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

November 2022

by Bernard Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:51:55 AM EST

Your take on this month's news


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by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:52:14 AM EST
by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 03:37:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Lagarde's *flation miracle story time
RTE The Late Show, 28 Oct @ 00:29:44
by Cat on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 at 03:27:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
CNN | Ukraine suffered a comms outage when 1,300 SpaceX satellite units went offline over funding issues, 4 Nov  "MDM space"
The outage affected a block of 1,300 terminals that Ukraine purchased from a British company in March and were used for combat-related operations. 

SpaceX was charging Ukraine's military $2,500 a month to keep each of the 1,300 units connected, pushing the total cost to almost $20 million by September, the person briefed on the matter said. Eventually, they could no longer afford to pay, the person said.

Slava Ukraini!
Before the terminals went completely dark, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense made a request in early October to their British counterparts to pick up the $3.25 million monthly bill.
[...]
A British official said after discussions between the ministries "it was agreed there were higher priority military capabilities." Among many other channels of support, the UK has been flying thousands of Ukrainian troops to Britain for training before they head back to the frontlines.

"We support a number of terminals that have a direct tactical utility for Ukraine's military in repelling Russia's invasion," the British official told CNN.  "We consider and prioritize all new requests in terms of the impact contributions would have in supporting Ukraine to defend its people against Putin's deplorable invasion."
[...]
It's unclear exactly how many terminals Ukraine's military is operating but the 1,300 that recently shut off represent a significant portion.

by Cat on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 02:58:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Artificial Intelligence Act
Didn't see that coming, didja. Too busy fretting about yer consumer debt service and CHINA! "social credit".
by Cat on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 12:14:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 04:18:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Further, in the dreams of the head of the GUR, Russia returns to Ukraine all the "occupied" territories, including Crimea and Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. It also returns South Ossetia and Abkhazia to Georgia, Transnistria to Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. Japan gets the Kuril Islands, Germany - the Kaliningrad region, Finland takes Karelia, China - all of Siberia and the Far East.


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 07:04:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
There's an apt expression in French for this : "C'est de bonne guerre", meaning it's fair game. In a context where Russia has attempted to amputate regions of Ukraine.
Here's confirmation from an official Ukrainian source
earlier, Budanov already gave predictions that "came true". For example, he was almost the only one who correctly predicted when a full-scale Russian invasion would take place, naming January-February 2022. And also in the spring of 2022, he said that the turning point in the war will take place in August, when Ukraine really launched a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, which became the most brilliant operation in modern military history.

According to the Major General, by the end of this year, the Armed Forces will make significant progress, and the war will end by the beginning of summer.

Kyrylo Budanov added optimism to Ukrainians with restrained comments. His faith in the inevitable defeat of the Russian Federation does not disappear: "Russia's defeat is inevitable, it cannot be stopped, and it will lead to its destruction."

According to Budanov's forecasts, this should end at the end of spring, and the war will end by summer. The end of the war, according to him, is the exit to the borders of 1991.

Changes in Russia
He also gave a forecast about the future of Russia. After entering the borders in 1991, the world should wait for a serious political process related to changes in the Russian Federation. We should expect the separation of certain regions of the country and the payment of reparations to Ukraine.



It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 07:52:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thinking about Xi's bellicose stance, I'm wondering if he's got his eyes on Siberia. It would sure be a lot easier to conquer than Taiwan. And lots of useful natural resources.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Thu Nov 10th, 2022 at 12:56:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Another apt French expression: selling the bear's hide before killing it (counting your chicken before they hatch). It's way too early to figure how Russia will go following their disastrous invasion of Ukraine.

The possibilities are many and some may be quite unpleasant. I'm expecting the unexpected. Who could have guessed how 1991 would turn out when we celebrated the new year on 1st January?

The only trends that are clear, sort of: Russia has failed to conquer Ukraine and its demography (further damaged by the war) will ensure it is a much smaller country in the future. YMMV of course.

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Nov 10th, 2022 at 06:24:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Surely would want to see the dreams of the America's ... North- Central- and South. The Indigenous tribes as far as they are not extinct. Poor white man ...

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 07:07:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Ukriform | Zelensk* proposes parliament extend martial law, mobilization in Ukraine, 8 Nov Slava Ukraini!
The bills, No. 8189 and No. 8190, have been published on the parliament's website, Ukrinform reports. The text and supporting documents have not yet been made public.
Ukriform | Zelensky meets with U.S. Representative to UN, 8 Nov  Slava Ukraini!
"Ambassador Linda ["Eat Muh Gumbo"] Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, met with Ukrainian President Zelensk* and members of his leadership team today in K*v to discuss the unwavering U.S. commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. She reiterated that the United States is steadfast in its support for Ukraine and is prepared to stand with Ukraine as long as it takes," U.S. Mission to the United Nations Spokesperson Nate Evans informs.

As noted, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield and President Zelensk* discussed international efforts to minimize the impact of Russia's aggression on global food security, including through sustaining and expanding the [two?] UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative [19 Nov expiration], and to ensure accountability for war crimes and atrocities perpetrated on the Ukrainian people. She committed to continuing to work at the United Nations to strengthen international support for Ukraine's sovereignty and to urge Member States to defend international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

archived terms, conditions, suspension, and guarantees a/o 6 Nov
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 06:51:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Agrarian Policy Ministry Retains Forecast Of Grain And Oil Crop Harvest At 67 Million Tons, 28 Nov
According to the statement, the ministry expects a harvest of more than 51 million tons of grain and 16 million tons of oilseeds.

Currently, grain and leguminous crops have been harvested on an area of ​​9 million hectares (81%) with a yield of 43.4 tons per hectare, and 39.1 million tons of grain have been threshed.

archived Ukraine-crop calendarin Ukraine Conflict 2014-2022
"Regarding the sowing campaign of winter crops [MY 2022/2023], it has already been completed by 94%. So, 4.4 million hectares of cereals have been sown. Winter rapeseed - almost 1 million hectares... The Ministry of Agrarian Policy is also assessing the needs for the spring sowing campaign. In particular, the need for fertilizers for the spring season will amount to approximately 1.5 million tons. The need for nitrogen fertilizers—more than 1 million tons—will be able to be provided by domestic enterprises. The need for complex fertilizers—0.5 million tons—will be partially covered by domestic production, partially - by imports," the statement reads....
Ukraine Reduces Grain Exports By 32% To 17.2 Million Tons Since MY2022/2023 Start, 29 Nov
The actual volume of [MY 2021/2022] grain exports by Ukraine since the beginning of the 2022/2023 marketing year (July 2022 - June 2023) as of November 28, had made 17.193 million tons, down 32% or 8.068 million tons year over year.
archived 21.5M mt Ukraine Corridor ball in Imran Khan, Debt, IMF Vassal to America
This follows from a statement by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, Ukrainian News Agency reports. 6,636,000 tons of wheat, 1,358,000 tons of barley and 9,128,000 tons of corn have already been exported....
archived FAO report 11 Nov exports from Ukraine in 2022/23
reference
JCC | Vessel movements, cargo, destinations a/o 30 Nov (total: 12.3433M mt)
by Cat on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 08:14:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
pm.gc.ca | Prime Minister announces new measures to support Ukraine, 28 Oct Slava Ukraini!
The Prime Minister announced that the Government of Canada will issue Ukraine Sovereignty Bonds, which will help the government continue operations, including providing essential services to Ukrainians, like pensions, and purchasing fuel before winter. The equivalent proceeds from this five-year bond will be channelled directly to Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Administered Account. This builds on the Government of Canada's CAD 2 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine this year....
ca.news yahoo! reuters | Canada raising money for Ukraine with sale of bonds
"Canadians will now be able to go to major banks to purchase their sovereignty bonds which will mature after five years with interest," Trudeau told an annual meeting of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Winnipeg.

"These funds will go to support the Government of Ukraine so they can continue to support the Ukrainian people," he said.
[...]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk* thanked Trudeau on Twitter, saying the bond "will allow everyone to contribute to our victory."

Trudeau did not say when the bonds would go on sale. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland declined to say if Canada would cap the total value of the bonds it was backing....

orinocotribune | Canada Prepares War Bonds, 4 Nov
The Canada Files reached out to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to ask: "Can you guarantee that none of the funds raised from these bonds will go to the Ukrainian military or police?" We have not received a response.
archived Advantage Ukraine
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 11:42:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"Can you guarantee that none of the funds raised from these bonds will go to the Ukrainian military or police?"

That neither needs nor deserves a response. Any government's funds are exceedingly fungible, even more so in wartime. If you don't want the money to be spent on defense, then don't give it to the government; give it to a charity.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 10:06:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
NY Post | Ukrainians greet troops in Kherson after Russian retreat: 'Today is a historic day', 11 Nov Slava Ukraini!
Joyous Ukrainians took to Kherson City's town square chanting, "Glory to Ukraine!" while welcoming a vanguard of liberating troops as Russia's forces seemingly pulled out of the strategic capital ahead of K*v's advance.

The city, which fell to the Kremlin's invasion force in the opening hours of the war, had been poised for weeks to be the site of a cataclysmic battle between battle hardened Ukrainian troops and dug-in, recently reinforced Russians.

"Today is a historic day," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk* said in a videotaped address to the nation. "We are regaining Kherson.

"As of now, our defenders are approaching the city. But special units are already in the city. The people of Kherson were waiting. They never gave up on Ukraine," he said. "Hope for Ukraine is always justified - and Ukraine always regains its own," he added.

OpEd | Helping Ukraine pays major dividends for the US
Two weeks after the infamous letter from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and days after reports of behind-the-scenes pleading from the Biden Administration, Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu announced in a carefully staged meeting with his generals that Russian forces were retreating from the western side of the Dn*pro river in the Kherson Oblast, including from the 300,000-strong city of Kherson, which had been under Russian occupation since early March.
[...]
It is likely to stay that way in the coming months. According to my colleagues at AEI's Critical Threats Project (CTP), "winter weather could disproportionately harm poorly-equipped Russian forces in Ukraine, but well-supplied Ukrainian forces are unlikely to halt their counteroffensives." If anything, the frozen terrain will improve Ukrainian maneuverability rather than lead to a slowdown of their advances.
[...]
Contrary to what critics of military assistance to Ukraine allege, it represents perhaps the best way to spend money in the entire Pentagon budget, as it allows the United States to debilitate one of its key global adversaries -- investing in Europe's and our own security for decades to come -- without risking the life of a single American serviceman or servicewoman....
NPR | Russia retreats from Kherson. Why is the U.S. nudging Ukraine on peace talks?, 11 Nov
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 01:40:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]
euronews | Kyiv fears 'city of death' as Russian troops 'complete pullout' from Kherson, 11 Nov Dnipro Dnieper
Meanwhile, images have emerged of the destruction of part of a key bridge over the river. It is not clear how several whole sections of the Antonivskyy Bridge, the only nearby road crossing from Kherson to the Russian-controlled eastern bank of the Dnipro, collapsed.
To prevent UAF pursuit, RF MoD reported blowing it up after evacuating ("forcibly deporting") ~160K civilians and ~ 50K troops
The bridge collapse came after Ukrainian officials had warned that Russian landmines could render Kherson a "city of death," and that key infrastructure sites might be rigged to explode as Ukrainian soldiers as they enter the city.
[...]
The bridge collapse came after Ukrainian officials had warned that Russian landmines could render Kherson a "city of death," and that key infrastructure sites might be rigged to explode as Ukrainian soldiers as they enter the city....Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podol*ak said Russian troops laid mines throughout Kherson as they withdrew to turn it into a "city of death" and predicted they would shell it after relocating across the Dnieper River.
[...]
Arkadiy Dovzhenko, who fled Kherson in June, said his grandparents still living there told him Thursday that "the Russians were bringing a lot of equipment into the town and also mining every inch of it."

Another resident said Kherson was deserted Thursday [10 Nov] and that explosions could be heard from around Antonivskiy Bridge -- a key Dnieper River crossing that Ukrainian forces have repeatedly bombarded.

"Life in the city seems to have stopped. Everyone has disappeared somewhere and no one knows what will happen next," said Konstantin, a resident whose last name was withheld for security reasons.

US News | New Damage to Major Dam Near Kherson After Russian Retreat-Maxar Satellite, 11 Nov Dnipro
"Satellite images this morning ... reveal significant new damage to several bridges and the Nova Kakhovka dam in the aftermath of the Russian retreat from Kherson across the Dnipro river," Maxar said in a statement ... sections of the northern extent of the dam and sluice gates had been "deliberately destroyed". Earlier this week Russia accused Ukraine of shelling the dam.
HIMARS artillery provided by US to UA precipitated risk and civilian evacuation
Both sides have repeatedly accused each of planning to breach the dam using explosives, which would flood much of the area downstream and would likely cause major destruction around Kherson capital.
archived Dni*p*r[o] Cascade of Hydroelectric Stations 19 Oct teaser

Next Week: Podol*ak exhumes mass graves

by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 02:38:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]
There's an expression in English : "burning your bridges". The Russians clearly don't expect to be coming back; they have done what every retreating army has done since bridges were invented.

The Kakhovka hydro station is now right on the front line, on the Russian occupied side of the river. It remains to be seen whether they will blow up the dam, as well as the bridge.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 10:14:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Strong Paris in August 1944 vibes:

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 10:39:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
DW | Russian 'war crimes' reported in Kherson, 13 Nov lede feature story
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk* said in his regular nightly address on Sunday that investigators working in the southern Kherson region have uncovered MORE THAN 400 "war crimes" committed by Russian troops.
[...]
While there are still Russian forces in the Kherson region, Ukraine's army has reported retaking several towns, as well as the capital, Kherson city.

"In the Kherson region, the Russian army left behind the same atrocities as in other regions of our country, where it was able to enter," Zelensk* said, adding that the BODIES of Ukrainian civilians and troops were found in Kherson.


F24 hard to see, easy to miss PFM-1 "petal" aka "butterfly" mines littering Donetsk?
De-mining underway in Kherson

Zelensk* said on Sunday that one was KILLED and four were INJURED during DE-MINING work. The president asked residents to "be very careful and immediately inform the rescuers about all dangerous objects."
[...]
Ukrainian officials say Russian troops stole raccoon and other animals
The founder of an animal rights movement in Ukraine said Russian forces had stolen animals from a local zoo in Kherson.      

"They have taken most of the zoo's collection to Crimea: from llamas and wolves to donkeys and squirrels," Oleksandr Todorchuk, founder of UAnimals said on Facebook. According to local media, a Moscow-backed official in Crimea had ordered the "evacuation" (forcible deportation) of animals.
[...]
Ukrainian railways offer symbolic tickets to occupied cities
After Kherson's liberation, Ukrainian railways are offering symbolic tickets to cities that are still under Russian control.  ...

errata: RIA Novosti reports 115K civilians (traitors), 30K troops (invaders) "relocated" (evacutated, deported) to NEW! provincial Kherson capital, (G | H)enichesk in Kherson, 200km from LIBERATED! provincial capital.
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 09:31:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
around Russian "war crimes".
As we know, Russia is engaged in a special military operation in Ukraine.

When prisoners are exchanged, Russian prisoners of war are exchanged for an equal number of Ukrainian prisoners of special military operation. (And of course, it is absurd to accuse the Russians of not respecting the Geneva conventions concerning prisoners of war.)
Likewise, how can there be "war crimes" when there is no war? Possibly there have been victims of over-zealous policing.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 10:25:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
You didn't read the article, did you.

I did not put war crimes scare quotes.

by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 12:31:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
That was Deutsche Welle.
I was fooled into thinking it was you because you constantly INTERPOLATE your editorial content into your citations by way of capitalisation, html markup etc.

But anyway... every Russian military action being a "war crime" is a tedious mirror image of the fact that every Ukrainian military action is "terrorism" (because the Ukrainian army is not a state actor).

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 02:07:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Sun Nov 27th, 2022 at 10:21:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 08:12:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
YLE | Finnish MPs approve abortion law reform, 26 Oct public property
1 M.D. opinion, gestation ≤ 12 wks
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 01:10:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
UN News | General Assembly adopts resolution on Russian reparations for Ukraine, 14 Nov
perverse incentives
94 countries voted in favour of the resolution, and 14 against, while 73 abstained.
193 - 106 = simple majority
The vote took place in the morning, and countries returned in the afternoon to explain their decisions.
pre-emptive lawful and unlawful spoils of postmodern war
In presenting the resolution, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya used the biblical adage that "there is nothing new under the sun" as a motif throughout his remarks. He insisted that Russia must be held accountable for its violations of international law.

"Seventy-seven years ago, the Soviet Union demanded and received reparations [FROM WHOM?], calling it a moral right of a [WWII VICTOR] that has suffered war and occupation," he said....Mr. Kyslytsya pointed out that Russia also supported the creation of the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), established in 1991 following Iraq's invasion and occupation of DEFEAT in Kuwait [by the Tin Cup Coalition].

...about 2.7 million claims, with an asserted value of $352.5 billion, were filed... Nineteen Panels of Commissioners reviewed and evaluated the claims... $52.4 billion in compensation awarded has been paid in full and distributed to the 1.5 million claimants ...after nearly 31 years...
aa.com.tr | UN General Assembly calls for Russia to pay war reparations to Ukraine, 14 Nov pro se
Russia, China, Iran, and Syria were among the member states that opposed the resolution. To date the world body G7 has passed four [?] resolutions condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine. The Security Council, the UN's most powerful body, has been paralyzed from taking action as Russia is one of the council's five veto-wielding powers.
[...]
It recommends the creation of an international register of damage to serve as a record, in documentary form[] of evidence and claims information on damage, loss, or injury to all natural and legal persons concerned as well as to promote and coordinate evidence-gathering.

Not legally binding

General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they carry political weight.

reference
Draft Resolution (A/ES-11/L.6) - Item 5, dated 28 February 2014, submitted 7 Nov 2022
UNGA members' eStatements ("Explanation of vote")
Slava Ukraini!
by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 10:31:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

© AP Photo / LIBKOS

Daily BeastPhoto: Alleged Russian Collaborators Tied to Lampposts in Ukraine, 13 Nov

...An Associated Press photograph taken on Sunday shows two alleged collaborators zip-tied to lampposts in the freshly liberated city, awaiting an unknown fate. Throughout the country in recent weeks, The Sunday Times of London reported, Ukrainian intelligence services have made a number of methodical arrests of assumed traitors, who are often held for weeks without charge. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the collaborators left behind by the Russian retreat on Friday, urging them to surrender under the guarantee they would "be treated in accordance with the law and international standards."...
"evidence gathering"
archived Kremlin Collaborators Face Justice, Myrotvorets, May 2022 child soldiers, Zelenskyy Says Post-war Ukraine Will Emulate Israel, Executed on the spot, February 24, 2022
by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 02:44:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Zelensk* Submits Application For Ukraine To Hold World Exhibition EXPO-2030 In Odesa, 29 Nov
He noted that this year Ukraine has become a world model of courage and billions of people on all continents have seen what Ukrainian invincibility means and why Russian terror will not achieve its goal. And later, according to the President, the world community will see how Ukraine after victory will become an example of reconstruction, and the reconstruction of Ukraine will become the most important economic, technological[,] and humanitarian project.

"And in 2030, when the Ukrainian reconstruction will already demonstrate a significant part of the planned results, it will be possible to see in Ukraine what humanity is capable of, when all peoples cooperate for peace and security, for the sake of development and a more convenient future for all people. And this, by the way, is the fundamental meaning of world exhibitions. So the reality of our country and the spirit of the World Exhibitions will coincide as much as possible. It is in Ukraine, in 2030," he said.

Zelensk* noted that already Ukraine is attracting dozens of partner countries to restore, the total amount of work is more than a trillion dollars....

archived crimes against environment committed by Russia COP27 mssg, UNGA resolution on Russian reparations for Ukraine, Lugano Conference
by Cat on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 08:27:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ukraine Added To Spain-Portugal 2030 World Cup Bid In Sign Of European Solidarity | RFERL |

Ukraine FA boss Pavelko arrested on fraud charges | Nov. 30, 2022 |

Ukraine's bid to stage the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal has suffered a potentially serious blow after its FA president Andriy Pavelko (pictured) was arrested on suspicion of embezzling his organisation's funds.

According to AFP, Pavelko and UFA general secretary Yuri Zapisotsky are accused of fraud and money-laundering, notably misusing funds meant for the construction of an artificial football pitch factory, following a three-year investigation that began well before the Russian invasion of the country.

Pavelko, who denies wrongdoing, faces up to 12 years in prison. He is reported to have paid 9.9 million hryvnias ($270,000) in bail.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 09:54:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

On corruption and oligarchs, Russians and Ukrainians have so much in common. A shame Joe always chooses a side and creates trouble.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 09:55:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Pravda.com.ua | CNN and Sky News journalists stripped of their accreditation for reporting from Kherson, 13 Nov "evidence gathering"
Details: On Sunday, a post appeared on the official Facebook page of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine saying that "a number of media representatives who have broken the rules on working in the area of ​​hostilities have had their work permits revoked and their press cards invalidated."

Quote from the General Staff: "Recently, some media representatives, ignoring existing prohibitions and warnings, have carried out information activities in the city of Kherson without the consent of the relevant commanders and public relations services of military units and before the completion of stabilisation measures.

Such actions are a gross violation of the requirements of order No. 73 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine dated 3 March 2022, as well as the relevant instructions of the military command."

Human rights ombudsman appeals to Defence Minister about journalists, 14 Nov
Quote from Lubinets: "However, there is a lack of communication with the international media, whose task is to provide up-to-date information from the scene so that citizens of [our] partner countries can see for themselves what the purpose of the weapons and humanitarian programmes being funded by [their] taxes is.
archived case in point: Ukraine in Crisis as Discipline, NPI Systems Design 2022 European Media Freedom Act, A Donetsk Hotel Full of Journalists, Dutch Reporter Thrown Out of Ukraine

euractiv | Media Freedom Act falls short on spyware, says EU data watchdog, 14 Nov
pull the other one

by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 04:06:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | The Kremlin's friends in the sky, 29 Nov
France's Eutelsat and Luxembourg's SES -- have been carrying Russian channels feeding disinformation and hateful content about the war in Ukraine to tens of millions of homes in Russia, Africa, India[,] and the Middle East.
[...]
Broadcasters ["media company," "media operator"] pay satellite providers to use their infrastructure [equipment and radio frequencies]. Satellite companies are restricted [BY WHOM?] in their ability to remove specific channels from their broadcasting customers' [subscription "programme"] packages. They could, however, stop selling their services to broadcasting customersers [incoporated anywhere on the planet] not respecting enforcing EU sanctions [against the "terrorist" Russian Federation].
[...]
"We definitely need to step up the fight against Russian propaganda and address loopholes as part of our continuous work on new sanctions," European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová said in a comment to POLITICO.

Nearly 40 members of the European Parliament on November 18 called for sanctions to stop the broadcasting of Russian TV and radio stations from spreading [US American "media operator"] falsehoods about the war in Ukraine.  

"Eutelsat contributes to fueling Russian public support to Putin's war and prevents them from having access to independent news sources [such as RFERL]," said Estonian member of the European Parliament and former EU Commission vice president Andrus Ansip.
[...]

archived 2022 European Media Freedom Act, mysteries of telecom transmission in Crisis as Discipline, NPI Systems Design

reference
Space Careers | satellite operators
wikiwtf satellite service carriers by region
World Teleport Association, carrier members
Intelsat (I'm so old, I remember when this organization had no database to speak of; the table of public- and private-sector satellite operators by region by country was a few G2 HTML pages. At the time—turn of the 21st—my mission was to survey satellite telecom services across Africa as well as transnational cable networks and secure servers installed globally by region. You might be able to imagine my amusement, when FB and GOOG tried to launch their G3 (bal)LOON-y telecom devices into the troposphere for "women and minorities" in developing countries after dot-com and credit panics receded from their subscriber base in developed countries. Too little, way to late.)

by Cat on Tue Nov 29th, 2022 at 04:46:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
hromadske-ua | Zelensk* signed a law abolishing lifelong financial monitoring for high-ranking officials. This is contrary to EU requirements, 21 Nov Slava Ukraini!
President Volodymyr Zelensk* signed a law according to which the state and banks will not be able to carry out enhanced financial monitoring of politicians and high-ranking officials after their dismissal. This contradicts one of the seven requirements for Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

We were informed about this in the Anti-Corruption Center [06.09.2022].

We are talking about Law No. 2736 , which is supposed to ensure the recommendations of the European Commission on combating money laundering.

Draft Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention and Counteraction of Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds of Crime, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction" on the protection of the financial system of Ukraine from the actions of a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine, and adaptation legislation to individual FATF standards and the requirements of EU Directive 2018/843
[cyrillic Draft Law (September 8, 2022) .pdf]
"There are international and European standards according to which a risk-oriented approach should be implemented throughout the life of a person who has held a high political position. That is, banks should check the source of income and wealth of this person ," explained Darina Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Center [antac.org.ua]
[...]
"In order for us to have the opportunity to convince our European partners that we are serious about joining the EU and are carrying out all necessary reforms, we should correct this norm. That is, now it is necessary to have a separate law that will bring back the norm that has been in effect for many years ," added Kaleniuk.

She noted that the EU is carefully studying the legislation on countering the legalization of income in Ukraine. Therefore, the adoption of Law No. 2736 may have negative consequences.

"They may not publicly comment or criticize given the situation in the country. But this is a very bitter step. And the result may simply be a delay in negotiations with the EU and the next steps regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU ," Kaleniuk stressed....

euopeanjournalists.org | Ukraine: President bans opposition media Strana.ua and sanctions editor-in-chief, 26 Aug
Thomson Foundation, surely no relation to Thomson Reuters Foundation Trust
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 04:41:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
wut
The Ukrainian regulator has fined subsidiaries of French Engie and British Shell for failing to provide information on the financing of the Nord Stream 2 project, in which the companies took part. This is stated in the message of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU).

"The Temporary Administrative Board of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine issued a decision to impose a fine on Alliance Holding LLC and Energy Energy Management Ukraine LLC for failure to provide information on the requirements of the state commissioner of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine," the message on the regulator's Facebook page says (banned in the Russian Federation; belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation).

