Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

Recent Comments:

In story: June 2023

Re: June 2023 Slava Ukraini!
( / )
Yuriy Chernichuk, Director of Zaporozhye NPP, Jun 6 at 01:57
In connection with the situation at the dam of the Kakhovskaya HPP, I inform you that:

At the moment, there are no threats to the safety of the Zaporizh* NPP. 5 units are in "cold stop" state, 1 in "hot stop" state. The water level in the cooling pond has not changed and is 16.67 m.

The water cooling the spent nuclear fuel pools is a closed circuit that does not have direct contact with the environment and the water of the Kakhovka reservoir. The system of heat removal to the final heat sink can be replenished both with water from the Kakhovka reservoir and with several alternative sources.

The situation is controlled by the personnel of the nuclear power plant.

Update 161 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine, 6 June
Director General Grossi, who addressed the IAEA Board of Governors earlier today on the evolving situation at Ukraine's damaged Nova Kakhovka dam and its impact on the ZNPP, said the loss rate had been changing, from around five centimetres per hour in the morning to nine cm/hour later in the afternoon.

Between 10 am and 8 pm local time, the reservoir fell by a total of 83 cm to 15.44 metres,  according to regular data received by the team of IAEA experts present at the ZNPP.

If and when the level goes below 12.7 metres, the ZNPP will no longer be able to pump water from the reservoir to replenish the reserves at the site.
[...]

HOWEVER...
a large cooling pond next to the site—the ZNPP's main alternative source of water in the absence of the reservoir—is currently full and has enough in storage to supply the plant for several months as its six reactors are in shutdown mode, Director General Grossi said, reiterating the vital necessity for it to stay intact. Also if needed, the site can access a deep water-filled excavation in the ZNPP cargo port area, the water system of the nearby city of Ener*odar, and use mobile pumps and firefighter trucks to fetch water.
[...]
MEANWHILE...
the IAEA team of experts at the Chornobyl site reported that a fire had broken out in the forest near the Paryshev village, in a zone currently unreachable from the Chornobyl side, as the bridge over the Pripyat river had been damaged and fire trucks cannot reach it. The IAEA team were informed that it was not assessed to be a major fire. There has been no increase in the radiation levels reported to the IAEA International Radiation Monitoring Information System (IRMIS) and the fire does not present any radiological risk to the population or staff [!] working at the Chornobyl site.


by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: June 2023

Re: June 2023 Slava Ukraini!
( / )
smh | Hawkei armoured cars bound for Ukraine war in Australian support deal, 6 June
Although a formal commitment has yet to be sealed, there has been serious progress informally and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the Herald and The Age the vehicles were number one on his list of "demands" from Australia. He described the Australian-made vehicles as "very, very famous armed vehicles with air defence systems" in an interview in Singapore after meeting his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, at the weekend.
[...]
10-point security guarantee Peace Formula
Reznikov was full of praise for the performance of the Bushmaster armoured troop carriers supplied by Australia, which he said had been critical in Ukraine's ability to recover the city of Kharkiv from Russian forces.

"It was surprise for Russians. Honestly, it was surprise for me, also."

Among Ukraine's other requests, Reznikov said he had asked that Australia join the so-called "birds coalition" to support its use of F-16 fighter jets that NATO nations are supplying. He said Ukraine needed training for its pilots as well as [mechanics] and sustainment [sic] support. He had requested Australian personnel and cash.
[...]
The Australian Army has raised serial objections to supplying the Hawkei. It first said its brakes were faulty. Next it said that so many spare parts would need to be supplied to Ukraine that the whole fleet would be unusable.

Liberal senator David Van, the chair of the parliamentary Friends of Ukraine group, said it was "complete bollocks" that the vehicles could not be sent to Ukraine.

"There are 450 Hawkeis sitting in the Thales compound in Bendigo. Why won't we send them?"
[...]



by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: June 2023

June 2023 American sciences
( / )
prior research
Nord Stream Whodunnit UPDATE
Lt. Chuck Pfarrer on TVP World Oct 2022
Seymour Hersh with technical diving Feb 20023
Sprengstoffexperten Feb 2023
with the unknown sonar object
with Andromeda the Mythical Yacht Apr 2023
with a Russian navy ship Apr 2023
wapoo | DISCORD plan of plans Apr 2023
das boot June 2023
Now this
wapoo | U.S. had intelligence of detailed Ukrainian plan to attack Nord Stream pipeline June 2023
[...]
Details about the plan, which have not been previously reported, were collected by a European intelligence service and shared with the CIA in June 2022. They provide some of the most specific evidence to date linking the government of Ukraine to the eventual attack in the Baltic Sea, which U.S. and Western officials have called a brazen and dangerous act of sabotage on Europe's energy infrastructure.

