Since America is a lost cause, or perhaps 50-50 likely to be, all hopes are on Europe. Cost of living and extreme right governments will challenge European will, but Europe will hold fast.. There are simply too many sensible people in Europe for it to go the way of America.
Come on, don't write us off just yet... Theres a lot of us who are aghast at the MAGAtardism that paralyzed our political system. It's depressing it's costing the lives of an Ally's soldier's (and friends of friends)
Thanks Don and Tom for all your reports and analysis.
Today announced (summit in Paris) shift in consolidating funds for ammo (500k+300k), so far Canada, Denmark and Holand openly declared donation of 380m $ (probably other countries will participate as well, but for some reasons dont want to declare in public - porsonally I dont might as the funds are going to be collected), just wonder if France will donate any €, and Greece/Cyprus going to donate for nonTurkey shells. https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/domaci-fiala-k-nakupu-munice-pro-ukrajinu-se-muze-pripojit-15-zemi-40462153
Our CZ governent initiative might hellp to stop advance of invaders in 2024
Whether Europe buys it or gives Ukraine the money to buy it, it amounts to the same thing. What is different is if they use EU funds, which some don't approve right now, or whether countries buy with their own money outside the EU.
a) South Africa/Brazil/India probably wont sale directly to UA to pretend BRICS is solid organisation
b) some countries wont deliver directly to country at war
c) there still will be middlemen in the whole transaction (not a government-to-government contract) - maybe CZ diplomacy&companies do have better contacts
d) some country arent willing to donate money directly to UA
e) some countries might have some specific conditions for donation = participate on whole process (see space for local corruption/local companies making profit of it not UA)
That is anyway bullshit, that the operator can't switch it off. During a military exercise we in the radar unit had the fof switched on until we got a radio message to switch it off, because they weren't able to lock onto their training targets . After it was switched off, they could properly train.
On Sunday 25 February 2024 Airman Aaron Bushnell of the United States Air Force went to the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. There he made a statement that reminded very much of the Vietnam War/Conflict and Buddhist Monks immolating themselves.
From CBS: Before setting himself alight in what he called an "extreme act of protest", he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide".
As a veteran of the United States Army all I can do is salute and honor what this young man has down....giving his life in an ultimate protest against what Israel has done.
Regarding farmers' protests in Poland, you should look for alternative sources. What you have used is an X account of some random person seemingly quoting the PM and another, who is so strongly politically biased it is hard to correct what he says, because there is too much of his personal feelings or presumptions instead of facts. I do not know what the PM said, but I think an official source should be available instead of some X commenter.
As another random person from Poland, I can tell you in short what it is all about:
There are two main reasons for protests - the green deal and food imports exempted from common regulations required in the EU. The green deal I think does not require much explanation, as farmers in other countries are also so happy about this. The import problem is quite simple - when there is a product some 30% cheaper on the market, those who produce more expensively cannot compete. The majority of difference comes from the regulation expenses, so there is no way local farmers can change this unless they abandon EU's regulations.
Concerning the pro-putin situations, there are hundreds of thousands (if not over a million) people involved, in hundreds of places, so several incidents are not in any way representative for all. They are very media-attracting, though. I have personally talked to people from the border region and heard others in media and not a single one was against helping Ukraine's war effort.
It is very easy for russia to organize or make use of some situation, put a video on the internet, sit back and watch it grow anxiety among its enemies. I think it is most unfortunate that you are being misled and used in this way.
By the way, there is big import of food products from russia, I have heard similar or even bigger than from Ukraine. Should the EU block this, much of the problem would stop anyway.
But we can settle on bad Polish farmers instead, why not?
5: imports from Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, and Russia (you said so) etc, are cheap not only because of the Green deal or EU regulations, but mainly because the salaries (and production costs in general - excepting taxes) in those countries are much lower than in the EU. The best thing for us to help local farmers is to buy their products, even if more expensive. As for the Polish protests, they take too long and are pretty exaggerate; anyone would question why they continue to do so for 5 months now. Also the EU regulations issues were already discussed; these protests seem strictly directed towards Ukrainian produce.
