Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-Buffoon) Is At It Again

Submitted by edg on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 3:45pm

Alfred_E._Neuman.jpg

United States Senator Lindsey Olin Graham is at it again. Warmongering, that is. This time against Russia. In the honored guest position leading off this week's Fox News Sunday, the Honorable Sen. Graham stirs the war pot against Russia ever more vigorously.

ANATOLY ANTONOV, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: It seems the atmosphere in Washington is poison, is poisoned. It's a toxic atmosphere.

GRAHAM: I think it's pretty ironic that he used the word poison. One of the reasons we are expelling diplomats is because the Russian intelligence services most likely poisoned a British citizen and his daughter, a former Russian agent in the United Kingdom. So, this is the `80s to me all over.

So, if I were Trump, I'd look at the Reagan playbook and economically isolate Russia. I would study every major recipient of Russia oil and gas and see if we could find ways to supply those countries with oil and gas somewhere -- from a source outside of Russia.

Because you know I'm all about that oil,
'Bout that oil, no piping
I'm all 'bout that oil, 'bout that oil, no piping
I'm all 'bout that oil, 'bout that oil, no piping
I'm all 'bout that oil, 'bout that oil
[With sincere apologies to Meghan Trainor.]

WALLACE: Senator, do we need a Trump-Putin summit meeting or do we need President Trump first to take some stronger actions against Russia?

GRAHAM: I think the problem is that Russia is running wild. Whatever we're doing is not working and the president for some reason has a hard time pushing back against Putin directly. So, again, economic isolation of Russia. They're an oil and gas economy. They couldn't survive very long without customers.

Because, like, you know, uh, no country in the history of mankind has ever gone to physical war because economic war was waged against it. No siree bob. Ain't gonna happen. Besides, if it does, we've got oceans protecting us from them thar European troubles.

Reference: Full Fox News Sunday transcript here

Tags:

#lindsey graham #russia #vladimir putin #oil #economic war

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Comments

Submitted by Pricknick on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 3:57pm

As Bugs would say:

What a maroon.
Europe would go broke without Russian gas. Hell, even England had to get emergency supplies from them this year.
Go ahead lindsey, try to ship LNG to them. The only way it would work would be to massively subsidize it.
I'll bet he's getting pushed by the gas drillers because Germany just gave the final permits for the Nord Stream.

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by travelerxxx on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 8:05pm

Return on investment

@Pricknick

Go ahead lindsey, try to ship LNG to them. The only way it would work would be to massively subsidize it.

First, they already have subsidized it. The US government has been subsidizing oil and gas in this nation for decades. This is nothing new.

Second, there have been billions and billions of dollars spent in the last few years to build massive LNG export terminals in the United States. The vast majority, but not all, of these terminals are along the Gulf of Mexico coastline. I drive past nearly half of those every seven days as I travel to and from work. Here's a map of them put out by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Gulf and Atlantic coast terminals are intended to supply Europe with natural gas. They were purpose-built for this. Some are not finished, by the way.

The size and/or magnitude of these export terminals has to be seen to be believed. I can assure you that they weren't built to simply sit idle. They were built to allow the Wall Street investors who funded them to get a nice return on their risk - likely an obscene return on that risk. The people who built these plants want their money. If it means going to war in order to get it, they will. They certainly cannot allow land-based pipelines to interfere with their insatiable greed.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 10:10pm

Thanks for the map to the gas

@travelerxxx

I really didn't realize that the US was going into the gas export business to that degree. It's extreme. This is what happens when you privatize oil, which by the way should belong entirely to the people after net extraction costs are paid to the free-lance plumbers. It would have stayed in the ground for future generations. I suppose the race to cash out on oil is inspired by China outpacing the US in innovation and determination to eliminate combustion vehicles by 2022.

But Nord Stream is happening. The investment is too great and the source is stationary and reliable. The US won't crush Russia's economy here, any more than it could crush Russia's Navy by stealing Crimea and installing NATO.

I cannot understand how they convinced investors a market in Europe made sense. The market is in China. I also don't get how the US can't see that by becoming a major exporter they further undermine Dollar hegemony and alienate OPEC.

—

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

Submitted by travelerxxx on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 11:18pm

If you build it .....

@Pluto's Republic

I cannot understand how they convinced investors there was a market in Europe. The market is in China.

Yeah, for whatever reason, it seems they've written off China. Too easy to foresee a Russia/China pipeline or four perhaps? And too hard to stop one from being built?

