The Ministry of Dark Humour and Fantasyland tales must have been under budget cuts to come out with the story of "good will gesture" to leave Snake Island. I confess I had a good laugh at that one. Despite how fancy and cool this island looks from the strategic point of view (perfect for early warning or as naval base) Ukraine decided long ago that is much easier to attack than to defend. The RF Chief Psychos had to first loose the Moskva, then a few other minor ships (along with wasting the lives of their crews for nothing) and ground troops to figure it out. Good gesture my ass. |
|
|
|
Really?
And what about the genocide, how many were killed? How many of these buildings were in use by the military at the time of the strike? You claimed that "only one" shopping mall was attacked by the Russian military. That is obviously false. Nice job moving the goalposts though. At this point I can say "20k in Mariupol", you will spit out something from Channel 1 again, etc. We've been through this numerous times before you showed up in this thread. As of now, genocide itself does not seem proven in Ukraine at large scale (there are instances at local level though).
I don't known what it takes to "prove" it officially but to me this type of thing does it - not the words themselves, but the facts matching those words, people being executed with their hands tied etc: If you messed up, then try not to leave witnesses among the locals.
[...]
And what did you want salo-eaters?
War of extermination.
And we do not advise nonsense.
(telegram group of one of the "contract" units similar to Wagner; actual proper nazis so there's a great deal of irony here but I digress) Neither do I, it would have to be a systematic attempt to kill or make impossible to survive based on culture, race, religion,... It may get to the point that it is possible to have specific proof that Ukrainians of non-Russian background are being targeted in the captured areas. It may not require a massive number of deaths, they can, like Uyghurs in China, be "encouraged" to leave their language or uses and marry a "Russian", go into "re-education" camps, or the children impeded from speaking their native tongue,... and killed or imprisoned if they do not abide. One of the possibilities I can see more clearly fringing in the genocide is the "filtration" processes of people (forcefully) evacuated to the RF. We will read horror stories when Adolf Putin's regime fades. Historically, Russia is expert at "conquering" territory by massive migration. Konigsberg (Kaliningrad now) is currently an enclave because, believe it or not, other countries did not want anything to do with it. This is completely serious, the USSR moved above a million Russ in there and after the dis-integration of the USSR, the surrounding countries (Including Lithuania and Poland) did not want to incorporate it! For those interested, there are many videos (if you are young and do not read) available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5K4tq-9osc |
|
|
|
Vultures and bottom feeders? You Chinese friends (LOL)? My honest answer is I could not care less, but I am sure it is going to be for pennies on the dollar. Investors in the west know what it means to buy RF debt, as they know what it means to buy Chinese Companies "shares" or invest in West Africa - risk is there, if you do not like it, do not take it.
It is curious how expensive wars tend to be... and when you have to pay for them with real money... ouch!
The thing is, the "bet" for buying those bonds would basically be "they are not paying it to USA or to the west, but if we buy it then they could pay to use" type of stuff. Which means they will get sold to someone, and that someone could collect it easier. Will that work? I doubt so, but if Russia really wants to put salt to the wound, they could end up waiting for the debt to be bought by someone else and then pay it and make it known to the whole world that they will not pay their debt to anyone who put sanctions on them, and will pay all of their debts fully if it is their friends. Will that happen? I have no idea, but that is the thinking behind most people who would consider buying these bonds. Missing the point I am afraid, the largest institutional investors of the world are forbidden to invest in anything that is not classes "investment grade". Sure, the RF be able to sell their debt to someone, somewhere... at much higher rate and to much more demanding buyers that it could ever find in the open markets. Overall, it is not a huge problem for the RF, but it is still a problem in a moment where they may have big needs. |
|
|
|
I think Europe will only need one cold enough winter to get all the renewable energy shit out of its head.
EU bureaucrats have always presented themselves as extra smart, and now they have turned out to be almost the dumbest when it comes to energy policy. It's not just green energy, but that almost 500 million people now live in fear that they will not be able to heat next winter, or that the price of fuel will reach 3 EUR per liter, so they will have to ride bicycles or use public transport. The utterly failed policy of making so many people dependent on just one country for oil and gas will hit those in power now. Parliamentary elections in France have shown that some radical political options will get more and more space, and Russia is counting on such an outcome. The real war may end in a few months, but the Cold War will last for years and will have far more severe consequences than in the past. Yeah yeah... when this happens, when that happens, when this when that... Sure, I can picture Germany, with lignite enough to burn the moon, having "cold" in winter. Count on that. EU bureaucrats are what they are, but if you want to compare them with the "genius" in charge of the RF Orc army... well... then they are smart. ...