Yes, there are more economical factors, but it does not change the essence. Also, people react to what they see and trucks and trains from Ukraine are much more popular in Poland than from Turkey. Should we have border with it, I am pretty sure the slogans shown would be different. This shows pretty well that protests are not intended against Ukraine. It is collateral damage. And russia can use it to propagate enmity between Poland and Ukraine in the interest of neither.
Farmers protested, if I recall correctly, since summer 2022 already. They have been appeased several times as temporary measures were taken. It escalated in the last months because the EU abandoned restrictions on import in five countries bordering Ukraine on one hand and there was elections and new government in Poland, which hampered internal response to the problem. New government is just waking up to the problem. Incompetence of this or the former government is not really farmers' fault, but it is making them more angry. Should the problem be solved, none would picket anything.
If you have some clue about the intent of Polish farmers to intentionaly hurt Ukraine and especially their war effort, please share.
Well, I didn't see Polish protesters spilling on the roads grain from other origins. And Poland is still restricting the Ukrainian goods, in fact (see link). But there are more and more spillings and blockades. Tbh, after several Ukrainian truck drivers have died at the border, somebody should have stopped this already. But it seems they are ok with it. Be sure that such a situation would sparkle diplomatic issues regardless any countries involved. It is not normal. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/01/31/brussels-proposes-to-extend-eu-ukraine-free-trade-but-restrictions-on-grain-will-be-easier
In short - he would die somewhere else should they move on. But than it would not probably be interesting news, because people die of coronary failure all the time.
Yesterday Spanish farmers spilled Moroccan grain. A clue - there is probably little Ukrainian grain there, so they could not do this with it. It shows exactly what I am talking about - the protests are not directed against Ukraine, but there is a big economical problem to be solved, part of which is foreign import to the EU. Like it or not, such things happen on a regular basis all the world around and it does not mean Spanish hate Moroccans or that Polish hate Ukrainians, despite what a few Spanish or Polish farmers say or do.
I never said that Polish people hate Ukrainians. I tend to agree they don't (although some recent polls had surprising results). I am saying that the Polish protests are beyond any normal outlines of protests, and hard to understand at this point. It is not even clear what could be done to please them. And no, it is no excuse that "the person would have died anyway". Something should be done about it. This is why we save people in hospitals, even if they have little chances. I don't think the Spanish farmers spilled Moroccan oil or blocked the roads for 5 months. I am from Romania. There have been protests here too, for a couple of weeks. But then the issue was addressed. I might say that upon your logic, Romanian farmers should protest against imports from Poland too, because many of them are cheaper, and the subsidies are different between countries. So, again, I am trying to say that there is a limit and a logic in this kind of protest, and with respect to Polish protests, this limit is lost.
I apologize for misinterpreting your words. I did not mean to and I think I reacted to some of totally different comments out there this way. I am sorry.
Concerning the drivers that died, I was not there, I do not know if anything could be done. I just do not see that protesters intended any harm or prevented help. It is just a very sad accident. I also do not know what the public service was able to do, so I do not know if they could do better.
I totally agree that the problem should be addressed earlier, but as I said - we had elections and a period of forming a new government. The political situation is very bad, because the new is fighting the old harshly and they have so many old grudges to clear that they seem not to have time for anything else, like managing the state's affairs (it is similar to what Tom says on occasions about politicians). This is the reason why farmers are protesting so long and get more and more angry - the government does not pay much attention. And than some of them do stupid things. It is no excuse, but I understand where it came from - they are frustrated of being ignored for so long. Also, from what little I know about protests in other countries, they do not differ much in what is being done by protesters.
If you had the problem fixed in Romania in a few weeks, I envy you.
To make clear - I am not for the protests against imports from anywhere. But farmers are not protesting because it is fun, but because many of them do not see other way. As many of our farmers say - we do not need any subsides, donations, special treatment, just leave us be without all the EU regulations and we will do fine. They do not want to be told how many cows and chickens they can breed or if they must not sow anything on their land.
