If you think it never will, please show your working.

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

Russia's war against Ukraine has triggered a large movement of refugees toward the West.

Some 4.8 million people were registered as ["]temporary protection seekers["] by the UN Refugee Agency through early December, mainly in the eastern European Union: Poland, Germany, the Baltics, Romania and Slovakia. Depending on the course of the war, next year could see even bigger numbers.

The bloc faces the biggest refugee crisis SINCE WORLD WAR II, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said in Brussels in mid-December, adding that together Europe would continue to support people.
[...]
Concerns about Ukrainian refugees have also obscured growing migration movements in the southeast. In the past year, the numbers of asylum-seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Egypt, along with irregular border crossings, have risen sharply. The border management agency Frontex registered around 280,000 irregular entries by October -- 77% more than in 2021 and the highest number since the peak of the so-called refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016, for which there are only estimations.
[...]

This is a full-frontal attack on our democratically elected Scottish Parliament and it's ability to make it's own decisions on devolved matters. @scotgov will defend the legislation & stand up for Scotland's Parliament. If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be first of many https://t.co/3WXrjyivvC

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 16, 2023

[signed EUvsDisinfo]

From an earlier thread ...

The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk

'Sapere aude'

...The Constitutional Court recognized the law according to which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate must change its name and indicate its affiliation to Russia as conforming to the Constitution....

According to Ukrinform, this issue was discussed at a meeting between Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reported.

Spoke about the risk of escalation at the front and potential challenges, as well as our defense needs for an adequate response. We count on concrete steps by our partners to maximize the reinforcement of Ukraine at the next Ramstein," Zelensky posted on Telegram.

We agreed to intensify our efforts to bring victory closer this year already. We already have concrete decisions for this," Zelensky posted on Twitter.

I expressed gratitude for the unwavering support of the EU. We are waiting for the first tranche of macro-financial aid in January, the first batch of energy-saving lamps, school buses, generators and modular houses," Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

[...]
Speaking pointedly in Russian and addressing the Kremlin and Russians as a whole on Thursday night, Zelensk* said Moscow had repeatedly ignored Kyiv's peace plan.

"They now want to use Christmas as a cover, albeit briefly, to stop the advances of our boys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilised troops closer to our positions," Zelensk* said in his nightly video address.

The Ukrainian leader also urged Russians to challenge Putin and his portrayal of the war as necessary to safeguard Moscow's interests against the West.

"In order to end the war more quickly, we need something completely different. We need Russian citizens to find the courage in themselves, albeit for 36 hours, albeit during Christmas, to free themselves of the shameful fear of one man in the Kremlin."

United States President Joe Biden was equally dismissive of Putin's announcement.

"He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches" on December 25 and on New Year's Day, Biden said. "I think he's trying to find some oxygen," he added.

NEW: #Putin's announcement that Russian forces will conduct a 36-hour ceasefire in observance of Russian Orthodox Christmas is likely an information operation intended to damage #Ukraine's reputation. https://t.co/v9UjOap837 pic.twitter.com/MgBPo2FRQh

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) January 6, 2023

[...]
"Announcement of unilateral ceasefire is as bogus and hypocritical as the illegal and grotesque annexations and accompanying referenda," [European Council pres. Charles] Michel said in a tweet, referring to the four Ukrainian regions Russia claimed to have annexed in September 2022.
[...]
Germany`s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on Twitter: "A so-called ceasefire brings neither freedom nor security to people living in daily fear under Russian occupation."

The Russian Federation may offer Ukraine a "Korean scenario" for the truce, which would mean the division of the country. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said this on Ukraine's television, Ukrinform reports.

"We are currently being offered the Korean scenario. The so-called conditional '38th parallel.' Here are Ukrainians, but there Ukrainians are not like that. The Russians will now invent anything. I know for sure that one of the options they can offer us is the '38th parallel'," Danilov said.

At the same time, Danilov said that during a recent meeting, Korean representatives noted that establishing the division of the Korean peninsula into two parts along the 38th parallel was a mistake as the concessions made in the 1950s after the end of the war between North Korea and South Korea are currently leading to problems.

The European Commission has stressed it is aware and mindful of the impact that the EU's so-called solidarity lanes to boost Ukraine's grain exports have on neighbouring countries such as Romania or Poland. ... Almost one year after the start of the war, the measures have proven successful: In December, a total of three million tonnes of grain was exported via the solidarity lanes, according to Michael Scannell, deputy director-general at the Commission.
[...]
For instance, in September, Romanian grain producers warned that an influx of Ukrainian grain via the solidarity lanes initiative was pushing them close to bankruptcy.

The Commission insisted at the time this has no negative impact on the single market, but Scannell conceded that the problem needs to be addressed and promised that the Commission is "very mindful of that."
[...]
Meanwhile, Romanian MEP Daniel Buda read a message he had received from a farmer in the country. "Please take these [agricultural] products to Africa where they really need them," the message read.

The farmer went on to detail how producer prices for maise have dropped way below production costs, prompting him not to harvest his 200 hectares of corn. "I will leave it to the wild animals because harvesting is not worth it," they explained.

estimated 86K troops of UAF in Bakhmut area, according to  deployment map of militaryland.net which has "been following the Ukrainian troop movement since the start of the civil war in 2014, and the have increased their efforts since the start of the invasion in 2022."

