Author Russian Presidential Press and Information Office
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
The House Science Committee has released a report detailing how Russia has been attempting to sabotage US domestic fossil fuel production, to promote their own fossil fuel exports, by stirring up climate activist opposition to US domestic fossil fuel production.
Republicans Accuse Russia of Using Social Media to Roil U.S. Energy Policy
By Ari Natter and Alan Bjerga
2 March 2018, 01:25 GMT+10 Updated on 2 March 2018, 03:56 GMT+10
The same Russian operatives accused of manipulating the 2016 U.S. presidential election used inflammatory social media posts to disrupt U.S. energy policy, including inciting environmentalists to protest against pipeline projects, House Republicans said in a report released Thursday.
The report, released by the House Science Committee, said it found evidence Russian-sponsored agents used Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to suppress the research and development of fossil fuels and stymie efforts to expand the use of natural gas and fracking.
“This report reveals that Russian agents created and spread propaganda on U.S. social media platforms in an obvious attempt to influence the U.S. energy market,” Texas Representative Lamar Smith, the chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said in a statement. “Russian agents attempted to manipulate Americans’ opinions about pipelines, fossil fuels, fracking and climate change.”
…
According to the report, Hillary Clinton was fully aware of Russian efforts;
… Former Secretary of State and then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, with access to intelligence reports, made a private speech in 2014, according to documents from WikiLeaks, which included statements about the struggles of dealing with Russian-backed environmental groups. According to a media report, Secretary Clinton said the following: “We [the State Department and the U.S.] were up against Russia pushing oligarchs and others to buy media. We were even up against phony environmental groups, and I’m a big environmentalist, but these were funded by the Russians to stand against any effort, ‘Oh that pipeline, that fracking, that whatever will be a problem for you,’ and a lot of the money supporting that message was coming from Russia.”
…
To that end, the Kremlin is attempting to make, as Senator Cardin’s report states, “useful idiots” of unwitting environmental groups and activists in furtherance of its energy influence operations.33 Although this is not a new tactic in the Kremlin’s playbook, it has been adapted to account for modern technological advancements like the Internet and social media. Throughout history, the Kremlin has engaged and manipulated unwitting individuals to disseminate propaganda in furtherance of its global agenda.34 The Kremlin continues to employ this tactic, which has become substantially more effective with the proliferation of the Internet and social media. By leveraging the sincerely held views and beliefs of unwitting agents, the Kremlin is able to exploit polarized issues in American democracy to influence action in furtherance of its agenda.
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Read More: House Science Committee Report
The Bloomberg reporter contacted several people who appear skeptical of the claimed extent or aims of Russian propaganda efforts.
Fossil fuel exports account for around 16% of Russian GDP, 52% of government revenue and 70% of Russian exports, so it makes sense that Russian propaganda efforts would be focussed on protecting their one trick economy.
It’s not difficult to make “useful idiots” of environmental groups, since they are full of idiots.
I believe that many of the anti-fracking groups in the UK are also funded from Russia.
The difficulty is making them useful.
You don’t need to. That’s the beauty of the scheme. They are useful by standing on the way of workers.
It’s rather easy to herd cats if you have a laser pointer. Idiots aren’t much more difficult, it’s just that the laser pointer needs to project a flashier scarier image.
I noticed the main stream media has turned this around and claimed the Russians were supporting an anti-climate change view.
Most MSM outlets might as well register as agents of Pravda.
Well they’re either against fossil fuels or anti-climate change or whatever, but one thing we can be sure of is : the Russians did it.
Prava means “truth”. Izvestia means “news”. The russian joke was, there is no pravda in Izvestia, and no Izvestia in Pravda.
Sounds familiar?
Russia is stirring the pot with both spreading aggressive skeptism and supporting valve-turners.
Don’t you realise? Putin wants to spread disagreement and instability. He wants to break the EU. He wants to ruin western energy politics, but he also tries get as much instability as possible. Look what he does in Syrian war. Look what he did to Crimea. He’s a merciless ruler with an endless term in practice. Now Xi in China is taking the role model. Oh what fun.
Well if Putin wants to break the EU then he and I agree on at least one thing.
Did you see what the British actor Michael Cain said when asked about Brexit?
” I’m in favor of Brexit actually, because I’d rather be a poor master of my own fate than a rich servant of someone else’s.”
Brilliant!
My only disagreement with that statement is that you won’t be a rich servant of someone else’s fate. Under the EU, the only people who get rich are those who run the system, and their families.
Everyone else gets poorer.
Democratic and Republican presidents since Daddy Bush have all appointed environuts to top positions and funded CAGW “scientists”.
How do the billionaires that control both parties escape without egg on their faces now that the cooling is noticeable? Blame it on Putin.
Mark W:
I think what Caine meant, in the quote supplied by RAH, was that EVEN IF Britain will be poorer after exiting the EU, it is better to be poor and free than to be rich and enslaved. And not only do I agree with that sentiment, I would apply it to many other facets of politics. In fact, that theory informs my opinion on global warming alarmism in general. Though I don’t believe mankind is the major contributor to global warming, and don’t believe global warming (if it continues) is a “bad thing”, my ultimate position is that, EVEN IF global warming is caused by mankind, EVEN IF it continues, and EVEN IF it’s CATASTROPHIC, I would rather live through the catastrophe (or even die because of it) as a FREE MAN, than live as a slave to government under “ideal” (whatever that is) climate conditions.
They are funded by George Soros.
The Soviets/Russians have been making use of the same idiots for decades. All that has changed is the focus of their activities.
We need to start playing hardball with Russia. I don’t know what form that would be – but make it hurt. At the least, we could start by flooding the Ukraine with both offensive and defensive weapons, and the support to use them. Harass their Artic fleet to make it very expensive for them to stay active there. If Putin wants to make us bleed, shove it back in his face.
You are one crazy, crazy person.
Military responses to strategies of economic competition are a bit extreme, especially when you have a comparatively crappy fleet of polar-equipped vessels.
@PopPiasa, “crappy fleet of polar equipped vessels “…..as in crappy enough to rescue ships of fools…_
As a USA petroleum geologist/seismologist I worked overseas for almost 15 years; over 10 of which were in FSU [Former Soviet Union] countries; mostly in Russia and Ukraine.
In those work locations, it was knowledge accepted commonly by our “Soviets” colleagues that their boy Putin was doing all he could, financially and otherwise, to agitate and support the environmental whacko greenie Americans [and other Westerners minions] for ALL THINGS anti-fossil-fuels … particularly petroleum.
The Soviets always got a good chuckle that we USA folk, by our own citizens, were shooting ourselves in our collective feet.
“ ……by our “Soviets” colleagues that their boy Putin was doing all he could, financially and otherwise, to …… ”
Shur nuff, ….. just ask Bill and Hillary Clinton how many “tens-of-millions-of-dollars” that the Russians gave them? Then ask them what they promised to do for the Russians in return for those freely donated MILLION$?
And where did you get that, …….. “we USA folk”, …..ont I sure as ell am not a highly partisan Democrat lemming.
Rob Bradley -March 3, 2018 at 1:53 pm
And Rob B, …… please don’t ask for a “citation” for the following “citation” after you read it, …. iffen you bother to read it, that is.