In September 2021, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine launched an investigation into the companies involved in financing the Nord Stream 2 project - the Russian Gazprom, as well as its foreign partners, including the French Engie, the British Shell[,] and the German BASF. The AMCU claims that the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project will lead to a violation of competition.
[...]
A court in Poland last Monday overturned the decision of the Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (UOKiK), which fined companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 in 2020, including Gazprom, OMV, Wintershall, Shell, Uniper and Engie. In 2020, the Polish regulator fined Gazprom and five companies cooperating with it $7.6 billion and $61 million, respectively. This is the largest antitrust fine in the history of the regulator, it is equal to 10% of the annual turnover of each of the companies.

In 2012, the shareholders of Nord Stream AG began negotiations on the construction of two additional strings of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. In September 2015, a shareholder agreement was signed, according to which 51% of the shares in the Nord Stream 2 project belonged to Gazprom, 10% to the German concerns E.ON and BASF / Wintershall, British Shell, Austrian OMV and 9% to French Engie. In early 2016, the decision to establish a joint venture was canceled due to objections from the Polish Antimonopoly Office. In 2017, Gazprom became the sole shareholder of Nord Stream 2, European energy companies remained in the project as investors, who provided half of its financing - €4.75 billion.
[...]

Kyiv Independent | Polish regulator to appeal annulment of $6.3 billion fine imposed on Gazprom
..."We are surprised by the judgment of the court," Tomasz Chrostny, the head of the watchdog, said in a statement."...
"operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline without the required consent of the President of UOKiK"
by Cat on Sat Nov 26th, 2022 at 12:13:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
ec.europa.eu | Opening speech by Commissioner Simson at the 15th European Nuclear Energy Forum, 11 Nov
[...]
Based on our modelling, we expect the share of the nuclear power to be roughly 15%-16% in our electricity production in 2030 and 2050 perspective. So, the EU should have a stable generation capacity, at the level of just over 100 GW, in the coming decades.
[...]
Third, let's consider investment.
[...]
Today the average age of the EU nuclear fleet is greater than 30 years. And our analysis shows that without immediate investment, around 90% of existing reactors would be shut down around the time when we need them most - in 2030.

Maintain the same generation capacity as today, by replacing retiring units with new reactors, will need about 350 - 450 billion euro of investment. Another 45-50 billion will be invested in long-term operation of existing reactors....

archived drivel is drivel, May 2022 prediction
by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 12:59:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Ukranews  U.S. Will Allocate About USD 20 Million To Support Zelenskyy's Grain Initiative, 19 Nov
"USAID will provide support through the UN World Food Program (WFP) to facilitate the delivery of additional supplies of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea Grain Initiative," the release stated.
[...]
Ukranews | Voluntary Evacuation ["deportation"] Begun In South Of Ukraine, 20 Nov
According to [Vice Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk], people are offered to go to the west of the country through Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih. As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, mobilized Russians are outraged by the transfer from Kherson to the Luhansk Region.
[...]
On November 11, Zelenskyy announced the liberation of Kherson.
Ukranews | Russia Has Ammunition Left For Month Of Fighting - Media, 20 Nov
This is reported in the Economist weekly.

Western sources believe that Russia is running out of ammunition. It is not only about cruise and ballistic missiles, but also about artillery shells. According to them, there are about 120 Iskanders left.
[...]
However, there are also few shells in Ukraine, in particular, for air defense.

Ukranews | IAEA Reports More Than 10 Explosions On Territory Of Zaporizhzhia NPP, 20 Nov
Damage to buildings and equipment at the station was also reported, but none of it was critical. There are no reports of casualties.The Russian side blamed these explosions on the AFU.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on November 16, the IAEA reported that the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants were de-energized [sic] due to missile strikes by the Russian Federation.

On November 14, the IAEA announced its intention to send missions to the South Ukrainian, Khmelnytskyi, and Rivne NPPs.

IAEA | Update 128 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine, 20 Nov
In what appeared to be renewed shelling both close to and at the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, IAEA experts at the ZNPP reported to Agency headquarters that more than a dozen blasts were heard within a short period of time in the morning local time. The IAEA team could also see some of the explosions from their windows.
Update 127 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine, 16 Nov
The power loss at the KhNPP came just a day after the IAEA announced it would in the coming weeks send nuclear safety and security missions to this plant, Rivne and the South Ukraine nuclear power plant as well as to Chornobyl. The missions are being organized at the request of Ukraine.
Update 126 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine, 14 Nov
With the creation of a Moscow-based Russian state operating organization for the site, the Russian Federation has announced it has taken control of the facility, including now taking significant operational decisions, and more Russian technical staff are present at the site. However, Ukrainian plant staff continue to undertake day-to-day operations of the ZNPP facility, under high and relentless stress.

In another sign of this, a Russian contractor has been undertaking modifications of the physical protection system of the plant's dry spent fuel storage facility, which were not authorized by the competent Ukrainian authority.

Last Friday, the IAEA team visited the dry spent fuel storage facility and saw that IAEA safeguards seals on the spent fuel casks were in place, and no immediate safeguards issues were identified.

archived NPPs on the detectives' list; SUNPP, RNPP, KhNPP incident report in Casualty
by Cat on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 05:47:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | Top Ukrainian aide says Russia didn't ask for a 'short truce,' clarifying Zelensk* remark, 19 Nov shell shock
On Friday, Zelensk* told an audience at the Halifax International Security Forum that Kyiv rejected Russia's preference for a "short truce," leaving open the question of whether Moscow made the request of the Ukrainian administration.

Andriy Yermak, who heads the Ukrainian presidential office, stated in a virtual interview that the Kremlin did not propose such a pause to the Ukrainian government. "We have not [had] any official application from the Russian side about some conversations, some negotiations," he said.

Slava Ukraini!
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 02:31:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Shells hit near nuclear plant; Blackouts roll across Ukraine, 20 Nov
Ukraine's state nuclear power operator, Energoatom, said Russian forces were behind the shelling of the [ZNPP], and that the equipment targeted was consistent with the Kremlin's intent "to damage or destroy as much of Ukraine's energy infrastructure as possible" as winter sets in.
[...]
Elsewhere in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian forces shelled civilian infrastructure in about a dozen communities, destroying 30 homes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk*'s office said Sunday. Twenty buildings were damaged in shelling at Nikopol, a city across the river from the Zaporizhzhia plant, it said....
Ukraine: Civilians should leave liberated areas this winter, 21 Nov
of the southern Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, fearing that Russian damage to the infrastructure and the lack of heat, power[,] and water is too severe for people to endure the upcoming winter, officials said Monday. The evacuations come as rolling blackouts plague most of the country.

Residents of the two southern regions, which have been shelled for months by Russian forces, have been advised to move to safer areas in the central and and western parts of the country, said Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.... The liberation marked a major battlefield gain for Ukraine, but the evacuations now highlight the difficulties the country is facing following heavy Russian shelling of its power infrastructure as freezing weather sets in.
[...]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk* on Monday called on NATO nations and allies to recognize Russia as a terrorist state, saying that Russia's shelling of energy supplies was tantamount "to the use of a weapon of mass destruction." Zelensk* also urged even stricter sanctions against Russia and appealed for more air defense aid for Ukraine. "The terrorist state needs to see that they do not stand a chance," he told NATO's 68th Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Madrid in a video address.
[...]

archived future referendums with jail
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 03:20:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

NASA Worldview Ukraine, 24 Nov 2022

For comparison, a spirited discussion of ICEYE satellite image resolution, technical limitations, and orbit, After Schock | Why the US needs giant swarms of surveillance satellites, 23 Nov

by Cat on Fri Nov 25th, 2022 at 11:16:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

DG Grossi Statement on Ukraine, 24 Nov, ZNPP "safety zone" promo

Update 133 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine, 25 Nov

[...]
Ukraine today also confirmed to the IAEA that the three other nuclear power plants - Rivne, South Ukraine, and Khmelnytskyy - had been re-connected to the grid and were operating to generate electricity for the country's needs. Power had also been restored to the Chornobyl site, it said.

Separately today, Director General Grossi said the IAEA had completed a week-long nuclear safety and security expert mission to Chornobyl, including the Exclusion Zone set up around the plant following the 1986 accident. The mission will help pave the way for upgrades and improvements of the plant's nuclear security systems. The IAEA experts also gained a better understanding of the plant's safety and security needs and provided advice and guidance on radiation monitoring.

The IAEA announced earlier this month that it would soon send such missions to Chornobyl as well as to the Rivne, South Ukraine, and Khmelnytskyy sites, at Ukraine's request.

by Cat on Sat Nov 26th, 2022 at 01:57:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Russian occupiers will leave Zaporizh* NPP - Podol*ak, 28 Nov
Podol*ak believes that the Russian occupiers will leave the territory of the Zaporizh* NPP, as the line of defense begins to move to the borders of the Russian Federation.

In addition, he emphasized that, unlike the situation that arose with the annexation of Crimea, the world community [?] has a principled position regarding the Zaporizh* NPP, in particular the IAEA, despite the significant number of representatives from Russia in the organization.
[...]
He emphasized that the number of losses and all reputational negatives as a result of Ukraine's return of the Zaporizh* NPP will fall solely on Russia.

archived Kotin said in Casualty
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Petro Kotin, the president of Energoatom, said that there are signs that the Russian occupiers are preparing to leave the Zaporizh* NPP....
Occupiers Appoint Former Chief Engineer As Zaporizh* NPP New Director, 30 Nov
The former chief engineer of the Energoatom National Nuclear Energy Company, who worked at the Zaporizh* NPP, has taken the post. Renat Karchaa, adviser to the head of Russian Rosenergoatom, stated this, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
[...]
The previous head of the Zaporizh* NPP Ihor Murashov was expelled to Ukraine after he was allegedly convicted of cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine.
archived Russia abducts head of Zaporizh* in Casualty
According to the occupier, Murashov allegedly coordinated terrorist activities on the territory of the station and in the nearby Ener*odar.... The army of the invaders turned the NPP into a military base, and its territory was repeatedly used for unprovoked shelling of Ukrainian cities on the opposite bank of the Dnieper....
Slava Ukraini!
by Cat on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 07:28:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Update 134 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine
During the mission to the SUNPP, the IAEA team met plant management and staff and conducted walkdowns and interviews in the areas of nuclear and radiation safety, nuclear security, emergency preparedness and response, and logistics and communications. [...] The IAEA team also learned more about the loss of external power on 23 November, and the subsequent shutdown of the two operating units, that resulted from attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The site's diesel generators were able to provide power to maintain nuclear safety and security systems, but there were some plant challenges and there was also an impact on on-site and off-site communications.

The team also assessed logistics and spare parts management and reviewed the list of [RANET] support equipment earlier requested through the Ukraine regulator. This led to a better understanding of site needs and how the IAEA can provide further assistance with regard to nuclear safety and security.

The IAEA team's assessments will help inform the follow-up missions to the SUNPP to provide the Agency's continuing assistance and support.  The IAEA's initial missions to the Rivne [RNPP] and Khmelnitsky [KhNPP] plants will take place next week.

"Elsewhere in the Zaporizh* region"
Up to 70 mobile diesel boilers are being gradually deployed in the nearby city of Ener*odar to provide for heating of communal buildings, houses[,] and flats. Currently, these boilers operate at a local school, kindergarten[,] and the hospital. Up to seven mobile diesel boilers are being deployed on the ZNPP site to heat buildings at the site. One has arrived and a further three will arrive today.

Four of the [ZNPP] reactor units remain in cold shutdown, while the two other units are in hot shutdown - enabling them to provide steam to the plant and heat to Ener*odar. The city also continues to receive electricity from the off-site power lines through the ZNPP and thermal power plant switchyards system.
[...]
This week it was announced on site and by the Russian Federation that ZNPP's [Energoatom] Chief Engineer Yuri Chernichuk has been appointed as plant director. The Ukraine operator Energoatom has rejected this appointment and has appointed Dmytro Verbytskyi as acting director general of the plant, and Igor Murashow as chief engineer, who are not on the site.
[...]

by Cat on Fri Dec 2nd, 2022 at 09:53:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Associated Press reporter fired over erroneous story on Russian attack, 22 Nov
James LaPorta, 35, was terminated after a brief investigation, people at the news organization confirmed to The Washington Post.
[...]
the initial AP alert, sent to thousands of news outlets around the world, suggested a dire new escalation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Poland is a NATO member, and a Russian attack on its territory might have invoked a western military response under the treaty organization's mutual self-defense provisions. Other news organizations quickly passed along the news.
[...]
LaPorta's firing was first reported Monday evening by the Daily Beast.

LaPorta declined to comment. A former U.S. Marine who served in Afghanistan, he joined AP in April 2020 after several years as a freelance reporter. He covered military affairs and national security issues for the news service.
[...]
Internal AP communications viewed by The Post show some confusion and misunderstanding during the preparations of the erroneous report.

LaPorta shared the U.S. official's tip in an electronic message around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. An editor immediately asked if AP should issue an alert on his tip, "or would we need confirmation from another source and/or Poland?"
[...]
After further discussion, a second editor said she "would vote" for publishing an alert, adding, "I can't imagine a U.S. intelligence official would be wrong on this."
[...]

by Cat on Tue Nov 22nd, 2022 at 04:39:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
WSJ | OPEC+ Eyes Output Increase Ahead of Restrictions on Russian Oil, 21 Nov "delegates say"
< checks watch >
Reuters | Saudi denies oil output hike discussion, says OPEC+ may cut if needed, 21 Nov
Prince Abdulaziz was also quoted as saying OPEC+ was ready to reduce output further if needed.

"The current cut of 2 million barrels per day by OPEC+ continues until the end of 2023 and if there is need to take further measures by reducing production to balance supply and demand we always remain ready to intervene," he said.

archived October 2022 cap mania
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 03:10:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
aftershock.news | 404. There is no electricity in the city of nuclear scientists, 21 Nov machine translations
In the satellite city of the Khmelnytsky NPP, Netyishyn, electricity supply cannot be restored due to network overload, the authorities have provided the townspeople with braziers for cooking, said the mayor Alexander Suprunyuk.

On Saturday, JSC Khmelnytskoblenergo reported that due to an overload of the power grid, an emergency shutdown occurred for an indefinite period throughout the city of Netishyn.
[...]
[Suprunyuk] noted that the last missile "raid" caused the greatest destruction to the Khmelnitsky region, now there are "problems and distortions in energy supply" in the city. According to the mayor, the authorities "brought barbecues and firewood to every courtyard so that people could cook on an open fire", food is prepared in one kindergarten and delivered to all the others, all utilities have been transferred to a daytime working day from 9.00 to 16.00 (10.00 Moscow time). until 17.00 Moscow time, respectively), distance education was introduced in schools.

Khmelnytsky NPP is located on the territory of the Khmelnytsky region in the city of Netishyn. It includes two power units (VVER-1000) with a total capacity of 2000 MW (connected in 1987 and 2004). The main purpose of the station is to cover the shortage of electrical capacities in the western region of Ukraine.

A bit of Donetsk realities
The mine somehow began to work. So far, things are not particularly optimistic. We had 2 mining sites. One gave good coal, and the second barely breathed. So they launched one that is barely alive. it didn't flood as much. A well-working flooded overhaul. The water was pumped out, but equipment is still unreachable. The support sank, in some places collapsed. Need to pass and reinforce production. Then issue and repair equipment, change tapes, cables, lay a rail track, etc.
[...]
The salary delay is already 3 months (since August). The last time they paid 10% (about two thousand) was in September. Worst of all, nothing specific promise. It is not forbidden to go on a free vacation and look for another job. On our site 30 percent did. Not so long ago, at the mine, those who wished to work in Kherson and Zaporozhye regions (construction of fortifications), promised a salary of 150,000 rubles. The director was forbidden to obstruct those who wish.

With water, the authorities somehow solved the problem. The schedule in our village, of course, is not maintained, but since consumption during the cold season has decreased markedly, a catastrophic shortage of water do not have to speak. In addition, I sometimes swim in the mine after my shift.

In one village, the situation may be different. In our village in some houses and blocks of water not since March. The authorities approved an expensive project to build a water conduit from the Don. That is, on the restoration of water supply from the Seversky Donets (Slovyansk region) is no longer expected.
[...]

by Cat on Tue Nov 22nd, 2022 at 05:25:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ukraine War Day #272: Why Shell A Nuclear Power Plant? Mystery Explained
[...]
On Sunday, 20 November, the Ukrainians resumed their shelling of the Zaporozh* Nuclear Power Plant. The fire is being directed, very precisely, at the nuclear waste storage site. And this is no accident.

When the first shellings started, back in April, experts tried to figure out if it was physically possible to destroy the actual reactor, using shells and rockets. To be sure, nuclear power stations are built to withstand just about anything. But most of the layers are protection are around the actual processes taking place inside the reactor. It never occurred to anybody that somebody would actually keep shelling an NPP. There are actually no precedents for this. Fortunately, the experts believe that damage to the actual reactor is highly unlikely. The shielding was built to withstand even a small airplane crashing into it, according to expert scientist Alexander Prosvirnov.

But if they cannot destroy the reactor, then what are the Ukrainians actually after? Prosvirnov believes that he knows the answer:

"They are going after the nuclear waste. The Zaporozh* NPP was built for, and used to operate on, Russian fuel. In the past, the Russians would remove their waste products and utilize them in other processes. But several years ago, the Ukrainians broke ties with Russia and converted to American fuel, supplied by Westinghouse [!]. Which, by the way, is not really suitable for this type of reactor, but it still functions, more or less. Now. the bad part is that the Americans do not remove their waste [preach it]. And so it just lies there on the territory of the station; and is not guarded very well.

"They purchased a license from a certain firm, for dry waste storage containers, and placed them on the territory of the NPP. These sites are vulnerable, they could emit contamination if shelled. It's a sort of poor man's Dirty Bomb."

So, what would happen, hypothetically, should a rocket blow up the nuclear waste products?
[...]

oh
by Cat on Fri Nov 25th, 2022 at 01:06:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
euronews | European Parliament votes to declare Russia a 'state sponsor of terrorism', 23 Nov Slava Ukraini!
over the "brutal and inhumane" acts inflicted upon Ukraine and its citizens since the launch of the invasion.

The strongly-worded[, nonbinding] resolution was overwhelmingly approved on Wednesday afternoon with 494 votes in favour, 58 against and 44 abstentions, during the monthly plenary session in Strasbourg.

The text merged three different resolutions filed by the European People's Party (EPP), Renew Europe and the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR).

n the final version, MEPs denounce Russia's "illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression" against Ukraine and accuse the Russian army and its proxies of committing a long list of crimes, such as the murder of "thousands" of civilians and "hundreds" of children, attacks on essential dual-use infrastructure, summary executions, abductions, rape, harassment, torture, mass detentions[,] and forced deportations.

"These brutal and inhumane acts are causing death, suffering, destruction and displacement," MEPs said, noting the almost 40,000 war crimes that have so far been documented in Ukraine.
[...]
As a result of all this, the European Parliament calls on EU member states to develop a brand-new [!] legal framework that can enable the designation of an entire country as a sponsor of terrorism, something [like collective punishment] that is currently not possible....

OpEd | The limits of Europe's drive for critical minerals autonomy, 21 Nov NIMBY check
Exec summary: Autonomy is a fantasy. Europeans must import "critical minerals" from the jungle, because Europe itself does not produce quantities of "critical minerals", ore, oil, or gas and have renounced "indigenous" coal, and NPPs as well as investment in renewable "energy sufficient to sustain "advanced economy" industry.
reneweconomy | Wilkie calls out Australia "clean coal scam" that puts country's reputation at stake, 20 Nov
by Cat on Thu Nov 24th, 2022 at 12:29:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Ursula Von der Leyen Deleted video tweet

...more than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far. Russia must pay for its horrific crimes...
deep fake news disinformation Russian propaganda story developing ...
Slava Ukraini!
by Cat on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 04:07:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
o, look. The Ukranews version is safe and sound.

European Commission Names Its Version Of How Much Military Ukraine Lost In War With Russia, 30 Nov

Ukraine lost about 100,000 troops in the war that Russia began.
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has stated this.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought death, devastation and untold suffering. We all remember the horror in Bucha. It is estimated that more than 20,000 civilians and more than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died to date," Ursula said.

However, she did not specify whether it was about the dead or about the dead and injured.

"Russia must pay for its terrible crimes, in particular, for the crime of aggression against a sovereign state," she said.

Von der Leyen proposed the creation of a specialized court with the support of the UN to investigate and prosecute crimes of the Russian Federation.

because the ICJ and ICC are obsolete? The ECHR and ECJ are too busy? Litigation in federal courts of the most ignorant nation on planet is too slow?
The Ukrainian military leadership has not yet commented on the statement of the President of the European Commission.

Subsequently, an excerpt was cut from a video on Ursula von der Leyen's Twitter page in which she calls the number of Ukrainian military and civilian killed.

by Cat on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 06:53:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
o, look. The euractiv version is safe and sound.
EU Commission chief in hot water over Ukraine war loss estimates
"It is estimated that 20,000 civilians and more than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far," von der Leyen said in the original version of the video, reshared later by Twitter users. She did, however, not specify where the data came from.

The European Commission later deleted the video of von der Leyen's speech, as well as its transcript, and republished both without the sentence containing the numbers. A spokesperson for von der Leyen tweeted a correction within a few hours, stating that the original video had been edited because the 100,000 figure related to estimates of total casualties, including those killed but also the injured.

A cry for halp, halp. An outcry.
"Indeed, in an initial version of the communication, some figures were mentioned in regard to casualties, the aim being indeed that of showing the brutality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is known to everybody and which is important to expose," said Dana Spinant, deputy spokesperson of the European Commission.

"n a subsequent version of the communication, we decided to exclude any figures to avoid focusing on figures, but on the very important task that we have had, together with our partners, and together with the Ukrainian authorities, which is that of holding Russia < wipes tears > accountable," she added.

by Cat on Thu Dec 1st, 2022 at 06:04:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Thu Dec 1st, 2022 at 08:25:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | 'Comeback kid' Lars Løkke Rasmussen at center of Danish politics, 29 Oct
"new party [Moderaterne] has surged into third place in the [opinion] polls"

euractiv | Danes to cast verdict on Social Democrats as new crises loom, 1 Nov
"Danish waters fuelled an unprecedented sense of insecurity among Danes" poll smoke

archived Oct Mink Comish Climax snap, Midsummer crisis in Sweden 2021, A Swedish government appears 2019

by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 07:52:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
government.se | Gloomy forecast for the Swedish economy, 31.10.22 dravel
"Svensk ekonomi väntas gå in i recession 2023 mitt i stigande arbetslöshet, enligt Finansdepartementets senaste konjunkturprognos"
by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 11:18:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Danish central bank slashes growth forecast and predicts higher inflation, 21 Sep
"Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Denmark," 27 Oct
The primary objective of monetary policy is to maintain low and stable inflation. In Denmark the objective is achieved by pegging the Danish krone to the euro. This entails that Danish monetary policy tracks the monetary policy conducted by the European Central Bank. To the extent that developments in the Danish economy deviate from the euro area, domestic fiscal policy can be used as a tool for stabilisation....
"Corporate climate communication is not associated with fewer emissions," 5 Oct 2022
climate change and the transition
to a greener economy will impact corporate earnings
and economic activity. This may compromise price and
financial stability in Denmark, which it is Danmarks
Nationalbank's objective to ensure. ...
ec.europa.eu | Demark's National Reform Program 2022
The package includes a number of reforms that all strengthen potential employment by around 12,000 persons in 2025 and 2030 and increase Danish
GDP by around 0.7 per cent in 2030 amounting to around DKK 17.5 billion....
The Danish Recovery and Resilience Plan consists of a range of initiatives amounting to approximately DKK 11.6 billion and contributes to the financing of a wide range of green agreements the Government and a majority in the Parliament agreed upon at the end of 2020...
IRENA | country profile
Total Energy Supply from renewable fuel increased 30%, 2014-2019
(Fun Fact: DK and AO energy supplies from oil, 2019, were 37% and 35%, respectively)
by Cat on Wed Nov 2nd, 2022 at 12:18:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"The Moderates" was Birgitte Nyborg's ficticious political party in Borgen.

Perhaps Rasmussen is planning gender reassignment surgery. An audacious move.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Wed Nov 2nd, 2022 at 03:18:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
World Nuclear Association | Nuclear Power in Poland, enery policy transitions, 2005-2040
[...]
Poland's revised energy policy to 2040 (PEP2040) was adopted in February 2021. It calls for Poland to obtain 23% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, compared with 13% at present. It plans a big reduction in coal use and an increase in wind energy, especially from farms in the Baltic Sea, and the commissioning of Poland's first nuclear power reactor in 2033, followed by subsequent units, with investment of PLN 140 billion (about $40 billion). PGE welcomed the strategy.

Regional transmission

In March 2015 an agreement was signed by Ukraine's Ukrenergo distribution company and Polenergia, a Polish counterpart, to export electricity as part of the Ukraine-EU 'energy bridge', and related to the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan. This will enable greater use of Ukraine's nuclear capacity and is to generate funds to pay for increasing that capacity. A 750 kV transmission connection from Khmelnistki to Rzeszow in Poland is to be upgraded, with Khmelnistki 2 then being disconnected from the Ukraine grid and synchronized with the EU grid. The transmission line is also connected to Ukraine's Burshtyn coal-fired plant....

oops
Politico.eu.com | Coal-fired Poland goes nuclear, 31 Oct
Poland is signing a host of nuclear power deals -- just not with France.
[...]
[PL National Center for Nuclear Research Maciej] Lipka said: "Westinghouse's general contractor Bechtel -- which also is going to work in Poland -- has been effective in getting the U.S. Vogtle 3 and Vogtle 4 projects [in the state of Georgia] out of timing trouble effectively."

[Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power] KHNP reportedly offered to build six APR1400 reactors with a capacity of 8.4 gigawatts for $26.7 billion.

money.pl | Korea will take over the USA. An important date has been set on the nuclear power plant in Poland
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is to sign a letter of intent with Poland on October 31 on the construction of a nuclear power plant. The initiative is to complement the Polish Nuclear Power Program implemented jointly with the American company Westinghouse. The Koreans' offer is to be cheaper by over $ 6 billion.
Westinghouse [Bechtel] wanted $31.3 billion for six AP1000 with a total capacity of 6.7 GW reactors, while EDF's bid last year for its EPR technology was for $33 billion to $48.5 billion for four to six reactors.
[...]
Under Poland's official energy program, the country plans to have up to 9 MW of nuclear capacity by 2040 generating more than a third of its electricity; the first reactor is scheduled to go online by 2033.
ABC News | Poland chooses US to build its first nuclear power plant, 31 Oct
A strong Poland-U.S. alliance "guarantees the success of our joint initiatives," [PM Mateusz] Morawiecki said.
[...]
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the project would create or sustain more than 100,000 jobs for American workers.

"This is a HUGE step in strengthening our relationship with Poland to create energy security for future generations to come," Granholm said. "This announcement also sends a clear message to Russia: We will not let them weaponize energy any longer," Granholm said. "The West will stand together against this unprovoked aggression, while also diversifying energy supply chains and bolstering climate cooperation."

by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 08:52:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
FAZ | Es geht vor allem um Wirtschaftskontakte, 01.11.22 für Missionare
Laut Baerbock wollen viele deutsche Unternehmen in Usbekistan investieren. Dabei seien mehr Rechtsstaatlichkeit und bürgerliche Freiheiten der beste Investitionsschutz für ausländische Unternehmen. Mit knapp 35 Millionen Einwohnern ist es das bevölkerungsreichste Land Zentralasiens, hat reiche Vorkommen an Erdgas, Uran[,] und seltenen Erden.

Menschenrechte und Transparenz

Wie schon in Kasachstan drang Baerbock auf die Einhaltung der Menschenrechte. Sie hatte nach ihrem Gespräch mit dem Außenminister Usbekistans betont, dass es Deutschland um eine Partnerschaft auf Augenhöhe gehe, ohne Knebelkredite, mit Transparenz. Da dürfte als Seitenhieb auf China zu verstehen sein. Für das Land spielt Zen­tralasien eine Schlüsselrolle im Infrastrukturprojekt ,,Neue Seidenstraße"

Auch politisch versucht Peking seinen Einfluss auszubauen. Dabei will Europa nicht tatenlos zusehen, zumal die autoritären Präsidenten in Kasachstan und Usbekistan - in unterschiedlichem Maße - Reformbereitschaft zeigen. So reduzierte der usbekische Machthaber Schawkat Mirsijojew nach seinem Amtsantritt 2016 die Zwangsarbeit in der Baumwollindustrie......

CSTO (1992 mil): AM, BY, KZ, KG, TJ, RU
SCO (2001 NGO): CN, RU, IN, PK, KZ, KG, TJ, UZ, AM*, AF*, AZ*, BY*, TR*, LK*, KH*, SA*, IR*, EG*
by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 11:14:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
YLE | Helsinki power utility[, Helen,] profits triple as customers face sharp rate hikes, 1 Nov
Helen's operating profit in the July-September period was 58 million euros, three times higher than during the same quarter of last year. At that time, Helen's operating profit was 19 million euros.
[...]
Last year, power from nuclear reactors accounted for 42 percent of the electricity sold by Helen, while renewables made up 45 percent. Helen raised its electricity prices by 58 percent at the beginning of October. In December, prices will rise again by 60 percent for customers on open-ended contracts
[...]
"We're not using these profits to celebrate, but rather to build power plants and pay off the expenses of the Olkiluoto 3 [nuclear reactor]. We currently invest more than we generate in profit," he said. Helen holds a roughly 10 percent ownership stake in TVO, which operates the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. The plant's long-delayed third reactor is still not close to full commercial operations despite a plan to bring it online next month.
YLE | EU forestry regulation divides coalition government, 27 Oct
Parliament's Environment Committee has finalised its opinion on the EU Commission's Nature Restoration Law, with the Left Alliance and Green Party dissenting.
[...]
The objective of the Restoration Law is to have at least 20 percent of the EU's land and sea areas restored or under restoration by 2030 by reforesting the continent. Since much of Europe is barren of forests, Finland--the most forested member state in the EU by percentage of land area--would have a large burden in reaching this goal.

The parties have different views over much power Finland should retain in regard to the proposed regulation. The proposal's cost has also been of concern, as it would cost nearly one billion euros per year to be implemented.

Ukraine asks Fingrid for help, 23 Oct
Finland's grid operator, Fingrid, however, said it lacked the replacement parts Ukraine needs.

"The Ukrainians have asked European grid operators for spares, and we have also received a request. We naturally strive to help if we have the parts, but it's my understanding that Ukraine's system isn't an exact match with ours," Timo Kaukonen, who manages operational planning at Fingrid, told Finnish news agency STT.

IRENA | country profile
Total enegy supply imports dropped from 78% to 74%, 2014-2019
(Fun Fact: Botswana's total energy imports dropped from 51% to 50% in the same period.)
by Cat on Wed Nov 2nd, 2022 at 03:46:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | Poland gives details on [BECHTEL] $20B nuclear power bid, 2 Nov
KHNP package sandbagged by IPR litigation.

Yonhap | Korea Times editorial, 3 Nov

Seoul and Warsaw signed a letter of intent (LOI) Monday for the construction of Poland's second nuclear power station. State-run Korea Hydro Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed the LOI with ZE PAK, Poland's largest solar power plant and Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE), a state-owned power utility. They will assess the feasibility of building the nuclear plant in Patnow, central Poland, based on KHNP's APR1400 technology, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a joint statement with the Polish Ministry of State Assets.
[...]
"We welcome the information ZE PAK and PGE have entered into talks with KHNP, which will further strengthen relations between Poland and South Korea," Polish State Assets Minister Jacek Sasin said in a statement. KHNP said they will map out detailed plans by the end of this year regarding financing, technical studies[,] and environmental impact assessment.
[...]
KHNP needs to come up with well-conceived tactics for future negotiations with the Polish counterparts. It also needs to pay attention to a lawsuit filed by Westinghouse Electric Company of the United States to undercut KHNP's exports of power plants, claiming the APR1400 adopts its own design.

Yet, South Korea is entitled to use the APR1400 technology since it agreed with Westinghouse for technology transfer and usage in 1985 and in 1997, respectively. The U.S. firm filed a similar suit in 2009 when KHNP attempted to export a plant to the UAE, but to no avail.


by Cat on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 at 03:18:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | Meet Europe's coming military superpower: Poland, 21 Nov
"Warsaw is turning to major arms deals with South Korea to establish supremacy in Continental Europe."
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 03:23:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
yahoo! Reuters WSJ | U.S., allies set parameters for price cap on Russian oil, 4 Nov syndicate
Each cargo of seaborne Russian oil will be subject to the price cap when it is first sold to a buyer on land, the United States and its allies have determined, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday.
[...]
Intermediary trades of Russian oil that occur at sea must still fall under the cap, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

However, if a cargo of Russian oil has been refined into petroleum products such as gasoline, then it can again be traded at sea without being subject to the cap, the report added.

wut
a fixed price ... rather than adopting a floating rate
by Cat on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 02:19:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
temporary price corridor has entered the room.
according to a letter obtained embargoed by POLITICO.

[European Council President Charles] Michel's letter, dated November 7, urges the Commission to not only present a "temporary price corridor on natural gas transactions" in time for ministers to discuss at the November 24 Energy Council, but to also "share with me the expected timeline" for work on the subject to be completed.

by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 07:37:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Insuance Journal Reuters, 11 Nov Slava Ukraini! indemnity fail
Concerns are centered around a scenario in which insurers discover that oil in transit at sea, which was believed to have been sold below the price cap, was in fact sold above it.

This would trigger the withdrawal of insurance cover as well as a refusal by buyers to accept delivery, leading to financial and logistical headaches and risking environmental dangers.

oh

"If the time is too short, I think everyone will have a Plan B to de-risk, terminate, stay away, not maybe conclude any new contracts until there is some clarity," said George Voloshin, Global Anti-Financial Crime Expert at ACAMS, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists which consults with oil industry bankers, traders and insurers.

If insurance was withdrawn mid-voyage, buyers and traders would have to figure out what to do with a stranded cargo potentially exposed to sanctions, complicating a strategy to deprive Russia of funds over its invasion of Ukraine.

'Sanction Islands'
Although the EU ratified the price cap last month, insurers point to still unpublished legal details which must align with incomplete but more detailed U.S. Treasury guidance, especially over guarantees that insurers will not face surprise obstacles in the middle of a ship's voyage.

"We need regulation in the G7 community, which is similar, that is, the U.S. - where we have interim guidelines in the meantime - the U.K. and the EU," said Lars Lange, secretary general of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).

"We fear that if we get different regulations from these three 'sanction islands' we will struggle to comply with all at the same time," Lange said, adding that any vessels which are spurned by ports pose serious consequences....

archived A price cap on Russian oil could save 50 emerging markets billions, US Treasury | Preliminary Guidance, price discovery

MEANWHILE S&P Global, for one, continues to exclude from G7 benchmark indices  reported settlements of "Russian-origin" gas, oil, and petroleum product as well as amend "dirty" tanker flat or float rates, depending on phase of the moon.

CNBC | Janet Yellen pitches more friendshoring opportunities for India: What it means, 11 Nov

Time and again, the US has asked India to align with them against Russia,  primarily with respect to transitioning away from buying oil from Russia. India imports 85 percent of its crude needs and has emerged as Russia's second-largest oil customer after China, taking advantage of discounted Russian oil shunned by some Western buyers.

On Tuesday, India's Foreign minister S. Jaishankar backed India's increasing oil imports from Russia. He said that energy ties with Moscow have worked to India's advantage and that it's in India's interest to keep the imports going.

"42"
US Treasury Secretary suggested ["]friendshoring["] to protect international supply networks against interruption or economic pressure from outside sources.
[...]
With the cooperation of countries that share the same ideology, the US seeks to minimise its reliance on autocratic governments for critical resources like rare earth, magnets, and other items that can be utilised for military purposes. Additionally, the effort would look to diversify away from Russian producers of vital commodities, notably energy, food, and fertiliser...
where's muh mf patent waiver?
by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 07:24:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Reuters | EXCLUSIVE India can buy as much Russian oil as it wants, outside price cap, Yellen says, 11 Nov mighty white racketeering
The cap would still drive global oil prices lower while curbing Russia's revenues, Yellen said in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on deepening U.S.-Indian economic ties. Russia will not be able to sell as much oil as it does now once the European Union halts imports without resorting to the capped price or significant discounts from current prices
they'll have more to sell more for less to "friendly" buyers
"Russia is going to find it very difficult to continue shipping as much oil as they have done when the EU stops buying Russian oil," Yellen said. "They're going to be heavily in search of buyers. And many buyers are reliant on Western services."
lolwut
Yellen told Reuters that India and private Indian oil companies "can also purchase oil at any price they want as long as they don't use these Western [insurance, finance, and maritime] services and they find other services. And either way is fine."
archived discounting "discount" price of Urals crude
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 07:32:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
india times bloomberg | Germany, India in escalating tussle over canceled LNG supply, 12 Nov "reliable partner" ransom
Gas supplies from Germany's Securing Energy for Europe GmbH [SEFE FKA Gazprom Germania] to GAIL India Ltd. have been disrupted since May after Moscow's sanctions on the group made it impossible to source cargoes from Russia. India is suggesting the company should source alternative supplies from its portfolio to meet contractual obligations, one of the people said.
[...]
India is paying record amounts to replace canceled supply, that's if it can find any. With prices soaring, some suppliers to South Asia have simply canceled long-scheduled deliveries in favor of better yields elsewhere.

SEFE's Singaporean unit said in September it can't fulfill its long-term LNG contract with GAIL. SEFE, a former Gazprom PJSC business now under control of seized the German government, is paying a small penalty fee of 20% the value of the contractual shipment, a fraction of the value of current spot gas prices in Europe, leaving a gap for GAIL to cover to get replament supplies.

"As a result of Russian sanctions [?] against SEFE and its subsidiaries, including SM&T and SM&T Singapore, both the SEFE group and GAIL are affected by subsequent cessation of supplies," a SEFE spokesperson said. "SEFE and GAIL are addressing this issue under their conctractual agreements."
[...]
SEFE has canceled 17 cargoes since May, Rakesh Kumar Jaine, GAIL's director for finance said on an earnings call on Friday. GAIL has contract to receive 2.5 million tons of LNG a year until 2041 signed with the previously named GM&T, according to data from the LNG importers group GIIGNL.

landssakes. Let's hope GAIL didn't leave earnest money in any G7 bank.
upstream | India's ONGC Videsh set to retake its Sakhalin 1 stake, 8 Nov oil
ONGC Videsh is an overseas investment vehicle of India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp.

The company had held a stake of 20% in Sakhalin 1 until October, when authorities moved to confiscate spin off the project from its previous operator, Exxon Neftegaz, and pass it to a newly created, Russian-registered entity simply called Sakhalin 1.

Japan's Sodeco consortium took its own decision to retain its stake in the project last week when Japan's authorities endorsed a similar application from Sodeco to retake a 30% share in Sakhalin 1, describing the project as important to the country's energy needs.

According to Russian customs statistics, ONGC Videsh was lifting cargoes of Sakhalin's Sokol blend crude, based on its share of production from Russian far eastern marine terminal De-Kastri just before Exxon Neftegaz had to halt shipments in May.

self-insured S&H in ....
Reports in Moscow said that international insurers stopped providing coverage for a fleet of ice-class tankers that served Sakhalin 1 to comply with international sanctions against the country and its corporations. The tankers are operated by Russian state shipper Sovcomflot....
upstream | Sakhalin 2 eyes drop in LNG shipments, 4 Nov gas
In a latest monthly corporate journal Vesti, the recently constituted new operator of Sakhalin 2, Sakhalinskaya Energiya, reported that meetings with representatives of majority stakeholder Gazprom had resulted in a decision decided to drop the current emphasis on maximising well flow rates for the Lunskoye field, Sakhalin 2's sole gas asset. Instead, the operator will adopt a "rational development" plan aimed at extending the assets operating lifetime by producing gas at a lower rate.
[...]
According to a report by Russia's Natural Resources Ministry in 2020, Lunskoye holds estimated recoverable reserves of about 260 billion cubic metres, which is sufficient to support output for 14 years at the previous year's production rate of 17.8 Bcm....
equity opportunity in ...
Shell has said it would not take the 27.5% shareholding offered and revealed during a recent call with investors that it will also not renew its long-term contract to buy 1 million tpa of LNG from the project.

Japan's Mitsui and Mitsubishi have opted to regain their 12.5% and 10% stakes in Sakhalin 2, despite Japan joining international sanctions against Russia and its corporations....

TASS | Construction of Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline to expand export potential, 12 Oct
"Further to the Power of Siberia gas pipeline already in service, with gas supplied over it from the Chayanda Field, we will put on stream the Kovykta Field by the end of the year, and gas will also flow to the Chinese market," Aleksey Miller said....
archived Sakhalin Oct, Sakhalin July
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 10:58:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 08:20:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ahead of release, beginning Monday, Bloomberg stream of reportage to rationalize ... G7 racketeering ... inna "free market" was particularly amusing.

Establishing a Market Correction Mechanism to protect citizens and the economy against excessively high prices, 22 Nov 60 pp recital
wherein a "safety ceiling" FKA price cap on commodities in which G7 have "embargoed" clears canonical theory of "perfect competition", crowning 30 years of mendacity ("our sanctions don't affect...") heaped on calumny ("bid-rigging") FKA equilibrium price.

MEANWHILE ... Politico.eu.com "explainers" skirt the global goddam godgiven right of brokers to arbitrage price of any commodity, from anywhere, at any time before delivery at the TTF "hub"—which G7 dare not "sanction"—because uhh "Russia's unjustified military aggression".
Why cheap US gas costs a fortune in Europe

MEANWHILE ... WTO reform agents, IMF jungle "structural adjustment" enforcers litigate unlawful Inflation Reduction Act subsidies FKA safety net FKA welfare checks FKA transfer payments, applied to G7 producers, brokerages, and lazy-ass consumers
Germany and France join forces against Biden in subsidy battle

by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 02:13:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Although the statement avoids directly using the word "subsidies," it speaks instead of the need to "explore industrial policy possibilities to prevent downside effects of protectionist measures by third countries" and to "build a European platform of transformation technologies."
file in: There's this thing about liars ...
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 02:17:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Platts to change European fuel oil netback freight basket Jan 3, 2023
Commodity: Oil, Shipping
Region: EMEA

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will change the freight basket used in the calculation of its Northwest European high sulfur fuel oil netback cargo assessment to exclude Russian loadports and take into account changing trade flows into Europe with effect from Jan. 3, 2023.

This is in light of an upcoming EU ban on Russian oil product imports from Feb. 5, 2023, and follows the decision by Platts to exclude Russian-origin material in its HSFO assessments from Oct. 3, 2022:

Observations of changing trade flows so far as well as market feedback have suggested that the HSFO CIF NWE cargo market will increasingly be served by the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region, Le Havre and Klaipeda.

The changes and the affected assessments will be as follows:
FO 3.5%S CIF NWE Cargo (PUABA00)
FO 3.5%S FOB NWE Cargo (PUABB00)

The freight basked used to calculate FOB NWE HSFO cargoes (basis Baltics) as a freight netback from CIF NWE HSFO cargoes (basis Rotterdam) will be as follows:
Load Port    Discharge Port
Antwerp    Rotterdam
Klaipeda    Rotterdam
Le Havre    Rotterdam

As a comparison, the 2022 average of Worldscale flat rates for the routes listed in the basket above would be calculated to $5.24/mt. The basket currently in use is based on the following routes: Ust Luga, St Petersburg, Talinn and Vysotsk. It calculates to $7.95/mt and uses the dirty Baltic-UKC 30kt Wsc (TDADY00) freight rate. The updated basket will continue to use the dirty Baltic-UKC 30kt Wsc (TDADY00) freight rate.

Platts will continue to monitor prevailing trade flows. Platts has also clarified that it may normalize bids, offers[,] and trades reported in its Market on Close assessment process into ports other than the basis through daily review of prevailing flow.
[...]
Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

precision price discovery w/o 20 Nov
archived Fri Sep 2nd, 2022, August 2022 market making, Sun Jul 3rd, 2022
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 02:43:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
precision price discovery: S&P Global Commodity Insights, subscriber notes w/e 26 Nov
Commodity: Oil
Region: EMEA
Subscriber note type: ["]Methodology["] Note

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, is seeking industry feedback on how best to provide continued ["]transparency["] into the Russian-origin diesel market once European Union sanctions on Russian oil products come into force in February 2023.

Russia has traditionally been one of the most significant exporters of diesel to the global market, with the majority of its exports heading to European importers.

As European markets increasingly shifted away from buying Russian-origin oil products this year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Platts changed its benchmark assessment methodology for diesel cargoes delivered in Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean to exclude Russian-origin product with effect from June 1, 2022. At the same time, Platts launched a new assessment for ULSD cargoes CIF NWE (all origin) (ALORA00), which reflects material from all origins, including Russia, to give transparency into the continued flow of Russian diesel to some importers.

EU sanctions prohibiting the import of Russian oil products are due to come into force on Feb. 5, 2023, by which point the new all origin assessment will no longer be able to reflect Russian-origin product as its current methodology is on a CIF Northwest Europe basis. The all origin assessment currently reflects diesel from all origins, including Russia, meeting French specification for delivery basis Northwest Europe 10-25 days forward from date of publication, and a 30,000 mt cargo size.

Platts also publishes the corresponding all origin spread (ALORB00) which reflects the difference in value between the all origin assessment and the benchmark ULSD 10 ppm CIF NWE cargo assessment (AAVBG00), which has excluded Russian-origin as of June 1, 2022.

Initial market feedback has suggested a continued need for ["]transparency["] in the Russian-origin diesel market after February, and Platts is opening this consultation to seek feedback on how this market is expected to evolve and what role a price assessment reflecting the value of Russian diesel < wipes tears > could play in this evolution [of price cap mania]. As part of the consultation, Platts is inviting feedback on the future of the ULSD CIF NWE (all origins) assessment (price symbol ALORA00) and related all origin spread (ALORB00), and whether these assessments should be discontinued or amended to reflect the continued flow of Russian oil products to markets outside the EU.

In particular, Platts is seeking feedback on whether FOB or delivered incoterms[® rules] are expected to be the prevalent method for trading Russian material and, alongside that, whether the Russian Baltic region would be the most representative of these FOB flows. Similarly, Platts is seeking feedback on clip sizes, loading times[,] and other relevant pricing parameters.

re: G7 prefered "benchmark" fix or float
New LNG JKM symbols
Commodity: LNG
Region: Asia
New LNG JKM symbols
The following LNG JKM symbols have been created in the Market Data category DLF (LNG: Forward Curves).
They are scheduled to begin updating Dec. 1, 2022.
Japan/Korea at London MOC Financial Mo04 $/MMBtu
[...Mo10]
New LNG JKM vs DES NWE spread, DES NWE Forward Curve symbols
Commodity: LNG
Region: EMEA
New LNG JKM vs DES NWE spread, DES NWE Forward Curve symbols
The following LNG JKM vs DES NWE spread and LNG DES NWE Forward Curve symbols have been created in the Market Data category DLF (LNG: Forward Curves).
They will appear on Platts LNG Daily, and on LNG Alert pages LNG0820 and LNG1822.
These are scheduled to begin updating Dec. 1, 2022.

DLF LDNFQ01 c 3 DW USD MMB LNG DES Financial Qr01[-02] $/MMBtu
[...]
DES NWE Financial Sn01[-02] $/MMBtu
[...]
DLF LFDFA01 c 3 DW USD MMB LNG JKM Financial Mo01 vs DES NWE Financial Mo01 [-Mo011] $/MMBtu
[...]

New extended TTF natural gas symbols
Commodity: Natural gas, Natural Gas
Region: EMEA

The following extended TTF natural gas symbols have been created in the Market Data category GF (Natural Gas: European Fwd Assessments).
These are scheduled to begin updating Dec. 1, except TTF Calendar Year 2029, which will begin on Jan. 1.

Platts proposes to rename carbon neutral LNG assessments
Commodity: Energy Fuel Transition, LNG
Region: Asia
Subscriber note type: Methodology Note
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, is proposing to change the name of its carbon neutral LNG assessments from Feb. 1, 2023, to align nomenclature with other similar Platts price assessments.

The term "Carbon Neutral" would be replaced by "Carbon Accounted", meaning the assessments would now be under the header "Carbon Accounted LNG".

The full list of assessments to be renamed under the proposal is as below:
CNL WTW JKTC Differential (ex-Australia) would be renamed CAL WTW JKTC Differential (ex-Australia).
[...]


by Cat on Tue Nov 29th, 2022 at 08:20:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

"classic Russian technique"
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 02:50:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
US Treasury | OFAC Guidance on Implementation of the Price Cap Policy for Crude Oil of Russian Federation Origin, 22 Nov, 12 pp sea-borne "embargo" gardening tips
The United States is part of an international coalition, including the G7, the European Union, and Australia, that have agreed to prohibit the import of crude oil and petroleum products of Russian Federation origin (the "Price Cap Coalition").
< wipes tears >
These countries, home to many best-in-class < wipes tears > financial and professional services, have also agreed to implement a policy with regard to a broad range of services as they relate to the maritime transport of crude oil and petroleum products of Russian Federation origin.

This policy is known as the "price cap policy." This document provides guidance on the implementation of the price cap policy for crude oil of Russian Federation origin (or "Russian oil"). OFAC anticipates publishing preliminary guidance on implementation of the price cap policy for petroleum products of Russian Federation origin in the near future.

The price cap policy is intended to maintain a reliable supply of oil to the global market < wipes tears > while reducing the revenues the Russian Federation earns from oil after its own war of choice in Ukraine inflated global energy prices ["our sanctions don't affect..."].

To implement the price cap policy for Russian oil, OFAC issued a determination pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14071 ("Prohibitions on Certain Services as They Relate to the Maritime Transport of Crude Oil of Russian Federation Origin") (the "determination"). The effect of the determination is to authorize U.S. persons to provide certain services as they relate to the maritime transport of Russian oil (the "covered services"), as long as that Russian oil is purchased at or below a certain price (the "price cap").

The covered services are:

  • Trading/commodities brokering;
  • Financing;
  • Shipping;
  • Insurance, including reinsurance and protection and indemnity;
  • Flagging; and
  • Customs brokering.

In short, The Determination® authorizes U.S. persons to provide covered services if the Russian oil is purchased at or below the [undefined] price cap. As explained further in this document, OFAC has established a ["]safe harbor["] process, so that U.S. ["]service providers["] can provide covered services without concern that they will be penalized for inadvertently violating U.S. law or regulation. U.S. service providers that comply in good faith with this safe harbor process, as set forth in this document, will not face OFAC penalties....
m'k. Now try "derivatives" trading
archived June 2022 isolation
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 03:48:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
problem recognition: tax evasion? nope. GHG emissions? nope. +1.5C? nope. immense pile of filth? nope. drought? nope. starving Africans? nope. renewable fuel alternatives? nope.

OpEd | Paying consumers who save most energy could tame gas prices, 23 Nov *flaton

a large share of the windfall profits are captured by gas producers which reside outside the EU, and member states cannot tax those.
file in: supply chain jokes < wipes tears >
Hence, various proposals have been made to cap the wholesale < wipes tears > gas market price, with the commission landing on a gas price cap of €275 per megawatt hour for month-ahead title transfer facility (TTF) contracts.
file in: value chain jokes < wipes tears >
As a solution, the commission could hold centralised pan-European gas demand reduction auctions.
dont-say-tax
Consumers could participate in these auctions, reducing their gas and/or electricity demand by some amount, in exchange of a payment for each unit of gas demand reduced (electricity demand reductions translate into gas demand reductions to the extent that gas is used to produce electricity).

Successful bidders would be paid a price that could be higher than the market price of gas, recognising the fact that their reduction in gas demand reduces the market price of gas across the EU.

