Author: Author1

Assessment: It’s astonishing that we have an administration that would rather buy oil from two regimes that terrorize their own people than take the steps that would restore the energy independence the United States enjoyed under the Trump administration ”

This isn’t rocket science: gas prices are hitting astronomical new heights every day because Old Joe Biden closed the Keystone Pipeline, ended our energy independence, and forced us to rely on supplies of Russian oil that have become problematic in all kinds of ways with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Yet even as the crisis intensifies, Biden’s handlers refuse to reverse course and restore America’s own oil supplies; instead, it is courting authoritarian regimes, as if paying Russia for oil wasn’t enough financing of tyranny already. Next in line: Venezuela.

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.”

First came the Islamic Republic of Iran. On Wednesday, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle asked Transportation Secretary Pete “Mr. Mom” Buttigieg if Biden would consider “working something out with Iran” for oil. Buttigieg wouldn’t rule out that possibility: “Look, the president has said that all options are on the table. But we also need to make sure we’re not galloping after permanent solutions to immediate short term problems where more strategic and tactical actions in the short term could make a difference.”

But the “Death to America”-chanting mullahs aren’t enough. Fox News reported Sunday that “several senior Biden administration officials from the White House and State Department traveled to Venezuela on Saturday to meet with the Russian ally as Moscow’s economy begins to crater under the weight of sanctions, according to a report.” The idea is to entice the brutal hard-Left regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro away from Moscow’s embrace. The U.S. used to be Venezuela’s biggest customer for its oil exports, but the Trump administration put sanctions on those exports in view of the Venezuelan regime’s tyrannical behavior and election fraud.

But for Biden’s handlers, that sort of thing is no problem.

Read More @ PJ Media HERE

Assessment: China has repeatedly voiced opposition to the sanctions, calling them ineffective and insisting it will maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with Russia …

As US and European sanctions make life increasingly difficult for Russian businesses, one Chinese bank claims it has seen a surge in requests from Russian firms trying to open new bank accounts, according to an anonymous source quoted by Reuters.

It’s the latest example of a phenomenon first described by Credit Suisse’s Zoltan Poszar, who warned during a recent interview with Bloomberg that sanctions against Russia- along with the ban of most Russian banks from SWIFT –  could lead to greater reliance on the Chinese yuan by Russian companies. As we said, China’s yuan, which presently accounts for just 2.7% of world reserves, is one option for anxious reserve managers in Moscow or elsewhere.

“Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared” Rev. 16:12.

“Over the past few days, 200-300 companies have approached us, wanting to open new accounts,” the person, who works at the Moscow branch of a Chinese state bank and has direct knowledge of its operations, told Reuters.

The source added that most of the firms looking to open an account with their bank do a lot of business with China.

He declined to be named or have his bank identified as he is not authorized to speak with media.

It was not clear how widespread Russian demand for new accounts at Chinese banks was, but the banker source told Reuters many of the companies seeking new accounts do business with China and that he expected yuan transactions by such firms to increase.

Still, it’s a sign that Russian Central Bank will likely need to keep more reserves denominated in the Chinese yuan.

Assessment: Notice that the Biden team has no plan to replace the 600,000 barrels of oil that the United States buys from Russia each day except for relying on the signing of the Iran nuclear deal. 

Another day, another flashing red headline that the White House is considering a ban on Russian oil imports – something it has repeatedly said earlier this week – although it has yet to make a decision:

• *WHITE HOUSE CONSIDERING BAN ON RUSSIAN OIL IMPORTS
• *WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON SAID NO DECISION HAS BEEN MADE

The news sent WTI spiking as high as $114.64.

“A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.” Proverbs 18:2

The Biden administration also said it was looking at options they can take right now if they decide to cut the U.S. intake of Russian energy, say Cecilia Rouse, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

“We are considering a range of options but what’s really essential is that we maintain a steady supply of global energy,” Rouse says at briefing, adding the U.S. does not import a lot of Russian oil (but it does import enough for it to be meaningful).

Read More @ Zero Hedge HERE