Careful planning to strengthen the ruble exchange rate? Feverish measures aimed at saving the ruble, quite unexpectedly for Russia, led to a completely opposite negative result, since the strengthening of the ruble greatly harms the country's financial system and its industry. ... Not to mention having to pay Ponzi scheme level interests on debt and savings. |
|
|
|
The "Russification"
Forced Ukrainianization and name-changing is a long-standing fact. And what is the military need for eight years of shelling Luhansk and Donetsk? Or is it just for fun? "Ukraniza??" whatever? Source please. We have gone over this a number of times. The RF had effectively two army corps, led by RF officials in those two regions of Ukraine, so there was an effective undeclared war (sounds familiar) caused by Adolf Putin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_separatist_forces_in_Donbas#:~:text=Russian%20separatist%20forces%20in%20Donets,Luhansk%20People%27s%20Republic%20(LPR).It is widely believed that the separatists are supported by the Russian Armed Forces.[13] Ukraine, the United States, and some analysts consider 1st and 2nd Army Corps to be Russian formations under the command of the 8th Combined Arms Army,[14][15][16][17] which was formed in 2017 in Novocherkassk, Rostov oblast. Although the Russian government often denies direct involvement, saying their soldiers were there voluntarily and not under orders, some of them have been captured with documents that said otherwise.[18] The separatists have admitted receiving supplies from Russia and being trained there. BBC reported that separatist ranks are composed of thousands of Russian citizens.[18][19] Registered Cossacks of the Russian Federation are also supporting the separatists. DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko claimed in August 2014 that there were around 3,000 to 4,000 Russian volunteers fighting for his militia, which included serving and retired Russian Army servicemen.[20] It is alleged that since September 2015, the separatist units, at the battalion level and up, are acting under direct command of Russian Army officers, with former local commanders sometimes serving as their deputies.[21] Yes, shelling military objectives is part of war. Smashing a shopping mall full of people is a crime. |
|
|
|
(missile hits an apartment building in Mikolaiv)
And what do the anti-battery radars say? Where was the gunfire coming from? As far as I know, missiles don't fly alone, there are shots by the dozen. There was a recent video of a rocket returning to the launch site. And surely the locations of the malls are known, why hit only one if genocide is the goal? Again, confusing concepts. Genocide is the deliberate efforts to destroy a race, culture or religion. Destroying schools, hospitals, shopping centres and civil infrastructure in called "wanton destruction", which only seeks to impoverish the adversary and cause damage unrelated to the war. As of now, genocide itself does not seem proven in Ukraine at large scale (there are instances at local level though). The "Russification", imposing RF passports to access to services, imposing the rouble are quite borderline as of now. Wanton destruction is still a war crime: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule50Under Article 23(g) of the 1907 Hague Regulations, it is especially forbidden “to destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war” Article 6(b) of the 1945 IMT Charter (Nuremberg) lists “wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity” as a war crime ICC Statute
Under Article 8(2)(a)(iv) of the 1998 ICC Statute, “[e]xtensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” is a war crime in international armed conflicts. Under Article 8(2)(b)(xiii), “[d]estroying or seizing the enemy’s property unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war” is also a war crime in international armed conflicts. |
|
|
|
Interesting news.
Fucking anarchists have posted instructions on how to stage terrorist attacks. And you're reposting it. You seem very confused about the concept of terrorism. The Russia Federation is at war with Ukraine. Railways, refineries, weapons factories and anything that supports the war effort is a legitimate target (as opposed for example to targeting a shopping centre, which is terrorism). What is the problem? It feels different when someone does it to you in your territory uh? Is war no longer fun and glorious for you? I can tell the guy who did this had training. He made sure there was electrical contact between the rails so that the section circuit was closed and there was not indication at the control centre. |
|
|
|
The largest investment institutions in the world have a mandate that uses those ratings and now they will sell all the RF debt and will not buy any more.
