"I mean, I think the prices are unsustainable for many people right now. I mean everyday citizens who are on fixed incomes, paying huge amounts of money that they had not anticipated or budgeted for just to get to work. It is unsustainable for many and unfortunately, there's not a quick fix. However, your point about also accelerating our progress toward clean energy is very, very important."She suggested that the current situation poses an opportunity to advance the Biden administration's green initiatives.
On Tuesday, Russia announced a 40% reduction in the flow of natural gas to Germany through the Nord Stream pipeline. The announcement, that was made by Gazprom officials, sent tremors through the European gas market where prices quickly soared to new highs. In Germany — where prices have tripled in the last three months — the news was met with gasps of horror. With inflation already running at a 40-year high, this latest reduction in supply is certain to tip the German economy into recession or worse. All of Europe is now feeling the impact of Washington's misguided sanctions on Russia. Here's more from Oil Price website:"Rejection of Russian energy resources means that Europe will become the region with the highest energy costs in the world. This will seriously undermine the competitiveness of European industry which is already losing the competition to companies in other parts of the world.... Our Western colleagues seem to have forgotten the elementary laws of economics, or simply prefer to ignore them." Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation
Supplying Ukraine with weapons for its conflict with Russia is a tough task for the US and its allies as Kiev's demands are constantly changing, US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith has said.Sounds like a good method of disarmament, however!
Providing military aid to the government of Volodymyr Zelensky "is a constantly evolving process that has many different pieces to it," Smith said during an online event organized by the Washington-based Center for a New American Security on Wednesday.
"First and foremost, we have to take the changing list of requirements that come in from Kiev almost on a daily basis. So, we've got the requests flowing in. We sit with the allies, look around the table and try to determine which allies can respond, who is ready to provide what. And it's challenging and difficult because again the requirements are in flux," she pointed out.
The envoy noted how the discussion with Kiev first centered around air defense systems before switching to ammunition and artillery shortages. "Then we had a period when we were much more focused on coastal defense for all the obvious reasons. We're looking now at armored vehicles," she said.
The assistance already provided to Ukraine has been so extensive that "some nations have given absolutely everything they have," Smith acknowledged, without naming any specific countries.
"Yes, they've talked about... starting to get to... what I would describe as the back of the cupboard, where they reach in and discover that they've given a tremendous amount of equipment [to Kiev] in recent weeks and months," she said.
Comment: For much more context see: Pentagon Biological Weapons Program Never Ended: US Bio-labs Around The World