Through the auction, consumers could be paid several times the market price of gas for not consuming gas. That may seem counterintuitive, but it simply reflects the fact that there is an 'externality'[sic]  when consumers reduce their demand: not only do the consumers who reduce their demand benefit from the fact that they buy less gas, but all other consumers also benefit from the interlinked demand reduction and lower gas price -- the 'externality' in this case.
[...]
As a result, for example, if the market price of gas is €100/MWhg, it may make perfect sense to pay consumers up to €1,000/MWhg for each MWHg of avoided gas demand (i.e. 10 times the market price of gas).

wut
Member states would have to contribute to the funding of these auction payments in proportion to their own annual gas demand, regardless of where the consumers who reduce their demand are located. The reason is that all member states will benefit from the auction in the form of lower gas prices, and the benefit for each member state is in direct proportion to its own national gas demand.
[...]
FAIL
archived Who gets what from a liter of oil or a ton of LNG, EU problem recognition, How Do You Pay for EXTERNALITIES in How Do You Pay for the Green New Deal: Cost of Fuel, No no no
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 07:40:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Recalling the EU Russian oil and gas "embargo," announced April 2022, prohibiting import of same by the "Price Cap Coalition" as is convenient, ostensibly to relieve Coalition members AS WELL AS starving Africans and struggling Asians of "dependence" on oil and gas produced from Russian territories, but not (in)finite quantities of oil and gas produced anywhere else on the planet then traded by G7 "hub" operators ...

Several nations, including Poland and the Baltic States, oppose the European Commission's proposal to set a $65 to $70 per barrel limit, claiming it is "too generous." While Poland is proposing a $30 cap, member states with major shipping industries like Greece and Malta insist the ceiling should not be below $70.
by Cat on Mon Nov 28th, 2022 at 03:09:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Tue Nov 29th, 2022 at 04:58:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
is taking shape. The Russians are alleged to have mined Kherson extensively, apparently hoping to reproduce the little joke they played on the Germans in 1941 :
In the captured cities of Kharkov, Kiev, and Odessa, German generals and their Headquarter staff were killed by concealed F-10 devices over a 7 week period in 1941, as follows:

Between 24 and 28 September, numerous F-10 devices were exploded in central Kiev in buildings occupied the prior week by German Army headquarters.  The F-10 devices were allegedly initiated by command from stay-behind hidden engineer units observing the area from an island on the Dneiper river. In particular an explosion on 24 September hit the Rear Headquarters of the Wehrmacht army Group south killing a large number of officers, including the artillery commander of the 29th Wehrmacht Corps. In immediate reprisals the massacre of Babi Yar took place, with a death toll of 100,000.

On 22 October, the Romanian Military Headquarters in Odessa, established 3 days earlier and manned jointly by Nazi and Romanian military staff was exploded up by an F-10 device (I believe) killing 67 people including the Romanian General. 40,000 Jews were killed in reprisals.

On 14 November, multiple buildings just occupied by German forces in Kharkov were destroyed I think with F-10 devices. There were hundreds of casualties, including the German commander, Generalleutnant Georg Braun. In immediate reprisals 200 civilians, mostly Jews, were hung from balconies of surrounding buildings. The following month there were further reprisals and 20,000 Jews were gathered at the Kharkov Tractor Factory. All were shot or gassed in a gas van over the next two months.

But likely enough, the Ukrainian army knows its own history.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Thu Nov 10th, 2022 at 01:25:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:52:29 AM EST
Matt Hancock suspended by Tories
The former cabinet minister Matt Hancock has had the Tory whip suspended after it emerged he was entering the jungle for "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" [Borrell Media LLC adventure]

Braverman ...? < checks watch >

by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 03:43:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 at 09:25:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
vOLdemoRT: Rishi Sunak seeks to score easy political points by closing down Chinese institutes
British Minister for Security Tom Tugendhat, a member of the newly formed Rishi Sunak cabinet, recently responded to a question from anti-China MP Iain Duncan Smith regarding the future of China's Confucius Institutes (CI) in the UK. Smith, the biggest cheerleader of the anti-China agenda in the UK, has a reputation for asking such opportunistic, inflammatory questions in a bid to generate headlines and put items on the agenda.

Tugendhat responded to the question, saying the government "is looking to close" all of the institutions. The news was widely acclaimed online, and the talking point was again pushed that Confucius Institutes, whose official state purpose is providing instruction in the Chinese language, are really a 'trojan horse' project for political influence and 'propaganda'.
[...]
And when not bashing migrants, what more of an easy target is there than China? During his time as chancellor, Sunak seemed favourable to Beijing. However, since aiming to become the leader of the party, he has become increasingly sensitive to the idea of being 'soft' on Beijing, and has sought to appeal to ultra-hawks with inflammatory and aggressive rhetoric towards China, even on his first day as prime minister. Through this, he has conjured up the proposal to close all Confucius Institutes. For his government, it is seen as an easy target because it is incredibly easy to demonize and spread paranoia, and few members of the public have an objective or informed understanding of what Confucius Institutes actually do, not least the core Conservative Party constituency, who will be the least likely to use them....

archived FBI Director Christopher Wray, Canada Takes A Hostage, encrypted devices, undetected espionage
by Cat on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 03:36:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
OpEd | Time to shut down all Confucius Institutes -- whatever they might be called, 11 Nov
Earlier this week, while I was visiting London, a senior British official asked me whether the United States would follow his government's lead [?!] and commit itself to phase out all the Confucius Institutes operating on its territory. His question was prompted by a debate in the House of Commons on Nov. 1, when Minister for Security Tom Tugendhat, responding to questions put to him by senior backbencher and former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, announced that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is "looking to close" the 30 Confucius Institutes in the United Kingdom. Tugendhat added, "Confucius Institutes pose a threat to civil liberties in many universities in the UK."
[...]
Beijing compares them to the French Alliance Francaise, the British Council, Spain's Instituto Cervantes[,] or Germany's Goethe Institute. These organizations have considerable autonomy, however, while the Confucius Institutes are an arm of the Chinese Communist Party. Moreover, unlike their supposed counterparts, Confucius Institutes are located at or near universities, affording their officials access to the universities themselves. Finally, each Institute is sponsored by a Chinese university, thereby effectuating tight links between the host university and the Chinese academic sponsor.
[...]
Dov S. Zakheim is a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and vice chairman of the board for the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He was under secretary of Defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer [INCONTINENCE ALERT] for the Department of Defense from 2001 to 2004 and a deputy under secretary of Defense from 1985 to 1987.
Reuters | Biden seeks to build 'floor' for China relations in Xi meeting, 10 Nov COP27 pre-nup
Biden, asked as he left the White House on Thursday evening if he believed the talks would be productive, responded: "I always think my conversations are productive."
[...]
he senior administration official said there would be no joint statement from a meeting at which there are no expectations for specific agreements.
whitehouse.gov | Statement by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Meeting Between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China, 10 Nov
President Biden will meet with President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Bali, Indonesia on November 14, 2022. The Leaders will discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication between the United States and the PRC, responsibly manage competition, and work together where our interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community. The two Leaders will also discuss a range of regional and global issues.
###
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on November 11, 2022
Bloomberg: Could you elaborate a little bit on the expectations around the meeting with US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping? What sort of items may be on the agenda? What sort of outcomes would China be hoping for?
[...]
Reuters: According to a Reuters report published today, more than 1,000 shipments of solar energy components from China's Xinjiang region in total worth hundreds of millions of dollars have piled up at US ports since June as a result of a new US law banning imports from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about the so-called slave labor. According to the report, it highlights how the Biden administration's policy towards the Xinjiang region risks slowing the administration's efforts to decarbonize the US power sector to fight climate change. Does the foreign ministry have any comment on this report?
[...]
TASS: US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he doesn't think that China and Russia are forming an alliance and China has been "keeping their distance". What's your comment? 
Zhao Lijian: I can tell you that China's relations with Russia are rock-solid....
archived Declared a Nuclear Terrorist State, DOD's 2022 National Defense Review 28 Oct
by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 04:36:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
First Post AFP | UK government warns of impending tax hikes to come this week, 13 Nov
[Hunt] said the surge in energy prices linked to the war in Ukraine amounted to an economic hit of 140 billion pounds ($166 billion).

"It's like the economy supporting an entire second NHS (National Health Service)," the minister said. "This will be a plan to help bring down inflation, help control high energy prices and also get our way back to growing healthily, which is what we need so much.

parity watch GBP:USD, 1:1.18
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 01:20:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
This reminds me of Clinton attacking Yugoslavia. Whenever the middle class looks good, empty their pockets so that they don't claim extra rights.
by Tom2 on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 01:51:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 12:49:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 09:39:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:52:40 AM EST
by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 03:53:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
8 Dec 2021: "Biden on Wednesday ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine "

23 Feb 2022: "he won't send American troops to battle Russian forces in Ukraine"

31 Oct 2022: "U.S. President Joe Biden has ruled out any combat role for U.S. forces inside Ukraine."

NBC News has not confirmed how many members of the U.S. military are in Ukraine to conduct the inspections, how many inspections they've completed or when the program restarted.
Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it has received preliminary information that criminals in Finland might have captured military arms, such as assault rifles, meant for Ukrainian forces.

"Weapons shipped [by various countries] to Ukraine have also been found in Sweden, Denmark[,] and the Netherlands," NBI Detective Superintendent Christer Ahlgren told Yle.

The U.S. has not seen any evidence of weapons being diverted to a black market or used for anything other than their original purpose, the defense official said, but the Pentagon and State Department remain aware of those risks and are taking efforts to prevent it.
Senior Defense Official and Senior Military Official Hold a Background Briefing, 31 Oct
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Thanks. In terms of the inspections, I'm not going to get into specific details on locations of where these inspections have taken place but I will tell you that in -- in each instance, our team from Kyiv, our -- from the U.S. embassy has found the Ukrainians to be very transparent and able to support inspections as we were doing prior to the invasion.
by Cat on Wed Nov 2nd, 2022 at 03:16:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
weaponizing winter has entered the room.
by Cat on Thu Nov 24th, 2022 at 11:19:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Wed Nov 2nd, 2022 at 09:54:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 at 10:23:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

US Election Project | US VEP turnout, 1789-2020

NY Yella Cake | Democrats' Black Male Voter Problem, 11 Sep

Georgia Democrats have begun to fret about Abrams's chances because, "Though she is beloved by Democratic voters, she has lost some ground with Black men, who provided crucial backing in her narrow loss to Mr. Kemp in 2018."
tabloid USAToday | In the tight race for Georgia governor, Black men emerge as Stacey Abrams' key voters, 14 Oct
Theron Jones is tired of Black men being left out of national and state conversations by lawmakers.
Roll Call | 'Cousin Pookie' problem still unsolved by Democrats, 21 Oct
"One-third of Black men registered in Georgia haven't voted in the past several elections, with pollsters saying these disaffected voters just don't think the outcome will improve their lives," Bloomberg reported recently.
US News | 'Make No Mistake: Democracy Is on the Ballot', 2 Nov
"In a typical year, we are not often faced with the question of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put it at risk. But we are this year," Biden said in remarks at Union Station, near the U.S. Capitol, where laws are made and where insurrectionists tried to subvert the democratic process on Jan, 6, 2021.
The Hill | Black voters worry about being blamed for potential Democratic losses, 8 Nov
"In every election since 2016 1876, Black voters have shown up in record and historic numbers," said Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC. "I don't think that this midterm is going to be any different, and we've seen the result of early voting in critical states around the country, and those early vote numbers include Black voters."
[...]
"It happens so close to the election that on the other side the question becomes, `What happened? Did they show up?'" she said. "The last minute media attention on the Black vote gets unfairly tied to the outcome of the election."
archived magical margin of error
by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 01:10:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
In 1868, Black suffrage was on the ballot

Before the Civil War, few states were willing to extend suffrage to groups other than white men. Among the Northern and Western states where slavery was outlawed, only a handful--most clustered in New England--allowed Black men to go to the polls. (Even in these states, Black women--like all women in the United States--were not allowed to vote.

By 1868, most political leaders and activists had chosen to decouple the question of woman suffrage and Black male suffrage for strategic reasons. They did not think a majority of the nation would support giving women the ballot, and they feared that a push to secure women's right to vote would doom efforts to enfranchise Black men.

In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment stipulates that citizens' right to vote cannot be restricted based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

White manhood suffrage to change state constitutions and abolish property requirements for voting

"By 1840, the United States was the world leader in allowing popular participation in elections. This triumph of American politics built upon, but also expanded, the egalitarian ideals of the American Revolution."

Ideals of the American Revolution all but gone by January 6th, 2020.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 09:23:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 01:44:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico thinks this referendum Q is meaningful reform of states' consitutions. In the wee hours' last count, 2 repealed, 1 (OHregon) too close to call, 1 ('ousiana) voted against.
by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 05:03:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 08:09:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
In the polls Stacey Abrams trailed by 5 points which increased to 8 in final days. Kemp has an approval rating just above 50% and led in leadership quality. Glad she found someone to blame, a true politician at a point her career in politics ends. She did a good job in 2020 to GOTV. Democrats did underperform slightly in Georgia this election compared to 2020 election.

Georgia election results 2022

Excellent job in 2020, Secretary of State Raffensperger won a new term by a wide margin. Even got the support of Republicans 😂

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 08:30:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Of course, he did. The DNC-flavored "Trump defiant" agitprop was stupid from the get-go. The state legislature is (R) super-majority, state judiciary is (R) super-majority, Kemp (R) ran without resigning SoS, and his successor Raffensperger is (R).

Did Abrams challenge any of these facts? No.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 01:49:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
In primaries, Raffensberger defeated Trump hand-picked opponent.

Raffensperger is arguably the most famous election administrator in America following the 2020 election, where he rebuffed the then-president's call to "find" votes in his state to overturn Trump's narrow loss in the state. That earned Raffensperger a stream of attacks from Trump, who also went after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for acting to certify the election results. But Georgia GOP voters renominated both men this week anyway.


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 01:58:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The 2016 RNC convention melt-down over Trump nomination by caucus ballots is all but forgotten.
by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 03:18:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Wed Nov 16th, 2022 at 07:43:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

US American "democratic processes" - analysts
by Cat on Thu Nov 17th, 2022 at 04:16:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"personal defense weapon" (PDW) has entered the room.
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 04:58:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
old school, so simple a black man wrote a ballad about it in 1971

by Cat on Fri Nov 4th, 2022 at 07:38:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
NY Post | Meta [Platforms Inc.] to lay off 'MANY THOUSANDS' of workers this week - WSJ reports, 7 Nov "right sizing" tragedy

human rights policy in "the MDM space" story developing ...

by Cat on Mon Nov 7th, 2022 at 09:40:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The Hill | [A] Rail union rejects Biden deal, sets stage for December strike [again], 21 Nov
Train and engine workers at the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers's transportation division (SMART-TD) narrowly voted down the deal, the union announced Monday.
[...]
The Biden administration helped the two unions come to a tentative agreement with railroads in September, narrowly averting a strike that was set to take place the next day.

Eight of the 12 rail unions have now ratified agreements with the railroads. Three others saw their members vote down tentative deals. If just one union fails to ratify an agreement and chooses to strike, all rail workers would be set to walk out. ...

1 year ago
wikiwtf | 2022 United States railroad labor dispute
Railway Labor Act and Presidential Emergency Board

archived Ancestor worship is not well understood.

by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 07:56:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
goes viral.

I feel seen.

< wipes tears >

by Cat on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 12:53:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
remember the AIact? check for eucloudamsterdam and gofair and dariahdoteu
by Tom2 on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 01:53:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
https://tinyurl.com/mv39tvx7
by Tom2 on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 01:57:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
the model is here p61
https://www.google.fr/books/edition/Mind_the_gap_promoting_a_transatlantic_r/7nmzeTQZbZoC?hl=fr& gbpv=1&dq=%22mind+the+gap%22+%22fair%22&pg=PA61&printsec=frontcover
i wonder if this guy read it or if other ppl made the link
doi.org/10.5703/1288284317209
by Tom2 on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 02:02:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
(all the winning tickets for this week's $2.9B pot in CA, by the way)

by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 06:23:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Thu Nov 17th, 2022 at 05:13:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
H.R.8404 - Respect for Marriage Act, 29 Nov senate imprimatur, WHEREAS
(1) No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.

(2) Diverse beliefs about the role of gender in marriage are held by reasonable and sincere people based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises. Therefore, Congress affirms that such people and their diverse beliefs are due proper respect.

(3) Millions of people, including interracial and same-sex couples, have entered into marriages and have enjoyed the rights and privileges associated with marriage. Couples joining in marriage deserve to have the dignity, stability, and ongoing protection that marriage affords to families and children...

US Congress repeals TITLE 28 USC, §2 (THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT);
amends TITLE 28 USC, § 1738B;
amends TITLE 1 USC, § 7;
defines "marital status" for the purposes of any Federal law, rule, or regulation,
affirms Religious Freedom Restoration Act (exemptions);
and prohibits polygamy.

World Cup human rights protest stories developing ....

by Cat on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 03:26:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Great foresight and comment by magnifico in 2007 ...

Re: The US will slowly strangle Europe (4.00 / 2)

Two weeks ago I visited the European Commission and we had one hour with someone from the DG External Relations who said the Member State governments have "no balls" [sic] to stand up to the US when it would be needed.

We have met the enemy, and he is us -- Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Dec 13th, 2007 at 03:03:29 PM PDT

We have all been witness ... and stayed silent.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 10:33:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
tl;dr door stop
by Cat on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 03:45:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Stupidity ... it's November, thus Halloween has passed and so any October surprises (c) GOP

Paris peace talks sabotaged by Henry Kissinger in 1968 ... Reagan cabal dealing with Iranian mullahs to keep American hostages until after the elections of 1980 in deal for arms #Israel #Khashoggi #OliverNorth

The Truth About Israel, Iran and 1980s U.S. Arms Deals | Haaretz - Nov. 26, 2010 |

Recently declassified Pentagon documents reveal a strange, not to say illicit, 1980s operation called 'Tipped Kettle,' in which weapons stolen by Israel from the PLO in Lebanon were transferred to the Contras and to anti-American elements in Iran

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 02:16:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
palace intrigue
CBS News and Stations is resuming its activity on Twitter as we continue to monitor the situation.
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 04:04:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
1/36
by Cat on Sat Dec 3rd, 2022 at 12:55:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
NY Post | FBI chief Wray: Can't `be sure' if Facebook sending agents user info, 17 Nov Operation Bronze Griffin
[...]
House Judiciary Committee Republicans claimed earlier this month that the FBI receives "private user information from Facebook, but without the user's consent or the legal process the FBI would otherwise need to independently pursue such user-related information."
[...]
There's some legal fuzziness when it comes to companies handing over user information due to various court rulings over the past decade on law enforcement collection of records voluntarily shared with companies.

Federal officials have been coy before about domestic surveillance operations.

Then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper denied in March 2013 that the National Security Agency was collecting "any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans" when asked by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

"No, sir," Clapper said. "Not wittingly."

Months later, whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA was mass-collecting domestic call records while also "partnering" with major tech companies to acquire user data through a program called PRISM.

The FBI would not confirm or deny the existence of Operation Bronze Griffin, but denied being politically biased in a statement earlier this month....

by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 11:25:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The Hill | Wray tells lawmakers that FBI conducts cyber offensive operations, 17 Nov
Although Wray did not provide specifics into the type of cyber offensive operations the agency has conducted, he did say that the department engages in other types of activities, including conducting counterintelligence operations, targeting adversaries' infrastructure, disrupting malicious cryptocurrency schemes, and indicting cyber criminals.
I'm SHOCKED, I tell you, SHOCKED
by Cat on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 02:56:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
C-SPAN | Senate Homeland Security Hearing on National Security Threats, 17 Nov
running time 02:47:50, feat. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Ma*or*as, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and National Counterterrorism Director Christine Abizaid testified on national security threats before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 03:39:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:52:52 AM EST
TASS | interviews Indonesian Ambassador to Moscow José Tavares
• expectations
• Jakarta's position on joining the BRICS
• possibility of buying Russian oil
• prospects for ID, RU military-technical and trade cooperation

ASEAN (1967 FTA): BN, KH, ID, LA, MY, MM, PH, SG, TH, VN
EAS (East Asia Summit): CN, RU, IN, KR, ASEAN; US, AU, JP, NZ
APEC (1989 FTA): CN, CN-hk, CN-tw, RU, ID, SG, VN, TH, PH, MX, PE, CL, BN, PG, MY, KR; AU, US, JP, NZ, CA
G20 (1999 NGO): FR, DE, IT, ES*, JP, UK, US, EU-CO, EU-EC, AU, CA; RU, CN,  AR, BR, IN, ID, KR, MX, SA, ZA, TR
BRICS (2009 FTA): CN, RU, BR, IN, ZA; AR*, DZ*, EG*, ID*, IR*, CM*, ML*, SN*, TH*, UZ*, FJ*, ET*, KZ*
IPEF (2022 NGO): US, AU, JP, IN, NZ, KR, FJ, ID, BN, MY, PH, SG, TH, VN, CA*

by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 07:06:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Zelenskyj cancels G20 summit if Putin comes too, 3 Nov Slava Ukraini!
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not attend the G20 summit in Indonesia in November when Russian President Vladimir Putin is there. Zelenskyi told Ukrainian news portal unian.ua Zelesky: "My personal position and that of Ukraine was that if the leader of the Russian Federation participated, Ukraine would not participate."
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on November 3, 2022
Nos Television: Is there a plan for President Xi and President Biden to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali this month?
Zhao Lijian: I have nothing to share at the moment. 
for the nth time since March 2022

consolation prize

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on November 4, 2022

AFP: A question on German Chancellor Scholz's visit to China. Have the two leaders discussed issues related to human rights and the rights of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang?
Zhao Lijian: Prioir to our press briefing, China has put out the readout about the meeting between President Xi and Chancellor Scholz. You may refer to that. There are other meetings and talks scheduled between the leaders of the two sides. Please check back for updates.
Politico.eu.com | China's Xi warns Putin not to use nuclear arms in Ukraine, 4 Nov
Xi's warning comes just over a month after Putin threatened Ukraine with a nuclear attack [BWAH!], a sign of how far Ukrainian forces had rocked the Kremlin with their advances against invaders in the East.

The international community, said Xi, should "jointly oppose the use of, or threats to use, nuclear weapons," according to a statement carried by Xinhua, China's state news agency. The world should also "advocate that nuclear weapons cannot be used, a nuclear war cannot be waged, in order to prevent a nuclear crisis" in Europe or Asia, Xi added. ...

President Xi Jinping Meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, 4 Nov "read out"
... President Xi reaffirmed China's support for Germany and Europe to play an important role in facilitating peace talks and to build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe. Under the current circumstances, the international community should: support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and call on relevant parties to remain rational and exercise restraint, start direct engagement as quickly as possible, and create conditions for the resumption of talks; oppose the threat or use of nuclear weapons, advocate that nuclear weapons cannot be used and that nuclear wars must not be fought, and prevent a nuclear crisis in Eurasia...
AFP: According to French Foreign Minister, upon China's invitation, French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a visit to China in the coming weeks or months. Can you confirm this visit?
Zhao Lijian: I have no information to offer at the moment. 
by Cat on Fri Nov 4th, 2022 at 05:55:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Remarks on the Human Rights Council's Vote Against a Draft Decision on Xinjiang, 7 Oct 2022
Q: On October 6, the 51st session of the Human Rights Council voted down a US-led draft decision on Xinjiang. What's China's comment?

A: For some time now, the US and some other Western countries have been misinforming the public about Xinjiang and seeking political manipulation in the name of human rights simply to smear China's image and contain China's development. Despite facts and truths, these countries propagated falsehoods on Xinjiang at the Human Rights Council and put together a draft decision on that erroneous basis in an attempt to use UN human rights bodies as a tool to interfere in China's internal affairs and to serve the agenda of using Xinjiang to contain China. The international community would not be easily misled. Despite pressure from the US and some other Western countries on the member states, the draft decision ended up unsupported by the majority of the Human Rights Council membership, especially many members of the developing world. The agenda pushed by the US and some other Western forces have again failed to gain international support.

The issues related to Xinjiang are not about human rights. They are about countering violent terrorism, radicalization and separatism. Thanks to strenuous efforts, there has been no violent terrorist incident in Xinjiang for over five consecutive years. The human rights of people of all ethnic backgrounds in Xinjiang are protected like never before. The international community is clearly aware that the ultimate motive of the US and some other Western countries behind their Xinjiang narrative is to contain China and does not like this pattern of using human rights as a pretext to meddle in other countries' internal affairs. In recent years, nearly 100 countries, including many Islamic countries, have spoken out at the Human Rights Council, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly[,] and elsewhere openly to support China's just position on issues related to Xinjiang and oppose using these issues to interfere in China's internal affairs. ...

by Cat on Fri Nov 4th, 2022 at 06:14:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
BRICS (2009 FTA): CN, RU, BR, IN, ZA; AR*, DZ, EG, ID*, IR*, CM*, ML*, SN*, TH*, UZ*, FJ*, ET*, KZ*

MSN 360News | Algeria applies for BRICS membership, 7 Nov militancy under the radar

This was confirmed to the media by the Algerian Foreign Ministry representative in charge of international partnerships, Leila Zarrougi, according to the Al Shorouk news portal.
OpEd | "The stall" in COP27, 7 Nov
show me the money
by Cat on Mon Nov 7th, 2022 at 11:05:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | China ditches EU chief Michel's speech at [China International Import Expo], 8 Nov
Beijing canceled European Council President Charles Michel, after he planned to slam Russia's "illegal war" in a pre-recorded speech at a high-level trade expo in Shanghai last week.
[...]
Michel is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week on the sidelines of the G20 summit, POLITICO reported earlier.
business needs: money talks, bullshit walks
The expo also featured speeches made by Xi, managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, director general of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala[,] and the presidents of Indonesia, Sri Lanka[,] and Belarus.
CSTO (1992 mil): AM, BY, KZ, KG, TJ, RU
INSTC (2000 TNC): AM, AZ, BY, BG, IN, IR, KZ, KG, OM, RU, TJ, TR, UA, SY
SCO (2001 NGO): CN, RU, IN, PK, KZ, KG, TJ, UZ, AM*, AF*, AZ*, BY*, TR*, LK*, KH*, SA*, IR*, EG*
EaEU (2012 FTA): AM, BY, KZ, KG, TJ, RU, VN*, CN*, RS*
UTLC (2018 TNC): CN, KZ, RU, BY
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 08:04:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Biden pledges US will work with Southeast Asian nations, 12 Nov PHNOM PENH, .KH pivot
[CAPTION: Flanked by PM Justin Trudeau (CA), FM Melanie Joly (CA), MD Kristalina Georgieva (IMF), and unidentified ASEAN model guest, President Joe Biden says something amusing.]