How do you imagine it, to whom foreign investors can sell Russian bonds now, who will buy them? With its destructive actions, the West itself robs its investors, preventing them from making a profit that Russia is ready to pay. Russia has all the payments in its hands, the money for the coupons has been transferred, both in dollars and in rubles with the possibility of exchanging them for dollars. Further it is the problem of the West how to deal with their investors who want to return their money. Russia has fulfilled its obligations in full. All this hysteria around a technical default was created with one goal - to find at least some legal hooks for withdrawing the frozen funds of the Central Bank of Russia. Well, good luck. Vultures and bottom feeders? You Chinese friends (LOL)? My honest answer is I could not care less, but I am sure it is going to be for pennies on the dollar. Investors in the west know what it means to buy RF debt, as they know what it means to buy Chinese Companies "shares" or invest in West Africa - risk is there, if you do not like it, do not take it. It is curious how expensive wars tend to be... and when you have to pay for them with real money... ouch! |
|
|
|
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61929926This is a technical default on the debt, although is not the common case - not having enough to pay - apparently is due to sanctions. The Russian Federation does have 100 million to pay, is that the government is unable to get them to the creditors, they argue. The RF debt has becoming de facto toxic, even if its central bank has enough to pay, it may explode in the hands of whoever owns it or trades it. It is irrelevant if the debt can actually be honoured, only the vultures and bottom feeders will now lend to the RF. And now.. let the Kremlin trolls break free.. There is no default, not even a technical one. The statements of the rating agencies in this case are an empty phrase, for a default a quorum of investors is needed who could not get their money, but there is none. Let's say that they are in DT1 and your Ministry of Creative Financing has a T:-3 - It does not matter if it is technical or not, and it does not matter if you deny or not. The largest investment institutions in the world have a mandate that uses those ratings and now they will sell all the RF debt and will not buy any more. It is exactly the same as when you tell people that "a western missile system has been destroyed", the missiles are still there killing the young RF soldiers. The effect of this is clear: if the RF wants to pay anything in Euros or USD (sorry, most countries that have stuff worth selling do not accept Roubles), it cannot take any debt in US or EURO, it will have to come directly from the reserves. That is, anything that has not been frozen yet. Just in case you feel like denying... https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/27/economy/russia-debt-default-sanctions/index.htmlWest pushes Russia into its first foreign debt default since 1918 https://www.ft.com/content/28817b4e-427c-44c1-88b4-38b79e3da7f0Russia set for first debt default since 1998 as payment deadline passes https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-26/russia-defaults-on-foreign-debt-for-first-time-since-1918Russia Slips Into Historic Default as Sanctions Muddy Next Steps
Grace periods on two eurobond coupons expired on Sunday https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/06/28/moodys-declares-russia-in-default-a78127Moody’s Declares Russia in Default https://www.marketplace.org/2022/06/27/as-russia-defaults-on-its-foreign-debt-sanctions-blitz-batters-economy/As Russia defaults on its foreign debt, sanctions blitz batters economy https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-28/why-has-russia-defaulted-on-its-foreign-debt/101190578Why has Russia defaulted on its foreign debt? And what will the impact be? |
|
|
|
The Russian Federation may be about...
Hey paxmao, you seem not to have noticed that this news is 4 months old. Russia is not about to do anything, those measures were already taken. So if you want to talk about corralito you better say that in Russia there is a corralito since 4 months ago.
I see a lot of talk about how badly Russia is doing, but I believe that it is not as bad as the Western media would have us believe.
