R_L,
Okay, let's address your points in turn . . .
Firstly, 'The Duran' are no more 'influencers' than the BBC or Bloomberg. They're not marketing anything, there's no product placement and they're not selling anything beyond the idea that the war is pointless and the way to resolve the conflict is through diplomacy - not weaponry.
Secondly, the 'leaked report' was not published by Bloomberg - why not? If, as they claim, they've seen it and can write about it, then why not provide a link to it so that their readers can see it for themselves to decide if they agree with Bloomberg's interpretation of it? That's a rhetorical question as we both know the answer.
Thirdly, reading the article, it's clear that they're trying to make something out of nothing because it's filled with statements like these (note my emphasis in
blue). . .
- ". . . Russia may face a longer and deeper recession as the impact of US and European sanctions spreads . . ." In other words they're speculating.
- ". . .The document, the result of months of work. . ." This tells us it's old, out of date and based on what they anticipated the impact of sanctions might be months ago - not what they are in reality today.
- ". . .People familiar with the deliberations confirmed its authenticity . . ." Which people? I'm guessing one of them is you, R_L! ;-) If their source is remotely credible, they would tell us who these people are.
- ". . .The report estimates as many as 200,000 IT specialists may leave the country by 2025 . . ." More speculation based on nothing very much.
- That's just the first few paragraphs so you get the idea, I haven't the time to go through the entire article.
Bloomberg is a government mouthpiece and, as such, is desperate to make out that western sanctions are having the desired effect, even though a partially sighted five year old with learning difficulties can see they're having minimal impact on Russia, while having a devastating impact on the west. By way of personal anecdote, I was on a job last week for someone who works for Ribeye boats in Dartmouth, South Devon. Due to the sanctions, the company's lost two orders, between them worth over £1 million to provide tenders to super yachts owned by Russian oligarchs. That's local people in England whose jobs are going to be impacted by these pointless sanctions.
Lastly, I suggest you do what the authors of the Bloomberg article don't want you to do - which is to look with your own eyes and draw your own conclusions from the mountains of available evidence that says Russia is doing just fine thank you while the west is going down the pan. As we're on T2W, the two charts below tell you all you need to know.
Tim.
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