Biden's efforts at this year's ASEAN summit are meant to lay the groundwork for his highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping -- the first face-to-face encounter of Biden's presidency with a leader whose nation the U.S. now considers its most potent economic and military rival threat.
[...]
Traveling to Phnom Penh earlier Saturday, U.S. national security adviser Jake "The Snake" Sullivan said Biden will raise issues such as freedom of navigation and illegal and unregulated fishing by China with the ASEAN leaders -- aimed at demonstrating U.S. assertiveness DOD 2022 National Defense Review against Beijing.

Freedom of navigation refers to a dispute involving the South China Sea, where the United States says it can sail and fly wherever international law allows and China believes such missions are destabilizing. Sullivan said the U.S. has a key role to play as a stabilizing force in the region and in prevention of any one nation from engaging in "sustained intimidation and coercion that would be fundamentally adverse to the nations of ASEAN and other countries."

archived ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting
"There's a real demand signal [price] for that," Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday. Referring to the People's Republic of China, Sullivan continued: "I think the PRC may not love that fact, but they certainly acknowledge it and understand it."
[...]
Biden's visit to Cambodia -- the second ever by a U.S. president -- continues his administration's push to demonstrate its investments in the south Pacific, which was highlighted earlier this year when the White House hosted an ASEAN summit in Washington, the first of its kind.
archived Declaration on U.S.-Pacific Partnership, 29 Sep 11-point cover story, Biden hails 'new era' in China: Crash Course Into Unknown
He also tapped one of his senior aides, Yohannes Abraham, as the official envoy to ASEAN, another way the White House has highlighted that commitment.
[...]
Biden opened Saturday in Phnom Penh by meeting with Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia, the host for the regional summit. He also participated in the traditional family photo with southeast Asian leaders -- one that required a re-do as the gregarious Biden was too busy shaking hands with other heads of state -- and later, will attend a gala dinner hosted by a parallel summit in Cambodia focusing on east Asia.
ASEAN (1967 FTA): BN, KH, ID, LA, MY, MM, PH, SG, TH, VN, TL*
SCO (2001 NGO): CN, RU, IN, PK, KZ, KG, TJ, UZ, IR, AM*, AF*, AZ*, BY*, TR*, LK*, KH*, SA*, EG*
Politico.eu.com | Ahead of Xi meeting, Biden calls out China, 12 Nov
Chinese President Xi Jinping wasn't in the room at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, summit in Phnom Penh. But Xi hovered over the proceedings just two days before he and Biden are set to have their highly anticipated first face-to-face meeting at the G20 summit in Indonesia.

The Biden White House has declared Xi's nation its greatest economic and military rival threat of the next century and while the president never called out China directly, his message was squarely aimed at Beijing.
[...]
Biden was only the second U.S. president to set foot in Cambodia [KH], after Obama visited in 2012. And like Obama did then, the president on Saturday made no public remarks about Cambodia's dark history or the United States' role in the nation's tortured past.

In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon authorized a secret carpet-bombing campaign in Cambodia to cut off North Vietnam's move toward South Vietnam [VN]. The U.S. also backed a coup that led, in part, to the rise of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, a bloodthirsty guerrilla group that went on to orchestrate a genocide that resulted in the deaths of more than 1.5 million people between 1975 and 1979
[...]
Jake "The Snake" Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, said Biden would "engage across the board in service of America's interests and to advance America's strategic position and our values." He said Biden was meeting with Hun Sen because he was the leader of the host country hosting the ASEAN summit.

U.S. officials said Biden urged the Cambodian leader to make a greater commitment to democracy and "reopen civic and political space" ahead of the country's next elections.

< wipes tears >
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 08:49:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 08:44:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Readovka | Sergey Lavrov spoke at the EAS summit in Cambodia, 12 Nov
The joint statement on the results of the EAC* was not adopted
[...]
At the East Asia Summit [EAS], the United States and partners insisted on absolutely unacceptable assessments of the situation in Ukraine, Sergei Lavrov said. He noted that a joint statement on the results of the EAC* was not adopted. According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the reason for this was the United States and its partners, who insisted on an unacceptable assessment of the situation in Ukraine and around it.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, following the results of the EAC* summit, said that the United States and NATO are trying to master the Asia-Pacific region. According to him, the concept of Indo-Pacific strategies has recently been put forward, within the framework of which formats are promoted that are not open to everyone, compete with inclusive structures created around ASEAN....

* East Asia Community [EAC] denotes a sterile, political cohort within EAS. Note the acronymns here are interchangeable. JP seems to be the principal proponent of incorporating NATO-sponsored INDOPAC agenda in EAS—ASEAN's conference including permanent "dialogue partners" (CN, RU, IN, KR, US, AU, JP, NZ). NB. JP 11.13.2022 boilerplate to complement anglo-MSM.

WaPoo | ASEAN Latest: Russia, US Disagree on East Asia Summit [EAS] Statement, 13 Nov

Russia and the US** failed to agree on language for a joint statement following an 18-nation summit [EAS] in Cambodia, making it unlikely the [G20] nations will reach a consensus in Indonesia either this week.[...]
7 "Highlight" bullets with reference to on-the-spot pull-quotes and third-party sources
G-20** Officials Still Discussing Communique, Albanese Says (2:35 p.m.)
"That dialogue is continuing between officials," he said. "You know the way that these conferences work. We've just got through an East Asia Summit [EAS] in Asean** meeting and a range of other summits. So we're waiting to see what happens but I go into the G-20 with a great deal of confidence."
[...]
Indonesia Takes ASEAN Chair, Warns Global Powers (1:46 p.m.)
Indonesia President Joko Widodo said ASEAN should not be a proxy to any global power as he formally took over the ASEAN chair from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Indonesia will hold the rotating chair for the bloc from 2023.

"ASEAN must be a peaceful region and an anchor for global stability," he told world leaders at the closing ceremony. ASEAN is not to be a proxy to any powers.
[...]
Quad Already Sharing Data on Illegal Fishing with Southeast Asia (1:23 p.m.)

US along with Quad partners Australia, India[,] and Japan are giving radio-frequency data and analysis from commercial satellite-clusters to an initial group of Southeast Asian partners that will improve monitoring of illegal fishing and help with rapid response to extreme weather events, the White House said. ...

** UK-Engl. stringer prints: reductive geopolitical diplomacy in a multilateral venue, indifferent formats (thereafter capitalized - ed.) dissembling participants' status in multiple, independent intergovernmental forums effects the patronizing attitude of their employer.

whitehouse.gov | Readout of President Joe Biden's Participation in the East Asia Summit, 13 Nov

by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 03:30:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The EU-27 needs to secure its borders ... starting in Indo-Pacific ... especially keeping Taiwan Straits open for NATO vessels. 💪🏽 💰

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 06:45:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico | Biden, Xi meet amid efforts to cool tensions between their nations, 14 Nov freezer
moments of stark disagreement as relations between the world's two [?] superpowers are at their lowest point in decades.
[...]
Few concrete accomplishments were achieved
[...]
Taiwan was to be a centerpiece of the conversation....The White House said the president "raised objections" to China's "coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan
[...]
The president also pushed Xi on his relationship with Russia....
11 Nov: I can tell you that China's relations with Russia are rock-solid.
The fact that Monday's meeting came together was being sold  [TO WHOM?!] as a win. U.S. officials had been eager for Biden to meet face-to-face with Xi, to take measure of the changes within a man with whom he spent considerable time [FALSE] while vice president. And both men came into the meeting emboldened, with a renewed grip on power.
wut
For Biden, the trip has become something of a victory lap. ... But Biden's in-person meeting with Xi highlighted the growing gulf between two countries that used to believe they could cooperate at least on global crises and trade.
[...]
Biden again reiterated Monday that while he viewed the 21st century as a rivalry between the U.S. and China he said he sought "competition, not conflict." Further straining ties, the Biden administration blocked exports of advanced computer chips to China last month. That move, which was meant to bolster U.S. competition against Beijing, was quickly condemned by Chinese officials. The administration has also left in place Donald Trump-era tariffs on more than $350 billion worth of Chinese goods due to alleged unfair trade practices.
final insult to sanity worldwide: "Antony Blinken will soon travel to Beijing"
by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 08:56:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.com's sad game face
What it looks like when Biden and Xi try to get along, 13 Nov (cover headline)
With friends like these ... Biden and Xi meet amid heightened tension (inside joke)
[...]
Still, the administration says it has a secret weapon to defang bilateral tensions: a personal relationship with Xi that Biden fostered while he was vice president. Biden boasted last week that he had spent upwards of 78 hours with Xi and repeated his much-debunked assertion that the two leaders had traveled a total of "17,000 miles" together.
MEANWHILE ...India goes wide
Press Statement by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar during his meeting with Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mr. Sergey Lavrov, 8 Nov
Transcript of Special Briefing by Secretary (East) on Vice President's visit to Cambodia, 10 Nov
Joint Statement on ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, 12 Nov
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 01:09:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thursday, 10 Nov, Jake "The Snake" Sullivan spoiled the concept of China-US dialogue for rapproachement scheduled Monday, when he announced the NSC's intention to debrief Biden-Xi negotiation to Taiwan. Doing so breached basic diplomatic confidences as well as the tattered pretense of US American respect for sovereign China and regional cooperation. FM Zhao Lijian immediately rebuked Sullivan's untoward presumption. Allied hacks abandoned the significance and intimacy that White House PR had for several months attached to Biden's "reunion" with his friend, Xi.

Subsequently, an unusual transposition of substantative answers to complex questions occured. The White House released a verbose monologue, reiterating the scope of US-led Atlanticists' "competition" for real and imagined supremacy worldwide. By contrast, the PRC foreign ministry statement perfunctorily dismissed Biden's talking points.

whitehouse | Readout of President Joe Biden's Meeting with President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China
fmprc | Xi Jinping: Put China-U.S. relationship on the right course and bring it back to the track of healthy and stable growth

The G20 conference is 15-16 Nov. A joint statement enumerating mutually beneficial goals of the parties appears remote—not because accord between Biden and Xi or Biden and Putin appear unreconcilable, but serial rehearsals within E-W civil society joined by "regional" forums preclude G20 cooperation. The evidence is all around us. Before the R2P UA war, the COVID Trade War disabused a host of "developing" nations of G7 dollar diplomacy, colloquially cited "globalism". Well before the COVID Trade War the EU juggernaut renounced "dependency" on integral foreign relations, be those commodity market, WTO, UN, IMF, IAEA, and ICJ agencies, or executive instruments such as the JCPOA, planted at the intersection of an ancien régime and common welfare of 7B people impoverished by its greed.  
 

by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 05:42:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 07:23:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
BASQUIAT IS DEAD! HARING IS DEAD! SO IS WARHOL!
STOP TWTR BANKRUPTCY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 07:48:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 04:25:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
All done!
Xi Jinping social calendar was packed yesterday (Macron, Rutte, Ramaphosa, Pandjaitan, Lavrov, Sall, Fernández, Yoon, Albanese, Sánchez). ID transfered G20 presidency to IN. Official term begins December 1, 2022.

But I'm having a streak of "technical" bother resolving the  G20.org domain address, where I expected to find stories featuring members' economic co-operation, plenary speeches, and documents.

No problem!
The US and European Council have secured top-drawer GOOG results for the G20.
whitehouse | Joint Statement of NATO and G7 Leaders on the Margins of the G20 Summit in Bali
consilium | Joint statement of NATO and G7 Leaders on the margins of the G20 Summit in Bali
and
G20 Bali Leaders' Declaration

by Cat on Wed Nov 16th, 2022 at 06:49:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | Rishi Sunak to meet Xi Jinping as he strikes conciliatory tone on China, 15 Nov
Rishi Sunak will invite Xi Jinping to collaborate more closely on global challenges in the first meeting between a British prime minister and Chinese president in nearly five years. Sunak and Xi will hold a bilateral meeting Wednesday on the margins of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali.

Ahead of the meeting -- confirmed only 24 hours before it was due to take place -- Downing Street insisted it was "clear-eyed in how we approach our relationship with China." ...

< wipes tears >
GT | No hope in improving China-UK ties if London continues to provoke Beijing's bottom line, 16 Nov
[...]
According to Reuters, a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled due to "scheduling issues," as the British side claimed. However, Chinese experts believe that it is possible that the cancellation is a way for China to express its strong dissatisfaction with Britain's recent provocations on the Taiwan question.

This includes the fact that Sunak doesn't rule out the possibility of sending arms to the island of Taiwan. Also, last week, Britain's Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands paid a visit to the island, which China's Foreign Affairs Ministry firmly opposed....

by Cat on Wed Nov 16th, 2022 at 07:21:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Wed Nov 16th, 2022 at 11:11:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Nov 16th, 2022 at 11:40:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Not here....
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Nov 17th, 2022 at 09:10:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Nor here. Check your VPN settings?

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 11:37:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I think only Sputnik's Twitter is blocked for some reason:
by generic on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 12:16:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
DW | Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan shot in foot, 3 Nov snap shot journalism

Why was Cap'n Khan touring on a flat-bed truck with a retinue of "supporters"? Hasn't his candidacy been banned? When is the next PK general election?

From 30K feet, evidently, it's impossible to communicate either "context" or motive of the lone gunman's assualt.

by Cat on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 at 12:39:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 01:56:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Daily Sabah | 6 dead, 53 wounded in explosion on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue, 13 Nov
"The relevant units of our state are working to find the perpetrators behind this heinous attack," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a press conference before his departure for Indonesia to attend the G-20 summit.

"Initial observations show a woman played a role in the explosion," he said and stated that "based on initial information from the governor, the explosion could be suspected act of terrorism."
[...]
Images shared on social media at the time of the explosion indicated it could be heard from far away and that there were also flames. Footage showed ambulances, fire trucks and police at the scene, and the area has been evacuated.

The cause of the explosion is still unknown....

yahoo! APsplainin | 13 Nov authoritarian atmo photo gallery
Turkey was hit by a string of deadly bombings between 2015 and 2017 by the Islamic State [IS] group and outlawed Kurdish groups. Five prosecutors were assigned to investigate the blast, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Turkey's media watchdog imposed temporary restrictions on reporting on the explosion -- a move that bans the use of close-up videos and photos of the blast and its aftermath. The Supreme Council of Radio and Television has imposed similar bans in the past, following attacks and accidents. ...

Al Jazeera | Explosion in Turkey's Istanbul kills six, injures 53, 13 Oct
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 04:08:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
arabnews | Turkiye 'rejects' US condolences over Istanbul attack, 14, 2022
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan often accuses Washington of supplying weapons to Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, deemed as "terrorists" by Ankara.

"We do not accept the US embassy's message of condolences. We reject it," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in televised comments.

Meanwhile, a Turkish official declined comment on reports of US-Russian talks in Turkiye on Monday, but said Ankara was working with some countries against terrorism, including a Sunday's blast in Istanbul.

OIC (1969 NGO): AZ, AE, IR, IQ, BD, TR, TN, SN, SL, GA, GW, QA, KW, ML, MR, YE, JO, ID, PK, AF, UZ, BH, AL, UG, BN, BJ, TM, BF, TJ, TG, TD, DZ, SA, SS, SY, SR, SO, OM, GM, GY, GN, PS, KM, KG, KZ, CM, CI, LB, LY, MV, MY, EG, MA, MZ, NE, NG
G20 (1999 NGO) FR, DE, IT, ES, JP, UK, US, EU-CO, EU-EC, AU, CA; RU, CN,  AR, BR, IN, ID, KR, MX, SA, ZA, TR
INSTC (2000 TNC): AM, AZ, BY, BG, IN, IR, KZ, KG, OM, RU, TJ, TR, UA, SY
SCO (2001 NGO): CN, RU, IN, PK, KZ, KG, TJ, UZ, IR, AM*, AF*, AZ*, BY*, TR*, LK*, KH*, SA*,  EG*
NATO (mil a/o 2022) AL, ME*, MK*, TR, EU (BE, BG, HR, CZ, DK, ES, EE, FR, DE, GR, HU, IT, LV, LA, LU, NL, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK), EEA (IS, NO), UK, US, CA
COE: AL, EU (BE, BG, HR, CZ, DK, ES, EE, FR, DE, GR, HU, IT, LV, LA, LU, NL, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK), EU applicants (ME*, MK*, TR), EEA (IS, NO), COE observers (UK, US, CA, JP)
-----
Lugano Conference (2022): EU-EC, AT, BE, HR, CY, ET, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LA, LT, LI, LU, MT, MD, NL, MK, PO, RO, SK, SI, ES; SE, NO, DK; CH, UA; US, UK, CA, TR, IS, JP, AU, KR, IL, AL, EBRD EIB, OECD

by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 08:07:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
president.ir | Strengthening sustainable economic cooperation in the Eurasian region through development of transit cooperation, 12 Nov
[...]
Referring to the increase in diplomatic and economic exchanges between the two countries, the President considered political and economic consultations important in improving the level of relations and strengthening the cooperation between the two countries.

In this telephone conversation, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised the special geographical position of Iran, and considered the North-South Corridor [INSTC] to be effective in reducing the time and costs of transporting goods and said, "This transit route will become an attractive route for the economy and trade in the world".

Putin also referred to the visit of a 100-person Russian business delegation to Tehran as the third largest Russian economic delegation to Iran and noted that Iran and Russia have many capacities and fields to expand interactions with each other.

INSTC (2000 TNC): AM, AZ, BY, BG, IN, IR, KZ, KG, OM, RU, TJ, TR, UA, SY
SCO (2001 NGO): CN, RU, IN, PK, KZ, KG, TJ, UZ, IR, AM*, AF*, AZ*, BY*, TR*, LK*, KH*, SA*,EG*
EaEU (2012 FTA): AM, BY, KZ, KG, TJ, RU, VN*, CN*, RS*
CPEC (2015 FTA): CN, PK, MN*, RU*, KZ*, KG*, TJ*, AF*, IN*
UTLC (2018 TNC): CN, KZ, RU, BY
by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 12:50:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
yanno, the difference between rumans and chimps is insignificant. Fixate on brain size or genetic expression, literacy or fertility rate, ya miss the big moves. When habitat collapses, so goes copacetic group social structure and territorial "taboo".

thenew.com.pk | Work on $5bn Pak-Afghan-Uzbek railroad kicks off, 27 Mar 2022

Elaborating on the importance of CPEC, [UZ Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment Muhammad Azfar Ahsan] added that the extension could potentially help Afghanistan become part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"Connectivity has become a defining feature of the modern economy. Central Asia needs to develop southern trade links to complement existing north, east, and west routes," the minister further said.

During the session, available conditions of cargo transportation in Pakistan and proposals for increasing the volume of traffic between the three countries were discussed. The minister appreciated the Uzbek government for organising the trilateral meeting to strengthen linkage and connectivity among the participant countries.

Nikkei Asia | ISIS-K threat to Uzbek railway dream opens doors for Taliban, 27 July
Uzbekistan and its neighbors rely on Iranian ports. But in February 2021, Afghan, Pakistani, and Uzbek officials agreed on plans to build a railway across Afghanistan that would connect Uzbekistan to seaports in Pakistan. The [USAID] is providing technical and financial support to the project to boost "regional trade integration and connectivity."
Economist | Two new railway lines could transform Central Asia, 6 Sep
China, not Russia [FALSE], stands to benefit
euractiv | Trans-Afghanistan railway to further link Central Asia with South Asia, 15 Nov
[...]
According to Amnesty International, women and girls [!] have been barred from exercising their most basic [!] rights, including the rights to freedom of movement, political participation, and education as girls' secondary schools remain closed and "idle" girls are married off. This is leading to concerns about the legitimisation of the regime.
Reuters | Blast in Kabul, Afghanistan kills 8; Islamic State claims responsibility (05.08.2022)
Al Jazeera | Suicide attacker kills at least 19 in Kabul school blast (09.301.22)
CBS News | Deadly bomb blast tears through mosque near Afghan Interior Ministry (05.10.22)
"It seems incredible in 2022 to be having a conversation about whether girls should be allowed to study," said Sahar Fetrat, research assistant with the women's rights division at Human Rights Watch. "The world should do more to stop THIS SHOCKING ABUSE. Every day, millions of Afghan girls face lost opportunities and shattered dreams, perhaps forever."
[...]
On the Uzbek side, [Vice Chair of Uzbek Railways, Akmal Kamalov told EURACTIV that talks with Chinese funders are underway. "We had originally planned to build a bank consortium financed by the World Bank [!] to support this project, but it was scrapped after the Taliban took power," he said.

EU not convinced

Contacted by EURACTIV, the [orwellian labeled] European External Action Service (EEAS) spokesperson confirmed that, while the EU continues its investment and infrastructure plans to connect Central Asia with South Asia, it "cannot include Afghanistan in these plans."

"Our non-recognition of the Taliban regime has led to the freezing of EU development cooperation," the spokesperson explained, adding that "this operational engagement will increase depending on the behaviour of this government." ....

archived EU SANCTIONS MAP
by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 09:29:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
aftershock | Traffic of Internet networks of Ukraine fell to 35%
regional telecommunication networks, node and "operator" details

src:netblocks.org portal

by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 11:19:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Daily Sabah AFP | Kazakhstan 'foils coup attempt' ahead of snap presidential polls, 17 Nov
On Sunday [19 Nov], Kazakhstan will hold a snap presidential vote expected to cement incumbent Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's grip on power, months [sic] after deadly unrest shook the Central Asian country and left more than 230 people dead.

The National Security Committee said a group of seven people planned to "organize riots and a coup and proclaim a provisional government," adding that the suspects "share the views of exiled opponent Mukhtar Ablyazov."

Ablyazov, a former energy minister and bank chairman, is a hugely controversial figure whom Kazakhstan has tried and sentenced in absentia for murder and embezzlement....

archived September 2022 more constitutional amdts
by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 05:22:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
punch line | Multipolarity shows up in Kazakh steppes, 20 Nov, understatement
[...]
The growth of nationalism in Kazakhstan in a period of more assertive Russian foreign policy might have led to tensions into the Russian-Kazakhstan relationship, but curiously, the high level of Russian-Chinese relations helped to stabilise the political and military climate in Kazahkstan.

Tokayev's affirmation of a multi-vector foreign policy can be seen as a polite rejection of Borrell's thesis before the Central Asians that "seeking security in isolation is a fallacy."

CSTO (1992 mil): AM, BY, KZ, KG, TJ, RU
INSTC (2000 TNC): AM, AZ, BY, BG, IN, IR, KZ, KG, OM, RU, TJ, TR, UA, SY
SCO (2001 NGO): CN, RU, IN, PK, KZ, KG, TJ, UZ, IR, AM*, AF*, AZ*, BY*, TR*, LK*, KH*, SA*,EG*
EaEU (2012 FTA): AM, BY, KZ, KG, TJ, RU, VN*, CN*, RS*
CPEC (2015 FTA): CN, PK, MN*, RU*, KZ*, KG*, TJ*, AF*, IN*
UTLC (2018 TNC): CN, KZ, RU, BY
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 11:32:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 02:16:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
euractiv | Macron accuses Russia of 'predatory' influence in Africa
"This perception is fed by others, it's a political project," Macron told TV5 Monde in an interview. "I'm no fool, many influencers, sometimes speaking on your programmes, are paid by the Russians. We know them," he said. "A number of powers, who want to spread their influence in Africa, are doing this to hurt France, hurt its language, sow doubts, but above all pursue certain interests," he added.
[...]
archived Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act
Sputnik | Tanzanian President Declares Foreign Policy Changes Amid 'Wrenching Politics' of Superpower States, 21 Nov
"Our foreign policy should address this as we are currently experiencing the re-emergence of wrenching politics between superpower countries, which want to drag African nations into their conflicts... We need also to look at the global impacts resulting from such conflicts on currencies, energy, and food security," the country's leader noted.
[...]
She told envoys that they should think how Tanzania could possibly benefit from the rise of the Asian economies.

"Please share your thoughts on the strategies that will allow Tanzania to participate in such a forum and profit greatly from what will be offered to our country. However, our strategy should also be in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA)," she urged.
[...]
Earlier this month, Samia Suluhu Hassan paid a state visit to China. According to a joint statement based on the results of the visit, the two countries agreed to promote industrial complementarity and production capacity cooperation, with a focus on energy and mineral development, processing and manufacturing, green development, and the digital economy. Furthermore, China marked its plans to assist Tanzania in developing infrastructure and maritime trade.
[...]

thecitizen.co.tz | Samia lists areas of focus in foreign policy review, 20 Nov AU55 internal market
[...]
"This should also reflect on what is happening within the East African bloc, where the number of its members increased from five to seven following the recent admission of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)," she added.

Furthermore, President Hassan desired that the policy under consideration take into account the country's needs, which include the new-fang led blue economy, and that all Tanzanian diplomatic missions sell to the global.

"This is a new vocabulary, and we need to take it on board with us, wherever we are; we need to sell it; we need to have some mechanisms through which the blue economy is to be implemented," she noted.
[...]

archived EACOP shareholders, Africans to G7 concern trolls, exclusive mining rights, Mama Samia, LIVING OFF ebola marketing, Sun Apr 28th, 2019
by Cat on Tue Nov 22nd, 2022 at 02:12:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]
20 Sep
APsplainin Uganda confirms at least 1 case of Ebola hemorrhagic fever
"The confirmed Ebola victim was initially treated for other illnesses, including malaria and pneumonia, when he sought care in his hometown, the statement said."

17 Nov
GT | Ebola vaccine candidates to be shipped to Uganda: WHO

The candidates include vaccines under development by the University of Oxford and Serum Institute of India, Sabin Vaccine Institute, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative[,] and Merck & Co.

WHO's committee of external experts has evaluated and agreed to include all three vaccine candidates in the planned trial, Tedros said.