Work on the next package has been gaining momentum in Brussels in recent days, and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, hinted at the issue on 10 January. "We will put pressure on the Kremlin with sanctions as long as necessary. We will extend sanctions to those who militarily support Russia's war, such as Belarus and < wipes tears > Iran," she said, without elaborating.

Information from PAP sources indicates that this rhetoric is, however, followed by specifics. Andrzej Sadosz, the Permanent Representative of Poland to the EU, has confirmed this. "The work has really accelerated. Poland in a group of like-minded countries is now suggesting further sanctions. Strengthening the existing restrictions is also an ongoing process," he said.

New sanctions will also apply to products that can potentially be used by the Russian military [read: "dual-use"]. The sanctions lists are also planned to be expanded to include more individuals responsible for Russia's aggression against Ukraine and war crimes.

Belarus will also face new sanctions for continuing to support Russia's military actions against Ukraine. In this case, according to one of the diplomats, it is about "synchronisation of Belarusian sanctions with the Russian ones, especially sectoral sanctions in those areas where Minsk cooperates with Moscow militarily"....

Poland has already asked the same from the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, as well as 50 countries, including EU and NATO member states.

"We are counting on the support of our partners from the United States, US legislators, in the issue of Poland receiving compensation for the consequences of the Second World War," [PL envoy for war reparations Arkadiusz] Mularczyk told reporters.
[...]

[...]

12. As the security threats and challenges we are confronted with are evolving in scope and magnitude, we will take our partnership to the next level on the basis of our long-standing cooperation. We will further strengthen our cooperation in existing areas, and expand and deepen our cooperation to address in particular the growing geostrategic competition, resilience issues, protection of critical infrastructures, emerging and disruptive technologies, space, the security implications of climate change, as well as foreign information manipulation and interference.

13. In signing this declaration we will take the NATO-EU partnership forward in close consultation and cooperation with all NATO Allies and EU Member States, in the spirit of full mutual openness and in compliance with the decision-making autonomy of our respective organisations and without prejudice to the specific character of the security and defence policy of any of our members. In this context, we view transparency as crucial. We encourage the fullest possible involvement of the NATO Allies that are not members of the EU in its initiatives. We encourage the fullest possible involvement of the EU members that are not part of the Alliance in its initiatives.

14. We will assess progress on a regular basis.

Signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the new 14-point cooperation agreement comes almost a year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February.
[...]
"Putin wanted less NATO, but he has achieved the opposite - he will have more NATO and he will have more EU," he added, adding that the EU would be "determined to contribute more effectively to global and transatlantic security".

The new EU-NATO document builds on two previous joint declarations from 2016 and 2018. But while the new version is the first of such declarations to mention Russia and China by name, the rest of the text remains largely unremarkable when it comes to pinpointing threats or practical commitments....

...Currently, the EU has few or non-existent domestic supplies of the materials needed for the energy transition....According to internal market commissioner Thierry Breton, Europe's supply of critical materials needs to be secured because they are a pillar of Europe's resilience. He said the European Commission has an "ambitious" agenda for raw materials in a statement for the summit. "It combines more circularity and increased sustainable domestic production with reliable partnerships across the globe, which share our environmental and social standards," he continued....

While the EU is currently struggling to deal with the repercussions of its energy dependency on Russia, the dependence on Chinese[, South American, African, Artic, and Asian] raw materials is increasingly attracting the EU's attention. To avoid the ["]mistakes["] of the past [400 years], the EU is currently working on a legislative proposal to boost its autonomy in this area and to give it more room to maneuver: the critical raw materials act.

euractiv 2023
NATO, EU mull joint plan to protect Europe's critical infrastructure, 11 Jan LOL

..."We have seen the sabotage of Nord Stream that has so shown that we need to be ready and that we need to confront this new type of threat," von der Leyen said ahead of a bi-annual meeting of European Commissioners, to which NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was invited....

..."we need to go beyond the classic market economy by encouraging the development of the EU mining industry through financial support from member states", [Philippe Varin, former Orano Group chairman] explained. The EU must take a close look at the work that CHINA has been doing for the past 20 years and at what the US wants to put in place with its Inflation Reduction Act - a package of anti-inflation measures projected to help reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions over the next ten years.

Varin said that looking inward and thinking about strategic autonomy was the only way the EU can exploit its own raw materials and rare earth. In this sense, the transition is "an industrial revolution" for which full decarbonisation of the energy mix and exploiting, producing, and transforming critical raw materials on European soil will become imperative, the expert added.

archived New EU media bill seeks to curtail government meddling in Crisis as Discipline, NPI Systems Design 2022

Which means that BASF must surely be eyeing up plant sites in the USA...

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

Bloomberg | US Rejects Oil Offers in First Attempt to Replenish Stockpiles, 6 Jan

The Biden administration is delaying the replenishment of the nation's emergency oil reserve after deciding the offers it received were either too expensive or didn't meet the required specifications, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Department of Energy rejected the several offers it got for a potential purchase in February...The department outlined its intention in December to begin restocking the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, starting with a purchase of 3 million barrels next month....The department will put off the purchase it had originally planned for next month, but its program, which used a new approach that accepts fixed-price offers, will continue, one of the people said.
[...]

