“You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet …”

 

It’s St Patrick’s Day today but no shamrocks are decorating the pages of our MSM. Trying hard to escape the ever more gruesome anti-Russian propaganda there are nevertheless a few items I’m forced to refer to. Also, there are the first green shoots – or should that be ‘black shoots’? – hinting at the coming economic crash and increasing inflation. It’s not about the Fed raising their interest rates by 0.25% to ‘combat inflation’ – this is about the coming shortage of fuel, especially diesel. More on that below.

There also was a 7.3 earthquake in Japan, with the ensuing tsunami warning. Only the DM has a report (link). Meanwhile, the Aussie PM is threatening China with ‘serious consequences’ should they back Russia (link). So the Aussies feel able to  make demands to China? Me, I’m just a bit astonished about this piece of diplomatic “MeToo-ism”. 

There was also the spectacle of the Ukrainian PM, Mr Z., addressing the joint houses of senate and representatives in Washington, via video link. Mr Z. was shown wearing a sort-of military-looking t-shirt. Now perhaps I’m a bit old fashioned, but surely, regardless of him being in a bunker in Kiev or in the US Embassy in Warsaw, a shirt and tie ought to’ve been found for him? Doesn’t this  show clearly that it was about a theatre production, aimed to put pressure on the USA? Biden accordingly promised another load of ‘cutting edge’ military material to be sent to Ukraine, to the tune of another $800m. 

Now please excuse me –  but isn’t it a bit imprudent to do this when nobody knows where and to whom these things ought to go, when the ‘base’ for the ‘legionnaires’ from all over the world was precision-shelled a few days ago, with the loss of over 100 lives? There are many stories on social media of very disgruntled ‘legionnaires’ about their treatment by the remaining Ukrainian military ‘authorities’. They unanimously report that they were only meant as cannon fodder. The DT has one by two Brits, quoting one of them:

“Mr Walsh, who served on military tours in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq during a 17-year career, said: “To join the international legion, the Ukrainians wanted to take our passports off us, sign a year contract, give us training for two days – 48 hours – and then within another 48 hours we would be fighting in Kyiv.” (paywalled link)

Yes, well … at least “we” can believe them, surely, because they’re not Russians, correct? Perhaps one or another might wonder if the MSM propaganda about Ukraine wasn’t quite realistic. And here’s another thing: weren’t lefties supposed to be ‘pacifists’? No longer – the Guardian is a perfect example. Their recipe for avoiding more civilian casualties is – more weapons: “Grisly urban warfare looms unless west beefs up Ukraine arms supply” (link). So “we” have to prolong this war by handing over more military hardware to protect civilians? I dunno …

Meanwhile, as the combined western MSM depict Russia’s armed forces as on their last legs, not able to ‘conquer’ Ukrainian cities, there are reports from Mariupol. This is where the neonazi Azov brigade are making their last stand. Since the beginning of the week various blogs reported that this brigade had corralled civilians and imprisoned them in the centre of the town, in the regional theatre building. Yesterday, the Azov Brigade blew up that building, killing those civilians – and blaming Russian air strikes.

Never mind that there were no Russian airplanes operating in that area – “we” do not believe the Russians, remember? However, something extraordinary happened. Reuters reported (my emphasis):

“Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday Russian forces dropped a powerful bomb on a theatre in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, leaving many civilians trapped and an unknown number of casualties. Reuters could not independently verify the information.” (link)

Our own beloved Auntie Beeb had a similar report by one of their journalists sitting in Kiev. This is a bit more gruesome, a bit more in line with the narrative of ‘barbaric Russians’ (my emphasis):

“Russian forces dropped a bomb on a theatre where civilians were being sheltered in the besieged city of Mariupol, local officials say. Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov told the BBC between 1,000 and 1,200 people had sought refuge in the building. The number of casualties was still unknown. The BBC could not independently verify the information.” (link)

Journalists ‘independently verifying’ an Ukrainian report? How … novel! Of course the BBC was unable to do this from Kiev where Ukrainian officials ‘know’ the truth, the sole truth. Remember that the USA is fully aware of what is going on, thanks to their spy satellites. If there had been Russian planes operating over Mariupol, I’m certain we’d have been told. Reuters has more – it’s an excellent illustration for “we don’t believe the Russians but use unverified Ukrainian ‘reports’ instead”:

“Russia denies targeting civilians. In Moscow, the defence ministry said its forces had not struck the building and instead accused the Azov Battalion, a far-right Ukrainian militia, of blowing it up, RIA news agency said. It did not give evidence to back up the claim.” (link)

Of course, ‘our good Nazis’ would never do such a thing like blowing up civilians! All who say differently are Kremlin stooges and ‘Putin lovers’. And so, as  “we” are crying for Ukraine, the news about the imminent shortage of diesel is of no interest. Firstly, see this:

“Reuters’ John Kemp reported this week that diesel fuel stocks in Europe are at their lowest since 2008, and 8 percent—or 35 million barrels—lower than the five-year average for this time of the year. In the United States, the situation is graver still. There, diesel fuel inventories are 21 percent lower than the pre-pandemic five-year seasonal average, which translates into 30 million barrels. In Singapore, a global energy trade hub, diesel fuel inventories are 4 million barrels below the seasonal five-year average from before the pandemic. What is perhaps worse, however, is that over the past 12 months, the combined diesel fuel inventories in the U.S., Europe, and Singapore, have shed a combined 110 million barrels that have yet to be replaced, Kemp noted.” (link)

Running down diesel stocks, just as running down strategic gas reserves, is a pillar of our  wonderful ‘Net Zero’ policies. Now there’s not even going to be enough diesel stock to keep the supply chain going, because, yes, “sanctions”:

“On top of all this, Russia is a major supplier of diesel, meaning Western sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine are affecting these supplies too. […] In the UK, meanwhile, the Daily Mail cited analysts as warning that the government may need to resort to diesel fuel rationing from next month because of the state of the market and the ban on Russian oil imports, which include diesel fuel. Russia supplied a third of the UK’s imported diesel before the ban.” (link)

Remember that ship carriers and lorries generally run on diesel. A shortage means higher prices across the board. With inflation already increasing this will only add to the coming price rises. The combination of green blobbery and “Putin bad therefore sanctions” is creating a perfect  economic storm of which we, the working stiffs, the pensioners, the lower middle classes, will have to bear the brunt.

The professional virtue signallers however– our posturing politicians and the supporting cast in the Westminster theatre, MSM hacks included – can sit this out. Isn’t it wonderful how the combined western politicians can now hide their mismanagement of energy policies behind “Putin did it”? 

A cynical so-and-so like me might think that it’s therefore in their interest to keep the Ukrainian war going for as long as possible. I’m sure you couldn’t possibly comment …

 

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