The virus circulating in Uganda is the ["]Sudan strain["] of Ebola, for which there is no proven vaccine, unlike the more common Zaire strain that spread during recent outbreaks in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo [FKA Zaire].

archived operational issues

ancient history
NY Yella Cake | Rumsfeld Flies to Africa Today For Talks in Kenya and Zaire, June 1976
"Mr. Rumsfeld...had chosen these two countries for the first visit to Africa by a United States Defense Secretary because of their proximity to Soviet areas of influence."
ncbi.nlm.nih | Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Zaire, 1976, September
"The disease was hitherto unknown to the people of the affected region."

by Cat on Tue Nov 22nd, 2022 at 03:22:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Now that?
https:/www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2022-003141_EN.html

but what is this "expose-news" they refer to?
https:
expose-news.com/2022/09/18/eu-forced-investigate-17x-increase-excess-deaths-children

and on Rumble "Died suddenly"

by Tom2 on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 06:07:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Harvesting the EU's health union, 6 Apr  post-pandemic industrial preparedness
Everybody wanted to have more and more things around health. So we launched a big health union package, that was the revision of the mandate of the EMA, ECDC, but also, [addressing] cross border health threats from which the big flower of HERA was born," said Sandra Gallina, Director-General at DG Sante. Now, in Gallina's words, they are "bearing fruit". She congratulated the EMA, "you are already in your new skin, and I hope it fits".
EMA
• European Shortages Monitoring Platform
• Task Force (COVID-ETF): drug and medical device R&D and licensing
• Coordination Centre for the Data Analysis and Real-World Interrogation Network (DARWIN): "real-world" epidemiology data repository and analytic products
ECDC
• vaccine "assessments" and immunization programming
• joint EMA, EFSA promotion of "One Health" animal and human "antimicrobial resistance" regulation
• EC Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA)

Doctors concerned about medical ethics in European health data space, 9 Nov

the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), representing national medical associations across Europe, published a position on the European Commission's proposal for the European Health Data Space (EHDS), highlighting the importance of respecting medical ethics and national competence.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) "information specialists"
EU official said that to ensure the greatest care of personal health data, "a kind of GDPR+ system" will be built, referring to the EU's data privacy legislation. CPME called for imposing strong obligations on software manufacturers for interoperability and usability to be made mandatory. Another plea is to make a better assessment of the legal, social, technical, and financial consequences for doctors, other healthcare professionals, patients and the provision of healthcare. CPME is also concerned that the implementation costs of the Proposal will exacerbate already strained healthcare systems.
[...]
Health data space is one of the central building blocks of a strong European Health Union. The EHDS is meant to empower people to control and utilise their health data in their home country or in other member states by fostering a single market for digital health services and products.
[...]
The Health Data Space is the first sectorial legislation meant to build on the Data Governance Act and the Data Act, the horizontal legislation on data governance and a recently presented EU law on data-sharing.
build back better HIPAA ...exceptions
The Commission's proposal on EHDS is being digested by the Council and the European Parliament.

In the middle of September, it was announced that Parliament's health committee (ENVI) will co-lead the health data space dossier despite the initial decision to assign the health data space exclusively to the civil liberties committee (LIBE).

One of the LIBE committee's main competences is in the areas of transparency and the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data, while ENVI is the main reference point in the European Parliament for everything related to public health.[...]

europarl.europa.eu | WHO pandemic treaty, 7 Mar 2022
Priority question for written answer
WHO.int | Framework Convention for pandemic preparedness and response, 18 Mar draft, 12 pp

archived "crisis-relevant" pharaceutical and non-pharmaceutical supply chain management, GenoMICC, Mandatory vaccination, Wellcome Leap

by Cat on Thu Nov 24th, 2022 at 01:40:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
And what better way than to store everything in a cloud "managed" by "our allies"
https:/www.go-fair.org/implementation-networks/overview/personal-health-train
cf European Open Science Cloud
https:/www.go-fair.org/go-fair-initiative
(with a bad link to what is supposed to be the EOSC, the real link is this one: https:/eosc-portal.eu)
One of the objectives is to get rid of open source programs by imposing an EU certification of every bit of software used.
https:/www.go-fair.org/2022/06/09/open-training-material-collection-on-rdm-topics-online
by Tom2 on Thu Nov 24th, 2022 at 11:24:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Inter-operability is already being sold to the G20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVBcITMAqnM
by Tom2 on Thu Nov 24th, 2022 at 11:28:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on December 2, 2022
[...]
Shenzhen TV: According to reports, on the morning of December 1, the US forces sent 54 oil-laden tankers from northeastern Syria to its bases in northern Iraq, the latest shipment of stolen Syrian oil to be delivered. Do you have any comment?
Zhao Lijian: I noted relevant reports. Some Syrians are reported to have said that what the US troops did leaves them struggling to survive winter. According to the official data from the Syrian government, between 2011 and the first half of 2022, the US's smuggling activities have cost Syria more than $100 billion of losses. 

The US's stationing of troops in Syria is illegal. The US's smuggling of oil and grain from Syria is illegal. The US's missile attack against Syria is also illegal. The US keeps violating international laws and rules, and yet claims to be a champion of what it calls "the rules-based international order". When the US talks about "rules", it is often just trying to find a pretext for serving its own interest and perpetuating its hegemony. As former French Ambassador to the US Gérard Araud, among others, noted, "When the Americans basically want to do whatever they want, including when it's against international law, as they define it, they do it. And that's the vision that the rest of the world has of this order". We believe the international community is not blind to this and will treat it with vigilance. 
[...]

< wipes tears >
Politico.eu.com | Trade war averted? Macron gets Biden to 'tweak' his [sic] industrial subsidies
...Big car-making nations like France and Germany had complained that the U.S. law was potentially illegal for discriminating against foreign companies in the electric vehicle sector and encouraging consumers to "Buy American."...
archived H.R.5376 - Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 signed by Biden, Stabbed in the back in Troubling Times for Fortress Europa, Fed hikes by another three-quarters of a point, Canadian oil and gas companies seek US subsidies
by Cat on Fri Dec 2nd, 2022 at 06:40:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
euractiv | Biden, Macron vow unity on Ukraine and move to end subsidy tensions, 2 Dec
"The essence of it is, we're going to make sure that the United States continues—and just as I hope Europe will be able to continue—not to have to rely on anybody else's supply chain," Biden said. < wipes tears >
Politico.eu.com | Emmanuel Macron calls for 'Buy European Act', 26 Oct 2022
"We need a Buy European Act like the Americans, we need to reserve [our subsidies] for our European manufacturers," Macron said. "You have China that is protecting its industry, the U.S. that is protecting its industry and Europe that is an open house."
DW | EU's von der Leyen calls for 'Marshall Plan' for Europe, 4 May 2020 FKA 'Buy American'
"We need a Marshall Plan for Europe," she wrote in a guest article for the paper Welt am Sonntag, referring to the ["]recovery program["] put in place by the US from 1948-1952 to help Western European economies after World War II. [wut] "The many billions that have to be invested today to avert a greater catastrophe will bind the generations together," she wrote, calling the [COVID Trade War] crisis a chance to renew the feeling of community among the nations of Europe.
archived Marshall Plan: Lend-Lease debt settled in Third and Deciding Phase for Europe, Buy American Act

reference
Congressional Record, Lend-lease Act, tl;dr 1941 dollar-gap and collateral debate (EN), 112 pp

Simon, H., Administrative Behavior, A study of decision-making processes in administrative organizations (1945), 4th ed. (1997) "Commentary on Chapter XI, The Anatomy of Organization"

Creation of the Economic Cooperation Agreement
On April 3, 1948, The United States Congress approved the Economic Cooperration Act, implementing the so-called Marshal Plan to help restore the weak economies of European Countries after World War II. By the end of July, the Economic Cooperation Administration was a going concern and ha already accumulated considerable experience in aadministrating its foreign aid program.

The following account reports some of the stags in the creaion of the ECA. My knowledge of these events was gained largely from the vantage point of a position in the Organization and Management Division of the agency. While I had some small opportunity to check my observations with persons in other parts of the agency, they never saw exactly the same things that I saw, nor do I have anyreason to believe that what I saw was the "reality." Indeed, one moral of the story is that initially the organization consisted largely of different pictures in the minds of different people.
[...]
Alternative Representations
[...]
Commodity Screening. Considerable experience had been gained in the administration of foreign assistance through wartime aid programs and post-war interim-aid programs. The chief repositories of administrative memory were the export licensing unit in the Commerce Department and the interim-aid group in the State Department. Some persons in the Departments of Agriculture and Interior had also participated in these earlier programs.

The conception of foreign assistance of this group was to determine specific commodity need of countries and approve or disapprove individual shipments of commodities. The decisions amounted to screening these transactions against the need of the country for the commodity for defense or nutrition and the availability of scarce commodities.18 The screening process called for two kinds of specialized knowledge: of needs and of responsibilities. The former suggested some combination of commodity and area specialization; the latter pointed toward commodity specialization.

The Balance of Trade Approach. The enactment of the Marshall Plan had been precede by economic research on the magnitude of Europe's needs for assistance. The Committee of European Cooperation (CEEC) had drawn up an estimate in the fall of 1947 of the goods that would have to be imported to maintain acceptable consumption levels and the balance of payments that would result from the import program. The "dollar gap" thus arrived at provided a basis for the amount of assistance requested. These estimates, after revision, guided the ECA legislation and subsequent appropriations.19 ...[pp 333-336]

by Cat on Fri Dec 2nd, 2022 at 08:29:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"classic Russian technique"
by Cat on Fri Dec 2nd, 2022 at 08:48:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
APsplainin UN Security Council denies Russia call for bio weapons probe, 3 Nov extra-ordinary veto power of permanent members
Russia only got support from China in the vote on its resolution, with the U.S., Britain[,] and France voting "no" and the 10 other council nations abstaining. The resolution was not approved because it failed to get the minimum nine "yes" votes required for adoption.

The 2-3-10 vote reflected the council's continuing opposition and skepticism about Russia's actions since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. The council has been paralyzed from taking any action against Russia's military offensive because of Russia's veto power.
[...]
"Ukraine does not have a biological weapons program," [US Amb. Linda "Eat muh Gumbo" Thomas-Greenfield] said. "The United States does not have a biological weapons program. There are no Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories supported by the United States"

archived "Ukraine has biological research facilities..."
by Cat on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 at 01:02:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Cuba-solidarity | United Nations votes to condemns US blockade by 185 to 2, 3 Nov 9 heads of G7 shrug
The United Nations General Assembly has voted for the 30th year to condemn the US blockade and in support for Cuba's resolution calling for an end to the US governments unilateral sanctions against the country which have been in place for over 60 years.

The vote was 185:2 in favour of the Cuban motion with the US and Israel voting against and Brazil and Ukraine abstaining.
[...]
The full debate and vote can be watched on the United Nations website here.

You can read Cuba's report into the impact of the blockade here.

Sign the Cuba Solidarity Campaign's open letter calling on The Bat Man to end the blockade

by Cat on Sat Nov 5th, 2022 at 05:07:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
al Jazeera | UN chief urges global alliance to counter rise of neo-Nazis, 26 Jan 2021
"In Europe, the United States and elsewhere, white supremacists are organising and recruiting across borders, flaunting the symbols and tropes of the Nazis and their murderous ambitions," he said. "Tragically, after decades in the shadows, neo-Nazis and their ideas are now gaining currency."
Slava Ukraini!
al mayadeen | UNGA approves Russian draft resolution to combat Nazism, racism, 5 Nov 2022
The UN General Assembly's Third Committee passed a Russian draft resolution on Friday aimed at combating the glorification of Nazism, gaining a 105-52 vote with 15 abstentions. The UNGA adopts this resolution on an annual basis; once it is approved by the committee, it must be voted on in the GA in December.

The document, titled "Combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to the escalation of modern forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," recommends that countries take appropriate concrete measures, "including in the field of legislation and education, in accordance with their international obligations in the field of human rights, in order to prevent the revision of the history and results of the Second World War and the denial of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Second World War."

The resolution also calls on member states "to take active measures to ensure that education systems develop the necessary content to provide accurate accounts of history, as well as promote tolerance and other international human rights principles."

The resolution was co-authored by Azerbaijan, Belarus, Venezuela, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Cuba, Laos, Mali, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Syria, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and South Africa.
[...]
Last December, the United States and Ukraine were the only two states to vote against the anti-Nazism UNGA resolution. The resolution recorded an earth-shattering 49 abstentions, mostly coming from Europe, where racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia are rampant. Other countries that abstained included Japan, South Korea, and Canada....

reference
US State | Explanation of Vote on a Third Committee Resolution by the Russian Federation on Combatting the Glorification of Nazism
"That said, the United States continues to oppose the Russian Federation's use of the UN system to spread disinformation...."

eeas | EU Explanation of Vote - UN General Assembly: Draft Resolution on Combating glorification of Nazism
"Today, under the false pretense of fighting Nazism, Russia has brought the horrors of war back to Europe, along with the reminder that peace cannot be taken for granted...."

by Cat on Mon Nov 7th, 2022 at 10:42:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Timor-Leste, Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030, 228 pp
ASEAN | ASEAN Leaders' Statement on the Application of Timor-Leste for ASEAN Membership, 11 Nov
We, the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, gathering in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits, considering the outcomes of the Fact-Finding Missions to Timor-Leste conducted by the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community[,] and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, and agreed:


  1. In-principle to admit Timor-Leste [.TL] to be the 11th member of ASEAN;

  2. To grant an observer status to Timor Leste and allow its participation in all ASEAN Meetings including at the Summit plenaries;

Download the full Statement here
Kyoto News | ASEAN to admit E. Timor, continues to struggle with Myanmar crisis, 11 Nov
Singapore was previously the most reluctant to admit East Timor, but current ASEAN chair Cambodia and Indonesia, which will chair the bloc next year, strongly supported its membership. [...] Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the current chair of the grouping, called on ASEAN countries in an opening speech to focus on "maintaining our unity, solidarity and centrality" as the region faces an uneven economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. [...] ASEAN has been urging Myanmar to follow up on the regional grouping's so-called five-point consensus agreed upon by leaders, including Myanmar junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing last year, including an end to violence against the junta's political opponents and civilian protesters "through concrete, practical and time-bound actions."...
Discover Bali | Timor-Leste Accepted into ASEAN Membership, 13 Nov
The remaining formal steps to bring Timor Leste to full membership in the Association will be discussed at the next ASEAN Summit in 2023. Indonesia will accept the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023. In recent years, the Indonesian government has lobbied to accept Timor Leste into ASEAN membership.

In 2002, Timor Leste was formally acknowledged by the United Nations, making it the youngest democracy in Asia. Former East Timor applied for ASEAN membership in 2011.

US News | For [President Jose Ramos-Horta], ASEAN Membership a Lifelong Dream, 11 Nov
"I went to Jakarta and met with then Indonesian foreign minister Adam Malik, and I had zero diplomatic experience, but I knew that regional integration, a membership in ASEAN, and a close relationship with Australia and Indonesia was very important to the future of Timor Leste."

At the time [c. 1975], East Timor was ruled by Portugal, although it was clear that Lisbon would soon relinquish its colony. East Timor was later annexed by Indonesia and gained full independence only in 2002.
[...]
He spent decades as the exiled spokesperson for East Timorese guerrilla fighters when the country was fighting against [Suharto's] Indonesian occupation,

... Two newly declassified documents from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, released to the National Security Archive, shed light on the Ford administration's relationship with President Suharto of Indonesia during 1975. Of special importance is the record of Ford's and Kissinger's meeting with Suharto in early December 1975. The document shows that Suharto began the invasion knowing that he had the full approval of the White House. Both of these documents had been released in heavily excised form some years ago, but with Suharto now out of power, and following the collapse of Indonesian control over East Timor, the situation has changed enough that both documents have been released in their entirety....
a struggle for which he was awarded the Nobel prize in 1996.

He served as the country's first foreign minister, prime minister from 2006 to 2007, and president from 2007 to 2012, during which time he survived an assassination attempt by rebel soldiers....

BBC | East Timor applies to join Asean [sic], 4 Mar 2011
[...]
Formally receiving the application for membership, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said East Timor was geographically, politically and economically linked to South East Asia's future - and should therefore be welcomed without reservations.

But other Asean members believe the group should focus on helping poorer nations which are already members of Asean - like Burma [!], Cambodia[,] and Laos - as they prepare for the opening of the group's free trade zone in 2015.

by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 12:31:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
TASS | Karelian NC will work with the regions of the BRICS countries on climate issues and scientific exchanges, 12 Nov (machine translation)
The Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, within the framework of an agreement with the National Research Committee (NCR) of the BRICS, will begin cooperation with scientific and educational organizations in the regions of the countries of the international organization. The main areas of work will be climate change, the development of digital technologies, post-COVID rehabilitation[,] and scientific exchanges, Pavel Petrov, head of the international cooperation department of the Karelian Research Center, told TASS.
[...]
The agreement was signed in early November. The Karelian Research Center as an operator will hold events under the auspices of the BRICS NCI in the North-Western Federal District, as well as perform analytical work and research. The emphasis will be on working with regional scientific and educational centers.
[...]
At the moment, separate connections with scientists from India, Brazil, China have already been developed in the areas of mathematics, biology, geology[,] and others. The Karelian Scientific Center plans to hold the first introductory scientific and practical conference with representatives of scientific organizations of the BRICS countries in 2023. Representatives of the scientific community, academies of sciences will be able to discuss the possibilities of using each other's laboratory facilities, exchange methods and best practices.

"There is a huge distance between countries, different climates, history, traditions, languages, but the problems are absolutely the same. If these are not capitals, then almost everyone has the same regional things, ranging from qualified personnel, finance, scientific infrastructure, equipment. Everyone has approximately the same problems[,] and it would be interesting to look at them within the framework of regional cooperation," the source said....

BRICS (2009 FTA): CN, RU, BR, IN, ZA; AR*, DZ*, EG*, ID*, IR*, CM*, ML*, SN*, TH*, UZ*, FJ*, ET*, KZ*
by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 01:06:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
GT | COP27 kicks off in Egypt, with rich countries under scrutiny on fulfilling promises, 6 Nov
The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) on climate change kicked off at the Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on Sunday. This year's summit, under the slogan Together for Implementation, is seen by scientists as an opportunity to advance prior commitments to limit global warming.

COP27 delegates agreed on Sunday to discuss whether rich countries should compensate poorer nations most vulnerable to climate change at the summit, Reuters reported.
[...]
Top of Egypt's "to-do" list is the $100 billion a year developed countries promised way back in 2009 to help the developing world cut emissions and adapt to changing climate, BBC reported. Saying the money was supposed to be delivered in 2020 but now won't be available in full until next year - three years late.

"Don't underestimate how angry developing nations are," Guterres said in an interview with BBC recently. He said they feel high-income countries have welched on the landmark deal made at the UN climate conference in Paris in 2015.

Politico | New U.S. message on climate change: Make China pay, 5 Nov
China should contribute its own funds to the cause, U.S. Special Envoy John Kerry told reporters late last month, "especially if they think they're going to continue to go on to the next 30 years with increasing their emissions."

The [tort] issue, referred to as "loss and damage" in the parlance of the global talks anglo-merican English law, calls for the U.S. and Europe's industrialized nations to send funding to less-developed countries that have suffered from floods, heatwaves, droughts, rising seas and other disasters worsened by the changing climate. Those nations have contributed little to the crisis -- in contrast to the United States, which during the past two centuries has pumped more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than any other country.
[...]
Many of the countries most deeply affected by climate change worry that dragging China into the so-called loss and damage discussion is a distraction, allowing the U.S. and Europe to sow division among developing countries.

so yeah, "we tortured some folks" (2014)
Chinese President Xi Jinping has consistently pointed to the United Nations' doctrine that rich and poor countries shoulder differing burdens for climate change. Yet the U.S. contends China is no longer in the same league as developing nations.

"At the rate we're going, a couple of countries have the ability to eclipse our historical mountain" of emissions since the middle of the 19th century, Kerry said. "So yeah, we burned coal[,] and we did this. But guess who else burned coal? Every single one of those other countries have been burning coal for 70 years. Are they absolved?" ...

archived US Environmental Politics and Law in Declared a Nuclear Terrorist State, garden NIMBYs?, 13 March 1996, etc
by Cat on Sun Nov 6th, 2022 at 09:44:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | An inconvenient truth: Climate change won't be solved in this desert, 4 Nov
events around the world are spoiling the vibe before the event has started.
[...]
This is the inconvenient truth [2006]: Governments are undermining the Paris climate agreement [2015] just seven years after they signed it. And nearly all the large companies that announced pledges to bring their net carbon emissions down to zero have failed to produce plans matching their words.
[...]
"A lot of the news seems like we're moving in the wrong direction, and that's a fair assessment," said Microsoft President Brad Smith, whose company is a "Strategic Principle[?] Partner" of the Egyptian [?] COP27, in an interview before the summit.
[...]
In 2020, Microsoft announced an ambitious commitment and detailed plan to be carbon negative by 2030 and to remove from the environment all the carbon the company emitted since its founding [1975] by 2050. The company has built on this pledge by adding commitments to be water positive by 2030, zero waste by 2030, and to protect ecosystems by developing a < wipes tears > Planetary Computer.
archived second phase of the Kyoto Protocol 2012, Kyoto opposition 2010, EU, Kyoto and the recession, Copenhagen public fury 2009, EU neighborhood policy, Climate Change Conference: Doomed, This, that, and the Other 2008, etc
by Cat on Sun Nov 6th, 2022 at 11:58:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
euronews | COP27: It's important to discuss climate reparations, Ursula von der Leyen tells Euronews, 7 Nov balmer minute (00:02:27) A/V (EN) enclosed
"It is an important topic and I'm happy that it is an agenda item this time at COP27. It was never before," von der Leyen told Euronews correspondent Jeremy Wilks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
except that time...
"At last COP, we made the pledges. This is about implementation," she said.
by Cat on Mon Nov 7th, 2022 at 11:52:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | Macron backs climate [sem-]cash trillions, 7 Nov project financing
Macron gave his support to elements of a plan outlined by Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Mottley that seeks to overhaul the way climate finance flows to the countries that most need it. He called for a "huge shock of concessional financing," suspension of debt for disaster-struck countries and putting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on notice.
[...]
But one Mottley suggestion that Macron swerved was her call for fossil fuel companies to pay a levy on their profits into a fund for disaster-hit countries.

"How do companies make $200 billion in profits in the last three months and not expect to contribute at least 10 cents on every dollar of profit to a loss and damage fund?" she asked.

archived semi-cash debut, IMF Debt-for-Climate Swaps
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 12:28:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico | Kerry pitches climate finance plan. Other countries say it's 'not enough', 9 Nov HELP US HELP YOU HELP US
Under the proposal from the U.S. climate envoy, companies would buy carbon credits < wipes tears > that fund [FALSE] the greening of power grids in developing countries.
[...]
Kerry proposed a voluntary market in which companies would purchase carbon credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions and meet corporate climate targets. Those credits would be generated when developing countries or their subnational < wipes tears > governments transition their power grids away from fossil fuels.
[...]
a voluntary market in which companies would purchase carbon credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions and meet corporate climate targets.
[...]
The proposed carbon offset initiative would be separate from the cross-border emissions trading program that [developed] countries can use to meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Paris agreement.
[...]
Like the LEAF program, the [NO-]power sector proposal seems destined to focus mostly on a subset of developing countries. In this case, the biggest bang would occur in countries that have sizable [?!] fossil-fuel-based power grids and thus are prime candidates for a green transition.
[...]
The State Department has discussed the idea with other developed countries, but at least one -- Germany -- has declined to join, sources say. Jennifer Morgan, Germany's special envoy for international climate action, told POLITICO earlier this week that Germany remained focused on bilateral support to poor countries and "absolute" emissions <golf clap> reductions rather than carbon offsets. ...
by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 08:48:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
euractiv | EU, US push back on climate 'loss and damage' reparation fund, 11 Nov dissembling
"We are prepared to scale up support specifically to this challenge of loss and damage," which hasn't yet been addressed with sufficient "seriousness," admitted [Jacob] Werksman, who heads the EU delegation at COP27.

But the new agenda item "was agreed under certain conditions," he added, including that "we would not be discussing this issue of liability and compensation." He also insisted that the process be time-bound, with concrete outcomes expected "at the latest by 2024."

"The scope of our conversation is not going to be focused on one single solution, as some parties see it, to the challenge of loss and damage - the establishment of a new fund or a facility - at this COP," Werksman said. "Instead, we will start a conversation that is broad enough to be able to contain within it multiple solutions to what we see as a very complex and challenging problem," he added.
[...]
Besides, the EU and its member states are already the largest contributors to international public climate finance, with €23 billion in 2020 and 2021, the EU executive pointed out in a statement....

euractiv | Negotiations on EU carbon market stuck in quagmire, 10 Nov finance tools
Following a reform proposal by the European Commission in July 2021, EU countries and Parliament are in the midst of three-way negotiations called trialogues.
[...]
As world nations gather in Egypt for the COP27 climate talks, this lack of ["trialogue"] progress is "embarrassing", [Green MEP Michael] Bloss added. As part of the talks, Parliament defended plans to provide 10% of revenues from the bloc's carbon market to support developing nations.

However, the Council resisted and got its way. "There is no [10%] figure directly in that [ETS] compromise," Liese admitted, saying all that Parliament could obtain was a reference the recitals which he described as "quite strong". ["Recalling..."] Recitals are part of the non-binding preamble to EU laws. According to Bloss, the agreed text is "very weak."
[...]
Parliament also caved in on fossil fuel financing, allowing carbon market revenues to fund new natural gas projects through the ETS Modernisation Fund until the end of 2024. In exchange, electricity producers will likely no longer receive free emission certificates going forward.
[...]
Under the agreement reached this week, "if the average [CO2] price over six months is 2.4 times the average price over the previous two years, 75 million allowances are automatically released from the MSR [market stability reserve] into the market," Bloss explained.

euractiv | Turkey faces removal from the Council of Europe, 11 Nov police brutality
Recalling human rights infringements since 1959, You be the judge.
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 12:38:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
EU pledges funding for African adaptation, resilience, 16 Nov fig leaf of understanding
A part of the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package, the program aims to improve cooperation between the EU and the African Union. It will "bring together existing and new" climate change adaptation programs, according to a European Commission press release.  