I originally posted as I assume most folks have no idea that that these massive facilities have been constructed. The number of them and the tremendous size of them is something we have not seen before. At this scale, this is some kind of new game. This is why I'm convinced the development of these terminals must be seen as a large factor in U.S. foreign policy.

I mentioned that I regularly drive past some of these new terminals. You almost need to see them in person to understand the size and complexity of them. (I'd stop and photograph them, but then I'd have to change my address to some prison cell, so no.) To give you some idea, I also drive past the largest petroleum refinery in the nation, the massive Saudi-owned works in Port Arthur, Texas. These terminals rival that plant. The amount of money it took to build these things is beyond my comprehension.

So, I can't fathom the thinking for building these unless there has been some type of guarantee to the LNG producers from the U.S. government that they would indeed have a market ... a very large market. I can't help but remember General Butler saying that most of his military work was as muscle for American corporations. For this reason, I smell war.

Also, remember, this isn't "Trump stuff." All this would have been devised and planned during the Obama years. Trump might attempt to take credit, as he is wont, but none of this is Trump's baby.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 12:00am

Your description is chilling.

@travelerxxx

Of course, the entire world knows that they are there. So, at a level I cannot see, people are coming to grips with this geopolitical madness.

... it seems they've written off China. Too easy to foresee a Russia/China pipeline or four perhaps? And too hard to stop one from being built?

It's a little late to put a stop to it. In 2015, Russia and China signed the largest oil-gas contract in world history. One had been lingering for a decade, but once the US overthrew Ukraine's democratically elected government, the deal was quickly made and construction began. Oh, and they will be trading in their own currencies, eschewing the Dollar. Unintended consequences of NATO over-reach.

The newest section of the Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline began operations January 1, 2018. Russia doubled its crude oil export capacity, cementing its position as the number one supplier of crude to China. A second pipeline, Gazprom’s Power of Siberia is more than two-thirds complete. It will be delivering gas to China by the end of 2018. According to the Russian energy major Gazprom, that construction is ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, China needs additional LNG. Hopefully, the US LNG investors are nimble enough to change markets. Certainly, Wall Street is not prepared to suffer losses from delays, just so the Neocons can stick it to Russia.

The more the US tries to block the rise of Eurasia — by crippling China with the TPP, and crippling Russia with sanctions — the more the US is diminished.

—

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 1:19am

See? This is what doesn't make sense to me

@Pluto's Republic

The US could have made deals with countries to buy or sell our stuff like other countries do, but instead it invades, bullies and overthrows governments and installs puppet regime governments instead. This takes our money that could be spent on so many things that would help grow our economy and gives it to defense companies instead. This just does not make sense to me. The brutality that we think we know is actually ten times more worse then anyone can imagine. The amount of suffering that our country inflicts on others is unimaginable. And the PTB don't care.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by travelerxxx on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 1:58am

Location, location, location

@Pluto's Republic

Meanwhile, China needs additional LNG. Hopefully, the US LNG investors are nimble enough to change markets. Certainly, Wall Street is not prepared to suffer losses from delays, just so the Neocons can stick it to Russia.

Thing is, look where they've built the LNG terminals - here's that map again. If you intend, or even wanted to consider, shipping LNG to China you wouldn't have concentrated your terminals on the Gulf and/or Atlantic coast. There are only three terminals on the West Coast and those are Canadian. Our Captains of Industry aren't looking too nimble here...

By the way, I didn't know the ESPO pipeline had started flowing until I read what you posted. Thanks.

Submitted by edg on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 1:56pm

Canal

@travelerxxx

LNG shipped from Gulf Coast terminals can go thru the recently widened Panama Canal to reach the Pacific and thus China.

The rise of US LNG exports has coincided with another major milestone in shipping, the widening of the Panama Canal, which has allowed for a significant increase in LNG shipping transportation. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking noted that “the day was July 25th 2016, a partly cloudy day on the Panama canal, and to most people a rather innocuous day without any real merit, however in shipping it marked the first of a momentous milestone, the day the first LNG vessel transited the new canal locks. The vessel was the Maran Gas Apollonia on charter to Shell, she had loaded her cargo from Sabine Pass LNG Terminal (the only LNG export terminal in the US) to discharge in Yantian, China.