Rob Bradley, …… Josephus pretty much EXACTLY described the “Clinton lovers” more than 2,000 years ago, to wit:
blockquote>“ Now I cannot but think, that the greatness of a kingdom, and its changes into prosperity, often becomes the occasion of mischief and of transgression to men, for so it usually happens, that the manners of subjects are corrupted at the same time with those of their governors, which subjects then lay aside their own sober way of living, as a reproof of their governor’s intemperate courses, and follow their wickedness, as if it were virtue, for it is not possible to show that men approve of the actions of their kings, unless they do the same actions with them.” (Flavius Josephus – 37- 100 AD)
Rob, as if “donations” to a foundation the recipient controls absolutely is not a benefit to the recipient.
Really?
sarc alert- You science guys don’t get it, do you? A mann of the world like Rob Bradley knows the score, use email that can disappear to instruct foreigners which foundation to “support”, then you can hide it from anybody- especially those pischers in the “Obama” administration, you know, the ones you “promised” not to?! Ha, they didn’t even check if Hillary had her fingers crossed! Rob Bradley gets it, so he’s ok if Trump sets up a CF and takes $ from Russians, Chinese, NoKo’s, no problem with Hillary’s new paradigm. Bet Rob Bradley will be onboard when Trump gets secret wiretap warrant on enviro groups and pols who support environment, because, you know, russian money and all. Please, Rob B., please waste lotsa time here, these science guys are soooo serious, they can use the laughs. Keep ’em comin’.
Once again, Rob is determined to play the fool.
There is no difference between giving to the Clinton foundation and giving to the Clintons, since the Clintons are the primary beneficiaries of the foundation.
Anyone else notice how offended little Rob gets whenever anyone dares to disagree with him.
Beyond that, I love the way Rob uses allegations that Trump is mis-using his foundation to prove that Hillary can’t be mis-using hers.
Rob B: And he can use the CF just as the Clintons used theirs, right? I’m just trying to establish the new boundry. You can demand of Trump what you demanded of Hillary. And you’re good with use of FISA court to tap the opposition. Got it.
Hey Bobby-boy! Thank you. It’s always reassuring to hear the opinions of an expert in these matters.
And since you appear to be such an expert on the Clinton Foundation, can you state that you are certain that the foundation’s books are in order? Also, can you confirm that the foundation’s financial statements have been audited properly and consistently in compliance with applicable laws and standards?
Many thanks for giving us the benefit of your knowledge, wisdom and witty little putdowns of people you disagree with.
Rob Bradley, …… now don’t you be forgettin what Josephus would have said about the “lovin n’ adorin” Hillary Fan Club members, to wit:
“ for so it usually happens, that the manners of subjects are corrupted at the same time with those of
their governorsHillary and Bill Clinton,”And Rob B, just what is it about this dastardly devious dishonest act of illegality that you don’t understand, to wit:
“Those donations weren’t initially disclosed — despite Hillary Clinton signing a memorandum of understanding ”
“Loving eyes never sees any evil”.
To Rob Bradley, who wanted a citation for “tens-of-millions-of-dollars”: http://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-clintons-russia-trump-688592
Newsweek is not a conservative rag. So they are quick to point out that the $145M went to their foundation. But I think you’re smart enough to figure out how that works. Foundations now-a-days buy influence.
When Hillary lost the election, the foundation was shut down.
You quoted Newsweek and I was stupid enough to follow the link. The site was fully plastered with scam advertisements. No adblock in myBad.
If the moral of the site is to take advertisement money from people who clearly and outrageously lie and decept to get suckers click and buy, how do I know the place is not at the same time trying to contaminate my computer with malware?
The old xkcd joke comes to my mind – meet girls at Low Earth Orbit – geolocation data in advertising.
What happened to the money when the foundation was closed? I guess Clinton’s friends did get a fair share?
@kaliforniakook. The Newsweek article concludes thus:-
Assessment: Yes, the foundation received money and Bill Clinton was paid to give a speech, but there’s no evidence the Clintons were paid by Russians to push through the uranium deal.
Now I know what I would have advised Newsweek to say in such an assessment, if I was one of their legal staff.
Ask me what my private opinion is, and I would say…_
Why the “surprise” here? Russian state operatives have been trying to influence policy here for years – now there are more methods available to do so. Ironically the claim that they “worked with” the Trump campaign is almost nonsensically false, but perhaps not for lack of trying. Hillary’s efforts to derail Trump’s candidacy were abetted by Brits and Russians, and there is hard evidence available for those wanting to look.
For what it is worth, it was widely reported that Obama’s “colleagues” contributed huge amounts to unseat Netanyahu, and failed. I suspect they are still trying!
Sauce for the Goose is sauce for the Gander!!!
Russians have been connected to BLM, anti pipeline groups, anti fracking groups, and CAGW alarmism with the clear intent to bolster these radical groups in an attempt to hinder U.S. society and economy. This means we should investigate the political campaign that was not supported by these groups at all, any questions?
Don’t forget to mention the Bernie and Hillary connections to Russia.
Sounds to me like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman must be Russian agents.
Or useful idiots? 🙂
Safer to assume – both
Jean Parisot: I disagree, not safer to assume. Better to observe, keep data, note trends, observe, form theory, test theory, more observations, analyze data… so yeah, both. Actually, I do agree!
The Russian anti-fracking propaganda is very evident on the RT “Kaiser Report”, but most media outlets are now platforms for shameless political/financial campaigning for some cause or other, so why not the Russians? The BBC World Service is worse than RT.
Same a it ever was with the Russians, there have been an unashamed supply of fools in the West.
This is how it was in the Spanish Civil War, when many American show stars and important writers went on to sing a battle for Stalin. There was even a battalion of American soldiers only, while Stalin unloaded his tanks from the ships in Barcelona.
Well, other times same methods. It seems that the American has never heard of Potemkin villages. Deception has always been the means of the Russians. If you know this, you can work very well with them.
For centuries, Russia was ruled by the Mongols. Since you learn the deception to survive as a people. In addition, we see China’s behavior both at dumping prices in world trade and at its ridiculous attempts to cover up its own environmental sins with membership of the Paris climate treaty, which ticking prevails in those in the head. Deceive, deceive, deceive. In contrast, Trump is an honest, unpolished log.
Rosneft laundered money into the Sierra Club and the NRDC to strangle U.S. energy development.
There’s your collusion right there.
http://freebeacon.com/issues/foreign-firm-funding-u-s-green-groups-tied-to-state-owned-russian-oil-company/
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are probably doing the same thing. It’s not hard to find a plethora of anti-fracking stuff on AlJazeera, Qater’s state run media.
Same in the UK. We have a vociferous anti-fracking movement lead by professional activists. It is ‘unknown’ who pays them, but it is not difficult to guess.
You don’t see greenies protesting Chinese wholesale destruction of coral reefs either. Funny that. Where’s David Attenborough? Suzuki! Where’s __________?
And when the water-mellons bother russian drillers in the arctic, they point a pistol in their face, they wimp-out, and get dropped in a dungeon until they’ve been re-educated about the terms and conditions orf their funding.
Then they go away, and say nada.
High principles indeed.
Well, at least they wanted to ‘save’ the [western] world.
The right stuff.
The US foundations like Rockefeller and Tides have been doing the same thing in Canada for years.
Everyone needs to be aware of the ‘Weaponization of Social Media’ . James Corbett has done another excellent job of exposing how this works.