Thank goodness, the EU is no longer dependent on PUTIN embargoed "Russian-origin" petro or petrochems (so long the Price Cap Coalition excludes transformed "Russian-origin" petro or petrochems from its contraband action plan) and is prepared to pay unrestrained, premium prices for NOPEC and OPEC+ exports. PUTIN's "energy war" against ReNew European transition (from pre-industrial emissions) to net-zero (1990) emissions (fit for 2050) has FAILED to destroy demand for fossil fuels in advanced economies around the world! Peace dividends of EU vested interest in its association agreement in Ukraine are right around the corner—$750B reconstrucion invoice PLUS UAH 1.3T reparation payments for energy genocide, or ecocrimes, of the Russian Federation.

1. Russian Federation
   
2. OPEC
   
3. China
   
4. GLOBAL RECESSION

[...]
In February 1918, the fugitive government of the UPR signed a peace treaty with the Central Powers of World War I in Brest. Ukraine assumed obligations to supply food to Germany and Austria-Hungary, and in return, the latter recognized Ukrainian independence and promised to liberate Ukrainian lands from the Bolsheviks. Recognition of independence in exchange for food shouldn't seem insignificant. At the end of the First World War, the Central Powers experienced a major shortage. Ukraine's resources, practically unaffected by the war, were more than welcome.

It took German and Austrian troops a month to recapture Kiev and most of Ukraine from the Bolsheviks. The government of the "formally independent" country returned on the heels of the German Imperial Army. The Germans cleared Kiev of beggars in a couple of days and spent another week getting rid of rampant bandits. And then, they turned on the "formally independent" UPR government.
[...]
In 1917, Skoropadsky apparently lacked significant political ambitions. An aristocrat and one of the major landowners in Ukraine, he was wary of the Provisional Government and Central Rada's socialist views. Skoropadsky's election as General Ataman of the Free Cossacks was one of the few illustrious moments in his political career. At the beginning of the 20th century, dressing up as a Cossack was an oddity even by violent revolutionary standards.

Skoropadsky was the descendant of a Cossack hetman who lived 200 years earlier. This strengthened his authority in the eyes of the Ukrainians. Moreover, in contrast to the demagogues of the Central Rada, Skoropadsky had money, social influence, and combat experience - a solid foundation for power in revolutionary times.

Before the Bolsheviks' offensive in Ukraine, Skoropadsky resigned, which saved his reputation during the fall of the Central Rada. After the UPR was returned to Kiev, Skoropadsky engaged in building ties with the Ukrainian elites and the leadership of the German and Austrian occupation forces. The latter were interested in the exportation of food from Ukraine, which the UPR leadership could not provide. Skoropadsky, on the other hand, relied on major landowners and could easily ensure German interests.
[...]

Le Maire's move is France's COUNTER-STRIKE to prevent the flight of industry FDI out of Europe -- a fear that has only been compounded by the fact the EU is facing far higher energy costs than the U.S., partly < wipes tears> because of the war in Ukraine.

[...]
"Let's take advantage of this moment ... to become the leading decarbonized nation in Europe," he said. No figures however have yet been announced.

On Wednesday, Le Maire also said he and his German counterpart Robert Habeck were pushing to get EU partners to adopt < wipes tears > "a European Inflation Reduction Act" which would include "bigger, swifter and more simplified subsidies" for green industries.

EU leaders have so far agreed to ask the European Commission to come up with proposals to make the bloc more competitive in the face of the green subsidy spurge [sic] in the U.S. These are expected to be discussed at a European Council summit in February.

DICTION CORNER novel *-English portmanteau or simile suicide? You be the judge.
surge, serge, splooge, spurge

[...]
Prior to the ban, in 2019, the value of Irish beef exports to China amounted to €96 million and was on course to rise to over €100 million in 2020.

Celebrating the news, announced on Thursday (5 January), Irish agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue called China's decision to resume Irish beef imports on the same conditions as before a "clear vote of confidence in the output of our beef sector".
[...]
As per the country's latest Climate Action Plan, which pledges to halve overall carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland's agriculture industry must be reduced by 25% by 2030.

But, for the IFA [Irish Farmer's Association], the move is more likely to strengthen farmers' economic viability rather than drive up ...

However, a representative from the Irish Farmer's Association (IFA) warned that the combination of the impact of the COVID pandemic on China's food service industry, together with ground gained on the market by competitors such as Brazil in the absence of Irish beef imports over the past < wipes tears> two and a half years [!], means the market may not immediately bounce back....

A Big Recession Poll

According to Macrobond, 100% of the yield curve is now inverted. Even though the 30-year Treasury yield is a couple of basis points higher than the 10-year Treasury yield, the message of the chart is clear: the yield curve is signaling a US recession is in the making
[...]

...The fiscal deficit has ballooned to accommodate a large expansion of defense spending, financed by a combination of external support and monetization, with multiple supplementary budgets since the start of the war. The inflation targeting regime was replaced by a hard peg to the US dollar, supported by FX controls and a sizeable increase in policy interest rates. The exchange rate has come under episodic pressure (and was devalued by 25 percent in July), despite sizable external financing. Notwithstanding all these strains, the authorities have largely managed to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability, and they are committed to take necessary measures to preserve stability. ...

[...]
Ukraine has not been able to roll over debt accumulated before the war. The country paid investors about $2.2 billion more than it collected in bond sales in that time, the Central Bank said. All of that has left Ukrainian public finance, which has been wobbly at the best of times in the post-independence period, deeply reliant on assistance from the United States, the European Union, European countries that donate individually and other [lenders].
[...]

