In this corner is the Champ for nearly the past 80 years, the United States of America. Recent events has shown that it still has some tricks up its sleeve.

That trick with the sanctions has been used before, but it went much farther in the Ukraine-Russia battle. Imagine putting a sanction on oil, “natural” gas, wheat, lithium, and much more. And no one saw that expulsion of Russia from Swift, the worldwide financial clearing house, coming.

Joe Biden and friends must know that there are repercussions on their way. In fact, some of them have already landed. So what’s the point for the USA? Well, for one thing, money. In fact, much more money than the US can steal from the national reserves of Venezuela and Afghanistan. – reserves that were deposited in US banks without a thought that America would act like a pirate and simply confiscate the money. Recently, it has taken Russian reserves that were on deposit in Western banks and couldn’t be transferred to Russian banks in time.

Wheat, Gas and Oil, What’s Next?

Much more money can be made in oil, even though it is a dying industry. When the experts at Standard Oil companies, etc. recognize that the new sky-high price per barrel has just about topped out, we will see millions of gallons of domestic oil hitting the market. It will be quite a payday.

The sanction on natural gas, also known as methane, will not have a major effect on the US, but it will turn Northern Europe into millions of icicles. It seems that being a US ally has its pitfalls.

Then there is wheat. There is another sanction that prevents Russia from selling its tons and tons of wheat. That said, the ranting and raving about wheat is somewhat overblown. Ukraine is the 8th largest wheat producing country in the world with 24.9 million tons. Who is the largest wheat producer? If you guessed China, you are right. Russia produced 85.9 million tons, which is more that three times as much as did Ukraine. The US, significantly, produces twice as much wheat as Ukraine, at 49.7 million tons.

A sarcastic statement about Russia, by the late Sen. John McCain, applies equally to the US. He said the country consists of “a farm, a gas station, and nuclear weapons.” Of course, there is much more to both countries, yet McClain put his finger on the source of their power.

We are watching the Great Game being played, not only with weapons that must be replaced, but with two of its back row chess pieces, oil and wheat. Even though Russia has much more wheat that Ukraine, the US is emphasizing the fate of the wheat from 8th place Ukraine over the much greater wheat production from #3 producer Russia, which, by the way, is under sanction by the West.

Who’s Who in the Oil Biz?

It may surprise some readers that the top oil producer in the world is not Russia, not Saudi Arabia, or any of the other usual suspects. It is the United States, which produces an incredible 11,567,000 barrels per day. No wonder we are in the midst of climate change.

Apparently, this vast amount of fossil fuel is not enough to supply US domestic needs, plus 800 to 1,000 military bases around the world. It takes a lot of resources to run an empire.

Russian oil, under sanction of course, is a million barrels per day (10,503,000) behind the US, yet it has plenty of oil to sell on the open market. The same is true for that filling station called Saudi Arabia, which is only slightly behind Russia in production.

Begging the Saudis for Oil

In spite of being awash in petroleum, President Joe Biden went to beg the ax murderer of Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In 2018, he ordered the slaying and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote for The Washington Post. The Prince was reportedly displeased with the negative articles Khashoggi wrote about King Salman and the royal family.

In the US presidential campaign, Biden called the Prince a pariah and pledged to shun him. But this month, there was Biden exchanging elbow bumps with the Prince.

Biden realizes the west is in deep trouble if it cannot get enough oil for its cars and machinery. Hence the trip to Arabia. Biden came hat-in-hand to beg the rulers from nine Arab countries to increase production. He was turned down flat. He should have known that it was a tough sell since none of the nine countries have followed the US in imposing sanctions on Russia.

Even if the nine countries had been inclined to help the US out, it may be in some other currency than US dollars. It was the US and the EU that started to dissolution of SWIFT with the banning of Russia.

Building a Better World with BRICS

Perish the thought, if oil were paid in bricks, not US dollars through SWIFT. Actually, it’s BRICS, but pronounced bricks. This is the growing coalition of economic power named after Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, with Iran and Argentina in the process of joining. A formidable base, both economically and geographically, for a New World Order.

The US mainstream media has tried to put a good spin on the trip, but in this case, there is no good spin. The Arab nations, like much of the Global South, has had it with US dictation. They will no longer jump when the President or Secretary of State makes demands. And with oil becoming scarce, Biden and the rest of the ruling class will face a working class angry as never before. It is truly a new world being born before our eyes.

The US Empire is used to getting its way. By using NATO, the US was able to goad Russia into attacking Ukraine. The US spooks and think tanks believed this would enhance the Empire’s geopolitical position while weakening that of Russia, and even China. Meanwhile, the US elite would make billions of dollars by taking Russia out of the world market with the use of sanctions.

Things haven’t worked out quite that way. Most of the world refused to go along with the US sanctions, and Russia is shattering Ukraine, thereby enhancing its military standing in the Global South. The US can’t find a friend with oodles of oil. It will be held responsible for Europeans being extremely cold and with many people dying. Internal combustion engine (ICE) cars will cease to run due to lack of gasoline. The end result will be former fast friends of the Empire, such as Germany, turning to Russia to satisfy their needs for resources.

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Sanctions are Highway Robbery