Source: The Panama Canal Effect on LNG Shipping

Submitted by travelerxxx on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 8:43pm

Bigger and better

@edg

Thanks, edg! I have been right next to those tankers at the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal and there is no way I would have bet that those huge things could pass through the Panama Canal. I knew they had widened it, but not that wide!

That article you linked to was a good find!

Submitted by Pricknick on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 10:28pm

If the canal were mine

@edg
I'd say "Take a hike".
The likelihood of an LNG tanker blowing up are remote but when they burn nothing within 1500 meters survives.
The gates of the locks would be useless for years.

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 1:01am

It would be pretty hard to sell our LNG

@travelerxxx

to anyone if the plants were a smoking pile of rubble now wouldn't it? This is what is going to happen if this stupid country keeps poking the Russian Bear. Putin has said that Russia will not fight another war on Russian soil.

Moon of Alabama has an excellent essay on the Israeli and Saudi missile defense shields that failed spectacularly this week. If you want the summary of the essay it's that they didn't work and Israel pissed away $1,00,000 of our money. Yep. That's right. We basically give them our money for their weapons while they have universal health care and we don't. Why don't we? Because we don't have enough money for it. I have an idea about how we could easily fix this problem, but it's not going to happen as long as congress puts Israel's needs before ours.

Awe, there we are again looking at the never ending gift of the Obama presidency.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by Ellen North on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 6:32pm

Just to add to your excellent comment:

@travelerxxx @travelerxxx

Damn good article, I must say.

https://www.politicususa.com/2015/06/09/report-shows-oil-industry-benefi...

Posted on Tue, Jun 9th, 2015 by Rmuse
Report Shows The Oil Industry Benefits From $5.3 Trillion in Subsidies Annually

...In a new and disturbing report from researchers at the International Monetary Fund, the world’s governments are providing subsidies to the highly profitable oil industry to the tune of an astonishing $5.3 trillion in benefits per year. Another way of looking at just how much the world pays the oil industry that bears responsibility for decimating the Earth’s environment; imagine they receive $10 million per minute. That is $10 million every minute, every day, of every month, of every year. Those mind-boggling entitlements have grown over the past couple of decades and are increasing every year.

What that also means is that every minute the world’s population is paying $10 million to help the fossil fuel industry pump climate-changing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. All the while, in America Republicans are either denying that the Earth’s climate is warming, or debating whether global warming is caused by man’s propensity to pump carbon emissions into the atmosphere. If that is not bad enough, Republicans are fighting tooth and nail to preserve America’s billions in oil industry subsidies while crusading to abolish any and all environmental regulations and eliminate efforts to find new and less costly clean energy alternatives. It is true the world’s population will continue depending on fossil fuels for their energy needs long into the future, but that does not mean seeking and developing existing clean and renewable energy sources needs to be put off; particularly when the intent is to create more wealth for the oil industry. ...

... Actually, it is the effects of pouring billions of tons of climate changing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that accounts for nearly three-quarters of the final $5.3 trillion annual figure arrived at by IMF researchers. According to a statement from Benedict Clements representing the IMF’s fiscal affairs department; “While the large size of our new estimates may be surprising, it is important to put in perspective just how many health problems are linked to energy consumption and air quality.” According to conservative estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), “One in eight global deaths are attributable just to air pollution.” Obviously it does not included the deaths from drought-related food shortages, lack of water, extreme and deadly weather events, or any of the other consequences of anthropogenic global climate change caused by burning fossil fuels. The WHO strongly suggests that even beyond the global climate benefits of the entire world working in concert to eliminate the highly-profitable oil industry’s entitlements, any one nation’s efforts to keep fossil fuels in the ground and out of the atmosphere “will carry very significant health and economic benefits at the local level.”

The IMF’s report revealed that ending oil industry entitlements would cut by half the number of deaths attributed to outdoor air pollution alone and save about 1.6 million human lives each year. Besides, the level of money being paid to the oil industry for nothing would be better spent on healthcare, education, and infrastructure improvements and relieve the crushing poverty plaguing third world nations like America and drive robust economic growth. Part of that spending naturally includes investing in more cost-effective and money-saving projects like clean and renewable energy and research and development of more energy-efficient uses for oil and gas. ...

Edit to add that while $5.3 trillion is a high annual price to pay for slow global murder, planetary life is priceless, which may be why The Psychopaths That Be don't value the latter and can't see anything in it for them.

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 4:39pm

So, lovely Lindsey, is it not the same with us?