I am aware, it is not recent news and it has been turned down. However it is a hint of what may happen if sanctions start biting. In so far as how the Russian Federation is doing, at the moment well enough to finance the war, due to the price of oil and the slow pace of the effects of sanctions however the living conditions of the ordinary people are affected (unemployment, low growth,...) and this has only started. You will not see any media providing local and accurate news, but it does not mean that "nothing is happening". One thing is clear, you do not need a 10% interest rate to sustain a currency that is "doing well". |
|
|
|
It means exactly that. I despise much more Christian fundamentalists than the chaps of Satan's church. The extremists are actually the ones that deny other the right to think, live or act differently because one of the basis of their religion is precise to not respect others because anything that is not their way is by definition "a wrong way". No no no, you've got it all wrong. It's freedom of religion, provided the religion is Christianity, and one of the specific branches of Christianity that Republicans like. Otherwise fuck you. In yet another 6-3 Supreme Court ruling yesterday, they have again overturned decades of precedent to state that it is fine for public officials to coerce others to pray. I'm absolutely certain they would have ruled the same way if a Muslim official whipped out a prayer rug and tried to lead the team in salah.  The Trumpublicans consider this a victory, after many years of preparation, yet however I think the are miss-reading a large part of their supporting basis. True that there are many Christian fundamentalists in the ranks, but I hope that there is still some sense in the moderate Republicans to understand that, despite the hate that Democrats may inspire them, they are not choosing the next president, but how is the US going to be ruled and if there is going to be a Rule of Law or the dawning of a Dictatorship. The US citizens have no experience of a dictatorship or of a subversion of the will of the people. They may not be aware of how real this can be and how easy is to excite the ignorant and the ignored, all the leftovers of the system and the rejects from public schools and create a permanent regime change. But anyway, the Trumpublicans got the plan B: Choosing the right "secretaries of state" that will simply not accept a Democrats victory no-matter-what. That is like the back-up plan... just in case. Trying to replicate the ridiculous argument that "the Vice President" may choose not to accept the victory of a candidates, now they will press in each state for the results not to be certified. Does anyone out there believe that the constitution or any law does actually give powers to individuals to ignore the results of an election? Yes. Him. You know who. The US is dangerously close to making the constitution be toilet paper and becoming an Empire - except that Donald Grump is not even nearly as bright as was Julius Caesar. |
|
|
|
EDITED (5 JUL 2022) to add: And... voila, here you are step number one. Next one may be confiscation. Russian President Vladimir Putin banned residents from sending money to bank accounts abroad and blocked payments on external debt, aggressive controls on capital flow made in response to punishing Western sanctions.
...
Investors on Monday sent yields on Russia's dollar-denominated bonds issued offshore soaring to over 24%. They were less than 3% to start the year. ---- Some of you know about the Argentinian corralito, by which Argentinians, from one day to the next, were not allowed to recover their USD that were converted into "pesos" at the "official rate". They were not able either to get much out the bank (was it 400 a month?). Well, the recent economic measures taken in Russian Federation by their local despot may end up in something similar. For now: https://sanctionsnews.bakermckenzie.com/russia-imposes-special-economic-measures-in-response-to-western-sanctions/Russian exporters starting from February 28, 2022 are obliged to sell 80 % of foreign currency received from foreign trade contracts and obliged to sell 80 % of foreign currency credited from January 1, 2022
Russian residents are prohibited from lending to foreigners in foreign currency
Russian residents will not be able to put foreign currency on their accounts and deposits in foreign banks
Russian residents will not be able to transfer funds to foreign banks without opening a bank account using electronic means of payment provided by foreign providers of payment services
The ban comes into force on March 1, 2022. A new "package" for locals may be about to come. Bitcoin may be the answer. |
|
|
|
The $100m interest payment was due on 27 May. Russia says the money was sent to Euroclear, a bank which would then distribute the payment to investors.
But that payment has been stuck there, according to Bloomberg News, and creditors have not received it. It appears to be a technicality rather than an indication of russia going bankrupt. (Could this leave russia with no other options aside from making payments in bitcoin.) I don't think Putin will take this lying down. He will search for alternatives. But we shall see. Maybe he has no alternatives? A said, yes it is technical, the problem being that it is irrelevant why - all that matters is that the creditor is not getting the money they are owed, which means that RF debt is now bad debt. The RF cannot pay in bitcoin because the conditions of the credits are to be paid in USD. Is like the Oil and Gas contracts: it has to be USD (not roubles, not dirhams, not bitcoin... well you get the idea) LOL... had a good laugh at this post. Russia is awash with money and they don't even need to take loans from the international creditors anymore (unlike the case with the US which is bankrupt). Russia is more than willing to make the payments. They made the payment to Euroclear on stipulated time, but it got stuck at the Euroclear bank due to sanctions. Technically, western moonbats can claim it as one of their victories. But their victory is as hollow as the one they are having in Ukraine right now. Since Russia already made the payment to Euroclear, I would not consider this as a default. The money got stolen by Euroclear and will be distributed to the creditors when it is recovered.
Well, you know ... if they do not need credit why do they have credits? Unpaid credits. Glad you keep good spirits, if you live in the RF you are going to need it for quite a few years. The Russian Federation has reserves and is a exporting country. Yet... many of the reserves are not frozen, sanctions are slow but implacable,... I guess good humour is going to be really important. And vodka too. As said, it is technical, but it is failed. I do not think that they care about this that much. These are type of money that they would be able to pay with their eyes closed, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the debt and they could pay that easily in a single signature with a swift move. This is a nation that has thousands of people with 100+ million dollars, and this is also a nation that has much more in the coffers as well, so they can pay this easily.