The EU said the four pillars of the project would be improving [1] early-warning systems, developing and implementing climate [2] "risk finance and insurance" systems, improving [3] public sector readiness[,] and [4] international funding of climate adaptation projects, and more funding for data-driven risk assessment projects designed to improve responses.

The EU's commissioner for climate affairs, Frans ["The Flying Dutchman"] Timmermans, said it would be funded by the EU and governments of Germany, France, Denmark[,] and the Netherlands, adding that other countries would be welcome to join the initiative.

Timmermans said the fund's size was a starting point and that a small share of it, around €60 million [!], would be earmarked for "loss and damage" spending award. ...

feminist diplomacy: HELP US HELP YOU HELP US PAY $18B for Ukraine RECONSTRUCTION
What did Germany's Baerbock say on the issue?

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a Greens politician, took to Twitter after the announcement, pledging to "strive for concrete means of [CO2 emission] reduction [from 3.8% (e) to ZERO], and appeal for new financing instruments for loss and damage." ...

archived Global Gateway 2021 €300B
by Cat on Wed Nov 16th, 2022 at 08:14:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Sputnik | Qatar Signs 27-Year LNG Supply Contract With China, 21 Nov
under a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) signed by QatarEnergy and Sinopec on Monday.

"This is the first long-term SPA from the NFE project to be announced, and marks the longest gas supply agreement in the history of the LNG industry," QatarEnergy President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, who is also the country's minister of state for energy affairs, said in a statement released by the company.

"The two countries share inherent complementarities and a good foundation for energy cooperation. The friendly and close ties between the two countries have created a good environment for us to constantly deepen cooperation. Sinopec attaches great importance to the cooperation with QatarEnergy, who we regard as a strategic, long-term and all-round partner, and we are expecting more cooperation fruits to come. Sinopec has been always committed to the development of green and clean energy. Our integrated cooperation with QatarEnergy on the NFE project could not only meet the needs of the Chinese market, but also reflect Sinopec's commitment to a low-carbon, green, safe, responsible and sustainable development path."
Reuters | QatarEnergy boss says World Cup tension will not impact German business, 21 Nov
[QA Energy Affairs Min, QatarEnergy President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-]Kaabi told Reuters he was shocked by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck's widely reported remarks last week, which were confirmed on Monday by his ministry, that awarding Doha the tournament was a "stupid idea and can't really be explained otherwise than by corruption".
[...]
archived Boycotts are hard , Scholz's pyrrihic victories
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 10:43:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
euractiv | EU plans new military aid for gas-rich Mozambique amid energy crisis, 9 Sep
EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell said on Thursday (8 September) the bloc was committed to helping the country fight "against terrorism", as he unveiled new military aid for the country a day after a deadly jihadist attack.
[...]
Energy projects under threat
[...]
Mozambique has the third largest proven gas reserves in Africa, after Nigeria and Algeria. The EU fears that without support for the military interventions, Mozambique may again lose control of its restive north.

The energy squeeze due to the Ukraine war has added impetus to Europe's scramble for gas off Mozambique's northern coast, where Western oil firms are planning to build a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

RT | Southern African nation starts LNG exports, 14 Nov
Mozambique has made its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment, the country's president announced on Sunday. The first batch of LNG produced at the country's offshore Coral Sul facility has left Mozambique territorial waters, Filipe Nyusi said.

"Today, Mozambique enters the annals of world history as one of the exporting countries of LNG," Nyusi said in a video statement, as cited by AFP news agency.

The plant is managed by Italian company Eni, and according to Nyusi, the shipment was ordered by British oil major BP.
[...]
Eni's CEO Claudio Descalzi welcomed the first gas shipment from Coral Sul, calling it a "significant step forward" in the company's work "to leverage gas as a source that can contribute in a significant way to Europe's energy security, also through the increasing diversification of supplies."

capetalk.co.za | Mozambique ships first LNG exports to gas-hungry Europe
The Coral Sul FLNG facility is Mozambique's first LNG project and first floating LNG facility ever deployed in the deep waters of the African continent, according to a news release from BP. BP has a long-term agreement to purchase 100% of LNG output from the facility that has the capacity to produce up to 3.4 million tons per year.
Torygraph | British ship brings first gas exports from Mozambique to Europe, 14 Nov
previously on As the Worm Turns ...
African climate diplomats reject African Union's pro-gas stance for Cop27, 4 Aug
europarl.europa.eu | JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on violations of human rights in Uganda and Tanzania linked to investments in fossil fuels projects, 14 Sep
by Cat on Wed Nov 16th, 2022 at 08:51:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
euractiv | US funds study for small reactor deployment in Romania, 27 June
The Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) study is expected to be completed in eight months, following an investment of $28 million, including contributions from Romanian nuclear power firm Nuclearelectrica and NuScale, the US company that provides the SMR technology.

Romania selected the site of a former coal-fired power plant to host the first SMR power plant, and the study will provide key site-specific data - cost, construction, schedule, and licensing details - necessary for the deployment of NuScale's reactors, the White House said on Sunday (26 June).

At the 2021 UN Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow (COP26), US Climate Envoy John Kerry and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced their intent to deploy an SMR in Romania in partnership with US firm NuScale Power....

Readovka | Ukraine wants to get small modular reactors, 12 Nov
Today, November 13, within the framework of the 27th UN Climate Conference, US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko announced the start of a pilot project to build a small modular reactor. This is literally a nuclear power plant in miniature, namely, a ready-to-ship and pre-fabricated low-power reactor.

This is an extremely promising technology, but due to its relative novelty and bureaucratic restrictions , it is not very common. The abundance of bureaucracy is caused by public fears about the risks of another Chernobyl. In this regard, regulators are very strict about the implementation of security measures in SMRs.
[...]
Therefore, the largest market players are eager to work with a government that is not very worried about risks, but at the moment there is no talk of any specifics. Allegedly, the only foreign participant in the project now is the international consortium of the Argonne National Laboratory. Other private partners include Clark Seed, Doosan Enerbility, FuelCell Energy, IHI Corporation, JGC Corporation, Samsung C&T Corporation[,] and Starfire Energy....

US State | Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Kerry and Ukraine Minister of Energy Galushchenko Announce Cooperation on a Clean Fuels from Small Modular Reactors Pilot, COP27 Climate Conference, 12 Nov
[...]
The project aims to carry out a first-of-a-kind pilot of commercial-scale production of clean fuels from SMRs using solid oxide electrolysis. Building on existing capacity-building cooperation launched under the U.S. Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of SMR Technology (FIRST) program, the project seeks to support Ukraine's energy security goals, enable decarbonization of hard-to-abate energy sectors through clean hydrogen generation, and improve long-term food security through clean ammonia-produced fertilizers. Further, it aims to demonstrate Ukraine's innovative clean energy leadership through the use of advanced technologies.

Participating partners for the pilot include a multinational consortium from Argonne National Laboratory, Ukraine's Energoatom, National Security and Defense Council, and State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety, and private companies Clark Seed, Doosan Enerbility, FuelCell Energy, IHI Corporation, JGC Corporation, NuScale Power, Samsung C&T, and Starfire Energy.
[...]
In a second announcement, Special Envoy Kerry launched a new initiative, Project Phoenix, to accelerate the transition in Europe of coal-fired plants to SMRs while retaining local jobs through workforce retraining. Project Phoenix will provide direct U.S. support for coal-to-SMR feasibility studies and related activities in support of energy security goals for countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 01:09:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
by Oui (Oui) on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 03:26:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Work progresses to deploy NuScale power plant in Poland

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 03:28:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | Egypt's COP27 summit app is a cyber weapon, experts warn, 9 Nov
The app is being promoted as a tool to help attendees navigate the event. But it risks giving the Egyptian government permission to read users' emails and messages. Even messages shared via encrypted services like [META] WhatsApp are vulnerable, according to POLITICO's technical review of the application, and two of the outside experts. The app also provides Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, which created it, with other so-called backdoor privileges, or the ability to scan people's devices.
[...]
The app is nothing short of "a surveillance tool that could be weaponized by the Egyptian authorities to track activists, government delegates[,] and anyone attending COP27," said Marwa Fatafta, digital rights lead for the Middle East and North Africa for Access Now
[...]
Three of the researchers said the app posed surveillance risks to those who download it due to its widespread permissions to review people's devices, though the extent of the risk remains unclear....
src: Beehive, 2017
Politico.eu.com | Egypt's COP27 PR disaster, 11 Nov
The COP27 talks have also been lambasted for shortages of food and water -- with some delegates noting that the talks felt like a simulation of the hunger games-style deprivation with which climate change threatens millions of people. Or, as POLITICO's Global Insider put it, a "green Fyre Festival."

On Thursday, organizers cut food prices in half. Drinks were free -- meaning delegates no longer needed to pay for bottles of Coca-Cola, the official sponsor and largest plastic polluter on Earth.

Human rights crisis
There was some degree of sympathy among delegates for Egypt's efforts to host the conference while also negotiating a major food and economic crisis.
[...]
But that sympathy largely runs dry when it comes to the Egyptian government's human rights record. Multiple rights groups have described Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a former military general, as an authoritarian ruler who has locked up critics and stamped out protest....

by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 10:34:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
S&P Global | COP27: Advancing Climate Objectives Amidst Conflict, 13 pp "special report" incl. cover
S&P Global Commodity Insights reviews the expectations and outcomes of COP27 and our participation in key discussions at the event, on carbon markets[,] and future energy scenarios. We also present a critical methane roadmap for Egypt, designed as a template for other countries eager to move from climate commitment to climate action.
select, lavish infographics

S&P Periodic Table of Oil-symbol identities: one for ESPO and SOKOL, oilprice.com trailing spot prices; no relation to ETF trading symbols
Newsletter Subscriber Bulletin
Top of COP27 agenda: Loss and damages - "Climate justice, not charity."
Facing mounting losses and permanent damage to the environment caused by increasingly severe and more frequent climate events, including devastating floods, severe droughts, fires, rising sea levels, and deforestation, developing nations attending COP27 elevated the issue of "loss and damages" for climate change impacts to the top of the agenda. The issue at stake is one of climate justice and survival. Read our review of the key outcomes from the event.

Building Resilience in our energy systems.
Five reflections on balancing energy transition, security[,] and affordability needs to build resilience in our energy systems. Carlos Pascual draws on regional experience to consider technology and finance for developing countries, natural gas alternatives, permitting, emerging technologie[,]s and supply chain fragility in our opinion piece.
[...]

by Cat on Tue Nov 29th, 2022 at 07:16:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
< wipes tears >
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 04:05:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 01:38:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The Hill | Zelensk*: Russia's war is destroying the climate, 8 Nov
"There are still many for whom climate change is just rhetoric or marketing, or political ritual," Zelensky said in a video address to the United Nations climate change conference (COP27). "They are the ones who start wars of aggression when the planet cannot afford a single gunshot because it needs global joint actions," the president continued.
president.gov.ua | There can be no effective climate policy without peace on earth - address by the President of Ukraine to the participants of the 27th UN Conference on Climate Change in Sharm el-Sheikh, 8 Nov Slava Ukraini!
Slamming Russia for its attempts to "destroy the independence" of Ukraine, Zelensky described a situation in which dozens of countries have now had to resume coal-fired power generation to reduce energy prices following Moscow's invasion.

He also blamed the Russian war for triggering "an acute food crisis" that has stricken those countries that were already enduring "the existing manifestations of climate change, catastrophic drought, large-scale floods." Russian shelling, the president added, ravaged 5 million acres of forest in Ukraine in less than six months.
[...]
The Ukrainian leader urged COP27 participants to support a Kyiv initiative presented at the summit that would create a global platform for assessing the impacts of military actions on the climate and the environment.

"We must ensure that suffering doesn't multiply because the world doesn't have time to respond to climate challenges," Zelensky added.

Ukriform | Over 2,200 crimes against environment committed by Russia since war started, 6 Nov
The damage caused has already exceeded EUR 37.4 billion.

The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ministry, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to Ukrainian Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Minister Ruslan Strilets, the air is polluted the most with the burning of petroleum products and forest fires. The material damage caused by air pollution is UAH 927 billion....

Ukriform | Russia trying to commit "energy genocide" but Ukraine "will stand" - Podol*ak, 6 Nov
According to the official, the countermeasure plan is simple: air defense systems, protection of infrastructure facilities, and optimization of consumption.
Ukriform | Russian troops cause over UAH 1.35T of environmental damage to Ukraine, 6 Nov
The relevant statement was made by Ukraine's Accounting Chamber on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Based on the data from the Operational Headquarters for Fixing Ecocrimes of the Russian Federation, the terrorist state has already caused over UAH 1.35 trillion worth of environmental damage to Ukraine. However, according to ecologists, even this insane sum does not reflect the true picture," the report states....

IRENA | country profile, 2014-2019
11.6.2 Air particulate matter (PM2.5): urban, avg, rural, WHO safe
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 06:33:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Inflation Exports
FAO | Alarming signs as the global food import bill set to rise to nearly US$2 trillion due to higher prices, 11 Nov
The world food import bill is estimated to rise to US$1.94 trillion in 2022, higher than previously expected, according to a new report [100 pp] released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
[...]
The bulk of the increase in the bill is accounted for by high-income countries, due mostly to higher world prices, while volumes are also expected to rise. Economically vulnerable country groups are being more affected by the higher prices. For instance, the aggregate food import bill for the group of low-income countries is expected to remain almost unchanged even though it is predicted to shrink by 10 percent in volume terms, pointing to a growing accessibility issue for these countries.
[...]
The Food Outlook also assesses global expenditures on imported agricultural inputs, including fertilizers. The global input import bill is expected to rise to US$ 424 billion in 2022, up 48 percent from the year before and as much as 112 percent from 2020.
[...]
World wheat production is forecast to reach a record 784 million tonnes in 2022/23, buoyed by significant harvest recoveries in Canada and the Russia Federation. That should push global wheat inventories to record levels, although the report notes that the accumulations are expected mostly in China and the Russian Federation, while stock levels are predicted to drop by 8 percent in the rest of the world ....
by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 09:29:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
rema.gov.rw | Rwanda calls for greater climate action and shares green investment opportunities
• Launch of Ireme Invest: Rwanda Green Fund and the Development Bank of Rwanda
• Launch of the Rwanda Sustainable Finance Roadmap
• Launch of the Rwanda NDC Facility - Government of Germany and Rwanda Green Fund
• Rwanda Green Fund, Rwanda Finance Limited and Winrock International
• Event on The Future of Carbon Markets in Rwanda - Rwanda Environment Management Authority
Rédaction Africanews with AP | M23 rebellion in DRC: Hundreds of young people ready to join the army, 7 Nov
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 03:02:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Rwanda
Telesur | Rwanda Reduced 126,000 Tons of Carbon Emissions in Nine Years, 10 Nov
[...]
Rwanda needs an estimated US$11 billion to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects up to 2030, Rwanda's Economic Planning Minister Claudine Uwera said.
[@IEA tweet: global 2022 "combustion" growth:GDP series, 2008-2022]
"COP27 is an opportunity to engage development partners to meet the remaining financing of US$6.5 billion to accelerate momentum to deliver on Rwanda's climate agenda," she added.
[...]
During the Finance Day heads of governments and activists called for immediate and innovative solutions to drive the global climate finance landscape to complement public finance. Rwandan President Paul Kagame[guest star!] has said questioning whether Africa is ready to make use of climate finance should not be used as an excuse to justify inaction.

Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania
COP27 preppers: Dar es Salaam-Mombasa Gas Pipeline, MEP "maximum pressure
EACOP shareholders: Total Energies (FR), Ugand National Oil Co. (UNOC), Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp. (TPDC), China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC)

Egypt and South Africa
archived: 2022, 2010, 2006
africa-engineering | Nuclear energy in Africa, 2018

Many African countries are going ahead with developing nuclear power. A third of the almost 30 countries currently considering nuclear power are in Africa. Egypt [EG], Ghana [GA], Kenya [KE], Morocco [MA], Niger [NI], Nigeria [NG], and Sudan [SS] have already engaged with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to assess their readiness to embark on a nuclear programme. Algeria [DZ], Tunisia [TN], Uganda [UG], and Zambia [ZM] are also mulling the possibility of nuclear power. Russia, South Korea, and China are the primary vendors determined to assist African countries build nuclear plants.

Kenya is already on route to developing their own nuclear power plant. This plant will only be used once all other forms of energy in Kenya have been exhausted. Rwanda [RW] has signed an agreement with Russia [VOA 2019] to protect their nuclear energy usage. The agreement, signed between Russian State-owned nuclear group Rosatom and the Ministry of Infrastructure of Rwanda, covers cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. This agreement sets out the terms for cooperation between the countries. Russia will be developing nuclear infrastructure in Rwanda.

All Africa | Rwanda Appoints Members to Atomic Energy Board for Power Plant, 2021
"Many, many people ask the question: Why nuclear?" says Nii Allotey, director of the Nuclear Power Institute at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission. "To me, it's not about nuclear being an option. It is about energy being an option. Do you, as a country, need energy? And the simple answer is yes. So if you need energy, you need to find cost-effective electricity that is clean and reliable."
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 02:34:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Kenya News | Kenya Aims To Have Its First Nuclear Power Plant By 2038, 18 Oct
According to the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), the mooted nuclear power plant of 1,000 megawatts reactor is to be commissioned by the year 2038. The country is looking to build more reactors to avoid future power supply shortages and curb emissions and accelerate nuclear power and hydro projects.

To help embrace nuclear energy, NuPEA has signed an MoU with China, Russia, South Korea[,] and Slovakia for nuclear training of its personnel. This was disclosed by Justus Wabuyabo, Director of Legal and Regulatory Services and Corporation Secretary, for the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), formerly known as Kenya Nuclear Energy Board (KNEB)....

by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 03:01:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The Hill | UN publishes draft climate deal, 17 Nov
[...]
While the language says it "welcomes" the inclusion for the first time on "loss and damages" funds for nations on the front lines of climate change, it contains no details of how the funds would operate.

Countries in the global south already feeling the impacts of climate change have been calling for loss and damages for years, but it has never made it into draft language before and will be the subject of contentious debate among wealthier nations about specific financial responsibilities.
[...]


reference
Presidency non-paper2 on cover decisions, 20 pp, excerpt of interest
[...]
100 bn goal, status, progress and urgency to meet it
● {Placeholder for relevant outcomes from the ongoing negotiations}
● Expresses grave concern that the goal of developed country Parties to mobilize jointly USD 100 billion per year by 2020 has not yet been met and urges developed country Parties to meet the goal and address the shortfall to $100 billion since 2020.
● Calls to achieve the 100 bn urgently
● Reiterates the Glasgow Pact agreement on doubling climate finance for adaptation.
Doubling adaptation finance
● Reiterates the call on developed country Parties to at least double the collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing country Parties from 2019 levels [!] by 2025, in the context of achieving a balance between mitigation and adaptation in the provision of scaled-up financial resources; and Requests SCF to prepare a report on the adaptation finance including the doubling of adaptation finance by developed countries.
● Calls on developed country Parties to take further steps to provide clarity and predictability in their adaptation finance pledges through to 2025;
[...]
by Cat on Thu Nov 17th, 2022 at 05:49:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
euractiv | EU makes `final offer' on climate disaster ["]compensation["] fund, 18 Nov
Conditions attached
China, as part of the G77 group of countries, proposed establishing the loss and damage fund award under Article 11 of the UNFCCC, which was written in the 1990s.

"There we have a disagreement," [Timmermans] said, adding that the funding base should reflect the economic situation of countries "in 2022 and not in 1992"

not in 1982, not in 1962, not in 1942, certainly not in 1902 or 1822. Sooo much water under the bridge.

free Ukraine.

by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 11:08:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Egypt urges G7 counties become carbon emission neutral by 2030

COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh: from climate frustration to radical implementation?

Egypt: Climate action can strengthen long-term growth

China's surprise visit to US-EU event hints at cooperation on methane, a 30% reduction by 2030

As the more than 70 ministers in the room applauded, Kerry passed the microphone to Xie who took off his mask and approached the lectern. The organisers scrambled to find a translator and hurried her by Xie's side.

"Colleagues you must find it a little bit strange why the Chinese envoy on climate would attend the global methane pledge," he said, explaining his "good friend" Kerry invited him to attend earlier in the morning.

"Even though I currently have a meeting with German foreign minister {Green Party minister Baerbock surely wouldn't mind], I told her to wait a little bit so I can come and talk to all of you," he added



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 11:45:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | Summit yields `historic win' for climate payments, 20 Nov
[...]
The U.S. bends to demands for a climate fund

The summit's headlining deal -- for the creation of a climate [loss and] damage fund -- came together after weeks of grumbling by developing nations about U.S. stinginess, a slight melting of frosty relations between Washington and Beijing, and a last-minute threat by European negotiators to abandon the talks.
[...]
In swallowing the climate [loss and] damage fund, the U.S. and the European Union were forced to break with decades of entrenched resistance to paying out for [loss and] damage caused by their own greenhouse gas pollution -- unwilling to be pinned for any form of liability. Transatlantic unity was tested and split by an organized bloc of 134 developing countries, mustered by flood-struck stricken Pakistan.
[...]

drama queens
The developing nations had been driving a hard line against future climate commitments across an array of economic sectors, which developed countries had sought. [British MP Alok] Sharma emerged from the Egyptian presidency's offices stone-faced, walking stridently into a meeting where Shoukry was due to present what negotiators called his vision of a compromise.

That meeting turned into a three-hour airing of grievances. Fossil fuel heavyweights like Russia [!] attempted to block language to phase out fossil fuels with unchecked emissions. The U.S. backed that phase-out language, said David Waskow, director of the World Resource Institute's international climate initiative.

'Would you like to join us?'

Talks grew tense. Sue Biniaz, the de facto U.S. lead with Kerry stuck in a hotel room, bolted after Shoukry when he briefly departed. The two chatted amidst a throng of security shadowing [Egyptian summit President Sameh] Shoukry, who turned away, leaving Biniaz standing expectantly. Shoukry then turned back: "Would you like to join us, Sue?" he said, then asked Biniaz to explain her objections to part of the deal as they ascended the ramp to his office.

During anonymous briefings throughout the summit's second week, European officials had accused Shoukry of acting in the interests of a small group of countries heavily reliant on fossil fuels, including [EU27, USA, Russia,] China[,] and Saudi Arabia. An Egyptian official rejected that charge.

Friends and foes alike kept bringing up the United States' failure to deliver its fair share of finance, undermining Biden's tilt at leadership.

Then, after the EU changed its position [!] and offered to support the creation of a new fund, the U.S. was left standing alone....

by Cat on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 03:40:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Politico.eu.com | EU threatens COP27 walkout over weak deal, 19 Nov
"with officials blaming China and Saudi Arabia"
by Cat on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 at 01:47:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:53:23 AM EST

Save the dates Artemis 1 mission launch

euronews | Researchers are working to make wind turbines capture carbon dioxide and use it for cement, 3 Nov TINA 2 cement

Simulations developed by researchers at Purdue University (Indiana, US) have been looking at how turbines can drag polluted air into their wake and funnel it into the ground for safe removal.

"As large, power-generating wind turbines rotate, they cause turbulence that pulls air down into the wakes behind them", mechanical engineer Luciano Castillo of Purdue explained to Science News.
[...]
"It's an effect that can concentrate carbon dioxide enough to make capture feasible, particularly near large cities".

The researchers plan to describe their system at a meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics in Indianapolis on November 21.
[...]
Are there any downsides to the project?

by Cat on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 at 06:47:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"an immense pile of filth" ppm

by Cat on Fri Nov 4th, 2022 at 09:29:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
atsdr.cdc.gov | Camp Lejeune Overview and History
"U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina was established in 1942. 40 YEARS LATER, the Marine Corps discovered specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the drinking water provided by two of the eight water treatment plants on base."
Federal Register | Diseases Associated With Exposure to Contaminants in the Water Supply at Camp Lejeune
"A Rule by the Veterans Affairs Department on 01/13/2017"
va.gov | Camp Lejeune water contamination health issues
"If you have qualifying service at Camp Lejeune and a current diagnosis of one of the conditions listed below, you may be able to get disability benefits."
Pioneertown Media | Sign Up for a Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water Claim
If you or a family member were stationed, worked, or lived at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 and developed cancer or a serious illness, we can help you get compensation.
[...]
We believe the legal process should be easy, fair and as stress free as possible.

We've helped tens of thousands of victims of corporate negligence, workers, and consumers recover hundreds of millions of dollars.

by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 08:51:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Al Jazeera | Who is Haiti's sanctioned gang leader Jimmy `Barbecue' Cherizier?, 21 Oct 2022
The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Haitian gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, as the international community pushes to bring an end to surging violence in the crisis-hit Caribbean country.
[...]
A former officer of the Haitian National Police (HNP), Cherizier has been linked to various human rights violations and fatal attacks against civilians, according to multiple reports by media outlets, international observers and rights groups.

The United Nations also has blamed the powerful confederation of gangs that he leads for one of Haiti's most pressing and recurring problems over the last months: severe fuel shortages.
[...]
Last year, Cherizier said the tactic of blocking fuel terminals aimed to force Haiti's acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, to resign from office.

"If Ariel Henry resigns at 8:00, then at 8:05, we remove all the barricades, so the trucks can come to the fuel depot and fill up, and then the crisis will stop," Cherizier told Al Jazeera in an interview that aired in October 2021.

Henry came to power after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July of last year. While he enjoys Western support, Haitian civil rights groups have questioned his legitimacy, especially after Henry indefinitely postponed presidential and legislative elections last year....