...The [NDAA 2023] requires American representatives to each global development bank, including the IMF, where the U.S. is the largest stakeholder, to use "the voice, vote, and influence " of the U.S. in seeking to assemble a voting bloc of countries that would change each institution's debt service relief policy regarding Ukraine.

Among other things, the U.S. is tasked with forcing the IMF to reexamine and potentially end its surcharge policy on Ukrainian loans. Surcharges are added fees on loans imposed on countries that are heavily indebted to the IMF....

"I can see why the Senate would want to relax the surcharge for Ukraine," Peter Garber, an economist who most recently worked at the global markets research division of Deutsche Bank, wrote in an email. "As the principal bankroller of economic aid for Ukraine, the US would not want to deliver funds only to have them go right to the coffers of the IMF." ...

Biggest crap ...

Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament Plenary on the Russian aggression against Ukraine | March 1, 2022 |

Madam President of the European Parliament,
Mr President of the Council,
High Representative,
Mr President of the Ukraine, dear Volodymyr,
Mr Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament,
My Honourable Members,

War has returned to Europe. Almost thirty years after the Balkan Wars, and over half a century after Soviet troops marched into Prague and Budapest, civil defence sirens again went off in the heart of a European capital.

[...]
Top EU officials have already been to the Ukrainian capital on official visits: von der Leyen herself visited twice, first last April, then in September, while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and European Council President Charles Michel both went to Kyiv in April.

During their first phone call of the year, Zelenskyy and von der Leyen also discussed over[-]arching issues related to the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president stressed "the importance of receiving the first tranche" of the latest €18 billion EU aid package to Ukraine "in January." This would amount to a €3 billion payment.

Brave and economically ravaged Ukraine needs a debt deal to win the coming peace -- and grants rather than loans

FROM CHINA!!1!

The Iraqi [PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani] is also expected to finalize a deal with German conglomerate Siemens to pave the way for the 'rehabilitation and maintenance' of Iraq's power grid
[...]
The German multinational conglomerate is reportedly planning to increase its partnership with Iraq by building conventional power plants, creating renewable energy sources, and stabilizing the nation's electrical grid.

Since the start of the RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE and the ensuing [9] western sanctions [packages] against Moscow, Germany lost access to 55 percent of its LNG imports, a dire situation that has sent Berlin scrambling to open up new energy sources during the past year.

In November, Qatar signed two sales and purchase agreements with US multinational ConocoPhillips to export two million tons of LNG to Germany for at least 15 years starting in 2026...

29m ago
19.31 EST
Bolsonaro condemns denounces violence, denies responsibility
Far-right ex-president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has just tweeted condemning today's attacks, but denying that he bears responsibility for the storming of Brazil's democratic institutions, saying that he "repudiate[s] the accusations, without evidence, attributed to me by the current head of the executive of Brazil".

In a press conference on Sunday, Lula blamed Bolsonaro for the attacks.

"This genocidist ... is encouraging this via social media from Miami," Lula said, referring to Bolsonaro. "Everybody knows there are various speeches of the ex-president encouraging this."

Bolsonaro, an acolyte of Donald Trump's who has yet to concede defeat, has peddled the false claim that Brazil's electronic voting system was prone to fraud, spawning a violent movement of election deniers.

Bolsonaro, who has been seen in Florida in recent days, has barely spoken in public since losing the election.
[...]

Assault on Brazil's democracy: Who's saying what?
[...]
Brazil's Justice Minister Flávio Dino [on crime] ...
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the rioters [!]...
Paulo Calmon, Brasilian political scientist [on "authoritarian, populist radicalism"] ...
U.S. President Joe Biden [on on "the peaceful transfer of power" to the Lima Group...
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who chairs the Senate's foreign relations committee [on return of Lula da Silva, Term II]....
Wang Wenbin, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman [opposing violent attacks]....
Pope Francis [on signs]...

She lacks an obvious successor; this is compounded by the fact that Labour were most likely heading for a beating in the elections in October, even if she stayed in charge.
My personal favourite to succeed her is Kiri Allan - a charismatic, funny, divorced cancer-surviving Maori lesbian (lots of bases covered there). Note the name. But give her three or six years.

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

the country's fifth in two years

President Rumen Radev will now have to have to decide when to dissolve the parliament and set a date for new polls within two months.

Babiš only narrowly lost the first round of the presidential election on January 13-14, but is trailing badly ahead of second-round voting that begins on Friday. According to POLITICO's Poll of Polls, Babiš is expected to win only 42 percent of the vote, while Pavel is on course for 58 percent.
..."[Babiš] can't gain more votes by having a positive campaign -- which is why he tries to appeal to the lowest instincts [?], like fear of war [!]. By doing this, he is peddling Kremlin propaganda," said political analyst Miloš Gregor.
[...]
Babiš has dredged up Pavel's former membership in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and accused him of being a communist secret agent like ex-KGB agent Vladimir Putin, as well as a warmonger -- something that's been seized on by pro-Russian disinformation websites. But Babiš didn't mention that he was also a member of the Communist Party in the 1980s and was an agent of the ŠtB communist secret police -- something he has always denied but which was put to rest by the Slovak Constitutional Court in 2017.

In the current campaign, Babiš has the support of incumbent President Miloš Zeman, also a former member of the pre-1989 Communist Party, but he's opposed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala -- a political enemy.
[...]
Presidential watershed

Pavel, 61, is strongly pro-Western and supports Ukraine against Russia; his backing for the Czech Republic to adopt the euro and support for gay marriage has won him traction among liberal voters. As for his Communist Party membership, he acknowledges on his website that it was a mistake, but explains that he was "born into a family where this was considered normal."

