|
The MoA Week In Review – (NOT Ukraine) OT 2022-96
Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama:
Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand – 1:19 UTC · Dec 15, 2021
> The new "Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act" that's about to be adopted by U.S. lawmakers might just be one of the most cynical pieces of U.S. legislation ever, and that's saying something.
A short 🧵
…
So here is a bill based on lies, presented as designed to "help people" when it in fact aims to destroy their livelihood, and to top it all will have disastrous effects on climate change. <
The U.S. is collaborating with Lithuania, but not with the EU, to provoke Russia. Lithuania issued false claims that EU sanctions force it to shut down Russian traffic to Kaliningrad. The U.S. issues 'leaks' about Lithuanian troops in Ukraine. All this for the purposes of baiting Russia into attacking a NATO country.
- Kamala Harris in Munich: We stand with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – Feb 19, 2022 – Estonian World
- EU sanctions against Russia explained – Consilium Europe
"The ban does not affect mail services and goods in transit between Kaliningrad Oblast and Russia."
- Lithuania limits truck transit between Kaliningrad region, rest of Russia – regional authorities – Jun 21, 2022 – Interfax
- Lithuanians Stick New Finger in Eye of Russian Bear – Jun 21, 2022 – Antiwar
- Russian anger at Lithuania puts spotlight back on US troops in NATO battlegroup near Suwalki Gap – Jun 22, 2021 – Stripes
- European officials scramble to douse Kaliningrad tensions – Jun 23, 2022 – Politico.eu
Senior EU diplomats warn the situation is serious and could get worse, fast.
- Oped: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda: Now is the time to make NATO even stronger – Jun 23, 2022 – Washington Post
- Commando Network Coordinates Flow of Weapons in Ukraine, Officials Say – Jun 26, 2022 – New York Times
At the same time, a few dozen commandos from other NATO countries, including Britain, France, Canada and Lithuania, also have been working inside Ukraine.
—
Other issues:
Energy:
Brexit:
'Journalism':
Use as open thread for things NOT related to Ukraine …
As promised, here is my last night post on the previous notUkraine open thread:
I’m up early on a Sunday that continues here and now to be blessedly rain producing, and it is fitting for this to be the summation of an admittedly amateur journey through Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita”.
I will repost this later, on the soon to be current Sunday Open thread, but I’m beginning now, as the stream of moisture flows from my roof down the path to my street (named ‘Moon’ in the native language here where I live). The full moon at the end of the novel returns us to the opening chapters, where it is the (always full for us mortals) sun that is setting. Apologies for the inadequate stream of thoughts, and do object if they seem too ‘far out’.
Last night as I read through this MoA thread of comments, I had the thought that in this novel I could not remember a reference to children. At least, I was not remembering any – all the participants in this drama are adults, the macabre seemingly having no room for a child’s perspective. I first surmised vaguely – perhaps there is one at Satan’s ball. I was correct, and there is indeed a child being mentioned even before that – as Margarita is leaving Moscow she encounters a child!
Of course, when Roe vs. Wade was first being considered, many now commenting here were children themselves; I am old, we have been here before… so went my rain-orchestrated stream of thought. I noted next that when, in the novel, Satan enters the picture, two men are discussing, not Christ’s teachings, but his very existence.
My musings then took the following path: each of us, existing now as adults, were once children. On this thread, (as in the novel), nonexistence is being debated, and with that debate the very existence of humanity has been, in a way, called into question. Okay, call that a stretch, but at least for the novel I think it makes sense. Perhaps Bulgakov is indirectly telling us why Stalin’s era came to an end: there was left no room there for the happy existence of children.
A very significant moment in the novel – and only now I realize that indeed it occurs during Satan’s ball – involves a woman who has murdered her child. That is Margarita’s moment to shine – I won’t describe it, just say it is pivotal.
Earlier I had observed that Bulgakov places only one disciple, Matthew Levi, in his Scriptural scenes, he being a former tax collector. I now observe that Matthew, for readers of that other narrative, the Bible, begins his Scriptural gospel by detailing the geneology and birth of Christ. Perhaps, for Bulgakov during the ongoing gestation of his novel, not even finished as his own life ends, this becomes his central message:
“Suffer the little children to come unto me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14
Posted by: juliania | Jun 26 2022 12:37 utc | 308
As an addendum that I think reinforces my thesis, here are the final two sentences of the last chapter of TM&M:
“…Someone was setting the master free, as he himself had just set free the hero he had created. This hero had gone into the abyss, gone irrevocably, the son of the astrologer-king, forgiven on the eve of Sunday, the cruel fifth procurator of Judea, the equestrian Pontius Pilate.”
[my bold]
The above, final description of Pontius Pilate points back to the chapter “The Burial” in which Pilate dreams the following:
“Now we shall always be together,” said the ragged, wandering philosopher in his dream, who for some unknown reason had crossed paths with the equestrian of the golden spear. “Where there’s one of us, straight away there will be the other! Whenever I am remembered, you will at once be remembered too! I, the foundling, the son of unknown parents, and you, the son of an astrologer-king and a miller’s daughter, the beautiful Pila.”
Well then, even an astrologer’s son has become a hero for Bulgakov. Ancestry is important; Pilate has been, and has been given his own brief geneology,perhaps fictional – certainly memorable.
Posted by: juliania | Jun 26 2022 15:35 utc | 5
B wrote: “Lithuania issued false claims that EU sanctions force it to shut down Russian traffic to Kaliningrad.”
I wouldn’t be so sure about that, the claims being false.
Think of the term Transfer and then think about the term Transit. Is transit a kind of transfer, or how do they relate to each other?
I’m asking because those 2 terms are important in understanding the sanctions regime imposed by the EU. There are official documents on the sanctions, although no one reads them. You would have to read them though if you truly want to assess the EU’s intentions, if they ever had any, with regard to Kaliningrad. What do these documents encompass, what do they imply, what do they exempt and rule out, and where is there ambiguity or misleading wording.
Just look at the mess that is the EU’s sanctions law regarding Russia (current consolidated version).
Article 3g (p19)
1. It shall be prohibited:
(c) to transport iron and steel products as listed in Annex XVII if they originated in Russia or are being exported from Russia to any other country;
So iron and steel per se may not be ‘transported’, Annex XVII.
Btw, those annexes are very important, they range from long to even longer.
Article 3h (p20)
1. It shall be prohibited to sell, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, luxury goods as listed in Annex XVIII, to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Russia or for use in Russia.
Luxury goods (Annex XVIII) may not be ‘transported’. It’s not just “luxury goods” on this list, but ordinary household items, clothing, foodstuffs and so on.
Article 3i (p20)
1. It shall be prohibited to purchase, import, or transfer, directly or indirectly, goods which generate significant revenues for Russia thereby enabling its actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, as listed in Annex XXI into the Union if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia.
“Goods which generate significant revenues for Russia” (Annex XXI) may not be ‘transported’. Could a sanctions list be any more vague and sweeping?
Article 3k (p21) (p22)
1. It shall be prohibited to sell, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, goods which could contribute in particular to the enhancement of Russian industrial capacities as listed in Annex XXIII, to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Russia or for use in Russia.
Yes, it could. “Goods which could [not ‘will’, just ‘could’!] contribute in particular to the enhancement of Russian industrial capacities” (Annex XXIII). Again, no transportation.
Article 3l
1. It shall be prohibited for any road transport undertaking established in Russia to transport goods by road within the territory of the Union, including in transit.
2. The prohibition in paragraph 1 shall not apply to road transport undertakings transporting:
(a) mail as a universal service;
(b) goods in transit though the Union between the Kaliningrad Oblast and Russia, provided that the transport of such goods is not otherwise prohibited under this Regulation.
Now this is a very interesting provision. It’s the first time that specifically “transit” is mentioned (as opposed to “transfer”), albeit only with regard to road transport. At 1st glance, this may seem like a huge exemption for Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast. But it may only seem so, because there’s a further qualifier – ‘not otherwise prohibited’.
If I’m correct, rail transport isn’t mentioned at all in the document, and consequently is also not mentioned with regard to transit from mainland Russia to Kaliningrad.
So what did they have in mind regarding rail transit to Kaliningrad when compiling this sh#t? If anything at all… All I can say is that I have no idea. Did they have a future blockade of Kaliningrad in mind? Could be. Could also be the opposite, that they had no thought of this situation ever to occur as a consequence of their sanctions mania.
What I’m sure of, however, is that Russia’s reaction is much too weak. This is not just about their backyard (Ukraine), or the well-being of Russians in another country (Donbas). This is about their very own territory and their people living on it. It’s the unprovoked violation of longstanding and binding treaties. It’s a severe curbing of their sovereign rights, not to mention their international standing. It is a more than sufficient reason to go to war! Pesky Peskov has proven himself to be an idiot who is not up to the job. He needs to go, asap, and Maria should take his place. Someone who has experienced the Yeltsin years not as an end point, but as the starting conditions to get away from. Someone with better judgement than to wear a moustache in the style of a car salesman during the 80s. Someone with a better judgement than to marry a bimbo ice skater with business interests in the hostile west worth millions.
Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Jun 26 2022 15:41 utc | 6
Europe doesn’t mind turning Belarussians into Poles (EurAsia Daily, Pyotr Makedontsev, June 23, 2022 — in Russian; emphasis by author)
The confrontation between Russia and the West is gradually acquiring a global scale, not limited to the former Ukraine, but spreading to the territories of other countries. Belarus has become another field of confrontation between the West and Russia.
At first glance, it may seem that one should not pay attention to the statements of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who currently cannot return to Belarus and has no access to power. However, it is very short-sighted to reassure oneself that the zmagars¹ have not yet taken power in Minsk, since [the consequences of — S] such complacency will take the supporters of the Union State of Russia and Belarus by surprise. Therefore, it is worth analyzing the speech of the “national leader of Belarus” at the Kalinowski Conference held in the European Parliament on June 21, 2022. It is worth noting that Tikhanovskaya’s accomplices announced the participation in this conference of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, Ambassador of the European Union to Belarus Dirk Schuebel, Representative of the U.S. to the European Union Mark Gitenstein and Head of the Mission of the Ukraine to the European Union Vsevolod Chentsov. That is, this event cannot be called an ordinary gathering and chatter of theorists.
Tikhanovskaya’s speech is remarkable in that, opening with words of gratitude to Anna Fotyga, ECR Foreign Affairs Coordinator, and Žygimantas Pavilionis, Chairperson of the Kalinowski Forum, she made an excursion into the past:
“Yesterday I was in Brussels. Members of my team told me that in the 1830s, the famous professor of history at Vilnius University, Joachim Lelewel, lived there in exile.
He was expelled from what was then the Russian Empire for saying the phrase ‘For our freedom and yours’, which inspired subsequent generations of freedom fighters.
In the 1860s, 30 years later, Kastuś Kalinoŭski [Wincenty Konstanty Kalinowski — S], inspired by Lelewel’s motto, led a liberation uprising in Belarus and Lithuania. He fought for our freedom and yours.”
Who is Lelewel, and what does he have to do with Belarus? Let’s look at the most important facts from his life. From 1819 to 1821 Joachim Lelewel was a professor at the University of Warsaw. From 1828 he was a Deputy of the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland. He took an active part in the Polish uprising of 1830–1831. In September 1831 he left for France, where he headed the Polish National Committee. From 1835 to 1836 he was one of the leaders of the semi-legal organization Young Poland. In 1837 he organized the Union of Polish Emigration, since 1846 he was a member of the Polish Democratic Society. That is, Lelewel has nothing to do with the Belarussians. In that case, we dare to assert that Tikhanovskaya’s associates and other zmagars are actually implementing a concept according to which Belarussians are a sub-ethnos of the Polish people. Thus, the “Belarussization” promoted by the zmagars is nothing but a poorly disguised Polonization.
In many ways, we should be grateful to Tikhanovskaya for this speech, because if the executioner Wincenty Kalinowski was inspired by Lelewel’s motto, then both of these figures were Polish nationalists. In addition, both Polish uprisings (1830–1831 and 1863–1864) took place under the slogan of reviving Rzeczpospolita² within its 1772 borders. Recall that in 1696, Rzeczpospolita has officially banned the Ruthenian³ literary language used for writing by Malorussians and Belarussians.
However, the historical song intro of the “national leader of Belarus” was clearly not accidental, judging by her further passages:
“160 years later, during strikes at factories and women’s marches, at polling stations and in prisons, on the streets of Minsk and online, Belarussians were peacefully defending the values: for our and your freedom.
160 years later, Ukrainians are fighting for the future of Europe. In the trenches of Donbass, over Kiev or on the streets of Kherson, they are fighting for our freedom and yours.”
You’re reading these lines and thinking to yourself: the passages about Europe are somehow painfully familiar. Then you remember that Sveta Tikhanovskaya is reproducing the vocabulary of the Polish gentry and priests, who hoped in 1863–1864 to crush Russia with the help of France, Great Britain and Austria in order to expel the “moskals” from Europe into Asia. Although, the irony lies in the fact that now, instead of the arrogant gentry, the Ukronazis, especially from among the Galician Uniates, who lived under the rule of the Polish gentry for centuries, have taken upon themselves the mission to “defend” Europe.
Having curtsied to the Ukronazis, the impostor moved on to topics related to Belarus:
“I’m outraged that a dictator who represents no one but himself has dragged our country into an illegal invasion. But I am proud of the Belarussians who opposed this. I am proud of the thousands who took to the streets in February, knowing the risk of imprisonment and torture. I feel proud of those who committed acts of sabotage on the railways in March and April. Now they face the death penalty for their bravery. I am proud of the hundreds of Belarussian volunteers who are now defending the Ukraine. I am proud of the thousands of ordinary Belarussians who continue to make donations for the needs of the Ukrainian army and people.”
By “dictator” Tikhanovskaya means Aleksandr Lukashenko. Her negative rhetoric against the President of Belarus has long become customary. Other passages are the most criminal, as the “national leader of Belarus” is calling for brainwashing the population of Belarus in the zmagar–Russophobic spirit so that Belarusians commit crimes in their homeland and go fight for the Ukronazis, who have flooded Donbass with blood. In other words, she intends to ruin the lives of Belarussian citizens, turning them into cannon fodder for the West and the Ukronazi regime in the fight against Russia.
In her speech, Tikhanovskaya even touched upon Moldova:
“I also believe in the future of Europe. I am glad that last week the European Commission has recommended granting EU membership candidate status to the Ukraine and Moldova. I’ve been calling for this decision together with other leaders of the Belarussian democratic forces. It will demonstrate that not only Ukrainians want to be with Europe, but Europe also wants to be with the Ukraine. Such a decision will be an acknowledgment that Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom of Europe as well.”
That is, for Tikhanovskaya and the zmagars, everyone who is against the Russians (Romania and the Moldovan Unionists are not hiding their hostile attitude towards Russia) are automatically allies. From this we can conclude that the zmagars, like the Ukronazis, are living according to the principle “ally even with the devil, as long as it’s against the ‘moskals’ ”.
So has the “national leader of Belarus” in her speech once again touched on the Ukrainian theme and Russia:
“I urge you not to forget that the destinies of the Ukraine, Europe and Belarus are interconnected. There cannot be a free Ukraine without a free Belarus, and vice versa. And I’m sure history has shown us that Europe cannot be safe unless both of our countries are free. There can be no your freedom without our freedom.
Therefore—behind the roar of tanks and loud headlines—I urge you to remember Belarus as well. I urge you to remember one simple thing: Belarus is not Russia, and Belarussians do not support the war. By helping our fight for freedom, you are bringing closer the prosperous future of the Ukraine and Europe.”
The fact that the reduction of the territory of the Ukraine or the complete elimination of the Ukronazi formation will improve the ethno-political situation in Belarus is the purest truth (read Russia’s special operation in the Ukraine will save Belarus from zmagars). But the phrase “Belarus is not Russia” needs an explanation. Taking into account the fact that Tikhanovskaya’s comrades-in-arms have enlisted the Polish nationalist Joachim Lelewel as a Belarussian, the formula “Belarus is not Russia” as interpreted by the zmagars means that Belarus is another Polish state, and Belarussians are not one of the branches of the triune Russian people (consisting of Velikorussians, Malorussians and Belarussians), but a sub-ethnos of the Polish people.
It’s not surprising that the “national leader of Belarus” has asked her patrons in the European Union to promote Belarussians’ mobility, issuance of visas, launch of student exchanges and educational programs. What’s new is another proposal by Tikhanovskaya:
“We need to work together on a strategic media campaign to counter Russian propaganda. Together we can create another chronicle of a free Belarus, one that has a place in Europe.”
Turns out, Tikhanovskaya and her accomplices are not only not neutral in the Russian–Ukrainian conflict, but are laying themselves out trying to please their Western curators in a servile way and cause as much harm to Russia as possible. At the same time, the “national leader of Belarus” is constantly talking about how Belarussians are members of the European family of peoples and Belarus needs to return to Europe.
In a word, Tikhanovskaya and her accomplices have proved that zmagar ideology, with its cult of hatred for everything Russian, is a tool with which Europe wants to turn Belarus into another Polish state and Belarussians into Poles.
Footnotes:
¹ “Zmagar” is Belarussian for “fighter”, “adherent”, “zealot”; it is used as a derogatory term for Belarussian “Nationalists” (who really are Russophobes and proponents of Belarus being a slave of the West/Poland).
² The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
³ Called “West Russian” in Russian.
Posted by: S | Jun 26 2022 18:10 utc | 16
@ too scents | Jun 26 2022 17:34 utc | 15
@ psychohistorian | Jun 26 2022 19:17 utc | 21
ICYMI, failing 60 years IMF “structural adjustment programming” for developing countries, PIVOT to Asia, TPP , and Contonou agreements, vdL bundled bananas for all “low-income” borrowers into Global Gateway €300B global FDI pitch (Dec 2021) which EC comms denied might “ crowd out Chinese investments”.”
Is Global Gateway a response to the Chinese Belt and Road initiative and how does it relate to others?
[…]
Initiatives such as the Build Back Better World [LOL!] and Global Gateway will mutually reinforce each other.
Indeed. Instead of praising Sri Lanka and IMF cooperative investments in “structural adjustment programming”, Joe Tzu assured the team born on third base,
One year ago, when this group of leaders met in Cornwall, we made a commitment, the democratic nations of the G7 would step up [like never before], step up and provide financing for quality, high-standard, sustainable infrastructure in developing [IMF low-income] and middle-income countries. What we’re doing is fundamentally different, because it’s grounded on our shared values of all those representing the countries and organizations behind me.
IMF (1944 SDR capital): USD, GBP, EUR, JPY, RMB (2016)
BIS (1930/1961 finance): BE, FR, DE, IT, UK, CH/”global” messaging
NATO (1949 mil): US (CENTCOM, AFRICOM, EUCOM, NORTHCOM, INDOPACOM, SOUTHCOM, SPACECOM), EU-EEA, AU, NZ*
QUAD (2007 mil): US, AU, JP, IN (2021), KR* (2022)
PBP (2022 NGO): US, UK, NZ, JP, EU
IPEF (2022 NGO): US, AU, JP, IN, NZ, KR, ID*, BN*, MY*, PH*, SG*, TH*, VN*
*observer, dialogue, or applicant member
Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 27 2022 22:39 utc | 65
China/Russia axis
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 27 2022 23:50 utc | 71
gee, Where to plant point (x,y)?
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*
APEC (1989 FTA): CN, CN-hk, CN-tw, RU, ID, SG, VN, TH, PH, MX, PE, CL, BN, PG, MY, KR; US, AU, JP, NZ, CA
ASEAN (1967 FTA): BN, KH, ID, LA, MY, MM, PH, SG, TH, VN
EAS (East Asia Summit): US, AU, JP, NZ; CN, RU, IN, KR, ASEAN
CP-TPP (2018 FTA): AU, CA, JP, NZ, SG, MY, VN, BN, CL, MX, PE, UK*
CEPA (2003 FTA): CN-hk, CN-mo, NZ, ASEAN, EU, AU, MV, GE*
CPEC (2015 FTA): CN, PK, MN*, RU*, KZ*, KG*, TJ*, AF*, IN*
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
AU/OAU(2002/1963 FTA): BI, BJ, CM, CF, r-CD, dr-CD, GY, GA, ST, CM, DJ, ER, ET, KE, MG, MU, RW, SC, SO, SS, s-SS, TZ, UG, DZ, EG, LY, MR, MA, EH, TN, AO, BW, EZ, LS, MW, MZ, NA, ZA, ZM, BN, BF, CV, CI, GH, GM, GN, LY, ML, NI, NG, SL, SN, TG, TD
ECOWAS (1972 FTA): BN, BJ, CI, CV, GH, GY, GM, GN, GW, SN, NI, NG, SL, LB, TG
EaEU (2012 FTA): AM, BY, KZ, KG, TJ, RU, VN*, CN*, RS*
BRICS (2009 FTA): CN, RU, BR, IN, ZA; AR*, DZ*, EG*, ID*, IR*, CM*, ML*, SN*, TH*, UZ*, FJ*, ET*, KZ*
CELAC (2013 NGO): AG, AR, BS, BB, BZ, BO, BR, CL, CL-rn, CO, CR, CU, DM, EC, SV, GD, GT, GY, HN, HT, JM, KN, LC, MX, NI, PA, PY, PE, PR, SR, VC, VZ
OAS (1978 NGO): AG, AR, BB, BS, BZ, BO, CL, CO, CU, CR, DM, EC, SV, GD, GT, GY, HN, HT, JM, KN, MX, NI, PA, PY, PE, SL, UY, VZ; US, CA
* observer, dialogue, or applicant member
Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 28 2022 2:03 utc | 77
|
