Heading towards World War III?

China warned the U.S. against trying to build what it called a Pacific version of NATO, while declaring that security disputes over Taiwan and Ukraine were “not comparable at all.”

Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his annual news briefing Monday that the “real goal” of the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy was to form Asia’s answer to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. China has often accused the U.S. of trying to form blocs to suppress its growth, a complaint that’s likely to attract greater attention after President Vladimir Putin cited similar grievances before his invasion of Ukraine.

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-07/china-urges-world-not-to-add-fuel-to-fire-in-war-in-ukraine

Russia has said it may close its main gas pipeline to Germany if the West goes ahead with a ban on Russian oil.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said a "rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market", causing prices to more than double to $300 a barrel.

The US has been exploring a potential ban with allies as a way of punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

But Germany and the Netherlands rejected the plan on Monday.

The EU gets about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia, and has no easy substitutes if supplies are disrupted.

In an address on Russian state television, Mr Novak said it would be "impossible to quickly find a replacement for Russian oil on the European market".

"It will take years, and it will still be much more expensive for European consumers. Ultimately, they will be hurt the worst by this outcome," he said.

www.bbc.com/news/business-60656673

The US and UK are banning Russian oil and the EU is ending its reliance on Russian gas, stepping up the economic response to the invasion of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden said the move targeted "the main artery of Russia's economy".

Energy exports are a vital source of revenue for Russia but the move is also likely to impact Western consumers.

Major brands have meanwhile continued to pull out of Russia, with McDonald's and Coca-Cola the latest to leave.

Russia's economy is heavily dependent on energy. It is the world's third-biggest oil producer, behind Saudi Arabia and the US.

Before the measures were announced, Russia warned of "catastrophic" consequences for the global economy and said it might close its main gas pipeline to Germany.

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60666251

Ministers are making it a criminal offence for planes owned or chartered by Russians to enter UK airspace.

Russian-owned craft are already banned from flying to the UK, but the new move is aimed at targeting private jets registered in a third country being chartered by wealthy Russians.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-60671843

You know that feeling when you're running downhill, going so fast that you seem to lose control of your own feet?

That's where the EU appears to be at the moment.

• Crushing financial sanctions on Russia that hurt European business.
• Brussels purchasing and sending weapons to a non-EU country at war.
• Germany beefing up its military, despite post-World War Two queasiness. Staunchly neutral Finland and Sweden thinking of joining Nato.
• The bloc's asylum procedure pushed aside to accommodate fleeing Ukrainians, in what's described as Europe's biggest refugee crisis since 1945.

Once dismissed as impossible - or at least, hugely improbable - from one day to the next, EU revolutions, provoked by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, have been happening thick and fast.

The next seismic change bubbling in Brussels? A looming energy revolution, provoked by a simple question: What's the point of punitive financial sanctions if Vladimir Putin's war chest is refilled on a daily basis with oil and gas revenues?

The EU depends on Russia for 40% of its natural gas and a quarter of its oil imports.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60654586

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government as part of its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

He is one of seven oligarchs to be hit with fresh sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans.

The list also includes billionaires Igor Sechin and Oleg Deripaska, both seen as allies of Vladimir Putin.

- - -

The government had come under pressure to sanction Mr Abramovich, who said he had made the "difficult decision" to sell Chelsea FC earlier this month.

The football club is among the assets frozen as part of the sanctions against Mr Abramovich and its sale has now been stalled.

But the BBC understands the government would consider allowing Mr Abramovich to apply for a special licence to sell the club, providing he can prove he would not benefit from the sale.

The government said it would issue a special licence that allows fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches.

However, the club cannot sell any more tickets for games, its merchandise shop will be closed, and it will be unable to buy or sell players on the transfer market.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-60690362

Russia has banned exports of more than 200 types of foreign-made product until the end of 2022 in a bid to mitigate the impact of western sanctions.

Exports of telecom, agricultural, electrical and technology equipment that were previously imported into Russia from abroad will be affected.

Russia will also ban some timber exports to nations that have "committed unfriendly actions".

Around 48 countries will be affected, including EU and the US.

Banning exports of foreign made goods was "necessary to provide stability on the Russian market", according to an order signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Other items subject to the ban include cars, railway carriages, containers and turbines.

www.bbc.com/news/business-60689279

Thirty years ago when communism collapsed in the Soviet Union, Western firms stepped up their presence in Russia.

The arrival of big Western companies symbolised the start of a new era with Russians becoming eager consumers of brands ranging from fast-food chain McDonalds to Levi jeans and luxury goods.

Now, in the wake of President Putin's invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of firms have suspended activities in Russia.

www.bbc.com/news/business-60571133

This war is being deliberately orchestrated. There is nobody interested in calming the situation. Every excuse to raise the Iron Financial Curtain is being carried out. The sanctions imposed on Russia for Crimea are still in place. Once sanctions are imposed, they will NEVER be removed. China is now moving full-steam-ahead to replace SWIFT, which stood tall when Obama wanted to remove Russia and they refused to allow SWIFT to be used for politics. Now SWIFT has lost all integrity and the price we are witnessing is the collapse of the world economy.

www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cryptocurrency/the-end-of-cryptocurrency-coming

"As hundreds of Ukrainians die. As the missile attacks destroy homes across Ukraine. As innocents like the 21-year-old student from Karnataka are killed in the shelling and the bombing, Europe prepares to spend hundreds of billions in increased defence expenditure. And most of the money, I repeat, most of the money will be made by the United States of America, the U.S.A. The same country that is pushing the Ukrainians into a prolonged conflict."

www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/why-does-america-love-the-russia-ukraine-war-arnab-goswami-cuts-to-the-chase-articleshow.html

SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.

www.ushistory.org/Paine/commonsense/sense2.htm