He has played up his military experience during his year-long campaign for the country's top job. In the 1990s he served with the U.N.'s peace-keeping mission, UNPROFOR, in the former Yugoslavia [!], where a unit he led saved besieged French soldiers from being taken captive. From 2012 to 2015 he led the general staff of the Czech army and served as a military adviser to the government.

"He presents himself as a diplomat and a war hero who would ensure that the Czech Republic handles any situation," said [Miloš] Gregor, a political science professor at Masaryk University in Brno.
[...]

...Let's keep in mind that if Andrei Babish and one of the three contenders of the opposition Brussels coalition enter the second round of voting, the rest will call to cast their votes for a single opposition candidate. And most importantly, Brussels firmly and completely controls the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. (!!!)

Of course, if Danushe Nerudova enters the second round, it will be better than the American general's favorite as President of the Czech Republic, but ... Strictly speaking, the Czech Republic can return to its subjectivity only in one case: the complete collapse of the EU, since Berlin (including through Brussels) was initially worried that no "surprises" would ever arise in its "personal garden". Another thing is that in this "garden", apparently, the Anglo-Saxons strongly moved the Germans.

But let us return to the extremely interesting topic of the informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the EU member states. Or rather, to the possible consequences of the destruction of the veto and the approval of the policy of decision-making by a simple majority, as well as the problems of Eastern Europe associated with this future. ...

The Biden administration eased restrictions on Venezuela's oil sector in November following tentative progress achieved in Mexico City between the Maduro government and the political opposition, called the Unitary Platform, representing the 2015 National Assembly.
[...]
"We continue to recognize the authority of the 2015 National Assembly, and we recognize it as the last remaining democratic institution there," national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.

[...]
In 2019, the Georgetown Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts challenged the broadcast ban on behalf of Soderberg and fellow journalist Baynard Woods, who were putting together a documentary on the Gun Trace Task Force [GTTF] corruption scandal. The other plaintiffs in the suit were activist Quiana Johnson and the nonprofits Open Justice Baltimore andBaltimore Action Legal Team [@BALTLegal].
[...]

last ballot 216 Mac, 212 Hak

The numerate among us will note, some representatives did not vote—let's dub them Permenent Select Poker Committee of Swing Voters (excluding vacancie, if any, and non-voting delegates from US territories colonies. The innumerate among us will PROBE INSIDE the House GOP's speakership crisis until the ELECTION 2024 free press locks onto good-hair, UA-caucus candidate targets < checks watch > 3Q2023, which also coincides with the official, annual FYE appropriators' clusterf*ck.

The complaint, filed March [28, 2022] by 24 named individuals living all over the country, accused the petroleum companies of agreeing "among themselves, and with Saudi Arabia and Russia, to cut the production of oil, to remove and store excess oil supply, to limit future exploration and production of oil, and to stop the price war that had erupted between Saudi Arabia and Russia, all for the purpose and with the intended effect to raise the price of oil and gasoline and other fuels in the United States and elsewhere."

2. The United States is the largest producer of oil in the world [18.7M bbl/d, CYE 2021]. Saudi Arabia is the second largest producer of oil in the world [12.3M bbl/d, CYE 2021]. Russia is the third largest producer of oil in the world [10.5M bbl/d, CYE 2021].
3. Exxon Mobil is the largest oil company in the United States. Chevron Texaco is the second largest oil company in the United States. Phillips 66 is the third largest oil company in the United States.
4. OPEC is the acronym for Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries. [31.7M bbl/d, CYE 2021, excluding RF+ 11] OPEC was formed in 1961 to coordinate a common conduct for the production and sale of oil and fuel products. Its members are Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, [Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo,] and Venezuela. Saudi Arabia is by far the largest member of OPEC. OPEC is an international cartel.

OPEC (1960 FTA): IR, IQ, KW, NG, SA, VZ, LY, AE, DZ, AO, GQ, CG, GA; PLUS OM*, s-SS*, SS*, BN*, RU*, MX*, AZ*, KZ*, MY*, BH*, EC*, ID*, QA*

It operates throughout the world. It exercises the power to control the production and price of oil and other fuel products for its members. OPEC influences the price of oil and gasoline on a worldwide basis....

The suit then cites a tweet by the former president [Trump] on April 2, 2020: "Just spoke to my friend MBS (Crown Prince) of Saudi Arabia, who spoke with President Putin of Russia, & I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more which, if it happens, will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!" Trump then added: ".....Could be as high as 15 Million Barrels. Good (GREAT) news for everyone!"
[...]
The suit also states that Trump later held a secret meeting with representatives of Exxon, Chevron, the American Petroleum Institute, Occidental Petroleum, and other energy oil marketing companies, after which "the American oil companies agreed to cut production by 2 million barrels per day (or 3 million barrels per day) by the end of the year as a quid pro quo for the cessation of the price war [?], just as Russia and Saudi Arabia had demanded."
[...]
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, a George W. Bush appointee, dismissed the suit on Monday for a number of reasons in a curt, 12-page ruling. For one thing, he wrote, the allegations in the lawsuit were beyond the scope of the courts, thanks to the "political question doctrine."
[...]
Perhaps more to the point, Judge White also wrote that the lawsuit lacked enough evidence to proceed....