The European intelligence reporting was shared on the chat platform Discord, allegedly by Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira. The Washington Post obtained a copy from one of Teixeira's online friends.

The intelligence report was based on information obtained from an individual in Ukraine. The source's information could not immediately be corroborated, but the CIA shared the report with Germany and other European countries last June, according to multiple officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence operations and diplomatic discussions.
[...]

< wipes tears >


by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: June 2023

Re: The Bat Man Praetorian Guard
( / )
by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
The most dangerous ... think VietCong and jungle.

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
< wipes tears >

Re-imagine a trap without ever having studied its depth.

by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Joe Biden Laid a Sun Tzu Trap
( / )
Autocrats Prefer a Cold War?

The first theoretical tool deployed in support of Sun Tzu's quote is the assertion that autocrats rely on irregular means because it is not in their interest to see a cold war escalate into a hot one. Yet war is equally not in the interest of democracies.



by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
It's a good goshdarn thing errybuddy (abduct | forcibly deport | evacute) civilians from Kherson last autumn after the SHAM REFERENDUMS.
archived Wed May 10th 2023, Sun Nov 20th 2022, Antonivskyy Bridge, Wed Nov 9th 2022, Oct 31st 2022, Mon Oct 3rd 2022, Wed Oct 19th, 2022, Fri Sep 30th 2022, Tue Sep 27th 2022, Sham Referendums

And now words from Sun Tzu for the general on the march who perceives victory in calamity.

1. Sunzi said: We come now to the question of encamping the army, and observing signs of the enemy. Pass quickly over mountains, and keep in the neighborhood of valleys. Camp in high places, facing the sun. Do not climb heights in order to fight. So much for mountain warfare. After crossing a river, you should get far away from it. When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream. It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack. If you are anxious to fight, you should not go to meet the invader near a river which he has to cross. Moor your craft higher up than the enemy, and facing the sun. Do not move up-stream to meet the enemy. So much for river warfare. In crossing salt-marshes, your sole concern should be to get over them quickly, without any delay. If forced to fight in a salt-marsh, you should have water and grass near you, and get your back to a clump of trees. So much for operations in salt-marches. In dry, level country, take up an easily accessible position with rising ground to your right and on your rear, so that the danger may be in front, and safety lie behind. So much for campaigning in flat country. These are the four useful branches of military knowledge which enabled the Yellow Emperor to vanquish four several sovereigns.

2. All armies prefer high ground to low and sunny places to dark. If you are careful of your men, and camp on hard ground, the army will be free from disease of every kind, and this will spell victory. When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the sunny side, with the slope on your right rear. Thus you will at once act for the benefit of your soldiers and utilize the natural advantages of the ground. When, in consequence of heavy rains up-country, a river which you wish to ford is swollen and flecked with foam, you must wait until it subsides. Country in which there are precipitous cliffs with torrents running between, deep natural hollows, confined places, tangled thickets, quagmires and crevasses, should be left with all possible speed and not approached. While we keep away from such places, we should get the enemy to approach them; while we face them, we should let the enemy have them on his rear. If in the neighborhood of your camp there should be any hilly country, ponds surrounded by aquatic grass, hollow basins filled with reeds, or woods with thick undergrowth, they must be carefully routed out and searched; for these are places where men in ambush or insidious spies are likely to be lurking.



by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Re: Ukraine Cutting Off Water Supply to Crimea
( / )

Dnieper dam blown up by Russians: 'To save it from Nazi bandits' - 29 August 1941 | The Guardian |

The Russians have blown up the Dnieper dam at Zaporizhzhia, which feeds the Dneprostroi power plant, and have evacuated Dnepropetrovsk, the great industrial centre of Ukraine.

