The ruble is collapsing

[Simfan34]

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/15/us-russia-cbank-rates-idUSKBN0JT2II20141215

[Simfan34]

Yes, Obummer ruining the economy... of Russia.

[Simfan34]

It's all about the timeframe. Putin can point out that the rouble has gained over 12% against the USD since this morning. Sanctions have kickstarted Russia's economy. 

It fell 19% today. The economy is going to contract even more sharply now. He can make no such claim unless he is to blatantly lie. But they can not mention it on the media, which is what they have been doing.

[Simfan34]

Yet another Obama foreign policy success!

Yes, his conquest of Ukraine has been a roaring success. From the $5 billion spent to destabilize an elected government, whose opposition then removed an elected (albeit a rather awful) president in a manner illegal under Ukraine's constitution, to securing a job for Joe Biden's son on the board of Ukraine's biggest gas company.

Remember, imperialism is okay as long as it's led by the Washington-Brussels axis!

Indeed, which is why we need revolutionary socialism, which will unfailingly follow laws and abide by consitituons!

[Simfan34]

Yet another Obama foreign policy success!

Yes, his conquest of Ukraine has been a roaring success. From the $5 billion spent to destabilize an elected government, whose opposition then removed an elected (albeit a rather awful) president in a manner illegal under Ukraine's constitution, to securing a job for Joe Biden's son on the board of Ukraine's biggest gas company.

Remember, imperialism is okay as long as it's led by the Washington-Brussels axis!

Indeed, which is why we need revolutionary socialism, which will unfailingly follow laws and abide by consitituons!

Revolutionary socialists can and should use bourgeois laws to our advantage when they either constrain the actions of the ruling class or can otherwise be used to further our cause. I don't care about the U.S. Constitution per se, but it can be a useful tool.

So are they the only ones who are allowed to break laws as they please?

[Simfan34]

Yet another Obama foreign policy success!

Yes, his conquest of Ukraine has been a roaring success. From the $5 billion spent to destabilize an elected government, whose opposition then removed an elected (albeit a rather awful) president in a manner illegal under Ukraine's constitution, to securing a job for Joe Biden's son on the board of Ukraine's biggest gas company.

Remember, imperialism is okay as long as it's led by the Washington-Brussels axis!

Indeed, which is why we need revolutionary socialism, which will unfailingly follow laws and abide by consitituons!

Revolutionary socialists can and should use bourgeois laws to our advantage when they either constrain the actions of the ruling class or can otherwise be used to further our cause. I don't care about the U.S. Constitution per se, but it can be a useful tool.

So are they the only ones who are allowed to break laws as they please?

What matters is not what is law, but what is right.

Then why did you bring laws up in the first place?

[Simfan34]

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Further proof communism doesn't work

You are certainly not familiar with today's Russia.

Yes, this automatic equation of something Russia does with communism is rather grating.

What's happening is rather further proof that failure to diversify your economy is likely to result in consequences later, and that in the modern, globalized economy, a cavalier foreign policy that raises the ire of a bloc of nations that account for over half of world GDP is likewise bound to result in sanctions that do nothing to help your economy.

It's all about the timeframe. Putin can point out that the rouble has gained over 12% against the USD since this morning. Sanctions have kickstarted Russia's economy.  

It fell 19% today. The economy is going to contract even more sharply now. He can make no such claim unless he is to blatantly lie. But they can not mention it on the media, which is what they have been doing.

Hasn't he been doing this for quite a while ("no Russian soldiers in UA" and so forth). I was just making the point that it would be quite appropriate for Putin to frame the issue in such a manner ("What ruble collapse? The dollar has lost 12% since this morning.").

I see what you mean, and I suppose you're right. But that's a bit more obvious, isn't it, though?
Anyone with a computer can clearly see that the dollar hasn't fallen, while the location of Russian soldiers is something one has to rely on the word of others for. You can't prevent people from seeing prices are going up if they are going up.

However, Putin can say that the ruble is up 9% so far today, which it indeed is. But the uptick is in part due to exporters selling to meet their monthly tax obligations, and some traders said that "exporters were having their arms twisted to sell their foreign-currency earnings." Either way, the ruble has lost nearly half its value this year.