Wheat - and other issues

"How will this end? How will Russia be looked at by the global community? Will the Ukraine be able to come back from all this destruction? History is playing out, right in front of our eyes. This war will end, probably sooner than later. But the repercussions - they might go on for a long, long time."

War. It is such a nasty and counter productive thing for mankind to engage in. What is the total cost of an armed conflict - like what is happening in Ukraine right now? Probably very high, in more ways than we know.

There are so many things wrong with what is going on in Ukraine right now, I could go on for pages. That being said, besides the carnage, destruction, death, and displacement of large groups of people - there is also the economic impact. How bad will the economic problems be? Real bad if you live in Europe and like to eat bread. Russia and Ukraine supply the world with 1/3 of the grain produced. They don't call Ukraine the "breadbasket of Europe" for nothing. No matter how this war turns out, wheat in Europe is going to be as scarce as hen's teeth this coming year. For us? Big price hikes in wheat coming, and maybe some spot shortages.

Besides wheat, here is another interesting fact which was brought up on the news today. As if we are not having enough trouble getting computer chips right now, it might be getting worse. Why? Ukraine, besides for growing much of the world's supply of wheat, also is a world class producer of neon gas. Neon gas, is used in lasers which are instrumental in chip making. What will the impact of this be on our supply chain? Probably not good.

By the way, did you hear the one about the ISS? The INTERNATIONAL Space Station? The one in which mankind is supposed to cooperate on, and together forge new science discoveries? The place where politics is set aside? Seems the Russians who are sharing the station with and American, are thinking of ditching the American, and leaving the station. Because we have outsourced our ISS taxi rides to the Russians after we decommissioned our shuttles, this could be a serious threat. It would put an end to any Russian/American space cooperation - maybe forever. 

How will this end? How will Russia be looked at by the global community? Will the Ukraine be able to come back from all this destruction? History is playing out, right in front of our eyes. This war will end, probably sooner than later. But the repercussions - they might go on for a long, long time.