...Also in 2021, the United States produced about 18.77 million b/d of petroleum and consumed about 19.89 million b/d. Even though U.S. annual total petroleum exports were greater than total petroleum imports in 2020 and 2021, the United States still imported < wipes tears> some crude oil and petroleum products from other countries to help to supply domestic demand for petroleum and < wipes tears> to supply international markets.

The United States remained a net crude oil importer in 2021, importing about 6.11 million b/d of crude oil and exporting about 2.96 million b/d. However, some of the crude oil that the U.S. imports is refined by U.S. refineries into petroleum products--such as gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, and jet fuel--that the U.S. exports. Also, some of imported petroleum may be stored and subsequently exported....

free uighurs!

Condition of teacher shot by six-year-old child in Virginia improving [_link]

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 8, 2023

[..]
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians[,] and Venezuelans will be expelled to Rwanda Mexico if they enter the UK U.S. illegally, effective immediately. At the same time, he offered humanitarian parole for up to 30,000 people a month from those four countries if they apply online, pay for their airfare[,] and find a financial sponsor.
[...]

Biden administration wants Supreme Court to end Title 42 -- just not yet, 20 Dec
because Congress has yet to choose which chapter or verse for repeal
archived Presidential Proclamation 2019, APsplainin OBSCURE US laws 2021

according to government-owned mining company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB).
LKAB has identified Per Geijer deposit, located in close proximity to an existing iron mine, as containing mineral resources exceeding one million tonnes of rare earth oxides.
[...]
"This is good news, not only for LKAB, the region and the Swedish people, but also for Europe and the climate. This is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world, and it could become a significant building block for producing the critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to enable the green transition. We face a supply problem. Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles," Jan Moström, President and Group CEO of LKA, said in a statement [12 Jan].
[...]
"We need to strengthen industrial value chains in Europe and create real opportunities for the electrification of our societies. Politics must give the industry the conditions to switch to green and fossil-free production. Here, the Swedish mining industry has a lot to offer. The need for minerals to carry out the transition is great," Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, Ebba Busch, added.
[...]
The Per Geijer deposit needs to be investigated further regarding possible mining conditions, with a relevant plan submitted, along with an application for an exploitation concession in 2023. According to the company, around 10 to 15 years might pass before any actual mining and delivery of raw materials begins.
[...]

Biomass is often portrayed as an overlooked energy giant, with the European Commission saying it is "the main source of renewable energy in the EU, with a share of almost 60%" - more than wind and solar combined.

Yet, experts agree these [renewable carbon FKA ash] figures are probably overstated because < wipes tears > of the way biomass is counted [?!] in EU renewable energy statistics, ESPECIALLY when it is BURNED for heating.

"The worst way to burn biomass is to do it in an open fire," said Jan Rosenow, director of European programmes at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), a think-tank specialised in clean energy.

According to Rosenow, around 30% of the energy contained in a wood log is transformed into usable heat when burned in a fireplace, while the remaining 70% ["eNErGy"] is just lost and "goes up your chimney".

By contrast, other renewable heating technologies like heat pumps, which run on electricity [fueled by wtf], are measured according to a different metric: energy output, or useful energy.

The result, according to Rosenow, is that ["]biomass-based["] heating looks disproportionately bigger than it really is in the EU's official statistical reports.

"The way it's being treated under the renewable energy directive is that the more biomass you burn, the better it is for your target," he explained. "EU countries that have a very high share of renewable heat [sic] tend to be the countries that burn a lot of biomass. And if they burn it inefficiently, it's even better because they get more [carbon] credit [to sell!]"

"We have managed to replace those (Russia and Belarus) volumes in other countries on a very hot wood market," Ulf Johansson, Global Wood Supply and Forestry Manager at brand owner Inter IKEA, told Reuters.

Sweden, the Baltics [EE, LT, LV, FI?], Poland, and Germany are among countries where IKEA's wood sourcing has increased as a result of the war in Ukraine, he said, adding that some of the solutions might be long-term and others short-term.
[...]
IKEA has in recent years been buying and managing forests in a number of countries through its investment vehicle IKEA Investments, from which it might use wood and wood products in the future.

While IKEA says managing forests responsibly will help mitigate climate change, it does not yet include that business in its overall target to be climate positive by 2030 due to difficulties < wipes tears > measuring [BIOMASS] carbon capture and storage.

Gas prices fall further in Europe as Amsterdam trading kicks off in 2023 [_link]

— NL Times (@NL_Times) January 2, 2023

according to a study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Science on Wednesday.
[...]
"First of all, the oceans hold the key to the climate. The oceans are what absorb almost all of global warming heat. So, if you want to know how fast the Earth is warming, the answer is in the oceans. If you want to know what our future climate is going to look like, the answer is in the oceans," said John Abraham, study co-writer and professor of mechanical engineering at St. Thomas University.
[...]
In 2022 alone, researchers found Earth's oceans exceeded the 2021 record by 10 zettajoules -- a joule with 21 zeros behind it -- and among the world's seven oceanic regions, the North Pacific, North Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, and Southern Ocean [Antarctic Ocean] recorded their highest ocean heat content since the 1950s.
[...]
According to lead researcher Lijing Cheng from the International Center for Climate and Environmental Sciences, more than 90% of the excess heat accumulated by Earth's climate system is deposited into its oceans. However, Cheng writes that "rising ocean temperatures bolster the energy exchanges from ocean to atmosphere, increase the quantity of atmospheric moisture and change the patterns of precipitation and temperature globally."