However, they prefer not to because they basically decided that if the west doesn't want to work with them then they do not want to work with the west as well and they are going to just play the bully like they were expected to.
Irrelevant. As a lender, all I care is about the payments and these are not coming. I have know a few people that drove around in Mercedes and did not pay their debts. This is no big deal. I guess that the western propaganda wants to brag about something related to Russia, but nobody cares.
I'm not a fan of Putin and his regime, but in reality, Russia doesn't need loans and not having the opportunity to borrow money on the global financial markets isn't such a big deal for the Putin regime. On the other hand, Ukraine needs loans to refinance it's old debts and the western world will gladly borrow them the money(probably the money will come from the confiscated assets of the Russian central bank, who knows?).
The western media was making a comparison between the current technical default and the 1918 default, which happened after the communist revolution in Russia. Pretty stupid comparison, if you ask me, because the bolsheviks actually didn't want to pay the debts of the Tsarist regime to the western capitalist countries.
The west has not confiscated the RF reserves. They are simply frozen to avoid these being used to pay for the killing of Ukrainians. It may come to actually starting to confiscate if this war drags on, but for now, very few assets have been confiscated as such. |
|
|
|
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61929926This is a technical default on the debt, although is not the common case - not having enough to pay - apparently is due to sanctions. The Russian Federation does have 100 million to pay, is that the government is unable to get them to the creditors, they argue. The RF debt has becoming de facto toxic, even if its central bank has enough to pay, it may explode in the hands of whoever owns it or trades it. It is irrelevant if the debt can actually be honoured, only the vultures and bottom feeders will now lend to the RF. And now.. let the Kremlin trolls break free..
|
|
|
|
...
For example, freedom of religion didn't mean freedom to have a Satan religion...
It means exactly that. I despise much more Christian fundamentalists than the chaps of Satan's church. The extremists are actually the ones that deny other the right to think, live or act differently because one of the basis of their religion is precise to not respect others because anything that is not their way is by definition "a wrong way". https://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-protest-satanic-temples-3-day-satancon-in-arizona.htmlKill the doctors, burn the witches, ban the gays... You are a work of art - on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine thread you are defending the killing of Ukrainian civilians and here you are giving moral lessons. |
|
|
|
Denials and crap from the RF Ministry of Fantasyland Tales in 3...2...1... I believe this act is not casual and it is completely intended - a target well away from the front, with nothing of military or logistics value and just as the OTAN meeting starts in Madrid. Rather than crimes against humanity, Adolf Putin has descended into mere terrorism. Simply showing how his psychos are able to kill Ukrainians if the please. I wonder what will happen to the next batch of captured RF soldiers after this. other versions.
Pictures from there shown the empty park place. Not enough for 1000 customers. And there are a lot of military, not civilians.  You mean, empty AFTER the attack? And full of rescue teams AFTER the attack? I really hope you are not looking for job as analyst. |
|
|
|
I think that having oil & gas pipelines with the RF is not really a problem. This should have brought RF and EU's interest close together and Adolf Putin could have chosen to be a civilised nation with a positive influence in the world. I guess a former KGB mediocre bureaucrat cannot avoid being what he is.
Unfortunately it becomes a gateway drug to complete dependence on Russian (or Saudi, or some other totalitarian shithole) energy resources. Yes, a pipeline could be built while keeping viable backup options but ten years later a different party gets elected and says "why do we need to spend billions maintaining LNG terminals when we have this cheap gas flowing through the pipeline" or "why do we need the nuclear plants or solar or geothermal or anything really except cheap natural gas power plants" etc etc. Oh the pipelines already exist. And it is not just Nord Stream and Nord Stream II, which are fully operational, it is the infrastructure that runs inside the RF linking the massive Siberian fields with central Europe. When the RF speaks about replacing the demand from Europe with demand from Indian and China they often forget to mention that all the infrastructure has been created to supply cheaply to Europe and all other alternatives would be either very expensive or would require huge investments.  (*) I do not agree with the comment stating that Russian speakers are equivalent to Putin supportersAll this cuts both ways. The RF may threaten the EU with cutting supplies, but the EU would look for alternatives (would suffer economically for sure) but for the RF is much worse: They may loose their best client and all the infrastructure is built with that client in mind. If the EU can make the Oil sanctions fully effective, the RF may be unable to pay for the aggression. |
|
|
|
Your assertion about what you can "the eastern front" is just wishful thinking. A couple of villages do not make for "a front", but glad to see that you are re-calibrating your expectations. I do agree that the west should be throwing much more help to deter Adolf Putin from continuing the war.