I work in a different area, but I can see how the regulations got worse over the years, right to the point when they cannot even be reformed. In my branch, the border of absurdity was crossed and the regulations may only be burned to the ground because they are openly harmful in many ways and any gains are merely bureaucrats' illussions. From what I heard first hand about farmers, the situation is similar there. In Poland there are truckers, hunters, miners and other who started to join the farmers' protests for this reason.
There was a big gathering yesterday in Warsaw. I watched carefully and from around a score of banners the majority was general in message, mostly against the EU regulations, some explicitly against the green deal and only one had additional message in the way "stop import from Ukraine". This may mean nothing, but it may be symptomatic of what the protests are about.
So the police stopped and reviewed a person close to the border which is under hybrid attack since 2021 and investigated by a horrible 4 hours and than let them go. Some movies are missing. Have they checked what can be filmed in those areas? It is not a free-go zone right now. And the Polish police was talking Polish all the time, really?
But you can emit a nice article in Ukrainian news and fuel the enmity from basically nothing. Good for russia! But is it really good for Ukraine, too?
Thanks Don, fantastic report, again.
Since America is a lost cause, or perhaps 50-50 likely to be, all hopes are on Europe. Cost of living and extreme right governments will challenge European will, but Europe will hold fast.. There are simply too many sensible people in Europe for it to go the way of America.
In two years, Europe has never dramatically increased shell production....
They were slow to wake up, but they are now stretching and have put one foot on the floor.
It's funny if it wasn't so sad.
I don't think it's a lost cause and I believe it will pull through. My biggest concern is how long aid will be interrupted.
Come on, don't write us off just yet... Theres a lot of us who are aghast at the MAGAtardism that paralyzed our political system. It's depressing it's costing the lives of an Ally's soldier's (and friends of friends)
Also on the week: the hunt for UA front-line AD
https://t.me/the_Right_People/29954
https://t.me/The_Wrong_Side/14713
https://t.me/The_Wrong_Side/14725
https://t.me/The_Wrong_Side/14734
https://t.me/the_Right_People/30128
https://t.me/the_Right_People/30149
Looks like an Archer is hit:
https://t.me/the_Right_People/30148
Thanks Don and Tom for all your reports and analysis.
Today announced (summit in Paris) shift in consolidating funds for ammo (500k+300k), so far Canada, Denmark and Holand openly declared donation of 380m $ (probably other countries will participate as well, but for some reasons dont want to declare in public - porsonally I dont might as the funds are going to be collected), just wonder if France will donate any €, and Greece/Cyprus going to donate for nonTurkey shells. https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/domaci-fiala-k-nakupu-munice-pro-ukrajinu-se-muze-pripojit-15-zemi-40462153
Our CZ governent initiative might hellp to stop advance of invaders in 2024
In case you want to participatein direct support financially, but dont know how - https://www.weaponstoukraine.com/filtr-campaign/vsechny-kampane
or non lethal support https://www.darujme.cz/projekt/1205934?locale=en
Every bit helps.
Maybe a stupid question, but why not give the money to Ukraine to buy the 800k artillery shells directly?
Whether Europe buys it or gives Ukraine the money to buy it, it amounts to the same thing. What is different is if they use EU funds, which some don't approve right now, or whether countries buy with their own money outside the EU.
Many governments are not willing to sell weapons to a country at war
a) South Africa/Brazil/India probably wont sale directly to UA to pretend BRICS is solid organisation
b) some countries wont deliver directly to country at war
c) there still will be middlemen in the whole transaction (not a government-to-government contract) - maybe CZ diplomacy&companies do have better contacts
d) some country arent willing to donate money directly to UA
e) some countries might have some specific conditions for donation = participate on whole process (see space for local corruption/local companies making profit of it not UA)
f) to z) ...
some details here: https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/zahranicni-my-mame-seznam-ostatni-si-z-nej-mohou-vybrat-rika-o-munici-pro-ukrajinu-pojar-246654
Thanks to everyone answering - the answers were quite enlightening
It cant be that hard to put 10+ countries to increase ammo production, this is so pathetic
Things could have been better, for sure.
Thanks Don #4 read very informative
Thanks Don. Is there a probability that Putin was lied to regarding that the friend-or-foe system is working?