Mr Lozovsky, the Soviet spokesman, told the press last night: We blew up the Dnieper dam so as not to allow this first child of the Soviet five-year Plan (1932) to fall into the hands of Hitler's bandits. All measures were taken so as not to permit the Germans to make use of the dam and machinery.

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]

ZELENSK*: See you in Vilnius, Chuck!

by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: June 2023

What is NATO really up to?
( / )
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on June 6, 2023
Reuters: According to a news report, French President Emmanuel Macron has objected to NATO's proposal to open an office in Tokyo, saying NATO should remain focused on its own north Atlantic region. What is the ministry's comment on this? 
Wang Wenbin: We have noted relevant reports. NATO has publicly stated on many occasions that it remains a regional alliance and does not seek a geopolitical breakthrough. Asia lies beyond the geographical scope of the North Atlantic and has no need for a replica of NATO. However, we have seen NATO bent on going east into this region, interfering in regional affairs and inciting bloc confrontation. What is NATO really up to? This calls for high vigilance among countries in the world, particularly in Asia. As I said yesterday, the attitude of the majority of countries in the region is very clear. They oppose the emergence of military blocs in the region. They don't welcome NATO's outreach in Asia. They don't want a replica of bloc confrontation in Asia. And they certainly will not allow any Cold War or hot war to happen again in Asia. NATO needs to have a sober understanding of this. Japan should make the right call in keeping with the region's stability and development interests and refrain from doing anything that may undermine mutual trust between regional countries and peace and stability in the region.
KIRBY-content
Bloomberg: The US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that military interception maneuvers by Chinese ships and planes suggest a growing aggressiveness from Beijing and could lead to an accident. What's the foreign ministry's comment on Mr. Kirby's remarks? ...


by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: June 2023

mendacity heaped on calumny BULLETIN
( / )
FT | France objects to NATO plan for office in Tokyo, 6 June, No NATO in the Indo-Pacific?
The resistance from France has complicated months of discussion within NATO to create the alliance's first outpost [FALSE] in the Indo-Pacific region, according to eight people familiar with the situation.
US Military Bases in Japan: 8
NATO | Relations with Japan
"NATO and Japan have been engaged in dialogue and cooperation since initial contacts in the early 1990s. Japan is one of a number of countries beyond the Euro-Atlantic area—often referred to as "partners across the globe"—with which NATO is developing relations."
NATO and Japan conduct first ever joint ["]counter-piracy["] drill (25.09.14)
• Galic, M., Navigation by Sun and Compass, Policy Brief One
"That Japan and NATO developed formal relations only in the waning days of the Cold War is no coincidence. France's 1983 focus on NATO's European identity reflected the Alliance's formal mission of defending Western Europe's territorial integrity from Soviet aggression."
The push to open a small ["NATO"] base in Tokyo next year comes as the US and Japan urge Europe to become more involved in Asia security issues, particularly as concern mounts about possible future Chinese military action against Taiwan.
[...]
One French official said Paris believed NATO's charter required the alliance to limit its geographic reach to the "north Atlantic". But the official also suggested it could undermine European credibility with China in regard to the war in Ukraine, particularly in terms of asking Beijing not to supply arms to Russia. One of the people familiar with the debate inside NATO said France was reluctant to back anything "that contributes to NATO-China tension"
[...]
antaranews | President Joko Widodo to open 2023 MNEK in Makassar Strait (28.05.23)
"'The opening is on June 5, 2023, and will be opened by President Joko Widodo,' Makassar Navy Base VI Commander Brigadier General Amir Kasman said here on Sunday. He said MNEK [2023 Komodo Multilateral Naval Exercise] is a non-war exercise that prioritizes maritime cooperation in the region, disaster mitigation, and humanitarian operations. The drill is aimed to strengthen cooperation between the Indonesian Navy and friendly countries such as the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Netherlands, the Philippines, Pakistan, Singapore, Russia, Thailand, Timor Leste, and the United Kingdom."
Macron's resistance comes two months after he angered the US and other allies by suggesting, during a visit to China [06.04.23], that Europe should distance itself from US-China tensions over Taiwan.

Setting up a new NATO office requires unanimous support from the North Atlantic Council, NATO's highest political decision-making body, which means France has the power to stop the move. NATO declined to give details about "ongoing deliberations". The Japanese government did not comment. But a Japanese official said Tokyo wanted to strengthen ties with the alliance. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
[...]