GRAHAM: I think the problem is that Russia is running wild. Whatever we're doing is not working and the president for some reason has a hard time pushing back against Putin directly. So, again, economic isolation of Russia. They're an oil and gas economy. They couldn't survive very long without customers.

But we also have legalized high stake casino gambling called hedge funds and derivatives. Them Rooskies gonna hafta build their own Las Vegas containing space for Goldman-Sachs East if they're gonna catch up with us.

Find some love, Lindsey--hug a bomb.

Try dancing to this, Lindsey (don't let your dentures fall out)

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4aUf5JC2W4]

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 4:43pm

Now, now... We all knew the crazy was in our future

...as the US Empire flops around on the world stage in its death throes.

Our European allies are just humoring us, hoping to avoid confrontation with a rogue and erratic agent of chaos. They calculated that it was less risky to piss off stoic, self-controlled Russia than to trigger god-knows-what horrific reaction in the Americans. As for the United Kingdom, she's simply run amok with a bad case of Munhausen Syndrome by Proxy.

We're experiencing a tacky version of "the fall of Rome" staring some painfully bad actors.

Chris Hedges has written about this many times: the causes and the effects of a powerful nation's collapse in the world. The over extension of brute force, the rejection by the world, and the contraction of Empire.

Empires in decay embrace an almost willful suicide. Blinded by their hubris and unable to face the reality of their diminishing power, they retreat into a fantasy world where hard and unpleasant facts no longer intrude. They replace diplomacy, multilateralism and politics with unilateral threats and the blunt instrument of war.

This collective self-delusion saw the United States make the greatest strategic blunder in its history, one that sounded the death knell of the empire—the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The architects of the war in the George W. Bush White House, and the array of useful idiots in the press and academia who were cheerleaders for it, knew very little about the countries being invaded, were stunningly naive about the effects of industrial warfare and were blindsided by the ferocious blowback.

We must keep in mind that the contraction of the nation will cause some suffering (if we are still letting the war criminals run the place). But, it will end the wars and shut down the military outside the United States. The next generation and those that follow will have a chance to do it right. They will have our example to teach them the limits of democracy when capitalism is unregulated. They'll learn that if the government is not directly benefitting the people, it is conspiring against them.

—

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

Submitted by peachcreek on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 12:14am

Typo Hayes for Hedges...just so you know.

@Pluto's Republic I had a double take moment there for a second. "Chris Hayes said *that*?? Really??" clicks link.."Ah, of course, Hedges..."

...as the US Empire flops around on the world stage in its death throes. Our European allies are just humoring us, hoping to avoid confrontation with a rogue and erratic agent of chaos. They calculated that it was less risky to piss off stoic, self-controlled Russia than to trigger god-knows-what horrific reaction in the Americans. As for the United Kingdom, she's simply run amok with a bad case of Munhausen Syndrome by Proxy. We're experiencing a tacky version of "the fall of Rome" staring some painfully bad actors. Chris Hedges has written about this many times: the causes and the effects of a powerful nation's collapse in the world. The over extension of brute force, the rejection by the world, and the contraction of Empire. Empires in decay embrace an almost willful suicide. Blinded by their hubris and unable to face the reality of their diminishing power, they retreat into a fantasy world where hard and unpleasant facts no longer intrude. They replace diplomacy, multilateralism and politics with unilateral threats and the blunt instrument of war. This collective self-delusion saw the United States make the greatest strategic blunder in its history, one that sounded the death knell of the empire—the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. The architects of the war in the George W. Bush White House, and the array of useful idiots in the press and academia who were cheerleaders for it, knew very little about the countries being invaded, were stunningly naive about the effects of industrial warfare and were blindsided by the ferocious blowback. . We must keep in mind that the contraction of the nation will cause some suffering (if we are still letting the war criminals run the place). But, it will end the wars and shut down the military outside the United States. The next generation and those that follow will have a chance to do it right. They will have our example to teach them the limits of democracy when capitalism is unregulated. They'll learn that if the government is not directly benefitting the people, it is conspiring against them.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 4:41pm

Oh gawd.

@peachcreek

Chris Hedges' cognac to Chris Hayes malt liquor. I must correct the record. Thanks.

—

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 8:13pm

Why do chicken hawks become war hawks?

