Russian tankers fueled North Korea via transfers at sea

[Saviolo]

Source: CNBC

Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing an economic lifeline to the secretive Communist state.

The sales of oil or oil products from Russia, the world's second biggest oil exporter and a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, breach U.N. sanctions, the security sources said.

The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reported in September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia to their homeland.

"There is no evidence that this is backed by the Russian state, but these Russian vessels are giving a lifeline to the North Koreans," the second European security source said.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/29/russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-reuters.html

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Putin is just moving chess pieces around the board, and Trump still thinks he's winning at checkers while chewing on tiddlywinks.

[Snarkoleptic]

1. Putin owns Trump and is unafraid to let it show.

We are screwed.

[Rollo]

14. Well, at least there's an adult in charge of the White House Presidential Day Care Center...

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. In one way it is good trump is putins lapdog, if trump thought he could BEST putin somehow

the results would be disastrous.

Trump really does have the mind, always has, of a 9 yr old child.

Putin is a murderer, thief and dictator, but he is not an idiot.

[Saviolo]

3. No, he is not an idiot.

You don't rise through the ranks as he did by being stupid. He's shrewd and cunning, and that makes him all the more terrifyingly dangerous. Not that it's all that hard, but he's thinking many steps ahead of Trump at all times.

[Eliot Rosewater]

4. his political opponent is no more in Russia, putin just made it illegal to have opponents

He murders anyone who gets in his way.

Anyone

[Saviolo]

5. I should have added "ruthless"

Ruthless, shrewd, cunning, power-hungry. Deadly combination. He's already accomplished so much of his goal of destabilizing NATO and the UN.

[Irish_Dem]

32. Do you think Putin would start murdering American politicians who turn on him?

Which they may do as Mueller targets Congress?

[Eliot Rosewater]

33. No, not now. He doesnt have enough control, enough muscle on the ground here to

do that and not take shit for it.

He has stolen 200 billion from his country-persons, he wants to spend that and cant at least not easily.

He also wants to destroy our democracy, has since he was a kid, the same way Ryan wants to destroy, kill by preventing them from having food and medicine the poor and minorities.

This brings back to my mind my FURY when I would see people compare our candidate to this PIECE OF SHIT.

Putin was scared to DEATH of Hillary, for good reason.

[Irish_Dem]

34. Yes I thought too that he could not pull it off now due to the points you raise.

Yes I think it would be a PR disaster for him as well.

Certainly Putin has stolen more that $200B from his country,
I have read he drained the economy and is worth $600 Billion.

Yes there is a reason he hates Hillary, she and Obama had his number
and called him on his crap. I wonder what he thought Hillary would do
to him that scared him so much? More sanctions and loss of some of his
personal wealth? An alliance with Europe to stop Putin's meddling in elections?

[Eliot Rosewater]

35. Yeah, way more I am sure. He knew she would make his life miserable and that

she would call him out for what he is, murderous dictator.

Any American who supports trump is actively helping a traitor sell us out, I no longer want anything to do with them.

[Irish_Dem]

36. We are looking at a corrupt US government selling out the country for power and money.

And it remains to be seen how the story will end.

[Eliot Rosewater]

37. But it isnt the US government, it is Trump and the GOP...we still have great

people in our government.

The average GOP voter has this life that government made possible for them but they dont realize that is why.

So they buy into the nonsense that Reagan started, and his ignorance and hatred of government was like a virus.

You and I and all trump supporters will pay a price so high for their stupidity that I cant even imagine.

[Irish_Dem]

40. Trump and the GOP congress represent the power structure of this country now.

And they sold us out to Putin.

American standard of living is due to policies put into place by the US government.
And yes, an intense propoganda machine has convinced the populace that the government is their
enemy.

I can imagine some of the out come of all of this.
America loses its world standing as a superpower.
American standard of living drops significantly.

It will take some time to restore America's institutions that Trump has decimated.
Some of the damage will be permanent.

[Eliot Rosewater]

29. Trump is shrewd?

Oh no, not at all.

