2 Jan, 2023 15:12

German MP warns against ‘unimaginable escalation’

Berlin will continue to support Kiev but will not risk becoming a party to the conflict with Russia, a lawmaker has said

Berlin has no plans to send modern Western-made tanks to Ukraine, as the risks involved are too high, a German lawmaker said on Monday. Such a move could make NATO a direct party to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev and lead to an escalation, Michael Mueller told Germany’s ARD broadcaster.

Berlin will continue to refrain from any “ill-considered unilateral moves,” Mueller, who is a member of the German Bundestag’s Foreign Policy Committee, told ARD’s Morganmagazin show.

“We would only deliver such weapons in coordination with our NATO partners,” he said, adding that the military bloc wants to avoid becoming a direct party to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“That would be in the interests of all of us… If NATO became a direct war party against Russia, it would be an escalation that none of us want to imagine,” Mueller, a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), warned.

No other nations who possess “comparable” military hardware – including the US and France – have supplied them to Ukraine, Mueller pointed out, adding that those countries appear to share Germany’s concerns.

The lawmaker also said that dialogue with Russia should be maintained. “There should always be an offer to talk,” he argued, criticizing his party’s coalition partners – the Greens and the Free Democrats – for failing to understand that.

Mueller said Chancellor Scholz is now the only leader who continues to seek such contacts, adding that the Foreign Ministry should also look for options for dialogue.

Scholz has previously repeatedly said that resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would be much harder without dialogue with Moscow. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, on the contrary, has taken a staunch anti-Russia position, vowing to ramp up sanctions against Moscow and stating that “normal relations” with the Kremlin are out of the question.

https://www.rt.com/news/569304-germany-nato-russia-unimaginable-escalation/

(this is comped countries comment, digging the hole deeper)

2 Jan, 2023 12:19

Goals outlined for Russia’s long-range air force in 2023

Aircraft will continue to carry out combat missions in Ukraine, the force’s commander Sergey Kobylash says

Russian long-range aviation will continue to have a role in Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine in 2023 and will have to master new upgrades to the fleet, Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash, head of the long-range air command, has said.

The planned operational and combat training program for this year includes “the use of airborne means of destruction,” Kobylash added on Monday, as cited by the Defense Ministry.

Pilots will also continue to train and improve their skills in working with automated control systems and information support for high-precision weapons, he added.

“Those tasks will be performed in 2023 as part of the participation of the long-range aviation in the special military operation,” the commander said, expressing confidence that all of the force's goals will be achieved through the hard work of all its personnel.

Last month, Kobylash told the Russian military’s paper Krasnaya Zvezda that most of the crews of the force have already received combat experience in the course of the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia’s long range aviation – which is part of the country’s nuclear triad but can also carry conventional arms – currently relies on three types of aircraft, including the Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic missile carrier, and the Tu-22M3 long-range bomber.

Shortly before the New Year, the force was boosted by another modernized Tu-22M3 bomber. Two Tu-160M aircraft have also been submitted for flight tests. One of them is an upgraded version of an existing plane, while the other had been built from scratch, as part of Russia’s recent efforts to restart its strategic plane-manufacturing program.

Last month, Ukraine made at least two attempts to strike airfields that host long-range aviation crews, deep inside Russian territory, in Saratov and Ryazan regions. According to the Defense Ministry, the modified “Soviet-made” jet drones, which targeted the Engels and Dyagilevo bases, were shot down by air defenses. However, debris from the destroyed UAVs ended up killing six servicemen on the ground and on one occasion inflicted minor damage to two aircraft.

https://www.rt.com/russia/569289-strategic-aviation-ukraine-kobylash/

2 Jan, 2023 13:25

Germany acknowledges ‘new normal’

High energy prices are here to stay, the country’s finance minister says

High energy prices will become a new reality in Germany, Finance Minister Christian Lindner warned on Sunday.

In an interview with Bild newspaper, Lindner admitted that Berlin is facing the prospect of more expensive energy in the long term without Russia’s natural gas.

“It will be a new normal. Gas via the liquid gas terminals is more expensive than Russian pipeline gas for logistical reasons alone. So, the price level remains higher, but without ruinous spikes,” he said.

Over the course of the past year, natural gas prices in Europe spiked to unprecedented levels several times, driven by sanctions on Russia and disruptions in pipeline supplies. This saw inflation soar across the EU.

To protect consumers from such spikes, EU countries agreed in December to set an emergency cap on wholesale gas prices at €180 ($191) per megawatt hour (MWh), with the measure set to take effect on February 15.

Gas prices have been declining in recent weeks, however, due to unseasonably warm winter weather in parts of Europe, among other factors.

On Monday, the cost of front-month natural gas futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands plunged to just over €73 ($78) MWh in household terms, a level not seen since last February.

Despite the current decline, however, gas prices remain several times higher than the long-term average. In the 2017-2019 period, before the pandemic and the current energy crisis, TTF gas spot prices were trading in the €10-25 MWh range.

https://www.rt.com/business/569295-germany-acknowledges-new-normal/

2 Jan, 2023 13:36

Alcohol tax scrapped in Gulf’s ‘party capital’ – retailers

Prior to the move, exorbitant prices had prompted Dubai residents to buy alcohol in bulk outside the city

The emirati city of Dubai has ended a 30% tax on alcoholic drinks while making obligatory liquor licenses free to obtain, two major local retailers announced on Sunday. The initiative is apparently aimed at boosting tourism.

