A map to illustrate my point. Most nations on earth ARE NOT sanctioning Russia.

Note: The purpose of this post isn't to be a "booster" for Putin or Russia. It is to point out that the West in general is viewed in ways that many that come to this blog would probably find shocking. All the moral outrage that is being shown over Ukraine? People are wondering why we didn't have the same outrage in other nations where WE have launched operations. Am I saying they're right to feel that way? I have no opinion. But I do believe its important to note that NOT EVERYONE on this planet views things the same way that we do in the West. Additionally I've read that 70% of the GDP of the world is in those nations that are active in the sanctions. Ok. But that huge population center OUTSIDE of the 14% that have 70% of the GDP are future markets...points of instability...have necessary resources etc. Additionally (and this is my primary worry) if we see new alliances formed along with a new economic system that operates outside of the framework created by the West then we are on the verge of a radical shift in geopolitical power.

Guess who’s sanctioning Russia?
“The International Community”

Who’s not sanctioning Russia?
Rest of the World pic.twitter.com/WNFGOuwL8J

— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) March 27, 2022

The above map shows all the nations that are and ARE NOT sanctioning Russia. For the people in back the countries in yellow are part of the sanctions scheme. By the numbers? 14% of the world's population is backing sanctions.

Want even more?  Check this out via the Financial Times

Not for the first time, the west is mistaking its own unity for a global consensus. One misleading measure is at the UN. In the organisation’s last tally earlier this month, 141 of 193 member states condemned Vladimir Putin’s blatant violation of international law. But the 35 that abstained account for almost half the world’s population. That includes China, India, Vietnam, Iraq and South Africa. If you add those that voted with Russia, it comes to more than half.

Moreover, many of those nominally against Russia are hedging their bets. Saudi Arabia is considering China’s request to be paid in yuan for its oil. That would help undercut the power of the dollar. Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates refused to take Joe Biden’s calls this month when he wanted them to step-up oil production — a rare snub to a US president.

Last week the UAE hosted an official visit from Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s dictator, and Putin’s close ally, who the US rightly sees as a pariah. One of the UAE’s motives for rehabilitating Assad is that Biden is pushing to revive the nuclear deal with the regionally-dreaded Iran that would release more oil on to the global market. Even Israel, arguably America’s closest friend, is keeping an open mind. Its prime minister, Naftali Bennett, who is auditioning as a Russia-Ukraine mediator, has been conspicuously even-handed.

All this may look academic in a few months if Ukraine continues to humiliate Russia and the west can sustain its unity. Everybody loves a winner and the hedging countries would probably tilt back towards the west. The bigger abstainers, such as India, which has quadrupled its oil imports from Russia at a discount compared to this time last year, would adjust their stance, which is causing anguish in Washington. But the world’s ambivalence should give Biden and Europe food for thought.

One red flag is the west’s habitual tendency to claim moral leadership. This creates three problems. First, it is hypocritical. US public opinion paid little attention to the horrific carnage in Syria, for which Assad is primarily culpable. Though Germany took in 1mn refugees in 2015, most of the rest of the west did not follow suit. Britain and the US admitted fewer than 50,000 Syrians between them. What Russia is doing to Ukraine is barbaric. But there is plenty to go round. Many in the Muslim world, in particular, think America practises double standards. Thousands of civilians died in Iraq and Afghanistan from US munitions, though they were not deliberately targeted (unlike in Ukraine).

Story here.

America and the West is reaching a shatterpoint.

What has me alarmed is that I'm seeing more and more enthusiasm for a China/India friendship/alliance/partnership...frenemy...WHATEVER!

The China/India friendship is paramount to fighting modern colonialism perpetrated by the West. It is not the interest of the 1.4 billion Chinese & 1.3 billion Indian people, the vast majority of whom are farmers, working class & poor, to bicker when history demands unity

— Frank Naidoo (@naidooinc) March 23, 2022

Think about it.

Can you imagine how that one move could so dramatically shift the global power balance?

China, Russia, India, Iran, Syria?  With many more trying to pile onto the scene with the new cool kids?

The tech alone would be stunning.  Chinese, Russian, and Indian aerospace/aviation sectors teaming up?

They would be on the Mars and heading to set up a colony before our policy makers could properly digest the new power dynamic.

My point?

Its the usual.

Our State Dept needs to get off its ass and start working overtime.  Time to pour a little honey in the tea (with a shot of whiskey) and make nice.

Additionally we're gonna have to learn that we MUST offer more than military exercises and weapons.

We have lost the ability to actually have a diplomatic approach to friends AND enemies.

We have become too dependent on military power and instead of using our economic power as a lure, we've turned it into a hammer.

A rethink of our foreign policy is overdue.  We've become stale and predictable.

Bully tactics will no longer work in this dynamic new age.