James is one of the best independent journalists in a world with MSM cardboard cutout robots and ego-centric half-truth pedaling agents like Alex Jones. I’m glad to see someone on here appreciates his work.
I’m sure you are familiar with Jon Rappaport at nomorefakenews.com? The guy is spectacular for his ability to cut through the nonsense and hysteria.
Anyway, just glad to see someone who appreciates the work of Mr. Corbett.
Great stuff by Corbett. Along similar lines check out Lee Camp at Redacted Tonight on RT (yes RT on RT) for his take on the Muller indictments.
Although he still thinks CO2 is a problem and is very left wing he doesn’t fall for a lot of the nonsense and is very funny (good thing for a comedian). I can’t wait for him to realise that the whole global “ice age/warming/change” meme is fake and that he’s been had. He will get mad and take a strip off the Manns of this world when he does figure it out.
Yes but that is a conspiracy wrapped up in an enigma. The end result they want is to keep Heavy Bitumen landlocked in Canada without much pipeline capacity to either coast, so as the Gulf coast refineries get Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy oil at a 15%-20% discount. Talk about dirty politics, and with your best friend and trading partner yet.
That Russia toys around with activist politics in others’ backyards, isn’t news. That the USA does this and so much more to Canada, and especially an ally, best friend and biggest trading partner, is really dirty pool. But what are friends for, right?
You are very naïve about International politics. The 1st thing I learned in “International Relations 101′ is that no country has ‘friends’, only converging and diverging interests.
CorpEthics brags about their meddling in Canadian policy and politics with The Tar Sands Campaign : “…All the proposed pipelines in Canada have effectively been blocked, as have those proposed in the U.S. The Keystone XL Campaign became the most well-known of all the pipeline campaigns achieving a remarkable victory when President Obama not only rejected it, but also publicly stated that “some oil has to stay in the ground if we are to avoid the dangers of climate change. The Tar Sands Campaign jump started the climate movement in the U.S. as major political figures, celebrities, and a diverse array of NGOs came together to pressure the Administration to reject this pipeline. It also played a role in helping to unseat the Conservative Party in Alberta and nationally.”
https://corpethics.org/the-tar-sands-campaign/
‘Useful tools’, these gullible environmental activists.
It’s fairly obvious that many of the regular commenters on the Guardian Environment pages are in the pay of the Kremlin.
They oppose fracking in the West and yet promote intermittent energy sources that still need rapidly ramped up backup, e.g Russian Gas.
The real question is whether the employed commenters at the Guardian are paid by a foreign power.
Who does fund the SKS mob?
To my fellow Courtney: I wish I could say, “Gotta be Russians or Iranians, ’cause no way Americans would fall for such an obvious scam site”. Unfortunately…..
Obviously MSM conditioning works: Worrall is taking now over Driessen…
Meanwhile, in Canada, the Rockefeller Brothers and Steyer, Tides and co. are responsible for the deleterious campaign against Canada’s oil and gas export… They too must be Russian agents, right?… or, if the above Bloomberg report is to be taken at face value -really, since when MSM should…-, then the US is getting its own treatment. LOL
P.S. Source on Canada’s anti oil campaign: http://fairquestions.typepad.com/rethink_campaigns/
Perhaps, Russia methods are working also in higher places. There are also people in higher places who can be deceived and deceived. Potemkin deceived the Czar about the existence of flourishing villages, so it is called Potemkin villages
the answer to your question lies here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Schr%C3%B6der#Relationship_with_Gazprom_and_Rosneft
We’ve heard plenty about the influence of money from “big oil” in denying “climate science”.
Not surprising that the prog accusers were doing precisely what they accused others of.
It’s a standard trick of morally-deficient leftists.
“Former Secretary of State and then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, with access to intelligence reports”
Hillary Clinton Gave Russia the US Technology for Hypersonic Intercontinental Nuke Missiles
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/03/stunning-hillary-clinton-gave-russia-us-technology-hypersonic-intercontinental-nuke-missiles/
there is no proof of this scurious attack
‘Scurrilous’ + ‘Spurious’ = ‘scurious’
Good one.
The accusation is old news that came out in August of 2016, when it was published widely in the news media. Worth looking into.
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russian-government-initiative-gave-millions-to-clinton-foundation/
Hilarious. Russia has been “propagandizing” against the US for at least the last 70+ yrs. I’m really scared….
And remember, according to McCain, Obama Russia is just a regional power, a service station, really nothing… but yet the same claim Russians are omnipotent touching everything, even ruling every facet of the entire U.S… like Weinstein’s libido wanting to destroy the beacon of free speech that is Hollywood
LOL
Is this your spin Beng and Tom – your emergency damage control now that you and your fellow-travelers have been exposed?
Try harder – your comments are such transparent, self-serving nonsense that you should be embarrassed.
Global warming alarmism is a multi-trillion dollar sc@m that has not only cost trillions, it has cost millions of lives.
Yeah Allan MacRae and it was a Russian climatologist from NASA who testify in 1988 and had the clim turned down… And it was the Russian directed IPCC that up the ante after every report, and it was all Russian peer review controlled that blocks non alarmist papers… and it was Russian dominated EU scrooges who forced carbon scams upon Europeans… And let me guess, it was a Russian hack that signed your last comment under your name so it sounds like some McCain supporter, right?
Tom, we had our 10 yo grand daughter for a sleepover last night.
At breakfast this morning yet another global warming snow squall came in from the North Sea which is 100 yards from our window.
I being a bit peevish at missing my Saturday golf must have said ” where the …. is all this snow coming from?”
Quick as a flash she said ” oh grandad its coming from Russia”
So there!
Waterside4, indeed for instance French newspapers hand in hand with their national weather agency proselytes have popularized the “Moscow-Paris” term for this cold snap despite Polar air masses fed through Scandinavian trajectories… In the U.K. it was the Beast from the East…
One can imagine the disastrous subliminal message acknowledging the Scandinavian origin of this cold snap would have on the NATO psyche… LOL
Allan MacRae, what in the world are you talking about? Are you on something?
That Russia has a long history of doing something is proof that they aren’t doing it now?
They’ve been “doing things” a long time & continue to do so. We’ve dealt w/it for a lifetime & continue to do so. The “Russian collusion” stuff is a false-flag liberal-construct. Surely you know that…..
And the Russians are using social media to undermine fossil-fuel interests? Wow, that’s just terrifying….
That they have been doing it a long time is not evidence that the current campaign has had no affect.
They are doing a lot more than just a social media campaign.
What is disappointing, is that there was a time when the internet seemed to have such promise, and it’s slipped into this dark-age propaganda battlefield of ugly ideas and images, designed specifically to undermine what had made that early promise worthwhile.
Now the internet routinely turns my stomache.
And that never used to happen.
Then again, I could say the same thing about ABC TV in Oz too.
But its also a fact that the USA want to sabotage the new Russian pipeline to germany!Why?They want to sell their gas to europe-but it cost much more.Also Ukraine import now US coal…but their neighbour Poland has also a lot of coal…its all about business.
Russia has a long history of using it’s exports to try and influence the foreign policy of those countries that are receiving. This goes double for gas.
The US has a good reason to be concerned about Russia’s attempts to increase the black mail potential.
