tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post4846750124038847588..comments2024-03-18T19:09:18.510-04:00Comments on Mike Norman Economics: Marshall Auerback — Russia And The Ukraine- Sanctions Won’t Workmike normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03296006882513340747noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-78142653061201505212014-04-30T12:47:12.601-04:002014-04-30T12:47:12.601-04:00Russia’s gift to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un ...<i>Russia’s gift to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un is much more than money. It will effectively usher North Korea into a prestigious club of energy transit countries –Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Colombia to name a few — which serve as energy umbilical cords to economies larger than themselves. Should the pipeline be built, in good days Kim will be able to collect a nice chunk of money in transit fees but in his bad days – of which there are many – he will be able to coerce and intimidate the third largest economy in Asia-Pacific in ways that will make his missile and underground nuclear tests a fond memory. Keeping Kim in a box is an important component of President Obama’s Strategic Pivot in Asia-Pacific. Putin is throwing the despot the key to the box.</i><br /><br />I'll bet this is exactly what the geniuses in Washington were expecting to happen.Peter Panhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473311771939167712noreply@blogger.com