"Our unsustainable water use is desiccating habitat, exposing toxic dust, and driving salinity to levels incompatible with the lake's food webs," the report's summary states. "The lake's drop has accelerated since 2020, with an average deficit of 1.2 million acre-feet per year. If this loss rate continues, the lake as we know it is on track to disappear in five years."

In the mornin' you go gunnin' for the man who stole your water
And you fire 'til he is done in but they catch you at the border
And the mourners are all singin' as they drag you by your feet
But the hangman isn't hangin' and they put you on the street
... You go back, Jack, do it again, wheel turnin' 'round and 'round
You go back, Jack, do it again

(Steely Dan, 1972)

But no, you can't do it again. That water is a fossil resource.

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

Honey bees are to be vaccinated, as a jab specially developed for the critically-important pollinator insects has just been approved for use by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Engineered to prevent this bee species' deaths from a bacterial condition known as American foulbrood disease, a conditional license for the inoculation was approved this week, the biotech firm Dalan Animal Health, Inc. stated.

The vaccine, "breakthrough in protecting honey bees", Dalan Animal Health CEO Annette Kleiser said in a statement. ....

Non Technical Summary
Honey bees are responsible for the annual pollination of at least $17 billion worth of US crops, but face severe health challenges. Nosema ceranaeis a fungus [?] that causes a common and widespread infection that is associated with poor colony health and Colony Collapse Disorder. Currently, Nosema diseaseis primarily treated with a single antibiotic [?!]...

The vaccine, which has just received approval from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), was developed by the US biotech company Dalan Animal Health. Instead of injecting the individual bees with a shot, which would no doubt prove troublesome, the vaccine comes in the form of dead bacteria that are mixed into the food consumed by worker bees.  

The vaccine is then digested and transferred to the glands that produce royal jelly, the nutrient-rich secretion that's fed to queens. The queen ingests the laced jelly and fragments of the vaccine are transferred to her ovaries and developing eggs. Having been exposed to the inactive bacteria, the developing larvae emerge from their eggs with immunity against American Foulbrood.

American Foulbrood can be catastrophic for honeybee hives. It's a highly infectious disease introduced to the hive by drifting bees from nearby colonies carrying spores [AU-Eng., "seed-like cell"] of the bacteria. These spores are extremely tough and can remain viable for many years on contaminated equipment. They are also extremely resilient against extreme weather conditions and many chemicals that would kill off other bacteria....

Developers are trying to build hundreds of thousands of homes in Arizona. New report warns there isn't enough water., 12 Jan

The Howard Hughes Corp. is a major player in the area, with 100,000 homes planned on 37,000 acres. The question of where developers might get the water to support such vast housing tracts has previously presented a mystery, with some developers merely saying they were confident in their prospects. The report the state released this week provides an initial answer: They won't be finding that water solely in the aquifer below the land. Instead, they will have to find new ways of importing and possibly recycling water if they want to build out the property.

The [2025 plasma deadline] "wasn't realistic in the first place," even before two major problems surfaced, [Pietro] Barabaschi said.

One problem, he said, was wrong sizes for the joints of blocks to be welded together for the installation's 19-by-11-metre (62-by-36-feet) chamber. The second was traces of corrosion in a thermal shield designed to protect the outside world from the enormous heat created during nuclear fusion.

Fixing the problems "is not a question of weeks, but months, even years," Barabaschi said.

The scientists' findings, described as "a big breakthrough in steady-state operation," were detailed in an article published in the international journal Science Advances earlier this month [6 Jan].
According to their report, they found a new "super-I mode" of plasma during a recent record-setting operation of the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in December 2021. The reactor is located in Hefei, China, and uses the torus-shaped Tokamak reactor design first invented in the Soviet Union.

...The document was presented at the international conference 'Resilient Mental Health in the EU', held under the Czech Presidency of the EU Council [14 Nov].

GAMIAN-Europe proposes a future EU Strategy for Mental Health: "blueprint"

"We are in a truly extraordinary situation. We are fighting several crises at once. The topic of mental health requires attention," said Czech Deputy Health Minister Jakub Dvořáček at the conference.

The effects of pandemic restrictions, the war in Ukraine, and the rising cost of living have contributed to a greater risk of depression and anxiety among EU citizens. However, healthcare systems in the EU have so far struggled to keep up with the new realities and increase capacity accordingly.

Systemic [read: pervasive] difficulties in the provision of care persist, with low capacities of personnel and insufficient space in treatment facilities. In 2019, there were only 73 psychiatric beds per 100,000 inhabitants in the EU. The highest ratio of beds per inhabitant was in Belgium, while the lowest was in Italy. ...

total of 59,938 COVID-19-related deaths between December 8, 2022 and January 12 this year
[...]
The number was revealed by Jiao Yahui, an official from the NHC [National Health Commission]. She said that the average age of those who died of COVID-19 in the period was 80.3 years old, with 90.1 percent of the fatalities above 65 years old, and 56.5 percent were aged above 80 years old; more than 90 percent suffered from underlying conditions.
[...]
The number of severe COVID-19 cases reached a peak on January 5, standing at 128,000, according to Jiao, who also noted that the number was down to 105,000 as of January 12 and that 75.3 percent of beds for severe cases were occupied.