In a series of posts on Instagram, Maritime and Mercantile International (MMI), one of the largest alcohol stores in the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, hailed the move as “BIG BIG NEWS.” It explained that people “no longer need to make trips across the country to stock up on [their] favorite drinks.”

“With the removal of [the] 30% municipality tax and FREE alcohol license, buying your favorite drinks is now easier and cheaper than ever!” MMI wrote.

Any Dubai resident who wishes to drink, transport or store alcohol is legally obliged to have such a license. The document may only be issued to persons aged 21 or older, and used to cost 270 dirham ($73) a year.

Another major alcohol retailer, African + Eastern, confirmed the move. It added, however, that a 5% VAT rate still applies.

The initiative came into force on Sunday, but it is unclear whether it will be permanent. According to a Financial Times report, the new regime will last for a year, with industry executives describing it as a trial period.

In Dubai, known as the Gulf’s “party capital,” the price of a bottle of beer often exceeds $10, while a bottle of wine may cost $100 or more. The exorbitant prices often prompted city residents to travel to neighboring emirates, where prices are lower.

Speaking to FT, Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, noted that the move “should further support the tourism and hospitality sectors,” adding that it “should also be welcomed by many residents, who are predominantly expatriates.”

Almost 90% of the population of the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is the biggest city, are expatriates. The decision to cut taxes on alcoholic drinks comes after the Gulf country approved a new tourism strategy in November in a bid to boost its competitiveness and attract 100 billion dirham ($27 billion) in additional investment by 2031.

https://www.rt.com/news/569296-drink-tax-scrapped-dubai/

2 Jan, 2023 09:34

NATO warns of potential new Russian offensive in Ukraine

Military support for Kiev should be long-term, the bloc's secretary general said

The West needs to brace for a protracted conflict between Ukraine and Russia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday, insisting that arms shipments to Kiev must continue.

Stoltenberg told the BBC that Russia’s partial mobilization, launched in September, shows that Moscow has no plans to end the hostilities in the near future. “All that indicates that they are prepared to continue the war and also try to potentially launch a new offensive,” he claimed.

The head of the US-led military bloc also insisted that the West continues to provide arms and other forms of support to Ukraine. According to the secretary general, “that's the only way to convince Russia that they have to sit down and negotiate in good faith and respect Ukraine as a sovereign independent nation in Europe.”

"What we do know is that what Ukraine can achieve around that table is totally dependent on the strength on the battlefield," he stressed.

On Friday, Stoltenberg claimed that while“it may sound paradoxical,” Western military support for Ukraine is "the quickest way to peace.”

Following the start of Russia’s military operation in late February, Western countries have ramped up their weapons shipments to Ukraine, a move that has been condemned by Moscow. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that NATO was using the military potential of nearly all of its member states against Moscow in Ukraine. According to the president, efforts to undermine the Russian economy in the “sanctions war” over Ukraine have largely failed.

Earlier, he also accused the West of turning Ukraine into “a colony”, and using its people as “cannon fodder, a battering ram against Russia.”

At the same time, the Kremlin maintains it is open to talks with Ukraine, accusing Kiev of refusing to negotiate. However, Moscow has insisted that Kiev must “recognize the reality on the ground” as a prerequisite for any peace talks, including the new status of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye as parts of Russia.

https://www.rt.com/russia/569287-stoltenberg-russian-offensive-ukraine/

(NATO needs war, feed war, more dead bodies, NATO hungry)

>>18060908

Pompeo is evil if he supports Ukraine, say a bible verse Pompeo, maybe you can help

>>18060943

Thats horrible and they have lived with it since 2014

>>18060959

Seriously how do you post three videos at one time? I need to learn that

>>18060959

That last one was great, too bad he was such an asshole to Trump

I guess some people get it while under bidan

His imitation was pretty good

>>18060959

I can’t stop watching that noah one

>>18061091

17 mg, do you put a comma between them or what

>>18060959

Germany and EU is paying 5x the cost of natural gas from US all for their phony war. It was a lot less under Trump. How did these idiots get convinced by bidan to enter this fiasco?

>>18061027

I disagree but it is complex

It’s freakin weird in GA, =+two days in a row with FOG, we never get fog==. It hasn't been cold for five days. Just freakin weird.

I grew up in CT we had fog all the time, this us not normal!

>>18061095

It’s a step down, he won’t take it, Trump

Won’t settle and neither would I

>>18061115

I can see it without impeachment, he was never legally president, they all fucking broke their oath. The oath and Kamala are nullified. Easy peasy

>>18061134

Cool I’m an introvert, I hope you got some info from my posts here. Send me a text message saying WID, thanks

>>18061336

Listen, why are you doing this. Go to social media its been a favorite for a couple of months. Go back and get training from your agency manager, we can use any god damn word we want. Don’t grift here

( except cringe)

>>18061311

Thanks for the advice anons and I’m not stoned

>>18061326

Nah, I’m good! Kek

God Almighty,

We love you as you love us, we are one with your heart. Please help our country get through this next cycle and bring Victory, and bring the final judgement on the fallen ones upon the planet now. Free all of your souls and protect all children born and unborn.

With great thanks and gratitude for the challenges in our lives and the blessings of your heavenly hand, we pray this according to your will.

Bless all anons that do your work daily, some of us need more help than others, help them Lord.

In the name of Jesus Christ we pray and according to your will, we accept the answer to this prayer.

Anon (you know who I am)

>>18061601

I was six seconds early, I hope my prayer is answered