Does Ukraine pay its coal bill, each delivery? They have a rep of not paying, hence Poland is not supplying. Just don’t supply them on credit, and yes, it’s business.
It is time for a criminal investigation of the funding sources of the radical green and leftard groups that have been opposing pipelines, fracking, oilsands, etc. and pushing the false green-energy agenda, and the criminal actions of those who have received that funding.
IT IS TIME FOR PRISON TIME.
Posted early this morning.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/03/01/british-snow-chaos-running-out-of-gas/comment-page-1/#comment-2756418
IMPORTANT
Hi Anthony
I just read this article from GWPF – now it all makes sense. This stunning report by the House of Representatives is just “the tip of the iceberg”, imo.
Anti-pipeline, anti-fracking, anti-oilsands – it’s the new Cold War.
Dr. Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace, wrote this article in 1994. It still rings true today. Read “The Rise of Eco-Extremism”.
http://ecosense.me/2012/12/30/key-environmental-issues-4/
Regards, Allan
***************************************************************************************
Begin forwarded message:
From: Benny Peiser
Date: March 2, 2018 at 11:11:16 AM MST
Subject: Russia’s Secret Campaign Against U.S. Energy Policy Revealed
GWPF Newsletter 02/03/18
Russia’s Secret Campaign Against U.S. Energy Policy Revealed
U.S. House Committee Reveals Russian Attempts to Influence U.S. Domestic Energy Markets by Exploiting Social Media
A Russian-backed propaganda group used social media in an attempt to disrupt the U.S. energy industry and influence energy policy, according to a new congressional staff report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Unlike other Russian campaigns to stir political unrest in the U.S., this effort by the tech-savvy Internet Research Agency is characterized as mostly one-sided, agitating against American fossil-fuel production in a way lawmakers believe was aimed at benefiting Russia, the world’s largest oil producer.
–The Wall Street Journal, 1 March 2018
The purpose of this report is to provide the American people with the findings of the Committee’s investigation into Russian efforts to influence U.S. energy markets. First, the report discusses several factors driving the Kremlin’s desire to interfere with U.S. energy markets and influence domestic energy policy. Next, it demonstrates how the Kremlin manipulated various groups in an attempt to carry out its geopolitical agenda, particularly with respect to domestic energy policy. Finally, this report provides an assessment of the Committee’s findings, including examples of Russian-propagated content targeting U.S. energy markets and domestic energy policy. The facts put into perspective the nature and extent of the Kremlin’s energy influence-peddling operation.
–United States House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Majority Staff Report, 1 March 2018
1) Russia’s Secret Campaign Against U.S. Energy Policy Revealed
The Wall Street Journal, 1 March 2018
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-meddling-on-social-media-targeted-u-s-energy-industry-report-says-1519902001?utm_source=CCNet+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a10c8bbc3c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_03_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fe4b2f45ef-a10c8bbc3c-20138661
2) Russian Attempts to Influence U.S. Domestic Energy Markets by Exploiting Social Media
United States House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Majority Staff Report, 1 March 2018
https://thegwpf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c920274f2a364603849bbb505&id=c0b87e49db&e=da89067c4f
3) Gazprom: Russia Is EU’s Energy Guardian as Cold Grips Europe
Bloomberg, 2 March 2018
4) Reminder: Putin TV Station ‘Stokes Fracking Fears’
The Times, 6 August 2016
5) Europe’s Green Madness: Russia’s Grip On Anti-Fracking EU Tightening
OilPrice.com, 3 January 2018
***************************************************************************************
LOL
Considering the Saudis in cahoots with the U.S. have done more to inflict a world oil price collapse for the past 3 years despite only a 3% imbalance between production and consumption… really.
Irrelevant comment Tom Rude.
Actually Tom, a pathetic attempt at spinning the facts – an embarrassing attempt at damage control.
To the extent that the Saudi’s did nothing to stop the recent price slide that was caused by a temporary drop in demand is due entirely to internal Saudi politics.
FIrst, they wanted to under cut Canada non-conventional oil development. They also wanted to under cut further fracking in the US.
Primarily they were trying to hurt Iran, whom they are currently having a proxy war with.
Well if now a bunch of facebookers can do more damage to oil prices than US own disastrous foreign politics then kudos to Vladimir. Really it was so simple to get the Greatest Empire On the Face of the Universe off its golden rails… LOL
Beware, there might be a Russian under your chair… And perhaps my posting, although I am no Russian, may change the US energy policy too? For instance, I won’t be driving my car today. Don’t need too. That’s it: I must be an agent and gasoline price will plummet in the US and thousands of refinery employees will lose their job because of my post… No?
Meanwhile, I won’t send my kid to a US College: I want her back alive!
It was also no coincidence that the oil price collapse also happened soon after the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 just after the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia and ruckus in Ukraine. I would add Russia to Iran as countries being punished with low oil prices by the American/Saudi coalition, with the Saudi’s dumping of excess oil, combined with the USA surplus of the fracking revolution. It was a perfect storm of ‘oil over production’ and then took a world of its own pricing as the entire globe pumped oil as quickly as possible with every company and nation state trying to remain fiscally solvent and therefore driving the price down to the point that has oil still recovering in the low $60’s.
Of course, you would have to add to this that we still haven’t reached peak oil, and there is a heavy surplus to pump and dump. But it did limit both Russia and Iran (and other oil exporting nations) in earning foreign income due to a lower global oil price the last 3-4 years. Plus was a shot in the arm for most global economies having cheap fossil energy which also ensured a healthy stock market and was supposed to allow for the introduction of carbon taxes and/or carbon trading schemes, while oil was at historical low prices. Remember too, that this originally happened in Obama’s last few years in office as a lame duck President and soon after, it acquired a life of it own unintended consequences that continue to this very day.
To Earthling2 March 3, 2018 at 2:58 pm comment
I’d add that low U.S. natural gas prices, produced by fracking, inhibited the Russian’s ability dump “natural gas” via the urea fertilizer markets.
Russia extensively used “urea dumping” as a means of raising capital in the years following the Soviet Union’s collapse in the 1990’s. During that period it was cheaper for U.S. fertilizer producers to buy Russian urea (made in the Ukraine with Russia natural gas), re-melt it, and re-prill it than it was to manufacture feedstock urea in the United States.
I suspect that after the Russian economy began it’s 2nd downward spiral, circa 2008, Russia’s desperate need for cash was one of the reason’s Russia was motivated to re-assert control in the Ukraine in 2014. Specifically, so it could control Ukraine’s fertilizer production facilities and maintain unfettered access to the Crimean’s shipping terminals.
Could the information in this article be relevant? https://www.thenewamerican.com/print-magazine/item/27869-deep-state-follow-the-rothschild-soros-and-rockefeller-money
Take a look at the section called ‘Deep State Foundations Finance Evil’ regarding the ‘green’ agenda.
So is it now time for a thorough investigation into Russian attempts to interfere with US policies and elections, together with serious attempts to prevent this happening in future?
Be careful what you wish for. I would suggest that this has occurred to special counsel Mueller. Am I the only one here that remembers our esteemed POTUS’ continuing flirtation with Vladimir Putin? It seems that POTUS and the Russians have many common enemies.
Of course they have, and the Arabs have been in there too.
Also the Climategate e-mails were stolen and made of public domain from russian hackers…
You are confusing Hillary’s e-mails with the climate-gate e-mails.
No, I don’t. It was 2009 and may be I’am not precise but some russian link existed, may be only for hiding the thief identity.
There was never a Russian link to the climate gate e-mails, and most people believe they were leaked, not pilfered.
Most the environmental “useful idiots” are actually okay with a radical socialist ideology that is just a modern form of Marxist thought. Collectivism, as in collectivizing agricultural under centralized control, controlling what people read and say. Framing everything as a class struggle between the proletariat the bourgeois.
They don’t realize they are being manipulated not just by the Russians, but by billionaire investors like Soros and Tom Steyer, men with multi-billion dollar long positions on essentially making fossil fuels very expensive. The people who of course get crushed are the working poor by their evil schemes.
+10
I do look at RT every now and then, just for interest sake. The thought did not escape me that there may have been a hidden agenda, to put all the US people on TV complaining about the chemicals they found in the groundwater….due to “fracking”
I find RT to be very subtle. Their presentations are professional and provide an intelligent take on Russian perspectives that usually stands up to analysis. In general it is more sophisticated than U..S. news.
Then, just about the time they’ve convinced you they are legit, they put the subtle slant of Kremlin disinformation on something that matters.
I think it takes a sharp eye to catch their dissembling.
TomRude- These actions are like advertising. It may seem stupid but they keep paying for it because?-It works! If you don’t believe that you are a fool.
I have no doubts voters in Michigan were watching RT every evening before casting their ballots…
Given water is a chemical, and the ground consists of nothing but chemicals … I’m not surprised they found chemicals in their ground water.
Can’t be real, just can’t! Must be propaganda funded by the massive financial machine that is WattsUpWithThat, and US fossil fuel industry, and the NRA, and GOP, and Tea Party, and it was all GWB’s fault … (…sarc off…)
Add in the Koch brothers and you would have the schtick down perfectly.
We do it. They do it. Everyone does it. We should be able to neutralize propaganda campaigns in the government and press.
How do you do that other than by counter propaganda, which is just different propaganda.
Start by reforming left created education lite. Useful idiots are educated that way, not born.
Russia export a lot of natural gas through Gazprom…clearly it is in their own interest to compromise the market.
Ignore it.
The Russians are using the same tactics for anti- fracking and anti-nuclear propaganda in Europe, and I bet are the source of much of the propaganda asserting that 100% renewables are a viable solution to emissions-free energy. When the 100% renewables option fails they’ll have a nice new gas market.
The Russians did it.
The Kremlin’s tactics are clear: Support the extreme wings of both sides, preferably at the same time, to tear Western society asunder.
And RFE/RL is also run by Russia… no?
I could have guessed that there are Kremlin apologists on this site.
Who needs the Russians when we have the US Democrets working towards the same goals?
I’m hearing that Bernie Sanders is seriously considering running again in 2000. And without the DNC putting it’s fingers on the scale to help Hillary, this time he could win the thing.
Unless one of the young guns from CA, who are even further to the left steals his thunder and the nomination.
As a Canadian it’s really none of my business but I think Bernie has the best 1930’s solutions to 1970’s problems. He’s hilarious unless you take him seriously, in which case he is a dangerous idiot.
2020, mis-typed.
What’s your excuse Rob?
You never make typing mistakes?
Such an ego, so little reason.
Like Truedough?
Canada elected a populist garden nome with the mental age development of a pre-pubescent teenage girl, and still hasn’t figured it out.
Yah?
Yah!
JimG1, …… you got that right. +100
JimG1 wrote:
“Who needs the Russians when we have the US Democrets working towards the same goals?
JIm, they are almost the same – to pry them apart, you ‘d need a crowbar. The Dems and the radical greens are pawns of the extreme left and have been so since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here is some history:
The Rise of Eco-Extremism
[excerpt]
“Surprisingly enough the second event that caused the environmental movement to veer to the left was the fall of the Berlin Wall. Suddenly the international peace movement had a lot less to do. Pro-Soviet groups in the West were discredited. Many of their members moved into the environmental movement bringing with them their eco-Marxism and pro-Sandinista sentiments.”
Source: “The Rise of Eco-Extremism”
– by Dr. Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace (1994).
http://ecosense.me/2012/12/30/key-environmental-issues-4/
So? It known by now that a group of Russian individuals have been setting up fake accounts and posting all kinds of opinions on social media. Anything from opinions on racism, black lives matter, direct opinions on Clinton and Trump, and on gun control, fracking and climate change. Basically anything to open up festering wounds.
Further, these individuals were employed by a private company in Russia and paid for by a former catering millionaire. These are the facts that have been laid down by Robert Mueller in his indictment. To claim that this is specific to climate change and fossil fuels is therefore the result of tunnel vision – or cherry picking.
Even more, there is zero evidence that this has been orchestrated by the Kremlin. That is clear from Mueller’s indictments.
You must be paid by the Kremlin to remind us of this… /sarc off
Not “specific to” but “applicable to”.
Look at the usual scope of this website. Why would it now start to look at “gun control”, for example?
From the About page:
“About Watts Up With That? News and commentary on puzzling things in life, nature, science, weather, climate change, technology, and recent news by Anthony Watts”.
That’s the scope of this website. Your point is inaccurate and irrelevant.
Whatever.
Perhaps Democrats should hire these Russians for the next election. Apparently, with a budget of a few hundred thousand, the Russians did a better job of persuading Americans than Hillary’s people did with hundreds of millions.
Quoting part of a posted quote: By Ari Natter and Alan Bjerga – 2 March 2018
“HA”, …… was it House Republicans or House RINOs that were blaming the Russians?
There is “no way in Hades” that Russian operatives or Russian-sponsored agents could possibly be at fault for all of the US activity concerning “inflammatory social media & News stories, anti-Fracking Laws, anti-Pipeline Construction Laws, anti-CO2 Emission Laws, State Governor’s mandates, State Attorney General’s law suits ……. and delusional “enviro” liberal’s anti-fossil fuel protests, sit-ins, tree huggings, destruction of property, etc., etc.” …… that have been commonplace for the past 30+- years.
Russian-sponsored agents should not be used as “Whipping Boys” by members of the US Congress.
As I said who needs the Russians when we have the US Democrats doing the same thing, though both probably appreciate the other’s help. Could this be considered collusion?
If this continues, one will be told that the Russians created the Republican and the Democratic Parties to divide the united “peoplekind” of America… Bet the Secession War was Russians too?
As a european i am able to understand the proactive attitude of the Russians against the USA and their Nato-vassals . Being overrun 3 times during the last 200 years by europeans and after suffering the yoke of Stalin , their attitude is more like never again nad cosquently undermining the enemy in their eyes , US imperialism . Putin is well-trained secret service man , specialized in weaponizing lying and cheating , the general qualities of secret service-employees . Neverthless by doing this he is keeping us at our toes , for which we should be grateful .
Ridiculous! Western Russia is itself European! Its proper place is as a partner in Europe. Russia’s historical connection to its Eastern empire has only retarded its development. Putin feeds on this as a past glory when it was really a massive historical blunder derived from 19th century empire building and Communist expansionary fantasies.
Putin’s actions are those of a aself serving crocodile.
Nato vassals?
Way to discredit yourself in your first sentence.
That is right, looks like Turkey is not a vassal. That makes one at least… LOL
I’ve always found it fascinating how certain people are utterly convinced that the US runs the world.
Evidence to the contrary is just proof of how deep the conspiracy runs.
As a european i am able to understand the proactive attitude of the Russians against the USA and their Nato-vassals . Being overrun 3 times during the last 200 years by europeans and after suffering the yoke of Stalin , their attitude is more like never again nad cosquently undermining the enemy in their eyes , US imperialism . Putin is well-trained secret service man , specialized in weaponizing lying and cheating , the general qualities of secret service-employees . Neverthless by doing this he is keeping us at our toes , for which we should be grateful .
It woz the Russians wot dun it!
Really!
RT is big on Climate Change too!
The whole intrigue is in fact about avoiding at all costs that this scrutiny would succeed…
The anti-fracking movie was made with Saudi funding.
Yet more evidence, if it was needed, that ‘Green’ Activists are useful Idiots. The US Democrats play exactly the same games with useful idiots as Putin and the Russians as they are fellow travellers.
For those old enough to remember the help that hollywood gave to dear uncle stalin about 1943, re. The whitewash of the show trials of his perceived enemies, bring up the film ” mission to moscow ”
Of course back then the ussr were the goodies & adolf was the real badie.
White horse & black horse, plus of corse riders. It was all to easy to sway public opinion, so nothing has changed.
Mje
Back in the nineteen seventies the Seven Sisters were funding the greenies to protest the Alaskan pipeline as they were fully committed bringing North Sea oil on line
One of the more effective methods I’ve found for rooting out a Russian troll is to mention something about the Ukraine or Georgia. That’s usually enough of a “hot button” issue to get them to “self identify”. 🙂
One of the more effective signs I’ve found for rooting out an uninformed American with preconceived idea is to have him tell he figured out one of the more effective methods he’s found for rooting out a Russian troll is blah, blah, blah 😉
Well it’s late in Donetsk, I should go to sleep now before Trudeau wakes up and Chrysta sends her grandpa’s regards.
Well Tom, in the late 60′ thru the early ’70s the easiest way to track KGB agents in Latina America was to pay off local customs official to report anyone entering a country that smelled bad.
Don’t know how you smell, so we can’t do that over the internet now can we?
“We are ready for any unforseen event that may or may not occur.” U.S. V.P. Dan Quayle, Cleveland Plain Dealer (27 September 1990)
Creatiing an education system to mold children into little “Progressives” has as collateral damage the creation of useful idiots that other ‘agents’ can make use of. Who would’a thunk?
Also, these damaged children can be called forth on a moment’s notice by the 100s of thousands across America by the left to “spontaneously” protest. They must have a suite of generic signs in their closets like the Swiss army has their uniforms and firearms for 40 years. Yeah. They are set up to be used and organizers paid to mobilize them.
The big question is, how do “Progressives” differ from the Kremlin in form and message? The former are progeny of the latter.
As anyone who’s dealt with the Russian’s before knows, disinformation is an old Russian game.
One of the more humorous incidents I heard of occurred in Argentina in early ’70’s. The U.S. State Department, arranged to have a significant number of tractors delivered to poor Argentina farmers. As the tractors were being processed thru Argentina’s ports, communist-backed trade-union stevedores marked the engine blocks with the hammer and sickle symbol and the words “Gift from the Soviet Union” (in Spanish).
The incident pissed the Washington-based bureaucrats off to no end. The local CIA guys found the whole incident hilarious. Dr. Kissinger, ever the genius, countered by arranging to have the CIA deliver an large shipment of farm implements, training manuals, and spare parts all clearly marked as gifts from the U.S. He also sent in CIA guys to help train the farmers in the use of the tractors, how to repair them, and how to use the farm implements.
All in All, the Russian effort back-fired on them. Since all the manual’s clearly showed the tractors were made in the U.S. the farmers figured out pretty quickly they’d been duped. After a few evenings over a bit of Bacardi, the farmer’s “coaxed ” the CIA guys into telling them how the hammer & sickle’s got stamped on the engine blocks… and everyone had a good laugh at the Russian’s expense.
Is that you Brennan?
My father was an intelligence officer from the ’60’s until his death in the mid ’00’s. Lots of family stories. Lots of ground covered. Lets just say I had an unusual childhood. Get over it.
I heard it skipped a generation…
Interesting how the pro-Russian trolls have to so quickly resort to insult.
Just more evidence that Putin is running short of money.
It’s gold, Mark, gold… Well, in Ottawa, not so much. LOL
Really Tom? Is “Rude” your last name or simply a description of your usual behavior?
If you must… Lets see. Just one of my contributions to this nation’s defense was helping to manage the development of the Explosive Destruction System (EDS). A system for destroying unstable chemical weapons.
Over all system see here:
https://youtu.be/v-XcpezpX6U
An example of the neutralization process seen here:
https://youtu.be/T9_iG5jfyUU
I was a EDS systems manager for the Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Project (NSCMP), on loan from my parent agency, from 2000-2003. I worked on the Prototype System, the Phase 1 System, and the Phase 2. System. I also worked on the Rapid Response System and served, briefly, as the NSCMP’s Chemical Weapons Treaty Compliance Officer.
I was a System manger during two declared national emergencies including a mission at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver Colorado in 2000-2001 and the mission at Former Camp. Sibert, Alabama in 2002. I was also a System manager during the first mission to destroy chemical weapons at the Spring Valley site in Washington D.C. in 2003 and numerous other missions. After these missions was asked but declined, for family reasons, missions unrelated to the EDS system in both Albania and Russia.
I was decorated with the “Commanders Award for Civilian Service” for my contributions during the Rocky Mountain emergency, You can look up the qualifications for receiving the decoration here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Commanders_Award_for_Civilian_Service
Tell me Tom. Are you man with initiative, guts, and sense of service? If so, what have your contributions to our nation been? Or are you simply a small-minded blow-hard that needs to make snarky comments to make himself feel good?
I’m willing to assume you’re simply having a bad day. An humble man would consider making an apology.
When can I expect yours?
“Is that you Brennan” was not that far off…
But seriously, very impressive credentials. I noticed they were particularly in use… in your own country destroying your own stockpile that other impressive credential people created at taxpayer’s expense, which irony is biting: we would not want you guys to blow yourself up… As weather patterns would send the pollution up North in your country’s Second Ukrainian Dominion, ooops, I meant Canada.
My contribution to your country is nil. My contribution to my country is nil. My contribution to Canada is nil beyond spurious amount of taxes they dare charging me. What else?
Nothing. I do apologize: I thought you had humor. You don’t.
So, your “Contribution to Canada is nil” and your “contribution to my [your] country is nil”… suggesting your an immigrant to Canada from an unidentified nation.
“Nil” pretty much sums up your character doesn’t it?
Clearly there is no reason to take you seriously and nothing more to say.
QED
Bottom Line: CO2 causes Russian meddling.
+ 10
Bravo Jo Nova!
http://joannenova.com.au/2018/03/russian-troll-farm-sought-to-undermine-us-government-energy-climate/
Let me guess she’ll soon be accused of being a Russ…
Check out Charles Ortel’s current work in exposing the Clinton Foundation’s Charitable Tax Fraud.
With what has been happening on the west coast it would appear they are tied in tight with the progressives and environmental groups.
From the article: “Russian agents attempted to manipulate Americans’ opinions about pipelines, fossil fuels, fracking and climate change.”
Sounds like the American Leftwing News Media. They try to manipulate Americans’ opinons on every subject every day.
The American Leftwing News Media is much more dangerous to your personal freedoms than are the Russian trolls. The American Leftwing News Media spreads its leftwing propaganda from a position of authority in society, which is what makes them dangerous.
Russian saboteurs and American Leftwing News Media:
How can you tell them apart? I cannot. Their message is the same.
Very plausible as major U.S. interests are funding activists in Canada preventing the building of pipelines and allowing Canada to get the world price for Canadian oil.
Another case of exceptionalistan: they can dish it but they can’t take it…
Looks like Tom can’t tell the difference between private citizens and government.
Of course in Russia there is no difference, as private citizens aren’t permitted to disagree with the government.
Private citizens like Steyer, Rockefellers, Soros and the Obamas were working hand in hand. Who is benefiting from the anti oil sands campaign in Canada if not U.S. projects? During Obama’s 2016 visit to Canada, he praised the Alberta NDP Premier Notley, an employer of former Greenpeace anti oil activist…
to the WUWT moderation team
You need to add a shrink. Some commentators here appear to suffer from advanced mental pathologies and need help. You may leave their mostly off topic humbug, for therapeutic reasons, but pse label it as such, otherwise your blog degenerates to a collection of bizarre writings and ridicule. Not the image you want to project.
w p
Be more specific or run the risk of being labelled a bullsh!tter.
Addressed to the WUWT moderation team, not even meant to be published. A psychiatrist will easily spot the ‘specifics’. If you have the urge to respond to messages that are not addressed to you, then feel free, if it helps.
[???? .mod]
@wp, a well targeted comment.
This blog is open to being neutered and eviscerated by those who turn it in to a political screamfest. Sticking to science is how we will succeed against the alarmists/acceptors on AGW.
State propaganda has been around as long as states have existed. Stick to the science, ignore the political nut jobs…_
How dare people talk about anything I don’t want them to.
Anti fossil fuels, anti pipelines, anti fracking, anti oilsands, pro green energy, etc. etc. – all promoted by the same people, all deliberately harming our economies while wrapping themselves in the cloak of phony environmentalism.
These people are not pro-environment – many of their programs such as clear-cutting of tropical rainforests to grow biofuels, draining the Ogallala aquifer to grow corn for fuel ethanol, clear-cutting eastern US forests to provide wood pellets for British power plants, erecting huge wind power towers to slice up birds and bats, etc are ALL anti-environmental.
Their successful efforts to delay and ban fracking of petroleum-rich shales have caused great harm in Britain, continental Europe , and have hampered growth in Canada and the USA. Their successful efforts to shut-in the oilsands through anti-pipeline lies have cost Canada tens of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs.
By driving up the cost of energy and causing instability in electrical grids they have increased winter mortality and cost lives. Even greater loss of life has been caused in developing countries, where the installation of reliable fossil-fueled energy has been displaced by insistence on intermittent, near-worthless wind and solar power schemes.
Perhaps the greatest cost and loss-of-life has been due to the gross misallocation of global resources, where obvious first priorities such as clean water and sanitation systems, the fight against malaria, and the fight against world hunger have been displaced due to excessive spending on green energy follies.
These are crimes against humanity – they should be prosecuted and the scoundrels and imbeciles who promoted this nonsense should go to jail.
Great! So what are you waiting for getting Steyer, Hewlett and Packard Foundations and other Betty Moore Foundation, Tides based in San Francisco, Soros Open Societies Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers etc… behind bars? They are all U.S. entities no? Clean your own house before starting WW3!
Rude Tom wrote:
“Great! So what are you waiting for getting Steyer, Hewlett and Packard Foundations and other Betty Moore Foundation, Tides based in San Francisco, Soros Open Societies Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers etc… behind bars? They are all U.S. entities no? Clean your own house before starting WW3!”
For once, Tom, we agree. The funders of phony green activists have done great harm to America, Canada and other countries and they belong in jail.
At a minimum, it is time for class action lawsuits based in civil RICO statutes, etc. against these funders and their minions.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=putin+on+global+warming
Russian President Vladimir Putin says humans not responsible for climate change
(France24)
Climate change doubters may not be so silly, says Russia President
(CNBC)
Vladimir Putin: climate change is real – but it’s good
(iNews UK)
Russia’s Putin says climate change in Arctic good for economy
(CBC)
Vladimir Putin changes his mind and echoes Donald Trump to say (humans not to blame for climate change)
(Independent UK)
= = = = = = = = = = =
Annexation of Hawaii, 1898
https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/gp/17661.htm
Following the U.S. orchestrated coupi n the Ukraine…
… the people on the Crimean peninsula–historically part of Russia–overwhelmingly voted “yes” in a referendum to join the Russian Federation. It was a transparently democratic process.
The Crimea, unlike Hawaii, wasn’t “annexed.”
Climate activists and the communists. It’s an open secret
http://pot.politifake.org/image/political/1508/climate-czar-communism-best-fight-global-warming-climate-chi-politics-1440540733.jpg
The Russian trolls appear to be more capable of doing bad things than that nasty gas CO2.
Anyone who has been in and out of Russia over the past 25 years cannot help but be impressed with the progress in that country.
St Petersburg and Moscow are now far nicer than any city in the USA – and safer.
The vast majority of the people love Putin. They see him as a leader and their “saviour” (many of the older academic Russians do not share that view).
Over the past 15 years their standard of living has improved immeasurably while the USA standard of living continues to go down the gurgler – helped in no small way by Oh Bummer.
USA – wake up to yourselves when you drift back into cold war era criticism of Russia. If you refuse to educate yourselves on these issues, you will all finish up being Democrats – like the Russkies were in the 1950s.
“Over the past 15 years their [Russia’s] standard of living has improved immeasurably while the USA standard of living continues to go down the gurgler – helped in no small way by Oh Bummer.”
According the World Bank, the Russia Federation’s per capita GDP in constant U.S. dollars was $9,867 per person in 1989 – the point at which the Soviet Union collapsed. By 2016, the latest year in which reliable figures are available from this source, Russia’s per capital GDP was a paltry $11,279 per person. So, after 26 years Russia’s only managed to increase it’s per capita GDP by $1,412 per person or a paltry 14%.
In contrast, the United State’s per capita GDP was $36,330 per person in 1989 and steadily grew to $52,364 per person in 2016. So, after 26 years the United States managed to increase it’s per capita GDP by $16,331 per person or 45%.
In terms of wealth creation, you can see the U.S. economy has produced wealth at an average annual rate 11.6 times greater than Russia over the same period. ($16,331 per person/$1,412 per person = 11.6). Not bad, given the United States has had to deal with the Great Recession in between and the U.S. economy isn’t working on all cylinders.
Moreover, if you care to notice, the United States GDP per capita growth has been constant whereas Russia’s GDP growth has been erratic, at best, and has been virtually stagnate over the long run. See here:
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.KD?locations=US-RU
I do find it interesting that your reference point is 15 years ago (circa 2003). The Russian economy’s lowest point occurred in 1998 when its Per Capita GDP was $5,505 per person. In 2003, Russia’s per capita GDP was only $7,639 per person.
