia as well, and that's without mentioning the metals, too. As for the oil, it seems pretty critical as well: nothing short of critical would force the EU, the UK, and the U.S. to loosen the sanction noose.
See above post # 607.
Maybe if the libtard finally figure global warming (aka rebranded as climate changes) is bad science. And then they decide to drill baby drills and allows keystone pipeline to happen . That will not happen. Germany and EU will buy Russia oil from China or India which India will make a profit from reselling Russia oil to EU & Germany.
. Otherwise Germany and rest EU will go into a deep recession/ stagflation And plus coming winter is harsh ..people will suffer !
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Another frog in the pot.
I'm amazed people still cling to this one, then again, there are still flat earth conventions.
Honestly there was a similar UN report not that long ago.
Ukraine: military endangering civilians by locating forces in residential areas - new research
We are Amnesty International UK. We are ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights.www.amnesty.org.uk
Anger From Ukraine's Backers After Damning Amnesty Report Spotlights 'Human Shields'
AUG 05, 2022
Amnesty International has in a surprise shift placed its human rights scrutiny on Ukraine in a fresh report released Thursday. It immediately sparked a firestorm of criticism as both Western pundits and Kiev officials themselves blasted the findings as "unfair".
The Amnesty report said investigators had "found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas, as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages" in three war-torn regions of the country from April through July.
The report detailed that schools and hospitals, as well as people's homes, were put in harm's way, suggesting 'human shields' type tactics utilized by the Ukrainian military.
"Such tactics violate international humanitarian law and endanger civilians, as they turn civilian objects into military targets. The ensuing Russian strikes in populated areas have killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure," Amnesty continued, saying this resulted in Russian attacks on said civilian infrastructure.
The report detailed further that in 22 of 29 schools visited by an Amnesty team between April and July, investigators found evidence of prior military activity. Additionally, five instances of Ukrainian troops using hospitals as bases were documented. The report went so far as to stress Amnesty was "not aware" of instances where Ukrainian troops first tried to evacuate civilians from these locations.
Despite being under pressure to refrain from investigating the Ukrainian side and to not criticize it for human rights abuses, Secretary General of Amnesty International Agnès Callamard said in releasing the report:
"Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law."
Naturally, that so respected a premier human rights organization based in the West condemned these practices of the Ukrainian army resulted in backlash from Kiev leaders, as well as some Western pundits who went so far as to level the usual "Putin-sympathizers!" charge...
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba was quick to blast the Amnesty report, saying, "I understand that Amnesty will respond to criticism by saying that they criticize both sides of the conflict. But such behavior on Amnesty’s part is not about looking for the truth and presenting it to the world, but about creating a false balance between the criminal and his victim."
Other commentators said it was tantamount to "victim-blaming"...
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said the report confirms what Russia has been saying for a long time. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, "We’ve been talking about this constantly, calling the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces the tactics of using civilians as a 'human shield'."
as per Russian media all those defense placements were shown through out the conflict and with Ukrainian women yelling at their own army to get the fuck out of there (school yard) as there are kids etc..there was lots of locations out there besides the school yard.. that makes me think it’s done under someone’s commands. Very cruel manipulation. All of it is simply censored of the screen here. and there was a British journalist taking interviews with civilians from Azovstal where they were saying that Azovs were physically keeping them there and were shooting at people trying to leave..the British journalist was so surprised to hear it was Azov.. he was expecting to hear how poorly Russians treated them, he had to ask how do you know it was azov and not Russians and got the names of officers with tattoos.. it was also censored here and in UK but it was shown in Japan and was clearly an eye opener for many.
it is starting to appear in official reports…those things come out of the closet publically years after conflicts.. how soon it’s been published is truly a surprise for me considering how everybody “stands with Ukraine” and that zelensky goof
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This is the kind of thing Amnesty should really be reporting on there.
Russia likely trying to use ‘deeply controversial, indiscriminate’ mines in Ukraine: UK intelligence
Russia has likely tried to deploy “deeply controversial, indiscriminate” anti-personnel mines as Moscow ramps up its assaults on Ukraine, according to the United Kingdom’s defense ministry. …
thehill.com
Don’t worry luv. They are reporting..but to your disappointment not just thatThis is the kind of thing Amnesty should really be reporting on there.
Russia likely trying to use ‘deeply controversial, indiscriminate’ mines in Ukraine: UK intelligence
Russia has likely tried to deploy “deeply controversial, indiscriminate” anti-personnel mines as Moscow ramps up its assaults on Ukraine, according to the United Kingdom’s defense ministry. …
This is the kind of thing Amnesty should really be reporting on there.
Russia likely trying to use ‘deeply controversial, indiscriminate’ mines in Ukraine: UK intelligence
Russia has likely tried to deploy “deeply controversial, indiscriminate” anti-personnel mines as Moscow ramps up its assaults on Ukraine, according to the United Kingdom’s defense ministry. …
Johnstone: "Russian Propaganda" Just Means Disobedience
Authored by Caitlin Johnstone via Medium.com,
You can always tell how important narrative control is by watching the way people react when their control of the narrative is jeopardized.
Empire apologists are raging at Amnesty International for pausing its aggressive facilitation of western imperialism to issue one brief criticism of the way Ukrainian forces have been endangering civilian lives with their warfare tactics against the Russian military.
Amnesty is far from the first to highlight this extensively documented issue; that Ukrainian forces have been deliberately positioning themselves in civilian populations without taking proper measures to protect noncombatants is a concern that has been voiced repeatedly since the war began and reported on by both mainstream western news outlets and the United Nations.
Nevertheless, Amnesty’s claim that “Ukrainian forces have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals” has drawn fire from Ukrainian officials, from mass media pundits, from the brainwashed rank-and-file on social media, and from President Zelensky himself.
A common criticism circulating among the outrage is that Amnesty is facilitating Russian propaganda, has been influenced by Russian propaganda, or has itself become an instrument of Russian propaganda.
The head of Amnesty International’s Ukrainian branch resigned as a result of the report, saying that “the organization created material that sounded like support for Russian narratives” and that in an effort to protect civilians, “this study became a tool of Russian propaganda.”
“It is a shame that the organization like Amnesty is participating in this disinformation and propaganda campaign,” tweeted Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak.
“Amnesty International can go to hell for this garbage,” tweeted Human Rights Foundation Chairman Garry Kasparov. “Or go to Ukraine, which Putin’s war is trying to turn into hell. As with their actions on Navalny, it reeks of Russian influence turning Kremlin propaganda into Amnesty statements.”
The Daily Mail called the Amnesty report “a coup for Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine.”
“The organization gives a huge assist to Russian propaganda,” tweeted Oleksiy Sorokin, chief operating officer of the NATO propaganda outlet Kyiv Independent.
“Shameful victim-blaming. Russia invaded Ukraine and is committing unspeakable war crimes there. Please do not amplify Russian lies,” tweeted Paul Massaro of the US government’s Helsinki Commission.
The underlying premise behind these complaints, of course, is that it is Amnesty International’s job to help Ukraine win a propaganda campaign against Russia. Which is odd, because Amnesty’s reporting on the war has actually been overwhelmingly biased in favor of Ukraine this entire time.
“Anger directed at Amnesty is surprising given that it is the first critical piece the group has written on Ukraine since the war began,” reports Unherd. “Over the last six months, Amnesty has published 40 articles on Ukraine, nearly all of which condemn Russia’s invasion, with only one exception — its latest — that could be conceivably described as critical of Ukraine.”
Even the Amnesty report currently sparking all the outrage contains repeated condemnations of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, citing “indiscriminate attacks by Russian forces” and “war crimes” Amnesty has found Russia guilty of committing, as well as decrying the use of “inherently indiscriminate weapons, including internationally banned cluster munitions.”
But even ninety-nine percent loyalty to the official line is not enough for imperial spinmeisters and the empire’s useful idiots. Anything short of 100 percent compliance counts as Russian propaganda.
But that’s precisely the notion that has been drummed into western consciousness with ever-increasing fervor since 2016: that any dissent about US foreign policy is Russian propaganda. Don’t support western interventionism in Syria? You’re spouting Russian propaganda. Worried about nuclear war? Russian propaganda. Don’t think the fight for US unipolar domination is worth all this dangerous brinkmanship? Russian propaganda. Don’t like the idea of an expensive proxy war with no exit strategy whose economic fallout is making life harder and harder for more and more people all around the world? Russian propaganda.
I myself am accused of being a peddler of Russian propaganda many times per day, and have been for years. This despite my hardly ever consuming Russian media, never receiving a penny from Russia, and never having worked for the Russian government or any other government at any time. Russian media have at times chosen of their own initiative to amplify my work since I have a standing invitation for anyone to do so, but I’m literally just an Australian woman writing her opinions online with her American husband. I only qualify as “Russian propaganda” because I disagree with US foreign policy.
Ask anyone who says a criticism of the western empire’s Ukraine policy is “Russian propaganda” to name a critic of western Ukraine policy who they don’t consider a Russian propagandist. They won’t be able to. For them, disagreeing with one’s government about Ukraine is itself Russian propaganda.
For empire apologists the measure of what constitutes “Russian propaganda” about Ukraine has nothing to do with whether or not what’s being said is true or valid; it’s literally just a question of obedience to one’s government about the decisions it’s been making with regard to that nation.
If the measure of whether something qualifies as propaganda is defined entirely by whether it agrees with one’s government, then that measure is itself propaganda.
That’s exactly what’s happening with criticism of the west’s interventionism in Ukraine. Something doesn’t have to come from Russia to be considered Russian propaganda, and its source doesn’t need to have any connection to the Russian government. It doesn’t even have to be false. All it needs to be is disobedient.
We saw this illustrated this past June when The Guardian published a NATO-backed claim that journalist Aaron Maté was “the most prolific spreader of disinformation” among a “Russia-backed network of Syria conspiracy theorists,” despite being incapable of citing a single false thing in Maté’s Syria reporting, and despite The Guardian having to hastily edit out their “Russia-backed” claim.
We also saw this illustrated this past June in a University of Calgary briefing paper on “disinformation” about the war in Ukraine which warns about “five primary narratives” being circulated online:
There are arguments of varying strengths to be made for every one of those points, but more importantly it is self-evident that all of them are matters of opinion and none of them meet any sane definition of “disinformation”. They also can’t in and of themselves rightly be called either “Russian” or “propaganda”.
Counter-Disinformation Fails: Feedback from a Target - Propaganda In Focus
Introduction As someone who has quite often been publicly accused of purveying disinformation, I have had reason to examine the burgeoning phenomenon of counter disinformation experts who get cited in support of those accusations. Here, I report on some recent findings. This is not an academic...
propagandainfocus.com
Russian propaganda certainly exists, and the Russian government certainly has a vested interest in influencing western thought in its strategic favor to whatever extent it is capable. But its capability is very, very limited, especially compared to the exponentially greater influence that western institutions have over our minds.
Russia has a few trolls and some media outlets that were barely viewed by westerners even before they were banned; the US-centralized empire has the billionaire media, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and the education system. Comparing the two is like comparing a candle to the sun, and the sun ain’t Russia. But that’s the one whose influence over our minds we’re meant to worry about.
In reality we are swimming in propaganda that is favorable to the US empire our entire lives; it’s so ubiquitous that people don’t even notice it. Claiming your support for US foreign policy on an issue has nothing to do with being propagandized is like someone who was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church claiming it was pure coincidence that he happens to agree with the church on the sinfulness of homosexuality. It pervades our minds and shapes our society, but they want us all freaking out about the virtually nonexistent problem of “Russian propaganda”.
This is a thought-killing dynamic, and it is a major problem. It is not good that propaganda is shoved into our minds manufacturing consent for dangerous escalations between the world’s two greatest nuclear powers while anyone who opposes any part of it is dismissed as a Russian propagandist or a useful idiot of the Kremlin.
Ten Times Empire Managers Showed Us That They Want To Control Our Thoughts
Listen to a reading of this article:
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com
We should be using our minds more at this critical juncture, but these dynamics put in place by imperial narrative managers have instead got us using them a lot less.
Old joke:
A Russian and an American get on a plane in Moscow and get to talking. The Russian says he works for the Kremlin and he’s on his way to go learn American propaganda techniques.
“What American propaganda techniques?” asks the American.
“Exactly,” the Russian replies.
You are right when the conflicts ends then the truth will eventually slowly come out. Like the IRAQ “WMD “ which USA & Britain on a false pretences to justify the second IRAQ war in order to sell it to the public . And Hunter Biden laptop
which the mainstream media / US integellgence call Hunter Biden laptop as Russian misinformation laptop to destroy and hid the damm evidence.. to help Biden get elected.
zelensky is a corrupt goof.To be fair Putin is corrupt too and by the way also according to Biden laptop email the big guy get 10%. Too
with Hunter Biden doing Russian hookers while on cocaine.
I posted a picture and video while back. I tried to find the link for you,
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So Ukrainians are at home. Russians show up and attack. They stay, and their army shows up to fight the Russian invaders. They are stubborn and stay. Oh!, to be used in such a manner 
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Well what the Amnesty international is saying is that there would be significantly less civilian casualties if Ukrainian forces positioned their defense systems not directly in the school yard but 100 meters away from it as they have options…So Ukrainians are at home. Russians show up and attack. They stay, and their army shows up to fight the Russian invaders. They are stubborn and stay. Oh!, to be used in such a manner
I understand, they know they’d be hit harder because there would be no human shield between them and the invaders.. but it’s what the army is supposed to do. To protect civilians and not hide behind them.
Also when they were giving out weapons to regular people with no training they made those people a target for Russian Army.What for? to get more pity from the world by increasing the civilian casualties??seems like it to me.
All of those patriotic words how brave Ukrainians stayed to fight are just for hypocrites who watch the show on tv from across the ocean.
Whaddabout brave Russian-Canadian Battle Babushkas who push Russian propaganda or otherwise excuse yet another historical Russian genocide and destruction / slaughter from the safety and freedom of their new society?
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