Ukraine is a mid-level power, why should its peers not stand with it?
Excuse me, but have you seen my yacht(s) ??
Sounds … nice:
The Dilbar is claimed to be the world’s largest motor yacht by gross tonnage by its German shipbuilder Lurssen, weighing in at nearly 16,000 tons. The ship operates with a crew of 96 people and has an 82-foot swimming pool, two helicopter pads, sauna, gym, beauty salon, 12 suites, and can accommodate 24 guests, among other amenities.
A bit more on the French seizure:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/business/oligarch-superyacht-seized/index.html
Well if we are going towards morality, then they happily joined the Iraq occupation, so…
What an absurd non sequitur, given Zelenskyy and his government had zip to do with that.
Given that the goal of sanctions is to shock the Russian economy sharply enough to get the Kremlin to change course…
And given how many billions a prolonged war is going to cost the Western world, in terms of refugee resettlement, reconstruction, lost trade, and so on…
Then, on top of all the other sanctions, shouldn’t we be boycotting Russian oil?
I understand that Western economies will take a big hit. But if there’s any chance of obstructing this invasion through non-military means, shouldn’t we take it?
Would be interested to hear how an oil boycott could possibly be worse than what we’re facing right now.
It’s not a boycott, but some traders are concluding that it’s not worth the trouble of trying to trade Russian oil:
Oil is a global commodity, so if the US buys less Russian oil and more Saudi oil, then China will buy more Russian and less Saudi.
Russian Paralympic athletes not competing anymore.
Other athletes were refusing to compete against them and entire teams were threatening to leave. The IOC blinked, and Russian athletes will not be playing.
I hope the next step is to remove Russia in entirety from the Olympic movement. Let it be clear that they are thrown out of ANY international sporting event going forward until they leave Ukraine. And this includes the fig-leaf of letting their athletes compete under a neutral name or flag. Throw them out completely.
Article gives more detail:
That kind of thing, especially if it’s kept up, is going to have a very corrosive effect on public morale. As will all of the backlash they are getting from the international community. I know that several of their influencer types on things like YouTube have already been getting backlash, and I imagine that pressure is also mounting.
Well, Russia should have been thrown out after 2014 just for their doping program, so I guess I’ll take this as a small silver lining.
Chelsea’s Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich confirms he will sell team
Give him a dollar and tell him to fuck off back to Moscow. Tell him he can buy the team back for a dollar once Putin has been removed by any means possible. Tell him to use his imagination.
There was a message in my Schwab account this morning that they simply aren’t taking buy or sell in any Russian-based securities right now. Doesn’t affect me, but I know people who thought funds that had exposure to Russia were a good aggressive choice for part of their portfolio. They’re not happy.
Maybe I missed it in the articles, but what is the legal justification for seizing the assets of private Russian citizens?
There is none. The Russians should sue. Ought to come up for a preliminary hearing in oh, 3 or 4 years. In the meantime, the yacht stays docked.
Who cares? Do the right thing and sort out the legalities after the fact.
We do far worse to suspected criminals in the US with less justification.
FWIW …
Washington could use a stupidly expensive yacht just docked somewhere in the Chesapeake. Think of the tourist dollars. The government can add it to recreation.gov for everyone who wants to have sex in an old Russian oligarch’s bed.
Don’t worry. I sent him a very supportive email through his holding company. 
Apparently, I cannot embed the picture but I sent him this: https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/431/312/67e.jpg
He might be using it to transport drugs.
If oil is so fungible, then neither Russia nor the US would be significantly impacted by a ban on Russia oil imports. But that’s not what the White House is saying. They are saying that it would disrupt the world oil supply and raise prices for Americans at the pump. In their eyes that’s sacrificing too much to punish Russia.
I’d like to see the quote, because only 3% of US oil imports are from Russia. Cite.
Here’s a useful quote:
“The first is with the oil supply, and the short answer is it would not affect the US that much,” Adam Pankratz, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, told Al Jazeera.
“If it really goes drastic the US has a strategic petroleum reserve,” he said.
However, according to Pankratz, there is also a broader economic effect to consider.
“If the US stopped importing Russian oil, that would mean that likely many other countries would also no longer be importing Russian oil, and that would make a very tight oil market already much tighter, and that would drive up the price of oil and that in turn can drive inflation, which in turn can affect the US economy,” Pankratz said.
Maybe that was the concern?