The amounts involved are symbolic. Last year, Russian vodka imports into the EU amounted to only 78 million euros. Caviar imports reached 1.7 million euros.

James Bond will have to change his habits. With the war in Ukraine and the sanctions adopted by the West, it will no longer be possible for the British spy to enjoy his "shaken, not stirred" dry martini, or the beluga he likes to savor in good company. Because Washington, London and now the European Union have decided to ban imports of Russian vodka and caviar.

It took longer for the EU-27 to make up their minds. But they finally included the measure into their fifth package of sanctions, presented on April 8. During the first weeks of the war, the European Commission, which is responsible for proposing the sanctions, explained that they were more concerned about "depriving the Russians from European luxury goods" than the opposite. In fact, since mid-March, rich oligarchs and others who are close to the Kremlin can no longer buy Porsches and BMWs costing more than 50,000 euros, nor jewels from the Place Vendôme or tapestries from the Gobelins.

More on this topic Subscribers only 'The war in Ukraine, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, may mark the end of the golden age of globalization'

"As far as caviar and vodka imports are concerned, we wanted to align ourselves with the United States and the United Kingdom," confided a senior European official. But "we are not going to sink Putin's ability to finance his war by banning them! We are dealing with the symbolic nature of the Russian economy".

The amounts involved are indeed symbolic. Last year, Russian vodka imports into the EU amounted to only 78 million euros (out of total vodka imports of 125 million euros), according to Commission figures. As for caviar, they are now very modest (1.7 million euros in 2021, out of a total of 51 million). In comparison, European sanctions on steel, wood or cement from Russia have deprived Moscow of significantly higher annual revenues, ranging from 13.5 to 17 billion euros.

More on this topic Subscribers only War in Ukraine: Europeans decide on a ban on Russian coal

Although Russia is still a major player in the vodka business, it's been a long time since it virtually disappeared from the world's caviar scene (like Iran, for that matter). While wild sturgeons have become an endangered species, Russia mostly missed the rise of aquaculture. As a result, in 2019, it produced 52 tons of caviar, compared to a world production of 380 tons. A very small part of it was exported (just under 8 tonnes).

On the contrary, China embarked on large-scale sturgeon farming and in less than 20 years became the world leader in caviar production. In 2019, it sold 140 tonnes outside its borders. One group – Kaluga Queen, named after the sturgeon species from the Amur River – reigns supreme and has nothing more to prove in terms of quality. Today, its best vintages can be found in 22 Michelin-starred French restaurants, as well as in the boutiques of the luxury house Petrossian, or in the first class cabins of Lufthansa.

READ MORE:

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/04/28/war-in-ukraine-no-more-russian-caviar-and-vodka-for-european-gourmets_5981800_4.html

WHAT? WE'RE BUYING CAVIAR FROM CHINA???? But really there is nothing like wild RUSSIAN caviar, is it?

And the Russian diamonds are going to compete with the Antwerp diamond market.....

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW....

BY

JOHN-BAPTISTE ODUOR

In his new book, Elite Capture, Olúfémi Táíwò argues that elites have hijacked identity politics — but what if it belonged to them all along?

Across the political spectrum, it has become difficult to engage in any discussion without running into the subject of identity politics. Its definition and its value — progressive force or enemy of egalitarianism — are hotly contested. What were previously niche academic debates have now become mainstream talking points. Somehow millions now seem to have a view on critical race theory, wokeness, and the 1619 Project.

Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (and Everything Else) by Olúfémi Táíwò, a political philosopher at Georgetown University, is his second book-length intervention in these debates. The first, Reconsidering Reparations, published by Oxford University Press in January, provided a sweeping defense of reparations, reinterpreted as climate justice. Working within the tradition of liberal political philosophy, Táíwò advanced a critique of liberalism’s nationalistic assumptions.

By focusing on distributive justice within idealized closed communities, theorists working within the tradition of the American political philosopher John Rawls fail to think globally about the relationship between nation-states and historically about the causes of inequalities, Táíwò argued. The result of this shortsightedness is that Rawlsianism is incapable of developing a theory of justice that seeks to address historical wrongdoing across borders. As an alternative, Táíwò proposed what he termed a “constructive” theory of reparations, the aim of which was to organize a political project seeking to create a more just world order rather than simply distribute cash or goods to victims of oppression. An attentive look at history, he showed, reveals a picture too complex for identarian blame games. The most urgent goal of this project is nothing less than a global coordinated response to climate change, targeting the world’s poorest nations.

Unlike mainstream philosophy, largely bogged down in provincial puzzles, Táíwò’s work has always been characterized by an engagement with history and the social sciences. Though idiosyncratic and selective in its focus, his attention to postcolonial movements has put some meat on what are often abstract discussions about concepts like justice. The aim of Reconsidering Reparations is constructive — offering an account of what Táíwò calls a world-making project. In his second book, Táíwò attempts to outline the practical hurdles to accomplishing this task.

READ MORE:

https://jacobinmag.com/2022/05/elite-capture-identity-politics-philosophy-olufemi-taiwo

READ FROM TOP.

It has to be said that ELITES have never left the control of societies, especially in the USA, whether it's IDENTITY POLITICS or THE PRICE OF MONEY. In the past, it was Kings and Queens and their NOBLE friends who used to shaft the populace, this changed to the rich people controlling the cash cows, while the famous (movie stars et al) provide the necessary distractions for the powerful elites to act without hindrance. The US "revolution" was not a poor people rising against tiranny, but a revolution of the elites who did not want to pay taxes....

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW..............