Putin says that the Russian Federation may seize EU-related ships operating under a flag of convenience, in response to EU actions against the Russian "shadow fleet". Well, at least he isn´t threatening to nuke us! Always something.
It would be ironic if the war in Ukraine would lead to the effective collapse of flags of convenience...
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| Credit: Nicor |
50,000 North Korean soldiers may be deployed in Russia soon, according to Ukrainian president Zelensky. Something tells me they´re not there on vacation! Their end destination may very well be Ukraine itself.
That Russia needs cannon fodder from *North Korea* does show that Putin´s war isn´t going entirely according to plan. On the other hand, nobody cares where the soldiers come from if the trick turns out to work...
Last time around, Russia and their original ally (then about 15,000 strong) did manage to take back control over the portions of the Kursk region which had been captured by Ukraine during a surprise offensive. However, this obviously wasn´t enough to defeat the Ukrainian military overall.
I assume this is another "trial balloon". And since the Korean People´s Army is supposedly two million men strong, Putin could potentially keep up the pressure for years. Assuming Kim Jong-un is interested, obviously.
We live in "interesting" times.
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| Credit: Artyom Vasiliev |
Det är tydligen en russifierad korean som äger Wildberries, Rysslands största e-handelsföretag. Ukraina har under en period bombad företagets lagerlokaler av diverse orsaker. Hübinette har kvittona.
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| Credit: Paul Gear |
Senator Lindsey Graham has suddenly passed away. WTF. In Swedish media, Graham is described as a "Trump loyalist", but the truth is that he wasn´t *really* a Trump aficionado but a more regular Republican who supported the erratic POTUS for tactical reasons.
Graham´s role was to constantly push Trump in a more pro-Ukrainian direction, hence acting as a counterweight to the "isolationist" Vance and similar types. Graham was also extremely pro-Israeli, but on *that* score, the Donald didn´t need much pushing! It´s probably bad news that the senator passed away exactly when Trump is (at least seemingly) making a pro-Ukrainian gyration, for instance by letting them produce Patriot missiles. What if Trump changes his mind...?
It would be very good indeed if somebody on the other side could suddenly drop dead, too. Witkoff, for instance. Or what about Putin himself? One thing is certain: this shit (evidently) isn´t over yet.
Taylor Swift´s silence on the recent fall of Kostiantynivka is not a little damning, and given the extremely serious nature of the present geopolitical situation, entirely disqualifying!
Tar den här skiten aldrig slut? Fast observera att "Maniac Murder Cult" faktiskt kallas satanistisk i den andra artikeln! Måste dock säga att bevisen för en rysskoppling verkar ganska svaga.
Not sure if this is good news or bad news. Especially since Trump is currently negotiating America´s terms of surrender in the recent (phoney) war against Iran...
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| Remover of obstacles? |
So the United States abducted one foreign head of state and killed another one. So far, the success rate seems to be 50/50. It worked in Venezuela, but the jury is still out on Iran. It certainly doesn´t *seem* to be working.
Still, a 50% success rate is pretty high. Especially since the succesful example was in the US sphere of influence (a.k.a. backyard). Sure wonder how the Russians and Chinese are calculating the odds right now. For instance, would killing or abducting Zelensky work if your last name is Putin? What about Taiwan?
Of course, the opposite is true as well. Could killing *Putin* work for Ukraine, for instance? And, more importantly, Ukraine´s backers...
How long before somebody starts calculating whether or not a direct hit at a certain white house close to the Potomac might yield geopolitical dividends? But thanx for the crude oil, I suppose.
So Russia can´t defeat Ukraine in a real war, and the US (you know, NATO´s supposed top doggie) can´t defeat Iran in a phoney war. Sure wonder if there´s a great power which can take advantage of this little situation?
China, maybe...?
Maybe the PRC can "take over the world" through a combination of heavy handed diplomacy and very lucrative trade deals / investment opportunities. I mean, I *can* see it happening. They have rare earth minerals and gold reserves, too.
Until somebody decides to test China´s resolve to send in the People´s Liberation Army outside its Near Abroad.
I suppose we live in interesting times...
Ryssland kan som bekant inte besegra Ukraina. Om några timmar kommer vi tydligen att få reda på om USA åtminstone kan besegra Iran...
Det här är faktiskt sjukt. Observera dödssiffrorna: 300 000 - 500 000 på den ryska sidan, 100 000 på den ukrainska. Fast egentligen är det ju ingen som vet säkert...
Idag har kriget i Ukraina pågått längre än första världskriget
Ähum, har vår ofrivillige grannbloggare Tobias helt glömt bort att han stödde Azov under belägringen av Mariupol? Så den verkliga frågan är inte om Lettlands nya regering är högerpopulistisk. Den verkliga frågan är om denna regering är "våra" högerpopulister eller "deras"...
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| The last laugh? Credit: Laurie Noble |
Why did Nigel Farage accuse the Russians of having hacked his mail? My guess is that he wants to signal that he isn´t pro-Russian. Meanwhile, a number of newly elected Reform Party councillors have been expelled due to...you know...racism. In other words: Reform is just a new version of the Tories. Which we knew already.
So presumably a future Reform government will continue importing guest workers to the UK (including from the EU!), while stripping both native-born and foreign workers of their rights. Like the Tories.
But sure, maybe Nigel can at least convince Woke quangos to stop being Woke. But since the UK was just as Woke under Boris Johnson as under Labour, I wouldn´t count on that either.
Well, at least he won´t conspire with Trump and Vance to sell out Ukraine. I hope.
Ännu en korkad krönika som klagar på att Israel-vänliga kulturkrigare (sic) politiserar Eurovision Song Contest.
Alltså...
För det första: Är inte vänstern "kulturkrigare" när de i flera års tid krävt att Israel ska utestängas från Eurovision, och att tävlingen annars bör bojkottas?
För det andra: Är det inte oerhört tondövt att kalla reaktionerna på terrorattackerna/pogromerna den 7 oktober 2023 för "kulturkrig"? Som om det handlade om en konflikt om en regnbågsannons på Facebook. Skribenten verkar dessutom inte kalla reaktionerna på Israels krig i Gaza för "kulturkrig".
För det tredje: Eurovision har alltid handlat om politik. Ukraina har fått anti-ryska kompisröster sedan åtminstone den orangea revolutionen 2005. De har också tävlat med uppenbart anti-ryska sånger vid ett flertal tillfällen. Och vunnit en av dessa gånger. Ingen klagade. Tvärtom buade publiken ut de ryska bidragen. När Norges band viftade med orangea flaggor på scenen under tävlingen i Kiev var det ingen som klagade heller. När Bosnien deltog första gången på 90-talet tävlade landet med en sång som ganska uppenbart handlade om Balkankrigen. Ingen klagade. Och vad Israel beträffar så tävlade landet någon gång på 00-talet med ett Woke hippie-band som t.o.m. hade syriska flaggor på scenen! Ingen klagade. Märkligt, eller hur?
Så varför klagar alla nu? Juuuust det.
För det fjärde: Eurovision Song Contest har i flera årtionden haft en ganska uppenbar LGBTQI-framtoning. Finns det någon som *på fullt allvar* hävdar att detta inte är "politiskt"? Lite som ett kulturkrig kanske?
Jag vet inte om musik och politik "borde" höra ihop. Men däremot verkar det som att nöjesskribenter i kvällspressen borde hålla sig ifrån politiken. Kommentera bara dansarnas ärschlen i fortsättningen, tack så mycket!
This is the winner in this year´s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC): "Bangaranga" featuring Dara. It´s a crazy pop song and dance act, perhaps inspired by Ukrainian singer Ruslana´s old classic "Wild Dances".
It´s also surprisingly pretentious for a pop song. The nonsense title is supposedly a Jamaican slang word for rebellion or disturbance. The live performance begins as a weird group therapy session (!) and ends in a riot (?) as the singer affirms her inner strength.
"Bangaranga" is also inspired by the kukeri, groups of Bulgarian men in strange costumes who scare away evil spirits by dancing and making noises. Presumably, Dara and her dance troupe are trying to exorcize their own inner demons. OK, I admit that it may work better than traditional psychoanalysis, LOL.
Welcome to the world´s strangest riot. Twelve points!
Detta uppmärksammas även internationellt. En NATO-relaterad övning på Gotland visar att den svenska militären inte kan försvara ön effektivt mot ett utländsk drönarangrepp. Tyvärr inte helt oväntat.
Sverige "krossades" i militärövning
Ukrainian drone pilots turn a military exercise in Sweden into a warning for NATO