They certainly had their chance to go kill some fureners when they were younger, but how many of them chickened out and did something else? Most of them. And I would have thought that spending so many years as a prisoner of war would have killed McCain's bloodlust, but no. He became one of the biggest war hawk.

Russia could stop the lng going to Europe if May keeps this up. Now she's threatening to not let Russia sell their bonds. How much more patient is Putin going to be with all these false allegations? The Skripal story has so many holes in it that I can't believe anyone is falling for this. If they got poisoned with Thee most deadliest nerve agent ever then how were they able to drive for hours? How did that police man get exposed to it if it was on the front door?
Why did it take 3 weeks for them to determine where it was? First it was this, then it was that and now it's something else.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 10:23pm

A communard over at ZH made a similar observation:

@snoopydawg

So, the 'official' story is that 2 people got poisoned as they left their house. Someone had put poison on their door and they touched it - Sergei with his right hand and Yulia with her left... so the story goes.

It only takes one person to pull the door shut - I can't see why they would both need to touch the door?

On March 4, it was approx 45F (7C) when they left the house and the temperature fell for the rest of the day - by 6pm it was 38F (3C). How did the poisoner know that they would not be wearing gloves?

The official story is 100% BS - NO state killer would use such a method. The motive was not to murder Skripal... it was for the publicity that could be won from it.

Raul Ilargi Meijer at The Automatic Earth noted:

Today the British press reports that the Skripal father and daughter pair were poisoned “from their front door”. They do that with the same level of certainty that just a few days ago they used in telling us they were poisoned through the air vents of the dad’s BMW. Exact same story, just a different location. And that’s after a by now long sequence of headlines that claimed it had happened inside the home, or in a bar, a pizzeria, or on the park bench they were ostensibly ‘found’ on.

I doubt that anything at all we’ve been told about the Skripal case is true. Not because I don’t want to believe it, but because the storytellers plant so many trees they’re getting lost in their own forest.

And, as always, there is no evidence that proves their allegations.

—

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 12:03am

The Brits fear that the toxin is somewhere public.

Unfortunately, when the hazmat team went in for the photo-op of the removal of the park bench for deeper investigation, a week or so ago, they took the wrong bench.

They need to lighten up and stop trying so hard to convince us that their flag isn't false.

@Pluto's Republic

—

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sun, 04/01/2018 - 11:51pm

The front door doesn't make any sense

@Pluto's Republic

This was supposed to be the most deadliest nerve agent ever and yet they want us to believe that it took it 3-4 hours to work and then it didn't kill them. Then there's that police officer who first came across them who also got exposed and he too doesn't die from the most deadliest nerve agent ever. Next we have the nurse who helped her and she wasn't exposed. Finally we have the over 100 town citizens who also got sick but no one tells us where they got exposed or how they are doing.

One day a judge says that they have a 1% chance of being normal again and then the next day the woman wakes up and is now talking and eating.

May makes the determination that the nerve agent was created by the Russians even though it was created by a country in the USSR two decades ago and it was verified destroyed by the USA which took the samples with them and then a guy writes a book and includes the rescipe for how to make it and then Hillary told her staff not to discuss the book and then ....
Jeebus! How the Hell can anyone make sense of the false flag if they can't get their story straight? Oh yeah, the OPCW the world's chemical weapons experts are just now getting a sample of it and they say that it's going to be a few weeks until they can decide what it is and who made it?

Meanwhile , let's throw out a couple Russian diplomats just because.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by Wink on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 1:16am

Must be nice just to,

you know, war monger from the position of knowing full well that neither you nor your kids nor your grandkids won't so much as have an ounce of "skin in the game," that somebody else will fight it for you while you watch the "highlights" on CNN while sipping on wine and munching a lobster tail. "Hun, could you bring in some more melted butter, and pop some popcorn? This is the bestest war ever! I'm So damned glad I war mongered for this!"

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by Ellen North on Mon, 04/02/2018 - 7:01pm

Well, if they're trying for war-crimes in Russia

@Wink

Russia will bring it on back home to them. Putin's already stated that war will never again be fought on Russian soil and North America might wind up missing, even if some portions of the rest of the world survive for a time.

The only good part about this is imagining TPTB in their luxury bunkers, (where they'll have gone prior to initiating their first strike,) as a barrage of carefully directed bombs start exploding their way down to them. Not that the rest of us'll be around to imagine this at that point... assuming that we're lucky enough to be on ground zero and never know what hit us. Freaking lunatics!

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.