[Saviolo]

30. Not at all! Putin is shrewd!

Trump is propped up by his intellectual superiors hoping that by feeding him flattery they'll be able to create a deeply right wing judiciary for the next generation.

[Eliot Rosewater]

31. I figured I was misreading. No, Putin is not dumb at all, he ran the god damn KGB

or was at the top.

Putin has stolen 200 billion dollars from people like you and me in Russia.

He is going to steal your house, my house, your neighbors house, etc if we dont stop them now.

[Irish_Dem]

27. Putin is evil/genius and Trump is evil/stupid.

I am not sure which is worse.

[UpInArms]

6. But, were they caught

RED HANDED?

I am just so sick of this ... meaning all of this crap ... we are so screwed as a country

🤦?♂️

[bronxiteforever]

7. Holy Crap! China and Russia are just toying with us.

China cut its corporate tax to zero and Russia fuels North Korea.
We are hopelessly outmatched with drumpf as Potus.
You can’t make this sh*t up.

[Irish_Dem]

28. I think so too. Soviet-China alliance playing Trump. nt

[bluestarone]

8. and what will our greatRepubs in congress do???

NOTHING!!!!!!!

[former9thward]

20. What would you have the U.S. do?

Sink Russian ships? Sink N Korean ships? Attack Russia and China, both of which are violating UN sanctions? What would you have the U.S. do?

NK is not going to respond to sanctions. They never have and never will. They have violated any agreement they have ever made with the U.S. Russia and China have always defied UN sanctions on NK. So we either attack NK and deal with the problem in that way or we do pretty much nothing. Doing pretty much nothing is what the last few administrations have done and I suspect the current administration will do.

[bluestarone]

21. oh i dion't know maybe

SANCTION RUSSIA YOU THINK??? Come on what the hell you talking about? Congress needs to force tRump on the RUSSIAN SANCTIONS!! Don't make it sound like WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING!!!

[former9thward]

22. Have you forgotten we already have multiple sanctions against Russia?

Concerning Ukraine. Has that changed Russian behavior one particle? Nope, it hasn't.

[bluestarone]

23. and what did tRump do with it????

NOTHING and what did Repubs do about it? NOTHING end of story

[RKP5637]

26. Yep, ... except kick the can down the road. Kim continues to get everything

he wants. Trump and the GOP don't know WTF to do. And all Trump does is bellow and bully on his tweets like an asshole.

[Eliot Rosewater]

38. Which sanctions have been enforced?

[Sneederbunk]

9. Tell NK all is forgiven if it can get us the PeePee tapes.

[jpak]

10. We begin bombing in 5 minutes

[Eliot Rosewater]

39. There he is, borderline IQ, probably around 90 or so, what would be below normal?

And he convinced so many of us to go out and work against ourselves, amazing.

[Turbineguy]

11. I smell a set-up here.

Trump must have had access to this info, but did nothing because it was Russia.

Ironically, if Trump had done something it would have served him better.

So who owned the Russian ships? An Old Friend of Putin perhaps?

[keithbvadu2]

12. Didn't Dotard claim they were Chinese ships?

Didn't Dotard claim they were Chinese ships?

[dchill]

18. Actually, they're owned by a ...

400-pounder sitting in his mother's basement.

[duforsure]

15. Oil

Shows what side Russia and China are going to be on if a war breaks out over NK, and Iran. But he only attacks China for it ? Another sign Putin has him compromised, and worried. We're really going to be screwed with him in charge.

[SkatmanRoth]

16. Trump and Putin conspire to keep the conflict going

The conflict continues to escalate to open warfare making Trump a "War Time President", keeps Putin as the "Strong Leader of Russia", and keeps the gravy train rolling for Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

Profits from defense spending are at an all time high!

[Turbineguy]

17. One of the things that happens on Russian ships

is that the captain and crew run their own trading operations on the side to compensate for the dogshit wages. This may very well be part of that, which means that the government as well as the ship owner was not involved.

[keithbvadu2]

19. Plausible deniability

Plausible deniability

[ck4829]

25. Indeed

[ck4829]

24. Interesting