The degree of your detachment from reality impresses me. It is unlikely that we are talking about a couple of villages, Zolotoe is taken, Gorskoye is being cleared, the flag of the LPR is over the administration building in Gorskoye (the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not even last two days in the boiler, heavy losses and many prisoners). Severodonetsk has been cleared completely, the fighting is now going on in Lisichansk. After the capture and cleansing of Lisichansk, the territory of the Lugansk People's Republic will be 100% completely liberated. Again, congrats for moderating your expectations. From "we are going to change the government, take Ukraine, remove their military" to... Great news my friends! Our army of psychos has managed to flatten yet another settlement! Where is the RF picture flag in Severo? Are you trying to jump over a city?Deteached for reality.. that is so funny. "the army of Ukraine did not last two days"... it has taken a month for the RF psychos to move the front a few kilometres at the cost of many RF soldiers becoming worm beds and an increased pressure from EU and increased support from the US (have you not heard? another 400M in aid). Your "glorious" army is "gloriously" slow my "deteached" friend and each day your Tyrant Adolf Putin has to foot another bill, Ukraine gets more and more aid and the RF will get more and more sanctions. You cannot afford this war at this pace. BTW, with a recession coming soon in most of the world and lower crude prices, the Ministry of Kleptocracy and Creative Financing will eventually have to explain to Adolf Putin that he may not have enough to pay for his deplorable attempt of being a page in history books. Severodonetsk was taken more than a week ago, with the exception of the Azot plant. The Russian flag at the entrance to Severodonetsk was installed on June 16. Thus, not taken until recently, after weeks of fighting. Again, Adolf Putin needs to export oil and have a price above 80 USD per barrel to keep the push. If it falls below 40 USD per barrel or if the sanctions bit hard enough, he may even risk being removed from power, not to mention that Ukraine may even push back. This is an expensive and risky bet. Not a completely fair comment in my view.
I didn't mean it to be rude, I just don't do "nice" well  No, I agree, they're trying to do their best given the circumstances, I don't have a problem with that. Just hoping it's irreversible and they won't build gas pipelines from Russia 20 years from now, like Germany did. Actually, its time to finally drive americans out of EU and start to be independent. It would be tough, though, as through operation Gladio
USA installed former nazi terrorist cells in all EU countries, to prevent that from happening
Former nazis must be like 100+ years old by now. No worries, "nice" is overrated. I think that having oil & gas pipelines with the RF is not really a problem. This should have brought RF and EU's interest close together and Adolf Putin could have chosen to be a civilised nation with a positive influence in the world. I guess a former KGB mediocre bureaucrat cannot avoid being what he is. In my view the problem is the excessive dependency of Europe of a single source of energy and is a mistake that I would not expect from Germany (well, Gerhard Schröder had good "reasons", you know...) Soon after stepping down as chancellor, Schröder accepted Gazprom's nomination for the post of the head of the shareholders' committee of Nord Stream AG, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest. So you can be at the end of the several pipelines that link Siberia with central Europe, but you should always have alternatives. Some short of "bear-proof" electrified fence in the form of pipelines connecting with Italy to have the option of the Argelian gas, or liquefaction facilities to have the opportunity of swapping to US or Qatari gas, or better connections with Norway - major exporter and a more diversified energy base. None of those are a cheap as RF gas, but it provides a safeguard against the Psychos of RF "junta". On the other side, I cannot help but think that the US is actually happy with the RF taking a chunk of the Donbas. Firstly, it provides some statelets that buffer the contact of the future NATO with the RF belly. Secondly, deprives the EU from incorporating a new member with significant gas and oil reserves that could be developed and make Ukraine an economically developed country in a win-win situation with the economic core of the EU. This situation, in which Europe, mostly the EU, gets a new level of energy independence, creates a wider alliance and gets a extensive new area to invest and develop with the guarantee of having large proven reserves of oil and gas - even if Crimea is not recovered - may not be to the taste of Democrats in US, and it is certainly not to the taste of the Republican Party, currently kidnapped by Donald Grump. The lessons from Europe are obvious - the EU cannot depend on the RF for energy needs and from the US when a military support is required. The Eurofighter programme, the creation of the NLAW and other joint technological efforts could be the blueprints for the future EU army technology. |
|
|
|
Curiously enough, the original concept comes from Russian scientists.
Is this a victory or a defeat? It is a fact. The first scientist to conceptualize these reactors were Russian, in the old Soviet era. They did not go any further, so I would class this as a good idea - which is not a victory nor a defeat. To create something new in the world you have to first create it in your mind, but if you stop there nothing comes out. That is what needs to be done now and it will not be Putin's RF doing it, as they live on exporting oil. My personal take is that Europe should be investing "whatever it takes" to make the Tokamaks work. Curiously enough, the original concept comes from Russian scientists. Although the joke is that fusion is always 10 years away, and never gets any closer, there has been quite a lot of progress in this area recently. I'd definitely agree that commercial fusion power would indeed solve a lot of problems... however, the climate crisis is rapidly becoming a climate emergency, and there may not be time for this approach to reach fruition. It may be better to focus on renewables in the short-term, whilst fusion research continues with the aim of this being more of a medium-term solution. I do think the climate question is changing from "what can we do to solve this?" to "what can we do to solve this right now?" Of course, the big question is whether governments will act before it's too late. I think we probably know the answer. It's quite depressing to see oil and gas exploration continuing as it is, without even seeming to slow down. Agreed, I do not think this is contradictory. The renewables are already commercially viable an readily available. A mix of nuclear and renewables should be a first emergency step. it's funny to see europe,, how they impose economic sanctions on russia but don't want the supply of oil and gas to their region not to be revoked ... european leaders should not be careless by giving economic sanctions to russia, so that problems like this will not happen
Oh yes of course, the EU should just see how Adolf Putin wages war in Europe and threatens EU members in silence. Where the f*ck have you been the last years? Europe has slumbered for too long. Relying on Russia for oil and gas is their greatest undoing. Now they are spending so much money defending Ukraine and other European countries. Meanwhile these funds would have been sufficient to diversify the power source of Europe. Importing oil and gas from Russia is cheaper but Russian excesses is inestimable. It might be very difficult to break away from gas even in the next half a century. Hence, the focus of Europe now should breaking away from Russia and Africa seems a better option. Investing in African infrastructure would not only give Europe the needed resources but it would also check the excesses of Russian in Africa.
The problem with investments in Africa is that there is no rule of law to be seen in most places. Anytime another government may decide to impose extra taxes or nationalise the resources or... Anyway, there is quite a bit of investment from Europe in Africa, the problem is that it rarely reaches the common people. There are many things Africans need to short out and I reckon Europe, US and China do not make it easy. |
|
|
|
I would not like to pedal the question of Lithuania in this topic, but I will still add a few words. Lithuania is the little rabid dog of the United States, which barks loudly in any direction the boss from Washington points to. Last year, Lithuania managed to quarrel with China, suddenly preoccupied with the issue of oppression of the Uyghurs and was about to open a representative office in Taiwan. Now she is trying to spoil Russia by interpreting the EU sanctions in her own way. Obviously, this is a provocation with the aim of causing an excessively harsh response from Russia. Well, at the level of verbal interventions, the provocation was a success. There are no real actions yet, we'll see.
The fact that Kremlin is seriously pissed at Lithuania shows that for once they (Lithuanian government) are doing something right, even if forced by the EU. For too long the politics in the Baltic states was influenced by the fear of turning the gas off or other "sanctions" from Russia. Too many pro-Russian politicians and just plain morons longing for Soviet times. Finally a chance to clean that shit out, hopefully they won't squander it. It's been 30 years, time to move on. It's funny how all Russian trolls suddenly discovered that Lithuania actually exists and is very evil. Any nazis there? Kinda slow with the narrative, should have found someone with a swastika tattoo by now. Not a completely fair comment in my view. Lithuania is part of the EU, so is not "forced by the EU". Every country has to bear part of the situation created by Adolf Putin and the ones most at risk are the ones closer to the Psychos. It is easy to "support" from 10.000 miles away. It is not that easy to revive your coal industry and obsolete nuclear reactors being the green party (Germany) or risking a low supply of gas (Baltic states), etc... Sanctions are immediately felt in EU and take some time to have an effect in the RF. But this effort is not in vain and the EU understands that this is critical for the future of Europe and, to a point, of the world. I am afraid that Lithuania had been discovered long ago. The RF has tried to influence the government and to create a soft power imbalance in the country for many years, but most people in every country that has had previous deals with Russia - for some strange reason - would rather not have them again. |
|
|
|
|
Show Posts
