All "Not" Quiet on the Eastern(Russian) Front: Part I

By now most Americans and the rest of the world has been following some aspect of what is happening between Russian, Ukraine and Crimea. In what has been described by Stephen Cohen of NYU/Princeton as the "new Cuban Missle Crisis" as tensions mount in this part of the world much like it did in 1962. This time the Russia lead by its Premier Putin seems not to be backing down. Unofficially the "first shot fired across the bow" has been launched with light economic sanctions against Russia as well as a temporary suspension from the G8 meetings. But, maybe the western powers have the situation backwards. Russia with the re-annexation of oil rich Crimea supplies nearly 40 % of western Europe's oil and gas. Germany's Andrea Merkel was more hesitant to place severe restrictions under the circumstances of a potential oil embargo from Russia threatening their and all of western Europe's economy. When petroleum products go up so do it's manufactured byproducts such as medicines, beauty products, herbicides, production of farm products by harvesting machinery, diesel powered trucks carrying food and other products and plastic productions. The interim Governor of Kiev has said that "these sanctions would not be very productive and would backfire". Oil is not the only leverage that Russia has, the 150,000 Russian soldiers on the Sothern and Eastern Ukraine borders is an open threat as well as Black Sea flotillas.