NATO | Partners across the globe

In addition to its formal partnerships, NATO cooperates with a range of countries which are not part of these structures. Often referred to as "Partners across the globe", these countries develop cooperation with NATO in areas of mutual interest, including emerging security challenges, and some contribute actively to NATO operations either militarily or in some other way.
archived charade of inviolate NATO by-laws

by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Tested by UA, Kakhovka Dam Is of Military Strength
( / )
Is it even realistic to blow up the dam? | Pravda UA - Oct. 20, 2022 |

Not only Ukraine's Defence Intelligence chief but also the military and local authorities speak cautiously about the possibility of the destruction of such a huge reinforced concrete structure as the Kakhovka Dam.

In favour of its strength, the dam structure is still standing after several missile strikes on the Kakhovka Bridge, launched by Ukrainian forces [so as to make the Russian troops withdraw from the area - ed.], and the bridge is still being used by the occupiers.

"The dam is really built with military actions in mind - it is a capital structure with a margin of safety. It is very difficult to destroy it from the outside, it would probably be necessary to use tactical nuclear weapons to do it. But if there is access to this infrastructure, which is the case with the Russian troops, then it could be undermined from the inside.

The weapons currently used by the Ukrainian military [i.e. destroying bridges and crossings in the occupied territories - UP] are not enough," says Yurii Sobolevsky, Deputy Head of Kherson Oblast Council.

Vasyl Opanasyuk, an explosive ordnance engineer, notes that if 5-6 tonnes of TNT (which fits in one truck) was detonated, it would only create a five-metre large hole in the dam. Water would simply flow through it.

It would take at least ten such trucks to damage the dam seriously. After that, the structure may begin to collapse under the pressure of the water.

[...]

Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, has said that if the hydroelectric power station is blown up, Crimea could be left without water for 10-15 years, possibly forever.

Ukrainian Activists Draw Attention To Little-Known WWII Tragedy | RFERL - Aug. 23, 2013 |

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Nov. 30 -- Russian Kherson Retreat
( / )

Moscow Times is biased pro-West and has re-located to Amsterdam.

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Inundation: You ain't seen nothin' yet
( / )
Floods as war weapons - Humans caused a third of floods in past 500 years in SW Netherlands

During the Eighty Years' War, as the Spanish army fought to recapture territory in what is now northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands in the late sixteenth century, the Dutch rebels led by William of Orange decided to use the low-lying, flood-prone landscape to their advantage. In an attempt to liberate Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp from Spanish dominance and defend their territory, the rebels destroyed seawalls at strategic places from 1584 to 1586 to cause deliberate, large-scale floods.

"The plan got completely out of hand," says de Kraker, an assistant professor at the VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands. "It came at the expense of the countryside of northern Flanders, now Zeeland Flanders, some two thirds of which was flooded."



by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: June 2023

Re: June 2023 first-mover advantage
( / )
lantidiplomatica.it | Giulio Palermo a l'AD: "La strategia imperialistica Usa in Europa ha radici lontane. In Ucraina assistiamo all'ultimo atto", 31 May
"Giulio Palermo, economist author with our publishing house of "The Russian-Ukrainian conflict" (LAD, 2023), gives us a long and illuminating interview to argue and update his theses over a year after the start of the special operation Russian. 'The European continent forms the chessboard but the chessmen are mostly American and Russian and, in the background, Chinese. The European strategy for Europe simply does not exist. There are convergent and divergent economic interests between sectors and between states'."
[...]
Storicamente, non si può dire che gli Stati uniti abbiano dimostrato una grande reattività all'avanzata nazista in Europa. Per tutta la prima fase della guerra, la disfatta dei paesi capitalistici di fronte all'esercito tedesco è totale e la resistenza al nazismo riposa quasi interamente sulle spalle dell'Unione sovietica. Stalin chiede ripetutamente agli alleati l'apertura di un secondo fronte contro la Germania -- il fronte occidentale -- per costringere Hitler ad allentare la presa a est. Ma gli Stati uniti e l'Inghilterra tergiversano.