Or is there proof, that it is working?
Just asking because, you know it's Russia, so lies, incompetence and corruption is everywhere...
Wagners were able to hit Russian airplanes. Thus if the system exists, it is not automatic.
That is anyway bullshit, that the operator can't switch it off. During a military exercise we in the radar unit had the fof switched on until we got a radio message to switch it off, because they weren't able to lock onto their training targets . After it was switched off, they could properly train.
On Sunday 25 February 2024 Airman Aaron Bushnell of the United States Air Force went to the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. There he made a statement that reminded very much of the Vietnam War/Conflict and Buddhist Monks immolating themselves.
From CBS: Before setting himself alight in what he called an "extreme act of protest", he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide".
BBC Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68398479
As a veteran of the United States Army all I can do is salute and honor what this young man has down....giving his life in an ultimate protest against what Israel has done.
Dear Don,
Regarding farmers' protests in Poland, you should look for alternative sources. What you have used is an X account of some random person seemingly quoting the PM and another, who is so strongly politically biased it is hard to correct what he says, because there is too much of his personal feelings or presumptions instead of facts. I do not know what the PM said, but I think an official source should be available instead of some X commenter.
As another random person from Poland, I can tell you in short what it is all about:
There are two main reasons for protests - the green deal and food imports exempted from common regulations required in the EU. The green deal I think does not require much explanation, as farmers in other countries are also so happy about this. The import problem is quite simple - when there is a product some 30% cheaper on the market, those who produce more expensively cannot compete. The majority of difference comes from the regulation expenses, so there is no way local farmers can change this unless they abandon EU's regulations.
Concerning the pro-putin situations, there are hundreds of thousands (if not over a million) people involved, in hundreds of places, so several incidents are not in any way representative for all. They are very media-attracting, though. I have personally talked to people from the border region and heard others in media and not a single one was against helping Ukraine's war effort.
It is very easy for russia to organize or make use of some situation, put a video on the internet, sit back and watch it grow anxiety among its enemies. I think it is most unfortunate that you are being misled and used in this way.
By the way, there is big import of food products from russia, I have heard similar or even bigger than from Ukraine. Should the EU block this, much of the problem would stop anyway.
But we can settle on bad Polish farmers instead, why not?
Regards,
Adam
5: imports from Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, and Russia (you said so) etc, are cheap not only because of the Green deal or EU regulations, but mainly because the salaries (and production costs in general - excepting taxes) in those countries are much lower than in the EU. The best thing for us to help local farmers is to buy their products, even if more expensive. As for the Polish protests, they take too long and are pretty exaggerate; anyone would question why they continue to do so for 5 months now. Also the EU regulations issues were already discussed; these protests seem strictly directed towards Ukrainian produce.
Yes, there are more economical factors, but it does not change the essence. Also, people react to what they see and trucks and trains from Ukraine are much more popular in Poland than from Turkey. Should we have border with it, I am pretty sure the slogans shown would be different. This shows pretty well that protests are not intended against Ukraine. It is collateral damage. And russia can use it to propagate enmity between Poland and Ukraine in the interest of neither.
Farmers protested, if I recall correctly, since summer 2022 already. They have been appeased several times as temporary measures were taken. It escalated in the last months because the EU abandoned restrictions on import in five countries bordering Ukraine on one hand and there was elections and new government in Poland, which hampered internal response to the problem. New government is just waking up to the problem. Incompetence of this or the former government is not really farmers' fault, but it is making them more angry. Should the problem be solved, none would picket anything.
If you have some clue about the intent of Polish farmers to intentionaly hurt Ukraine and especially their war effort, please share.
Well, I didn't see Polish protesters spilling on the roads grain from other origins. And Poland is still restricting the Ukrainian goods, in fact (see link). But there are more and more spillings and blockades. Tbh, after several Ukrainian truck drivers have died at the border, somebody should have stopped this already. But it seems they are ok with it. Be sure that such a situation would sparkle diplomatic issues regardless any countries involved. It is not normal. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/01/31/brussels-proposes-to-extend-eu-ukraine-free-trade-but-restrictions-on-grain-will-be-easier
Two people died, this is truly sad, I am sorry for their families. But it has nothing to do with the protesters. One minute search: https://dorzeczy.pl/kraj/551910/smierc-ukrainskiego-kierowcy-ujawniono-wyniki-sekcji.html
In short - he would die somewhere else should they move on. But than it would not probably be interesting news, because people die of coronary failure all the time.
