This sort of story illustrates why I think so poorly of the mainstream news media.<p>Smuggling of small, high-value goods was old when President Nixon declared a "war on drugs" in 1971. It was old when the US gave up on Prohibition (of alcoholic beverages) in 1933. It was old when King Edward I of England was trying to collect his duty on the export of wool in the late 1200's. It was old when Rome was still a one-horse town.<p>Bloomberg is supposedly a real business publication - not "Noob Newz, for Today's 10K". When the Western sanctions and export restrictions on Russia were announced, all the grown-ups understood that they were performative politics, and would only add some costs and friction to Russia's supply chains.<p>If mainstream journalists don't want to be viewed with contempt and distrust by the public, then why are they working so hard to earn those sentiments?