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August 4, 2022
Ukraine Open Thread 2022-122
Comments
Posted by: Ant. | Aug 5 2022 19:39 utc | 196
Is this how a domestic government looks after it’s own citizens, as they are constitutionally required to?
What kind of government do you have?
Here! I’d like to answer that!
Well, we don’t really have a government as such. We have an assortment of people in higher positions who came into power because of the vacuum the former Merkel-government left. Which wasn’t much of a government either. More a high-level body of administration focussed on reacting, rather than acting.
But there were no able applicants whatsoever as far as the eye could see for a competent government, so most of the germans said “uh, what the hell, better than nothing. Better than communists! And better than nationalists!” Very, very slowly, the mistake occurs to my compatriots to take what’s just there instead of demanding politics and politicians that work for the people, instead of against them. Too slowly, if you ask me, and it really would take a harsh, very cold winter to truly wake them up. At least many of them are now afraid of that, but for now it seems they’d rather take the whip instead of standing up. I’m really not sure that will change without further external pressure, germans are not a revolutionary people.
In any case, next spring we’ll know better. I don’t think a few homeless people frozen to death will change public opinion, but if half the paycheck goes to power and heating, while the other half goes to rent, that will piss germans off – in the long run. Or maybe, by then, everyone is so afraid to lose their job, which they need to pay their bills, that they still keep their mouth shut. And then land on the street, and freeze to death in the next winter. Then it might take longer.
Back to the main topic, to not violate the thread rules :), what the hell is happening in the rest of europe anyway?? In the media I’m consuming, other european countries hardly come up. Are there any considerable voices against the sanction insanity? Except for Hungary and Serbia I mean? And sure, probably not on government level (yet), because nato is good, but on street level? I mean, in my mind I can see many, many people giggling in their hands and waiting what the stupid germans will do next to put themselves in even deeper shit, especially in southern Europe. I fully understand. But do they realize the threat for all of Europe, for all of our future if this goes on like the way it does?
The new cold war isn’t starting, we’re already in the middle of it, and I’m pretty sure this time the west is going to lose. The war in Ukraine is but the prelude, if the west is not coming to its senses. And unless the whole thing is going nuclear and we all just lose, the west will be diminished in just a few decades, or even less, to a sightseeing site (well, europe at least, I expect northern america will be off limits to tourists for civil war reasons). Is that something europe can look forward to? A continent living off gastronomical services and some ecological farming?
Posted by: xototox | Aug 5 2022 21:34 utc | 202
Posted by: yenwoda | Aug 5 2022 15:22 utc | 168
update, please
15 May IMF Increases Yuan’s Weighting in SDR Basket
With effect from August 1, 2022, the IMF has determined that the five currencies that meet the selection criteria for inclusion in the SDR valuation basket will be assigned the following weights based on their roles in international trade and finance [>>] The amounts of each of the five currencies will be calculated on July 29, 2022 (the transition date) in accordance with the new weights and will go into effect on August 1, 2022. The IMF raised the yuan’s weighting to 12.28% from 10.92% in its first regular review of the SDR evaluation since the Chinese currency was included in the basket in 2016. The weighting of the U.S. dollar increased to 43.38% from 41.73%, while those of euro, Japanese yen, and Pound sterling declined.
Why? vol, not val trade
30 June Indian Firms Signed Contracts To Receive Export Payments From Russia in Yuan – pharma active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) exporters [2019 API, FDF shares by country]
13 July China’s digital yuan [e-CNY] transactions hit 83 bln yuan [USD 12.33B] in first 5 months
A total of 264 million digital yuan transactions were undertaken during the period, Zou Lan, an official from the People’s Bank of China, said at a press conference…the central bank will further expand the scope of its pilot programs, strengthen pilot scenario construction, and enhance international cooperation
24 July Yuan lands major success against euro (on MOEX)
According to the data, the trading volume of the Chinese currency on Friday was 52.8 billion rubles ($908 million). The euro trading volume, meanwhile, barely exceeded 41 billion rubles ($705 million). It also was the second consecutive day when the volume of yuan trading on MOEX exceeded 50 billion rubles, while in the first half of July the yuan trading volume had averaged 30 billion rubles ($516 million) a day.
1 Aug China assumes UN Security Council presidency for August
agenda priorities – Zhang Jun, CN perm rep to UN
Posted by: sln2002 | Aug 6 2022 0:02 utc | 203
b | Aug 5 2022 19:04 utc | 190
You have a specifically Ukraine open thread and a specifically not Ukraine open thread. Biological weapons drifts in and out of both but is based mostly on what Russia MoD found in Ukraine.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 6 2022 0:48 utc | 204
Sputnik: Ukrainian militants launched a missile attack on the Kuibyshev district of Donetsk, scattering banned PFM-1 “Petal” antipersonnel mines.
