Posted on 03/12/2022 1:11:40 PM PST by keving
Merkel's Legacy as Russian Invasion Lays Up to the final hours before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, former chancellor Angela Merkel had been touted as the person favored by Germans to try to talk President Vladimir Putin out of the conflict.
But as Russian bombs fell on Ukrainian cities, a shadow has fallen on Merkel's 16 years in office, with some observers now questioning if her detente policies with Putin had in fact left Germany, and Europe, vulnerable.
Once hailed as the leader of the free world, the veteran center-right leader has been accused by some of increasing Europe's reliance on Russian energy and neglecting Germany's defense in what appeared to be a devastating miscalculation...
(Excerpt) Read more at voanews.com ...
Europe can’t afford to let Russia take over Ukraine and have near monopoly prices on oil gas and grain.
If Ukraine doesn’t win with weapon support. Then NATO will have to enter more directly.
Put a former East German in charge, what could possibly go wrong?
Europe should have thought of all that long ago.
Too late. Ukraine is devastated. Idiot Z could have avoided it all completely.
Not our problem. Not our war.
The Ukraine will be Russia’s Stalingrad.
Stalingrad - Massengrab!
“CENTER RIGHT”?
She was a STASI agent until the unification, I wouldn’t call that center right!
“Once hailed as the leader of the free world...”
The Ukrainians are going to kick the Russian’s butt on this.
Russians don’t play so well on the road.
New musical: “Springtime for Putin”.
“Putin on the Ritz!”
Russia (#1) and Ukraine are major wheat exporters, but not top “grain” exporters. The US is the worlds top food exporter, Russia and Ukraine arent even in the top 10. There are lots of dietary adjustments and substitutes for wheat possible.
High wheat prices are a PITB for consumers, especially in the Middle East as substitution seems hardest there.
And EU countries are major wheat exporters too. France out-exports Ukraine. The effect of the loss of the Ukrainian crops is a general increase in price. I assume that Russian wheat will still go where it always mainly went, that is to the Middle East, as noone is blockading Russia. Since wheat like petroleum is a fungible commodity nobody has a lock on supplies.
Remember we had to export wheat to the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
Mel Brooks aside, German energy policy was always stupid, and this goes to all the German political parties. I can only blame groupthink in Germany as a whole.
This is not true of all the EU. France was always more realistic, and their long term policy (nukes, mainly) is now reinforced.
Also the German defense policy. Trump was completely correct and he is vindicated.
That was true. Communism us about the worst thing that can happen to agriculture. But I must give Putin some credit, as it was under Putin that Russia turned this around, and got back to its position as of 1914.
That said, Ukraine also turned this around in that time.
Wow, if this graph is really fact, you would think Ukraine really is going to win the war. I hope so. But, what about where Russia is at, knocking on the door of Ukraine’s capital city Kiev? Your graph may not have it right.
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