Despite the fact the Western Alliance have created the policy that will deliver pain to their citizens, not a single government leader will look at this move as a bad thing.

The pain will not be felt by the elites, it will only hit the citizenry.  Lowered oil production outputs that drive up gasoline prices and fuel inflationary drivers, expedite the Build Back Better narrative and objective.

However, that said, in context to this announcement, a pain that will hit the Western economies of the alliance represented in yellow, the last 18 months of moves by Mexico makes President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador look remarkably prescient.  The new strategic relationships and trade partnerships between China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India and beyond, take on an added geopolitical dimension.

DUBAI, April 2 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers on Sunday announced further oil output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day, in a surprise move that analysts said would cause an immediate rise in prices and the United States called inadvisable.

The pledges bring the total volume of cuts by OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other allies, to 3.66 million bpd according to Reuters calculations, equal to 3.7% of global demand.

Sunday’s development comes a day before a virtual meeting of an OPEC+ ministerial panel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, and which had been expected to stick to 2 million bpd of cuts already in place until the end of 2023.

The latest reductions could lift oil prices by $10 per barrel, the head of investment firm Pickering Energy Partners said on Sunday, while oil broker PVM said it expected an immediate jump once trading starts after the weekend.

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Two major energy trade developments today highlight how the Western Alliance is quickly losing a grip on the world energy market, as an alliance between China, Russia, Iran and the Middle East Gulf Cooperation Council starts to take shape with actual trade exchanges that are not in dollars.

Last year, in response to big panda’s own interest and seeking to exploit two western alliance self-created weaknesses; (1) sanctions against Russia and (2) weakened investment in LNG production; China spearheaded the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange.

The exchange was aimed at group purchasing services for liquefied natural gas (LNG) though the use of the yuan to replace the dollar.  Essentially, team Gray operating without the global trading system of team Yellow (map).  The Shanghai exchange allows purchases of LNG portions by small and medium-sized buyers in yuan.

Today, CHINESE national oil company CNOOC and France’s TotalEnergies have completed China’s first yuan-settled liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade through the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange, the exchange said on Tuesday (Mar 28).

Approximately 65,000 tonnes of LNG imported from the UAE changed hands in the trade, it said in a statement. TotalEnergies confirmed to Reuters that the transaction involved LNG imported from the UAE but did not comment further. (read more)

This exchange between the UAE and France is taking place without dollars. If the process continues the dollar weakens.  In the geopolitical world of currency valuations and trade, this might be considered the Archduke Ferdinand moment for the end of the petrodollar.  The question will become, can they grow this process with OPEC+ support and begin eventually trading oil in yuan?

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Put this in the ‘how far can we stretch a narrative’ file.

According to multiple sources, Ukraine is running out of ammunition in the war against Russia.  However, according to Newsweek who is pushing the message from the Nordic Ammunition Supply Company, TikTok cat videos are to blame.   Yes, you read that correctly…

(Newsweek) – One of Europe’s largest ammunition manufacturers has said it’s unable to expand to meet new quotas and respond to Ukraine’s increased demand because a nearby data center is using up all the electricity in the central Norway region to store TikTok videos.

The Norwegian group Nordic Ammunition Company, better known as Nammo, told the U.K. newspaper Financial Times that there’s no surplus of energy for its Raufoss plant, where the new factory was planned.

The electricity of the region is being used up by a data center whose bigger client is TikTok. The embattled social-media platform has come under increased scrutiny in the U.S. for its ties with China. “We are concerned because we see our future growth is challenged by the storage of cat videos,” Nammo chief executive Morten Brandtzæg told the newspaper.

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One of many things to like about Hungary is their brutal honesty when it comes to the United States meddling in their domestic affairs. {Background}

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó gave an interview recently where he said it is more challenging to support the NATO objective, when the United States is so committed to overthrowing the Hungarian government. He has a good point.

(Via Associated Press) – The West’s steady criticism of Hungary on democratic and cultural issues makes the small European country’s right-wing government reluctant to offer support on practical matters, specifically NATO’s buildup against Russia, Hungary’s foreign minister said.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also said Friday that his country has not voted on whether to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO because Hungarian lawmakers are sick of those countries’ critiques of Hungarian domestic affairs.

Lawmakers from the governing party plan to vote Monday in favor of the Finnish request but “serious concerns were raised” about Finland and Sweden in recent months “mostly because of the very disrespectful behavior of the political elites of both countries towards Hungary,” Szijjártó said.

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After attempting to navigate through the politics in order to curry favor with the base Republican voters on a Ukraine position, when confronted by Piers Morgan who is a pro-NATO war voice, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis now says his former position on Ukraine has been “mischaracterized” and Vladimir Putin “is a war criminal.”

The walk back highlights once again that Ron DeSantis is an empty vessel using poll testing to formulate his policy stances.

The reversing comments on Vladimir Putin and Ukraine come from the interview DeSantis gave to Piers Morgan as noted in a recent New York Post article:

(Piers Morgan, NY Post) – Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis has branded Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and demanded he be “held accountable” for his barbaric invasion of Ukraine.

Taking a tougher tone from his statement last week appearing to dismiss the year-long war as a “territorial dispute,” DeSantis now says Russia was WRONG to invade Ukraine and was WRONG to invade and take over Crimea in 2014, and won’t win the war. And he’s made his strongest attack yet on Russia’s dictator, calling him a loser who is “basically a gas station with a bunch of nuclear weapons.”

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The alarming provocations and escalations continue as the U.K. has pledged to send depleted uranium anti-tank rounds into Ukraine.

During a four-hour public meeting which included international press, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted the NATO intent to use depleted uranium artillery and tank missiles against Russian forces would be met with countermeasures.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted the British decision leaves fewer and fewer steps before a potential “nuclear collision” between Russia and the West.  “Another step has been taken, and there are fewer and fewer left,” he told reporters in remarks cited by domestic agencies.

(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday condemned British plans to send tank ammunition that contains depleted uranium to Ukraine, saying Moscow would be forced to respond accordingly.

Speaking in London on Monday, Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie said some of the ammunition for the Challenger 2 battle tanks that Britain is sending to Ukraine includes armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium.

“If all this happens, Russian will have to respond accordingly, given that the West collectively is already beginning to use weapons with a nuclear component,” Putin said in remarks after a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not elaborate. (read more)

Keep in mind, all remarks by the heads of state during these sessions are known in advance by both nations.  Chairman Xi knew what Vladimir Putin was going to say. Additionally, at the end of their three-day summit, Chairman Xi made comments that were strategically positioned publicly to be overheard by international media.

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Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in person today for the first time since the Ukraine conflict began last February.   The public side of the conversation appeared to be very warm as the two allies outlined the nature of their relationship and the plans for their discussions.

It is being reported the private side of the discussions lasted for four hours on the first day with more talks scheduled for tomorrow. “I am pleased to once again set foot on the soil of our friendly neighbor Russia,” Xi said in a statement after arriving in Moscow on Monday for the three-day state visit.

(Via Daily Mail) – Xi Jinping said he was ready to ‘stand guard over a world order based on international law’ as he met Vladimir Putin in Moscow today.

In his first state visit to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese leader spent more than four hours in talks with his ‘dear friend’ Putin, discussing proposals to end the war previously outlined in a 12-point peace plan.

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Stunningly, the Polish Ambassador to France Jan Emeryk Rościszewski said yesterday: “Either Ukraine will defend its independence today, or we will be forced to enter into this conflict,” sending a clear message that NATO will enter the war against Russia if Ukraine loses ground.

Rościszewski essentially said the quiet part out loud, and that public statement immediately caused the NATO allies to recoil.  The EU NATO allies were not recoiling due to the substance of what he said, but rather because he said it publicly.  Keep in mind, Jan Emeryk Rościszewski has been Poland’s Ambassador to France for about a year, and before that he was the Chairman of the Board of PKO Bank Polski, Poland’s largest bank (WEF linkage).

The exact quote: “either Ukraine will defend its independence today, or we will have to enter this conflict. Because our main values, which were the basis of our civilization, and our culture will be threatened. Therefore, we will have no choice but to enter the conflict.”

The immediately triggered retreat by the EU IS HERE.  However, this statement happened on the same day Politico reported: “NATO is racing to arm its Russian borders. Can it find the weapons?”

[…] “Military leaders this spring will submit updated regional defense plans intended to help redefine how the alliance protects its 1 billion citizens. The numbers will be large, with officials floating the idea of up to 300,000 NATO forces needed to help make the new model work. That means lots of coordinating and cajoling. (link)

NATO wants to put 300,000 troops on Russia’s border, and yet they simultaneously pretend not to want an expanded war against Russia.

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Before looking at the absurdity of the International Criminal Court (ICC) position, it is worth noting that Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, the United States and China do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and are not member states in the organization {LINK}.

Additionally, I doubt the countries of Kiribati and Malawi are going to launch a military offensive against Russia; so, one has to ask, exactly what is this latest production about – amid the theater of World War Reddit.

The essential accusation is that Vladimir Putin took orphans out of orphanages in the Ukraine war zone and moved the children to safety in Russia.  Ergo, Putin is guilty of human trafficking and abducting children.

THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court said Friday that it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

It was the first time the global court has issued a warrant against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

The ICC said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and that of unlawful transfer of (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

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U.S. government officials are not happy as China confirms Chairman Xi Jinping visit to Russia next week to meet with President Putin.

In the background of the Ukraine conflict, smiling Panda has been happy to see distracted western nations bleeding their resources and treasury in support of Ukraine.  Meanwhile, happy Panda negotiates and brokers increased relationships between Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India and China.

There is no downside to Chairman Xi visiting Russia and advancing a position that ‘peaceful negotiations’ should begin between Russia and Ukraine, unless a resolution to the conflict is against the geopolitical usefulness of the war – which appears to be the unfortunate current status.

“The U.S. on Friday said it would oppose any effort by China at the meeting to propose a ceasefire in Ukraine“…

Think about that.  Remember, Ukraine is to Washington DC as North Korea is to Beijing.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Moscow next week, offering a major diplomatic boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the same day the International Criminal Court announced it wants to put the Russian leader on trial for alleged war crimes.

Xi’s visit was the latest sign of Beijing’s emboldened diplomatic ambitions, and came amid sharpening East-West tensions over the war in Ukraine, now in its 13th month.  The U.S. on Friday said it would oppose any effort by China at the meeting to propose a ceasefire in Ukraine as the “ratification of Russian conquest.”

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