Decidono di passare all'azione nel giugno del 1944, con lo sbarco in Normandia, dopo che l'Armata rossa ha stroncato le truppe naziste e avanza ormai inarrestabile verso Berlino. E soprattutto dopo aver organizzato minuziosamente la conferenza di Bretton Woods (New Hampshire, Usa), che si terrà nel mese successivo: un mega-incontro di tre settimane tra le principali potenze capitalistiche in cui si definisce il quadro economico-finanziario postbellico, incentrato sul dollaro e sul capitale finanziario statunitense.

Da allora, la penetrazione dei capitali americani in Europa è aumentata sensibilmente, prima attraverso il piano Marshall -- un colossale piano di investimenti Usa in Europa -- poi attraverso ulteriori esportazioni di capitali e fusioni con i capitali europei.

Finché è convenuto, gli Stati uniti hanno imposto un regime di tassi di cambio incentrato sul dollaro -- che ha consentito alla valuta statunitense di imporsi come riferimento internazionale -- e quando non è più servito, lo hanno abolito, nel 1971, con un gesto unilaterale del presidente Nixon, in violazione degli accordi che proprio gli Stati uniti avevano imposto. Risultato: il più grande default della storia del capitalismo (il rifiuto degli Stati uniti di onorare i propri impegni finanziari) si è risolto con nuovi accordi valutari tra i principali paesi capitalistici per scaricare i problemi finanziari degli Stati uniti sul resto del mondo.
[...]

oh

by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: Integrating Ukraine Into NATO Family

Re: Memorial and Mental Health Care
( / )


by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: June 2023

5 June 2023 Kakhovka Dam collapse
( / )


by Cat on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Two Bits from Jens Stoltenberg
( / )
If it diminishes fighting, the dam burst will save lives. Start talks to end this war ... back to December 2021 - January 2022.

Stop he fu*king wars! For sake of humanity and the planet, work towards peace, not war ... read the UN Charter. Never Again.

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Kremlin Puts Blame On UA For Destruction of Dam
( / )

    Overnight on Tuesday, Ukrainian troops delivered a strike on the power generating facility presumably using an Olkha multiple-launch rocket system. The bombardment destroyed valves and caused uncontrolled dumping of water downstream. The flood zone may affect 80 residential communities.



by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Map Kherson Dnipro River Delta
( / )


by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

In Tactical Move Kakhova Dam Destroyed
( / )


by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

Re: In UA Tactical Move Kakhova Dam Destroyed
( / )


by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: NATO Posing the What If Question

In UA Tactical Move Kakhova Dam Destroyed
( / )
Breaking News: Zelenskyy spring/summer offensive breaking the silence 🥹

Please spread UA Disinformation and War Propaganda only!

NATO and the EU of VDL-Borrell-Michel demand total censorship (1984)

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | ]
In story: Integrating Ukraine Into NATO Family

Zelenskyy Thanking All UA Heroes
( / )
Past, present, and future ... fighting a proxy war for NATO 🔹

Zelenskyy lauds Ukraine advance amid counteroffensive speculation | Al Jazeera |

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | ]
In story: U.S. Will Be Ousted From Middle-East

Gulf Naval Alliance Expanding !?
( / )

Read this well ... Pakistan andI India too ...

Iran's plan to form naval alliance with Gulf countries significant | CGTN |

Likelihood a start as coastguard against piracy and smugglers. Perhaps building a true alliance as trust grows. Future goal ... [Roman Empire wasn't build in a single day].

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: U.S. Will Be Ousted From Middle-East

Re: Blinken On Road to Repair Broken Relations
( / )


by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: U.S. Will Be Ousted From Middle-East

Re: Blinken On Road to Repair Broken Relations
( / )


by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: U.S. Will Be Ousted From Middle-East

Re: Blinken On Road to Repair Broken Relations
( / )


by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]
In story: U.S. Will Be Ousted From Middle-East

Blinken On Road to Repair Broken Relations
( / )
Excellent stuff 😊

United for a Free Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸

The U.S. and Israel seen as rogue states in the MENAT region.

A choice of Qatar and Türkiye soon to be made ... BRICS-SCO vs. NATO Defense Pact of aggression.

by Oui (Oui) on
[ Read Story | Read Comment | Parent ]

News and Views

 June 2023

by Oui - May 31, 59 comments

Your take on today's news media

 May 2023

by Oui - Apr 30, 273 comments

Your take on today's news media



Occasional Series
Click for full list