Yesterday Spanish farmers spilled Moroccan grain. A clue - there is probably little Ukrainian grain there, so they could not do this with it. It shows exactly what I am talking about - the protests are not directed against Ukraine, but there is a big economical problem to be solved, part of which is foreign import to the EU. Like it or not, such things happen on a regular basis all the world around and it does not mean Spanish hate Moroccans or that Polish hate Ukrainians, despite what a few Spanish or Polish farmers say or do.
I never said that Polish people hate Ukrainians. I tend to agree they don't (although some recent polls had surprising results). I am saying that the Polish protests are beyond any normal outlines of protests, and hard to understand at this point. It is not even clear what could be done to please them. And no, it is no excuse that "the person would have died anyway". Something should be done about it. This is why we save people in hospitals, even if they have little chances. I don't think the Spanish farmers spilled Moroccan oil or blocked the roads for 5 months. I am from Romania. There have been protests here too, for a couple of weeks. But then the issue was addressed. I might say that upon your logic, Romanian farmers should protest against imports from Poland too, because many of them are cheaper, and the subsidies are different between countries. So, again, I am trying to say that there is a limit and a logic in this kind of protest, and with respect to Polish protests, this limit is lost.
I apologize for misinterpreting your words. I did not mean to and I think I reacted to some of totally different comments out there this way. I am sorry.
Concerning the drivers that died, I was not there, I do not know if anything could be done. I just do not see that protesters intended any harm or prevented help. It is just a very sad accident. I also do not know what the public service was able to do, so I do not know if they could do better.
I totally agree that the problem should be addressed earlier, but as I said - we had elections and a period of forming a new government. The political situation is very bad, because the new is fighting the old harshly and they have so many old grudges to clear that they seem not to have time for anything else, like managing the state's affairs (it is similar to what Tom says on occasions about politicians). This is the reason why farmers are protesting so long and get more and more angry - the government does not pay much attention. And than some of them do stupid things. It is no excuse, but I understand where it came from - they are frustrated of being ignored for so long. Also, from what little I know about protests in other countries, they do not differ much in what is being done by protesters.
If you had the problem fixed in Romania in a few weeks, I envy you.
To make clear - I am not for the protests against imports from anywhere. But farmers are not protesting because it is fun, but because many of them do not see other way. As many of our farmers say - we do not need any subsides, donations, special treatment, just leave us be without all the EU regulations and we will do fine. They do not want to be told how many cows and chickens they can breed or if they must not sow anything on their land.
I work in a different area, but I can see how the regulations got worse over the years, right to the point when they cannot even be reformed. In my branch, the border of absurdity was crossed and the regulations may only be burned to the ground because they are openly harmful in many ways and any gains are merely bureaucrats' illussions. From what I heard first hand about farmers, the situation is similar there. In Poland there are truckers, hunters, miners and other who started to join the farmers' protests for this reason.
There was a big gathering yesterday in Warsaw. I watched carefully and from around a score of banners the majority was general in message, mostly against the EU regulations, some explicitly against the green deal and only one had additional message in the way "stop import from Ukraine". This may mean nothing, but it may be symptomatic of what the protests are about.
Polish policemen arrested Ukrainian journalists that were taking videos of Polish-Belarussian trade close to the border https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2024/02/27/7443995/
So the police stopped and reviewed a person close to the border which is under hybrid attack since 2021 and investigated by a horrible 4 hours and than let them go. Some movies are missing. Have they checked what can be filmed in those areas? It is not a free-go zone right now. And the Polish police was talking Polish all the time, really?
But you can emit a nice article in Ukrainian news and fuel the enmity from basically nothing. Good for russia! But is it really good for Ukraine, too?