Even Comedians Get It Now

"Are we sure it's not Russia that's putting the sanction on us?"

Bill Maher hits the nail on the head in this short clip. Western sanctions are not breaking Russia, they are breaking the West. This is becoming increasingly obvious to more and more people, such as this reporter for MSN:

"Putin - whose speech was delayed by a cyber attack on the venue - said sanctions placed on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine were “mad and pointless”.

“The economic blitzkrieg against Russia had no chance to succeed from the very beginning,” he said.

He also claimed the EU could lose $400 billion as a result of the sanctions.

It is unclear where Putin plucked that figure from, however European nations are struggling with an unprecedented cost of living crisis linked to the rising price of oil and gas, which was previously largely imported from Russia.

Putin said Friday that Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine was not the cause of global economic troubles, instead blaming Western countries for using the situation to cover up their own mistakes.

“What is happening is not the result of recent months, much less the result of a special military operation that Russia is conducting in the Donbas,” Putin said

“The rising prices, inflation, the problem with foods, prices for fuel ... are the result of systematic mistakes in the economic policy of the current US administration and European bureaucracy.”

Moscow’s military action became a “lifeline” for Western countries “that allows them to blame their own miscalculations on others, in this case, on Russia,” he claimed.

Driven by a spike in fuel prices, the United States and European countries have faced soaring inflation, with Britain predicting that inflation in the country could surpass 11 per cent this year.

Gas prices were also on the rise Friday, exacerbated by the decision by Russian energy giant Gazprom to slash deliveries to Europe, citing repair works.

Putin said that high energy prices “have been observed since the third quarter (of last year), long before the start of our operation in Donbas”, adding that the price hikes were also the result of Europe’s “failed energy policy”.

Blaming Putin for inflation, supply shortages, and more is hollow and a little bit funny. Is he so powerful that he can decide US elections, and single handedly bring the world to its knees with sanctions brought upon his own country? Of course not. 

No, the West was already breaking and the war in Ukraine has tipped it over the edge. Inflation, supply shortages, increasing suspicion in democratic process, and more are all a result of the last three decades of terrible decisions by Western leadership, and the chickens are now coming home to roost. 

It's time for the West to admit it doesn't rule the world, abandon the pretentions and evil of global empire, and recognize, we are in danger of weakening very quickly because our leaders won't admit the world has changed.