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brickstser69
slay55
mulbot
I find all this rare-earths talk somewhat amusing. I used to live 2 doors away from the managing director of a mineral sands - rare earths - mining company in WA. They had vast deposits of super easy to mine sand at Capel. His company also processes the suff into zircon and synthetic rutile. I have chatted with him briefly and have seen a jar full of the garnet sand which I think is just a value adding by-product used in sand blasting.
Australia has Uranium deposits - be a great place for Ukraine to set up centrifuges out of reach of the US and Orcs.
Yeah, sure, because international law has really helped Ukraine, hasn't it?(!)
Like it or not, the European democracies - those in NATO (Turkey doesn't count!) or in the EU or in both or, in Switzerland's case, in neither - still need to keep the US on side while being mildly critical of the US government.
Given that Canada and most of the European democracies tie themselves up about the International Criminal Court (ICC), you can't blame US conservatives for being skeptical about NATO.
What good would the ICC do if the Moscow government invades Poland and the Baltic States (again!)?
Going by the ICC's logic, Starmer would be in the same predicament as Putin if, in response to a nuclear attack on a British town or city, launched a retaliatory strike against a Russian town or city of equivalent value to the target of the Russian attack. By the way, I'm basing that scenario of a limited nuclear war on General John Hackett's book 'The Third World War', in which Birmingham is destroyed in a Soviet attack and the UK & the US retaliate by destroying Minsk.
In fairness to the Brits, Starmer and Johnson before, they have been staunch supporters of Ukraine.
And fair play for Starmer to step up and fill the void at a critical juncture, with some tangible support $3bn, together with some very contrasting fireside diplomacy, (Downing Street v Oval office).
Supposedly the geopolitical angel by US is that it's China they are worried about, and want to cosy up to Putin to keep him from an alliance with the Chinese.
But if they don't stand for freedom, democracy and Ukraine then they stand for nothing.
I do not trust the Chinese one bit, but Europe should threaten to pivot towards China in some ways to the detriment of the US, and maybe EU and the non US west should gang up on the minor Bully (US) and put some manners on them now, a few slaps, though not forgetting the real villain Putin, who needs a thorough kicking, and kicked back home.
Hopefully Vance/Trump receive this kind of reception everywhere they go.
You are missing the bit where this is a war and there is damage being inflicted on both sides. Orc intentions and Putrid's wants are dependent on factors that are degrading rapidly, like their income - they have had to stop exporting refined petroleum products due to so many refineries being damaged - then there is their war economy, with a severe labour shortage and a critical lack of investment needed to boost production. Can you imagine the fun they are having wth the Korean workers they are using given the communication problems?
They are spending like there is no tomorrow in human lives and worthless roubles for tiny amounts of land that generates no income and wont for the years it would take to de-mine - after an end to all hostilities.
This grinding down is not one sided. The EU has more money to keep Ukraine going than Russia has. A couple days ago Von Der Layen piped up and said there was the €408 B unspent Covid fund they could repurpose. Total US contributions to Ukraine are around €100 B and Ursula just pulls four times that from under her pillow?
How long can the Orc economy last with 25% mortgage rates? That one might be irrelevant because is there anyone left in the construction sector to build things?
https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/russia-seeks-zimbabwean-construction-workers-as-labour-shortage-bites/
With all this talk of ceasefires and peace deals, would anyone trust either Trump or Putin? The two of them are horrible, slimy creeps whose words are meaningless.
Might not seem palatable but China may be a far more reliable partner, with the rare Earth minerals, than America
Trump and Vance seems to have vanished like the cowardly weasels they are.
Hoping it will all die down.
They have an auxiliary diesel generator afaik, but the reactor does all the work.
works for me
soon…..
Like I was saying before, watch China. If they've any sense, and I suspect they've enough, this is an ideal time for them to show up as the geopolitical "adult in the room" and broker talks. Russia would have to go along with it and with a nearly daily reminder that the US administration is currently run by incontinence and incompetence taking aim at long valued allies, I can see Europe/The EU and Ukraine being far more open to China. China gets major soft power kudos, better relations with Europe(Russia's more a sideshow), maybe even gets a crack at those mineral rights and cocks a snook at the US making it look weak. Win win for Beijing. Even offering to help would be a win for them.
Probably use traditional fuel for generators and contingency maybe? Just a guess, it’s a good question though.
Double post.
Strong stuff
That’s the position ISW took for months now too
Or, he planned the whole thing and then covered his ass by praising Zelenskyy's dress code.
It's revenues from frozen assets; not the frozen assets themselves. Assets remain frozen and not seized but the interest generated by them will be used by the UK to pay off their loan to Ukraine.
Well, that's my understanding
These Russian assets have been frozen for quite a while now. Why don't the UK take those funds now instead of saying they will take them in the future?
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5171237-uk-ukraine-sign-loan-agreement-after-meaningful-and-warm-visit/
”The United Kingdom agreed to loan Ukraine around $3 billion on Saturday to support their efforts in the war against Russia after a contentious White House meeting left the world wondering about the nation’s ability to secure its sovereign borders.”
The best bit: “This loan will enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities and will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets. The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian leader wrote.
I wonder why Zelensky and others aren't on Bluesky?
Why would a nuclear powered sub require bunker fuel?
Any link toi Zelenskyy twitter post seems to be blocked on boards. For some reason.
https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa
That's it above.
Try post any post from his twitter account here.
https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa
Would SO love this to be true.
Managed to get €400m of his junk trucks, that wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding, sold to the American military and out of the yards they were cluttering up because no one wanted the ugly pieces of shìt.
All totally above board. "Cut Ethel's pension, dude"
Sums it up!
Says the biggest welfare queen ever via gov grants etc over the years
From the link you posted.
Can Ukraine keep up with Russia's attrition rates of battlefield deaths? No. But Ukraine has no choice. If they stop fighting, Russia will regroup, make up an excuse to justify another invasion and swallow up more land.
The problem with this is that I don't think the Russians have any intention of stopping this war now. I think Putin wants to keep the war going, to grind the Ukrainians down by attrition until he gets what he wants.
Views from Irkutsk, Siberia.
Views from residents are that Russia and Putin must be seen to loose. Or else putin will have renewed vigor to purge more of the population for more war.
The White Houseski, there can be no doubt at all
"Russian Lawmaker Predicted the Trump-Vance Ambush of ZelenskyState Duma member Oleg Morozov said the meeting would be a lesson in humiliation, designed to condition Zelensky to capitulate to the US—and later to Russia."