Yet Jiao warned that currently, the number of severe cases that have been hospitalized remains high. On January 12, 97.8 percent of reported severe cases that are hospitalized, totaling 97,000, were suffering from both COVID-19 infection and an underlying condition, Jiao said.

WHO.int, Table View a/o 6 Jan 2023: deaths total; death last 7 days
US 1,088,854; 3,922
UK 202,157; 433
JP 1,233,269; 2,785
KR 32,867; 371
China 33,698; 846

JHU, dashboard a/o 15 Jan 2023: deaths total; 28-day deaths
US 1,099,860; 12,132
China 18,192; 1,736
archived The situation here is still pretty psychotic Dec 2022

BREAKING: Super-sleuth Leana Wen tells CNN we've been vastly overcounting COVID deaths, outlining the crucial distinction between deaths "with COVID" and deaths "from COVID."

How did we miss this?pic.twitter.com/bn2aUMqytZ

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) January 17, 2023

People's Daily: OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said on January 16 that he certainly very much welcomes the easing of Covid-related restrictions in China, which is very much positive in terms of making sure that the supply chains function more efficiently and more effectively and will help bring inflation down. What's your response?

Wang Wenbin: We have noted relevant reports. We have also seen that lately, more and more professional international institutions have said that China's adapting of COVID response will prove to be a boon for the world economy. Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, said in recent days that China's optimization of COVID-19 response will lead to stronger and more prosperous growth and contribute to global growth. The IMF noted that China will achieve stable economic growth in 2023 and become the largest positive factor of the world economy. Multiple international investment banks and financial institutions including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Barclays, and Natixis have revised up their forecast for China's economic growth rate in 2023....

...The FDA said it expects to assess circulating strains of the coronavirus at least annually and decide in June which strains to select for the fall season, much like the process to update annual flu vaccines....

The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will meet Thursday [26 Jan] to discuss how to simplify and streamline the COVID-19 vaccination process, including the composition of coronavirus vaccines and the recommended scheduling for these shots.
[...]
While acknowledging that COVID-19 and the flu are not identical, VRBPAC said the deployment of the bivalent COVID-19 boosters, created to target both the ancestral strain of the virus as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants, was "analogous" to annual flu vaccinations.

..."When you have recommendations that are changing, that can certainly lead to some confusion," Neil Maniar, the director of the Master of Public Health Program at Northeastern University, told Prescription Pulse. "This is a really important opportunity ... to kind of hit the reset button in a way, and to say 'this is what it's going to be like moving forward now for all of us.'"...

Emmanuel Todd, one of the greatest French intellectuals today, claims that the "Third World War has started."

Small 🧵 translating the most important points in this fascinating interview.[_link]

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) January 13, 2023

Posted earlier @MoA ...

Emmanuel Todd On The Third World War

I didn't agree ...

I appreciate the insight and and analysis of b. above the predictions of Mr. Todd.

For one, Europe doesn't get it ... the Blitzkrieg of Joe Biden across EU-27 countries after the Kabul retreat and the bullying had effect because Angela Merkel retired and a "soft power" traffic light coalition was positioned in Berlin. Macron was isolated and the NATO war narrative took hold.

Biden did not only target Russia, but even more he knee capped a rising economic competitor, the EU.

The Trump MAGA policy was embraced by Joe ... trade with China would be reduced and critical manufacturing should be onshore, the lesson of pharma during the pandemic. The Defense Production Act symbolizes the future of America's Hermit demeanor. Self-sustainability or autarky as future economic model.

Globalization must be reversed and the strategy of Deglobalization must take priority above all.

The US let the Arab states fund the first Afghan and Iraq War. US soldiers returning in body bags would be detrimental to the succes of the campaigns after 9/11. Second Iraq War became too similar to the Vietnam War, Bush hiding transport of dead soldiers.

The US enforces a growth of NATO to play act in Libya, Syria and today in Ukraine. European nations carry an equal financial burden and their defense material will be ordered with sticker Made In USA.

The Ukraine War is equally an attack on the economies of Europe's industrial heart. Cheap gas from Russia delivered wealth to the EU, especially Germany.

The Global economic community wil split, not in half bur 25/75 in favor of the Far East, India, Indonesia, Central Asia, Arab states and Iran plus majority of Africa and South America. Japan, South Korea and Australia will side with NATO.

The failed coup d'état of  July 2016, [originated on NATO Incirlik airbase] to overthrow Erdogan, loosened the ties with aggressor NATO, a heavy blow to the alliance. Türkiye had been withheld to become a member of the EU [fast-track of Ukraine in comparison] so all paths are open looking East to join China-led SCO.

So many years Bernhard, a true warrior with great perseverance. You will be missed. Many thanks. Bon voyage ... wishing you all the best in further endeavors.

Oui

'Sapere aude'

Bon Voyage, my friend, until we meet again!

Index of Frank's Diaries

I'd come back pretty randomly (a friend asked me to forward my articles about Piketty's capital) after such a long time away (years...)...

and that is to learn of three sad pieces of news: Helen and Geezer's deaths, and now Bernard's departure (admittedly only from this part of the world).

Helen was far too young, and I would have been sure to try to meet her once I eventually would return to London. It won't have the same flavour when I do, although I'll go to the very pub where we would have met had she still been alive.

I see on my right a number of articles with titles that make me want to read them, so I'll find the time to - in fact I am amazed that there is so much production. Many thanks to all who still take the time!

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi