Comments by "Art Stone" (@ArtStoneUS) on "EU Russian oil embargo stalemate. Reverse gas-for-rubles. Putin body double. Update 2" video.

  1. I can think of at least one situation in the United States where the debt of a company went into free fall because of a likely default. But the company had cash- so they bought up their own debt at a deep discount, and declared the difference to be profit, which made them have a very profitable quarter, albeit not from their operations. If Russia is as flush with wealth as we're led to believe, I'm thinking that Russia could work out an arrangement where the debt is transferred to a third party who won't get in trouble if they accept payment from Russia. Using the financial system as a political weapon is a lose-lose proposition.
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  2. Elvis Presley has been spotted in Poland training the Ukraine military!
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  3. The most vocal Republican proponent of spending 40 billion dollars on the conflict in Ukraine is South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Lindsey Graham does not get along at all with Donald Trump, particularly the remarks Trump made about John McCain.
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  4. Stars and Stripes magazine is basically an informal industry publication for people serving in the US military. They just ran a story describing the situation in Ukraine, and it is pretty clear from the tone of the story that they realize Ukraine is a lost cause. Things have devolved to where the Ukrainians with no ammunition are digging trenches like in World War I to try to hide from the Russian fire. It is not working. They know it's just a matter of time until the Russians surround everyone and demand surrender or just kill everybody. The United States politicians are banking on the idea that sending MLRS (multiple launcher rocket systems) will turn things around. What they don't understand, but the military people do, is first you have to get them a thousand miles across Ukraine without fuel or protection, the ukrainians do not know how to operate them, and they will be sitting ducks since Russia controls the airspace. The military leaders are pushing back on the request for the version that can go 180 Miles, for fear the ukrainians will use them to randomly attack inside Russia, further escalating the conflict and the Russian response. These devices are intended to be used as part of an integrated command and control system, not just randomly firing off rockets in some general direction to scare your enemy.
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  5. It goes deeper than that. If a foreign bank violates the US sanctions, they risk then being unable to conduct business with any US Banks and having their assets seized by the US Treasury. That's a risk that most banks would not be willing to take.
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  6. The more booster shots he gets, the less his brain seems to be working
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  7. There is a fundamental principle at work here. Governments do not make mistakes. They double down to prove that their first mistake was not a mistake.
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