Reuters | Haiti gang leader says fuel distribution can resume as blockade ends, 6 Nov
Haitian gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier said on Sunday that fuel trucks can approach the Varreux terminal without fear for their safety, days after police broke up a blockade that had halted fuel distribution for nearly two months.
The news follows two weeks of negotiation with Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier to relinquish control of the Varreux terminal, according to Haitian politician Dr. Harrison Ernest, who said he spoke several times with Cherizier and met with the Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry....
"Once again, the drivers and employees of the Varreux terminal can come down without fear," Cherizier said in a video circulating online. "We've decided among us ... to allow for the gas to be released."
APsplainin Gas stations in Haiti reopen for 1st time in 2 months, 12 Nov
The truck drivers arrived after the G9 gang, led by former police officer Jimmy Cherizier -- nicknamed "Barbecue" -- announced a week ago that it was lifting the blockade days after clashing with police who sought to reassert control of the area.
[...]
"I don't know how long it's going to last," said Arnel Fildor, 28, who also was concerned about high gas prices and a crushing economic crisis driven by double-digit inflation that has pushed this country of more than 11 million people into even deeper poverty. "Not everyone is equal. We don't have the same ability to survive. We're all dying slowly here."...
Haitian Times | In Haiti, "gangs" reside where caring for community and corruption collide, 12 Sep from Tonton Makout to "the chimè"
by Cat on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 07:13:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
9th time is the charm

NASA.gov | Liftoff! NASA's Artemis I Mega Rocket Launches Orion to Moon, 16 Nov

Following a successful launch of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, the agency's Orion spacecraft is on its way to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. Carrying an uncrewed Orion, SLS lifted off for its flight test debut at 1:47 a.m. EST Wednesday from Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  

The launch is the first leg of a mission in which Orion is planned to travel approximately 40,000 miles beyond the Moon and return to Earth over the course of 25.5 days. Known as Artemis I, the mission is a critical part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, in which the agency explores for the benefit of humanity. It's an important test for the agency before flying astronauts on the Artemis II mission. ...

archived About the Mission and official Stretch Goals
by Cat on Wed Nov 16th, 2022 at 09:35:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
wfp.org | First shipment of Russian fertilizer marks breakthrough in global supply crunch, 12 Nov charity toward none
As part of the efforts by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to address global food insecurity through the full implementation of the two agreements signed on 22 July in Istanbul to ensure the unimpeded access to food and fertilizers from Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the World Food Programme (WFP) is facilitating the donation of 260,000 MT[!] of fertilizer by the Russian fertilizer company Uralchem-Uralkali to countries in most need in Africa. WFP is grateful for the contributions and support from Uralchem-Uralkali.
[...]
At the request of the UN, the first shipment of 20,000 MT of NPK will be loaded onto a WFP-chartered vessel next week and will sail from the Netherlands the week of 21 November. The vessel will sail via Mozambique, with Malawi as the final destination.
[...]
WFP also thanks the Government of France for initiating the 'Save Crops Operation', which was launched on the margins of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in September [23, 2022]
At this occasion, we, France, Senegal acting as chair of the African Union, the African Union Commission, the European Commission, [and] the President of the Council of Ministers of the Lebanese Republic[] in the presence of the heads of UNCTAD, the WFP, the FAO, IFAD, the World Bank Group, the IMF, the WTO[,] and Afreximbank agreed to launch a NEW! initiative, "Save Crops Operation", to promote access to fertilizers and other critical inputs in vulnerable countries
[...]
In the face of price volatility, our priority is to lift unnecessary export restrictions, fight speculation and improve stock transparency. By the G20 Bali Summit, the FAO and the WTO will conduct a mapping exercise on export restrictions G7 sanctions, market transparency through the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), as well as on fertilizers needs and production bottlenecks in vulnerable countries and especially on the African continent, in view of proposing concrete options to [l]eaders....
—We will launch an emergency fertilizer purchase mechanism for Africa.
We will build on the Africa Trade Exchange (ATEX) mechanism launched by the African Union, UNECA[,] and Afreximbank to pool demand, reduce prices[,] and buy African production in priority.
We will support this mechanism both on the financial side, by increasing Afreximbank's capacities to reduce the cost of financing for vulnerable economies, including by addressing foreign currency exposures, and by providing low-cost logistical solutions in the framework of the "solidarity mechanism" launched by the World Food Program in the framework of the FARM initiative and in partnership with the private sector.

We will support the most vulnerable economies by enlarging their fiscal space to buy fertilizers, building on [IMF] SDR re[-]channelling strategy, as well as on the new "food shock window" under discussion within the IMF's shareholding. ...
—We will support production, both in the short and medium-term.
[...]
A meeting of CEOs of fertilizer-producing companies will be convened in Paris in the run-up to the G20 Summit in Bali to scale-up production as fast as possible.

The ATEX platform will provide long-term contracts to African producers. We will explore swap agreements to ensure that long-term contracts already issued by African producers can benefit to African farmers in priority.

Finally, we call on gas producers [FAIL] throughout the world to take responsibility for limiting price increases and ensuring market transparency [so G7 securities regulators wash hands], which are essential to maintain fertilizer production capacity in all regions of the world.

["]enable["] the transportation of several shipments of fertilizer to West Africa in the coming weeks on WFP chartered vessels.
RT | Russian fertilizers to leave EU port, 12 Nov cautionary "loss & damage" paradigm
On Friday, the Dutch government confirmed that the Russian fertilizer cargo has been given permission to leave the port at the UN's request.

"The decision to release the fertilizer was made on the understanding that the UN would ensure that it is delivered to the agreed location, Malawi, and that the Russian company and sanctioned individual will earn nothing from the transaction," the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

It did not disclose the name of the Russian company that owns the shipment. Earlier this month, however, TASS news agency reported that Russian fertilizer producer Uralchem-Uralkali was ready to donate 240,000 tons of its fertilizers stuck in EU warehouses for humanitarian purposes, with the first shipment destined for Malawi.

archived "News to you", UNGA 77 in The Roots of Biden's War in Ukraine Reviewed
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 12:37:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Mississippi River reduced to a trickle at Tiptonville, TN. Oct. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 10:46:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

AP | Politics, climate conspire as Tigris and Eurphrates dwindle, 18 Nov
DAWWAYAH, Iraq and ILISU DAM, Turkey -- Next year, the water will come. The pipes have been laid to Ata Yigit's sprawling farm in Turkey's southeast connecting it to a dam on the Euphrates River. A dream, soon to become a reality, he says.
[...]
Over 1,000 kilometers (625 miles) downstream in southern Iraq, nothing grows anymore in Obeid Hafez's wheat farm. The water stopped coming a year ago, the 95-year-old said, straining to speak.

"The last time we planted the seed, it went green, then suddenly it died," he said....

AP | Western US cities to remove decorative grass amid drought, 17 Nov
to help keep water in the over-tapped Colorado River.

The agreement signed Tuesday by water agencies in Southern California, Phoenix and Salt Lake City and elsewhere illustrates an accelerating shift in the American West away from well-manicured grass that has long been a ["]totem["] of suburban life, having taken root alongside streets, around fountains[,] and between office park walkways....

AP | 'Momentous:' US advances largest dam demolition in history, 17 Nov
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's unanimous vote on the lower Klamath River [four] dams is the last major regulatory hurdle and the biggest milestone for a $500 million demolition proposal championed by Native American tribes and environmentalists for years. The project would return the lower half of California's second-largest river to a free-flowing state for the first time in more than a century.
[...]
The dams produce less than 2% of PacifiCorp's power generation -- enough to power about 70,000 homes -- when they are running at full capacity, said Bob Gravely, spokesperson for the utility. But they often run at a far lower capacity because of low water in the river and other issues, and the agreement that paved the way for Thursday's vote was ultimately a business decision, he said....
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 05:11:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Welcome to the European Drought Observatory! | 1st ten-day period of November 2022

APsplainin Catalonia limits water use as Spain prays for rain, 22 Nov
[...]
While reservoirs in Spain's south near Seville are now the driest, Catalonia's water reservoirs are down to 34% of capacity, according to Spain's ministry for the ecological transition.

In 2008, a prolonged drought forced Spanish authorities to bring in water to Barcelona via boat to guarantee domestic use. That led to the construction of a desalination plant near Barcelona that local authorities say is the largest in Europe with a capacity to produce 60 hm3 in a year. It is now running at 90% capacity, authorities said.
[...]

archived Wed Aug 10th, 2022, EDO 2nd ten-day period of June 2022
by Cat on Thu Nov 24th, 2022 at 04:29:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Fri Nov 25th, 2022 at 05:23:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Daily Sabah | Global drought feared amid water security concerns, 30 Nov casual depravity
[...]
In March, experts launched a new global commission to study the value [?!] of the world's water in order to contend with worsening water woes. Comprised of economists, scientists, community leaders[,] and policymakers, the commission will investigate governance models to protect water resources. The commission also may consider pushing for a global price for freshwater, similar to what is being attempted with carbon markets.
by Cat on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 at 06:42:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Thu Dec 1st, 2022 at 07:02:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:53:35 AM EST
amnesty

SIMILE SUICIDE. Why, there oughta be a law!

... We have to put these fights aside and declare a pandemic amnesty. We can leave out the willful[l] purveyors of actual misinformation[,] while forgiving the hard calls that people ["authorities"] had no choice but to make with imperfect knowledge. Los Angeles County closed its beaches in summer 2020. Ex post facto, this makes no more sense than my family's masked hiking trips. But we need to learn from ["]our["]  mistakes and then let them go....
idunno about that
COVID Trade War 2022 I'm not sure we're understanding each other, et seq; preference falsification has entered the room; the "next normal"
by Cat on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 at 10:53:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
APsplainin Death in US gene therapy study sparks search for answers, 4 Nov
The lone volunteer in a unique study involving a gene-editing technique has died, and those behind the trial are now trying to figure out what killed him.[...] "This whole notion that we can do designer genetic therapies is, I would say, uncertain," said Arthur Caplan, a medical ethicist at New York University who is not involved in the study. "We are out on the far edge of experimentation."
[...]
The early-stage safety study was sponsored by the nonprofit, led by Dr. Brenda Wong at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The hope was to use a gene-editing tool called CRISPR to treat Horgan's particular form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The rare, genetic muscle-wasting disease is caused by a mutation in the gene needed to produce a protein called dystrophin. Most people with Duchenne die from lung or heart issues caused by it.[...] Deaths are not unheard of in clinical trials, which test experimental treatments and sometimes [?] involve very sick people.
[...]
A statement from Cure Rare Disease said multiple teams across the country are looking into the details of the trial and its outcome, and the company intends to share findings with the scientific community. "It will probably be 3-4 months to come up with a full conclusion," said spokesman Scott Bauman. "At this stage of the game, saying anything is pure speculation."
[...]
Bauman said the company has filed a report on death the with the FDA as required. The FDA declined to release or confirm the report.
[...]
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
archived all ideers EUA, bad cell, bad, bad cell
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 05:21:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 12:17:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
GAO | Weapon System Sustainment, 10 Nov, 352 pp consumer report
GAO examined 49 aircraft and found that only four met their annual mission capable goal in a majority of the years from fiscal years 2011 through 2021. As shown below, 26 aircraft did not meet their annual mission capable goal in any fiscal year. The mission capable rate--the percentage of total time when the aircraft can fly and perform at least one mission--is used to assess the health and readiness of an aircraft fleet....
More specifically, for fiscal year 2021, 30 aircraft were more than 10 percentage points below the mission capable goal in fiscal year 2021; and 17 aircraft were 10 percentage points or less below the mission capable goal in fiscal year 2021.

Many of the selected aircraft are facing one or more sustainment challenges, as shown below. According to program officials, these challenges have an effect on mission capable rates....

Subsequently, OEM win-win service and parts plans sold separately. Quantity per Allied client limited.

NEW!
The Military Intervention Project (MIP): A New Dataset on US Military Interventions, 1776-2019

While scholars have made many claims about US military interventions, they have not come to a consensus on main trends and consequences. This article introduces a new, comprehensive dataset of all US military interventions since the country's founding, alongside over 200 variables [!] that allow scholars to evaluate theoretical propositions on drivers and outcomes of intervention. It compares the new Military Intervention Project (MIP) dataset to the current leading dataset, the Militarized Interstate Disputes (MID). In sum, MIP doubles the universe of cases [!], integrates a range of military intervention definitions and sources, expands the timeline of analysis, and offers MORE TRANSPARENCY of sourcing through historically-documented case narratives of every US military intervention included in the dataset. According to MIP, the US has undertaken almost 400 military interventions since 1776, with half of these operations undertaken between 1950 and 2019. Over 25% of them have occurred in the post-Cold War period.
[...]
The MIP measures all instances of US military intervention from 1776 until 2019, alongside key drivers and consequences of these interventions. MIP significantly improves upon existing military intervention datasets by measuring every confirmed instance of the US usage of force, including displays [!] and threats [!] of force and underexplored covert operations [!], analyzing individual case studies of each military intervention.2 Moreover, it matches these cases to variables related to consequences and causes of intervention, ranging from economic and political to human costs. Relying on a broad historical lens[!] of US military interventions, the project also speaks to long-term trends, dramatic changes, and lasting costs and benefits to domestic and international politics. As a result, MIP can more comprehensively test the EXPLANATORY POWER of international relations theories of intervention[!] as well as the attractiveness of competing US grand strategies, thereby informing critical policy debates concerning American interest.3
archived CRS,"Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2021", 38th ed.
by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 05:33:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Space Force News | X-37B orbital test vehicle concludes sixth successful mission, 12 Nov
[...]
The OTV-6 ["X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-6"] mission hosted the Naval Research Laboratory's Photovoltaic Radiofrequency Antenna Module. This experiment successfully harnessed solar rays outside of Earth's atmosphere and aimed to transmit power to the ground in the form of radio frequency microwave energy. Additionally, the U.S. Air Force Academy's FalconSat-8, developed in partnership with Air Force Research Laboratory, was successfully deployed in October 2021. FalconSat-8 remains in orbit, providing Academy cadets unique hands-on experience as space operators prior to entering active duty.

Multiple NASA experiments were deployed on OTV-6. The Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS-2) included thermal control coatings, printed electronic materials, and candidate radiation shielding materials. METIS-1-which flew on OTV-5-consisted of similar sample plates mounted on the flight vehicle. NASA scientists will leverage data collected after the materials have spent 900+ days in orbit and compare observed effects to ground simulations, validating and improving the precision of space environment models....

pts for oxford comma!
by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 12:40:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
APsplainin "tech" jobs saved or created.
Facial recognition can help conserve seals, scientists say, 25 Nov question, How?
A research team at Colgate University has developed SEALNET, a database of seal faces created by taking pictures of dozens of harbor seals in Maine's Casco Bay. The team found the tool's accuracy in identifying the marine mammals is close to 100%, which is no small accomplishment in an ecosystem home to thousands of seals.
[...]
Cataloguing seal faces and using machine learning to identify them can also help scientists get a better idea of where in the ocean seals are located, Ingram said.
mammalist!
"Understanding their dispersal, understanding their patterns really helps inform any conservation efforts for the coast," [Colgate biology professor Krista Ingram] said. "For mobile marine mammals that move around a lot and are hard to photograph in the water, we need to be able to identify individuals."
[...]
The Colgate team published its findings in April in the scientific journal Ecology and Evolution. They processed more than 1,700 images of more than 400 [!] individual seals, the paper said. ... Harbor seals are a conservation success story in the U.S. The animals were once subject to bounties in New England, where they were widely viewed by fishermen as pests in the 19th and early 20th centuries. But the Marine Mammal Protection Act [Implementing Regulations. USC 50 CFR 216 ]
[...]
Take means to harass, hunt, capture, collect, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, collect, or kill any marine mammal. This includes, without limitation, any of the following: The collection of dead animals, or parts thereof; the restraint or detention of a marine mammal, no matter how temporary; tagging a marine mammal; the negligent or intentional operation of an aircraft or vessel, or the doing of any other negligent or intentional act which results in disturbing or molesting a marine mammal; and feeding or attempting to feed a marine mammal in the wild.
[...]
Seals and other marine mammals have long been studied using satellite trackers. Using artificial intelligence to study them is a way to bring ["]conservation["] into the 21st century, said Jason Holmberg, executive director of Wild Me, an Oregon-based company that works to bring machine learning to biologists. Wild Me is developing a potential partnership with SEALNET.

"This is a shift and a lift of 'big brother' style technology to a very benevolent ["]conservation-style["] goal," Holmberg said.
[...]

DICTION CORNER to conserve
by Cat on Fri Nov 25th, 2022 at 07:08:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
kyodonews | Japan space research team tampered with experiment data: JAXA, 25 Nov
[...]
JAXA said the team "fabricated" and "altered large amounts of data" concerning the psychological well-being of participants in the experiment.

The experiment involved 40 people confined to a closed environment for about two weeks at a facility in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, between 2016 and 2017 [!] to assess their stress levels and mental well-being.

Two researchers who conducted interviews to ascertain the mental state of the participants fabricated data including making it seem as if other researchers had also participated. The pair claimed they had done so as they had been too busy to devote themselves to the research, according to JAXA Vice President Hiroshi Sasaki.
[...]

APsplainin IAEA: Decision on Fukushima wastewater release up to Japan, 19 Nov
The head of a taskforce from the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday it is examining whether Japan's planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant meets international standards, but ...

Gustavo Caruso, director of the IAEA's Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, said his team has no power to decide whether Japan should suspend the release even if it does not fully follow international safety standards.
[...]

archived US Environmental Politics and Law (2011), L03-L04, ppm safety story developing ...
by Cat on Fri Nov 25th, 2022 at 07:48:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Reigning Champion Double-header!

(1) Clinging to ancient faith, India tribes seek religion status

(2) South needs investment, immigration policies: "hit hard by the food and energy crisis brought on by Russia's war in Ukraine"

by Cat on Thu Nov 24th, 2022 at 04:49:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Who's going to pay for an ethical chocolate bar?
Expect sentience whene you least expect it.
by Cat on Sun Nov 27th, 2022 at 06:52:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
of arbitrage

by Cat on Sun Nov 27th, 2022 at 02:17:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
archived quantum mechanics of BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS
by Cat on Thu Dec 1st, 2022 at 07:15:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:53:45 AM EST

NY Yella Cake -100: Of frock coats and fascists
100,000 Fascists march through Rome. Mussolini and the other new ministers take the oath to the king, the Constitution[,] and the laws. After that lie, the king hugs the duce.
Where's Adolf?
by Cat on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:18:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
November 5, 1922
There are 15 women candidates for the House or Senate. One is Winnifred Mason Huck of Illinois, running in a special election to fill for the rest of the 67th Congress (until March, that is) the seat held by her father until his death last year. She will win, making her the 3rd woman in Congress, along with Mae Nolan, who will likewise fill out her dead husband's term as rep for California's 5th district....
November 8, 1922
So many confident but wrong predictions in today's NYT reporting of election results.

The R's lose 77 House seats but retain a majority of 225-207. The R majority in the Senate of 60 to 36 is reduced to 53:42 (and one Socialist, Victor Berger of Wisconsin)....

NY Post | California pols jockeying to replace Nancy Pelosi, 5 Nov 2022
Pelosi, too, would loom over the [8 Nov 2022 D-11] primary and could try to steer the job to a preferred successor. Her daughter, Christine Pelosi, has also made a name for herself as a Democratic activist and frequently appearers with her mother as a campaign surrogate, Politico reported.
archived What surprises me is that anyone on the planet looks to the USA to be a paragon of "democratic processes."
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 04:37:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Next Q: When she "retires", how much of her term will her lovely daughter fill out? I'm not too sure that an (R) majority and losing her gavel will decide.
by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 12:27:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Politico (T), APsplainin (B) post-CENSUS2020 "blue wall" apportionment by ballot count per district, in general

PLUS

Hag Watch Int'l retirement planning

The morning after the midterm election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slipped [sic] on a sterling silver whistle given to her by her husband, who was ATTACKED last month by an intruder at their San Francisco home.
[....]
When asked ahead of the election if she had decided to stay or go, she said only that the ATTACK on her spouse of nearly 60 years would be a factor.
[...]
A cohort of younger Democratic lawmakers, some who have spent years in Congress, are waiting for Pelosi and other top House leaders to pass the baton. She had once said this would be her last term in leadership, but that was four years ago, and she no longer mentions it.
simile suicide
"A lot of people would wither under the pressure that she's under," said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at [Texass] Rice University.

Brinkley said it would be sad if Pelosi's career ended after "such a grotesque moment." But he compared her to other powerful figures, including Coretta Scott King, who continued in public service after the assassination of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr. ...

not than "minority" leader, the other one
by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 03:13:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The Bal'more Debutante [CA-11] and her little, ankle-biting dog Steny [MD-5] accept ROLES as stage managers.  35-year-long tyranny of DCCC treasury, duly noted. Post-Census 2020 CA district re-draw denial continues.

The Hill | End of an era: Pelosi steps down as House Democratic leader

Pelosi will cede her formal leadership seat, but remain in Congress indefinitely, where she's aiming to assume a mentorship role and grease the transition for whichever new leader fills the mantle. Such a role would be unprecedented in modern memory -- most leaders who step down quickly leave Congress -- but Pelosi is not one to do things by the book.
"more time with family" remote control
By remaining in Congress outside of leadership, Pelosi can remain influential as an adviser, fundraiser[,] and vote-getting whip [named Steny] while taking a foot off the gas of her famously frenetic schedule -- a hybrid [sic] role that will allow her to spend more time with her recuperating husband.
Hoyer to step out of leadership role, clearing way for Jeffries, NY-8 millionaire ambulance chaser personal injury atty tapped
to jump several rungs up the leadership ladder to replace Pelosi in the next Congress
by Cat on Thu Nov 17th, 2022 at 07:23:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Thu Nov 17th, 2022 at 08:04:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

NY Yella Cake Deal Book Sam pleads not guilty: "limited access to data"

archived bURGER kING IS rUN BY cHILDREN, final judgment, Run, Fabrice, run!, ABACUS 2007 CDOs

by Cat on Thu Dec 1st, 2022 at 04:45:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
[...]
KOHRS [@46:36]: What are your lawyers telling you right now? [LAUGHTER] Are they suggesting that this is a good idea for you to be speaking?
BANKMAN-FRIED: No. They're very much not um and I uh I mean, you know, the classic advice, right? Don't say anything.
sun stroke
Recede into a hole. And that's not who I am. It's not, I mean, who I quite want to be. I don't have ...I don't have a duty to talk to people, like a duty to explain what happened. And I think, I have a duty to do everything I can to try and do what's right. If there's anything I can do to try help customers out here, and  I don't see what good is accomplished by me just sitting locked, you know, in a room pretending the outside world doesn't exist.
KOHRS: You're in the Bahamas right now. Are you in the Bahamas because you think you can't leave?
BANKMAN-FRIED: I'm in the Bahamas ... I have been in the Bahamas the last year and running FTX from the Bahamas. I've been running FTX Digital Market, you know, our primary operating eNtiTy down here um with Bahamian regulators and others in contact, and I, you know, right now I'm looking to be helpful anywhere I can with any of the global eNtiTieS that, you know, would want my help.
[...]
and self-incrimination
by Cat on Thu Dec 1st, 2022 at 06:14:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Democrats keep the Senate
Overnight SURGE in NV clinches DNC senate majority--assuming Warnock prevails (51) and Senema, Manchen play nice ( ± 2). OTOH, Schumer has lost all JimCrow-fusion-filibuster cover provided by McConnell.

AND

If the dot map is remotely accurate, forecast DCC 203 +9, RCC 211 +9, leaves Chuck playing with the House zip-tied behind his back until next stab at flipping seats in 2024 .

by Cat on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 03:16:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Contrary to popular wisdom :
The Republican party just went broke underestimating the intelligence of the citizens of the USA.

That's a hell of a good sign for the future.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Sun Nov 13th, 2022 at 09:19:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Just two House races remain undeclared, 25 Nov
If the current GOP leads hold, Republicans will secure 222 House seats, while Democrats would hold 213.
CRS, "Membership of the 117th Congress: A Profile"
(D): 220, (R): 213, Vacant: 2 (excluding non-voting delegates)
The 222-213 breakdown would notably be the exact reverse of the results in the 2020 election cycle, when the House split in the Democrats' favor.
 
by Cat on Fri Nov 25th, 2022 at 08:11:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Elizabeth Holmes sentenced 11 yrs prison term + $804M restitution bill.
moral of the story. Don't try to gyp fed.gov friends and family.
by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 10:39:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
NY Yella Cake -100
The Italian Chamber of Deputies gives Mussolini his dictatorial powers by a vote of 306-116, the 116 consisting of Socialists, Communists, and Republicans, the 306 including former prime ministers Vittorio Orlando and Giovanni Giolitti. Unitary Socialist Party deputy Filippo Turati complains about Mussolini riding roughshod over the Chamber; the duck replies "I treated the Chamber the way it deserves to be treated." Turati says "we cannot vote confidence with revolvers pointed at our throats." Republican Giovanni Conti, whose 40th birthday this is, tells M., "They hail you now as a messiah. Soon you will become a jest... We do not believe in your genius; we do not believe in the possibility of an enlightened despot."
Where's Adolf?
After the Turkish National Assembly orders the deposed Ottoman sultan Mohammed VI put on trial, he flees Turkey on a British warship, heading into exile on Malta with his retinue, including his First Chamberlain, doctor, valet, barber, bandmaster, confidential secretaries, and two eunuchs. Mohammed insists he is not abdicating....
by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 11:47:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
NY Yella Cake -100 Headline of the Day!
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 09:07:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:54:04 AM EST
(funded in part by Santa Clausewitz)

by Cat on Fri Dec 2nd, 2022 at 01:48:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
to me, the primary current commenters have destroyed the reason for the site's continued existence. i no longer wish to support a website, with a profound history of intelligent discussion, which allows a place for such drivel.

i always can accept divergent views, but drivel is drivel.

i miss the profound discussions, and very much honor Frank's powerful understanding of the issues he delivers. In relation to what he writes...

this place has nothing more for me, and i'm sad.

i feel lucky to remain in contact with the site's founder, but not here.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Tue Nov 1st, 2022 at 09:35:44 PM EST
With the high numbers of covid around in Belgium, Netherlands, France and Germany (but most people now diagnose it at home so it does not make it to statistics, I am just making my own from friends'circles), the aftermaths of the Qatar cup are going to be devastating.
by Tom2 on Thu Nov 24th, 2022 at 12:15:39 PM EST
by Cat on Mon Nov 28th, 2022 at 04:29:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]


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