In fairness, it can certainly be said Russia’s “standard of living has improved immeasurably” over the last 15 years. The problem is that that Russia’s “improvement” isn’t really that impressive compared to the rest of the world.
Correction
Where I stated:
“In terms of wealth creation, you can see the U.S. economy has produced wealth at an average annual rate 11.6 times greater than Russia over the same period.”
Should read:
“In terms of wealth creation, you can see the U.S. economy has produced wealth at a rate 11.6 times greater than Russia over the same period.”
The improvement was over the entire 26 years period not an “average annual rate”. My error.
That doesn’t matter, because Russians love Putin, whether they want to or not.
Dave,
You exemplify 1950s at its best.
Go and have a look.
If you prefer to believe your statistics rather than what the eye can see, so be it.
I have also been in and out of the USA since 1975 and have seen at first hand the deterioration in your country, particularly with respect to race relations.
You probably also have some statistics to dispel my observations.
Can you remember when Chicago and New York were pleasant places to visit?
Comment directed to MarkW March 4, 2018 at 12:10 pm
“That doesn’t matter, because Russians love Putin, whether they want to or not.”
Reply:
Wither Russia loves Putin or not is not relevant.
The questions are: 1) Do Russia’s ex-soviet neighbors trust Russia enough to create alliances with Russia? 2) Or, instead, do it’s neighbors distrust Russia and join alliances designed to thwart Russian’s perceived colonial tendencies? and 3) If free of perceived threat from Russia, how well do these countries prosper economically?
Former Soviet-block countries that joined NATO include: Czech Republic (1999), Hungary (1999), Poland (1999), Bulgaria (2004), Estonia (2004), Latvia (2004), Lithuania (2004), Romania (2004), Slovakia (2004), Slovenia (2004), Albania (2009), Croatia (2009), and Montenegro (2017).
These countries represent the bulk of Russia’s former allies on it’s eastern border. This would suggest that the bulk of the countries close to Russia don’t trust it. These realities alone plainly answer questions 1 and 2.
If one examines these new NATO-block countries per capita GDP, it’s also pretty clear that most are substantially more prosperous than Russia (with a 2016 per capita GDP of $11,279 per person).
The nine far more prosperous NATO members, in order of per capita GDP circa 2016, are: Slovenia ($24,460), Czech Republic ($21,894), Slovakia ($19,275), Estonia ($18,094), Lithuania ($15,895), Poland ($15,066), Hungary ($14,997), Latvia ($14,724), and Croatia ($14,452)
Five of these new NATO members are less prosperous than Russia. These are: Romania ($10,065), Bulgaria ($7,967), Montenegro ($7,492), and Albania ($4,685).
Romania is catching up with Russian and may soon surpass it. Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Albania are Balkan countries with limited resources and unstable neighbors who have a history of creating “mischief” – often with the support of Russia.
It’s clear that countries that prosper relative to Russia prefer to feel “protected” from Russia . And even counties poorer than Russia would prefer to enter into alliances that protect them from Russian influence.
While Russian likes to frame the creation of these NATO alliances as a threat, its not all that clear that it is. These NATO countries aren’t interested in invading Russia, they simply prefer not to be invaded or otherwise be free of excessive Russian influence in their affairs. And, they tend to prosper once free of perceived threat or arm twisting. So we have an answer to question 3.
Ultimately, I think, Russia would be better off recognizing that it has an image problem. Specifically, that no one trusts them. Consequently, I think, they would be better off simply accepting what they cannot change and work to proving themselves worthy of their neighbor’s trust. Until that time, Russia is just going to stew in relative poverty. Trust = Prosperity
Comment directed to toorightmate March 4, 2018 at 4:23 pm
” Go and have a look.
If you prefer to believe your statistics rather than what the eye can see, so be it. I have also been in and out of the USA since 1975 and have seen at first hand the deterioration in your country, particularly with respect to race relations. You probably also have some statistics to dispel my observations.”
Reply:
Well… I’ve lived and traveled in and out of the United States , fairly regularly since the 1960’s While some areas of the U.S. have deteriorated other have prospered. Boston was a high tech center while San Francisco is now. San Francisco is losing to Seattle. Atlanta has eclipsed Chicago in relative importance (In my view) . New York’s always been a bit nasty. Washington D.C. is pretty much a dump. Detroit is a hell hole. Houston, Austin, and Charlotte are pretty nice. Shrug, things change… when we don’t like it we move with our feet.
As for “race relations”, well… frankly, in my view race, relations are worse in most of the rest of the world. Those complaining here simply haven’t spent much time abroad.
Dave Kelly – I have worked overseas on six continents, typically running small companies or big projects. This included corporations or projects in the Americas, Europe, Australia, the Arab world, Asia and the FSU.
I agree with most or all of your comments.
When the FSU fell and Russia opened its doors to foreign investment, capital flooded in, only to be stolen or confiscated by local crime groups.
There is now little or no foreign investment going into Russia, and anyone who does invest is a fool who will lose his money, and perhaps his life.
Regards,Allan
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/02/01/weird-claim-bottled-water-sales-fueled-by-desire-for-immortality/comment-page-1/#comment-2733306
[excerpt]
Subsequently, a week before one of my trips through Moscow, a US hotelier named Paul Tatum was assassinated. Tatum was part-owner of the Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel in Moscow and had built it into a secure venue for important international and local guests. Tatum’s hotel assets were then expropriated under “standard Russian deal” terms. I later became a business associate of his friend and lawyer, Sam Hammons of Oklahoma. Sam was quoted as saying: “”I think this is a historic moment. Russia is at a crossroads, and the symbol of that crossroads is Paul Tatum’s death.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tatum
http://newsok.com/article/2562663
Western investment in Russian energy ventures has pretty well dried up since then. I used to call it “the full-contact oil business”.
Regards, Allan
Surprise surprise!
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-mobil-wall-street/exxon-ceo-struggles-to-reverse-tillersons-legacy-of-failed-bets-idUSKCN1GJ0IE
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp’s (XOM.N) $200 million write-down last month on abandoned ventures in Russia – once its next big frontier – points to challenges facing Chief Executive Darren Woods in his second year leading the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer.
This has been obvious to anyone paying attention for the past couple years. I suppose the Bombshell! is Congress getting its act together and recognizing it.
‘doze ‘wikkid ‘wushins have been really successful (and likely justifiably pleased with themselves) remote controlling Germany’s Green Party (and Merkel?) – wind mills and solar panels to run industry and shut down nuclear electricity generation – while simultaneously building two giant gas pipes from Siberia to Germany….
In the USA – the clear interference by Venezuela seems to go almost unremarked – Josh Fox couldn’t I suspect have funded his two movies without support fro Chavist / Bolivarian revolutionaries?
“Russian propaganda against US fossil fuels”….pales into insignificance compared to the propaganda issued by US special interest groups specifically against Canadian fossil fuel interests. Hanoi Jane and Cruiseboat DiCaprio both doing oilsands flyover videos, paid tweeters twitting Canadian teenagers and politicians about carbonageddon. Mind control of the mindless…
Where are you Griff? Come back. All is forgiven.
no its not stay away
The Eighties called; they’d like their climatology back.
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this is the most stupid idea I ever heard.
And one more thing: Al Gore is definitely a Cremlin Agent! 🙂