Where do all the missiles Russia says it launches every day go? Clearly not on these nato warriors.
Posted by: rk | Aug 6 2022 6:46 utc | 205
You have a specifically Ukraine open thread and a specifically not Ukraine open thread. Biological weapons drifts in and out of both but is based mostly on what Russia MoD found in Ukraine.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 6 2022 0:48 utc | 204
It would seem that COVID and the international fandango are no longer separate issues, now I think about it. The medical and the political are no longer separate domains, if they ever were.
And we are all the worse for that.
Posted by: Bemildred | Aug 6 2022 7:26 utc | 206
warnews247 have a some interesting info today on how the Ukies spent the night, all dressed up, and no where to go but dead.
With all the feints along Donbas Arc there may be a surprise in store for the Ukrainians. According to Dima Russia moved about 16 BTGs into the Kherson area. Double the amount of troops required to hold the line and more than enough to counter any Ukie attack.
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Aug 6 2022 11:15 utc | 207
The mayor of Donetsk said that Ukrainian shells descended by parachute and exploded at a height of about 50 meters from the ground.
Presumably, these are Israeli M454 S-HE, which have a caliber of 155 mm and are compatible with standard NATO guns.
Posted by: rk | Aug 6 2022 11:28 utc | 208
To: b | Aug 5 2022 19:04 utc | 190
The post that opened this thread says explicitly:
Off topic comments will be deleted and repeated offenders WILL get banned.
I wonder how otherwise intelligent people do not get that it means what it says.
—
It also says “Only for news & views related to the Ukraine conflict.”. So when it is related to the Ukraine conflict, it shouldn’t be off topic, should it? I really don’t get it otherwise.
Posted by: ABC | Aug 6 2022 13:59 utc | 209
I noted that some questions were asked about foreign buyers of Ukranian land. A few years ago I did a bit of research, and foreign disaster capitalists were buying up land, often using shell companies based in Ukraine (because theoretically, until last year, foreign companies were not allowed to own farmland, although of course with Ukie corruption that was a joke).
I was surprised that there were farm bargains to be had, given the productivity of the land, but it appears that lots of the workforce had gone to Poland and Hungary, to get better wages and *avoid conscription* leaving farms in trouble and looking for a quick sale.
Here’s an article about it from 2015:
Who owns agricultural land in Ukraine so this phenomenon isn’t new.
Posted by: JulianJ | Aug 6 2022 14:23 utc | 210
Canadian Military’s Special Operations Members Helping Train Ukrainians – Sources
https://globalnews.ca/news/9039979/canadian-special-operations-train-ukrainians/
“Elite Canadian operators from the Canadian Special Operations Command are training Ukrainians on the ground in Ukraine, military sources tell Global News. Sources told GN members are also facilitating weapons and equipment delivery…”
Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 6 2022 14:40 utc | 211
@51:”Moldova might shrink or disappear since nato is pushing Romania to eat them”
I’m not a RF lap-diver like the vast majority here, but ..
Moldavia is one big open-air retired low-ranking Russian-brass nursing home (think poor man’s Crimeea)
Should Uncle Vlad dog-whistle, the said Russian-brass retirees will beat the living crap of their host country’s army on canes, walkers and wheelchairs alone.
Posted by: CommiesGOFY | Aug 6 2022 15:54 utc | 212
CommiesGOFY | Aug 6 2022 15:54 utc | 212
Let’s hope so
“deputy head of the administration of the Kakhovsky district of the Kherson region, Vitaly Gura, died after the assassination attempt”
See? nato knows their business and kills the leaders. Unlike someone else
Posted by: rk | Aug 6 2022 16:19 utc | 213
John Gilberts@211
No doubt there is much more to be said about this ‘training’ which is of longstanding, as might be expected of a Freedland influenced government of US bootlickers.
For example there is the matter of serious war crimes-the execution, torture and disfigurement of POWs by Ukrainian forces. To what extent are Canadians, including dual passport Ukrainian Canadians, involved in these crimes?
To what extent do MPs who have maintained almost total silence on Ukraine’s misdemeanours, rsponsible for the Canadian military?
Posted by: bevin | Aug 6 2022 21:13 utc | 214
Doctorow has just filed his report for July. It is worth reading, most of it concerns the SMO from a Russian perspective.
Report on a three-week visit to St Petersburg, July 2022
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/
Posted by: bevin | Aug 6 2022 22:51 utc | 215