Yesterday we went through China’s possible attack plan against Taiwan, and I must admit that I dusted off the Russian attack plan against Scandinavia and modified it slightly – no one in the whole world guessed it.
Now I’m reading some analyses – one should never convey others’ analyses without making their own, but then one should read.
In April, China had a major unannounced exercise “2025A,” suggesting that there may be a B, C, D with the focus on Taiwan.
They have smaller exercises most of the time, and not long ago they showed up off the coast of Australia and started practicing with live ammunition. Apparently, it was a civilian aircraft that reported the incident, causing some hurt feelings in the navy.
The exercises against Taiwan involve live ammunition and aim to target objectives in Taiwan in self-defense. China hasn’t really explained how landing on another country’s shores is self-defense, but apparently, that’s the case.
As a rule, it seems that China does not announce its exercises at all – now it has become some kind of new normal where 70 aircraft are inside Taiwan’s airspace and 20-30 ships sail around the island for a few days.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/01/china/china-taiwan-drills-live-fire-escalation-intl-hnk
We are not following this closely as our focus is on the Ukraine war, but since the global escalation is underway, it’s starting to get a bit interesting.
The bad weather season in the South China Sea is July – November according to Google. If I were China, I would try to strike just before the weather turns bad or in some window during the storm season. That would make countermeasures from the West much more difficult than if it were a calm sunny day when one’s fleet is sunk.
That would mean a Russian attack in the Baltics this summer already – the question is whose timeline takes precedence, and if the rogue buddy manages to keep to his schedule.
Just as Russia probably would have preferred to take its land in the Baltics just before the roads become impassable in October.
If you hit a severe storm while trying to board Taiwan, it could get really lively and even go down in history as one of the bigger own goals.
What has happened in the last six months is that Trump directly removed a lot of diplomatic text in the US Taiwan policy, so now it seems to China that the US supports Taiwan’s independence.
Taiwan accuses China of subversive activities and has taken action against all spies in the country. China accuses Taiwan of persecuting their peaceful and cheerful citizens (peaceful spies?).
Taiwan’s president wants peace and dialogue with China, while China calls him a violent separatist.
Hegseth has also been tough on China a few times, which perhaps did not immediately de-escalate the situation.
China also refers to Taiwan’s freedom movement as a “parasite,” which is an interesting choice of words.
The rhetoric from official Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs channels is quite harsh – “We solemnly warn the Lai Ching-te authorities: daring to provoke and play with fire will only lead to self-destruction and utter ruin.”
Below is interesting, especially the summaries at the end.
I had missed that the US managed to buy the Panama Canal from Hutchinson – the US was supposed to go hard in Panama, and then it went completely silent. I interpreted it as Trump chickening out, but they actually snatched everything from Xi instead.
Anyway – we are getting closer to a war between China and Taiwan according to the above Memri, they probably read my post from yesterday 🧐
Still quite interesting how Trump keeps pushing China – everyone is of the opinion that he is a bumbling idiot in everything, but in the case of China, he apparently manages to stumble in the right direction constantly.
As we guessed, the EU has now in its negotiations with the US also included a point on how to curb China’s overproduction – the US has brought the EU on board against China in trade matters.
Russia has also had submarines out firing Kalibr missiles at land targets during exercises in the waters around Japan.
The Philippines have promised to remove the US coastal missile battery from their territory – it should be gone by September.
China has had numerous naval exercises with ASEAN countries as well – they are not a military alliance but have some security cooperation. Pakistan and Russia are also approaching ASEAN. By the way, the Philippines are part of ASEAN.
If China has expansionist plans, Taiwan is a huge obstacle right in the middle.
If Taiwan falls, China can start moving north towards Japan via all the small islands, and they can also start working their way down towards Australia.
To the west (Indochina?), the countries in ASEAN are there except for India, which China has now started a war against.
To the north, there are only two countries, and they are with us in the West and against China and Russia – Japan and South Korea.
Russia does not intend to start a war against China – I think everyone understands that now.
To the south is a mix of ASEAN countries, countries with good relations with China, countries that do not like China, and the presumed final destination – Australia and New Zealand.
Just like during WW2, the West has the problem that we are not in the immediate vicinity – the US and Europe are far away.
Russia and China do have some plans – maybe that’s why several countries in the MENA region suddenly decided to become friendly with Israel and overlook Trump?
Israel then leads us to Gaza, which I never dare to discuss for the simple reason that I can’t find reliable figures on anything, but I’ll give it a try.
According to our opposition politicians, Gaza is starving to death now, and previously the entire area was leveled to the ground.
And then there’s this – protests against Hamas inside Gaza, and they don’t seem to be starving?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c175z14r8pro
And here is a Chinese site with photos from the markets in Gaza from February this year
https://english.news.cn/20250301/24176dd83cfd4d4dbd373d026e5e96bb/c.html
Or this one from a few days ago – there is still functioning healthcare in Gaza.
I believe that the strategy of crying wolf immediately has not worked – if you claim that everyone is about to starve to death and every building is leveled to the ground and it’s not true, credibility disappears. The UN, politicians, UNRWA, and all organizations have all pushed this narrative. I think it’s irresponsible because everything is built on trust, and this does not help the Palestinians.
What you can see, however, if you look at Google Earth and switch between years, is that there is a lot of damage to the infrastructure in Gaza – that is indisputable.
In Ukraine, the UN keeps saying “9000 civilians dead,” and we laugh because they are not even in the right ballpark. We then trust the figures Ukraine has presented and support them with independent reporting – such as the graves in Mariupol.
But the UN must rely on confirmed figures, and that’s why they’re lagging behind more than they should – that’s been the explanation from them. We’ve discussed the fallen and KWIA in Ukraine to exhaustion and really tried to come up with accurate numbers.
If I google the number of dead Palestinians in Gaza, I consistently get the figure of +50,000, which was reported by the Palestinian Authority in March 2025. All media outlets report this number.
70% are also women and children according to unanimous media sources – Palestinian sources.
Apparently, there are 2.1 million Palestinians still in the area.
Politicians and media in the West now consider it genocide.
We already know that they have included all dead militants in that figure as well, and Israel has reportedly around 15,000?
Early 2024, the death toll was over +30,000, with 17,000 confirmed dead. If militants were included in that figure, the number of confirmed civilian deaths should have been much lower, right?
I seem to recall that Israel claimed that during the first six months.
Israel seems to have completely dropped the reporting on this, or it’s getting drowned out in media coverage – I can’t find much from them.
UN, Amnesty, Swedish Peace, and many other heavyweights are now pushing the narrative that genocide is taking place in Gaza. Since these are the organizations the media relies on for their reporting, it is fully reflected, and the narrative is that genocide is occurring.
If over +50,000 have fallen and 15,000 of them were Hamas, then 35,000 civilians have been killed out of a population of 2.1 million in the area.
Here is the definition of genocide
“in whole or in part, to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”.
These are the same UN, Amnesty, Swedish Peace, and all the others who constantly downplay Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.
Guess how many of the above organizations come up if you search for “genocide in Ukraine” instead – you guessed it, none.
The ironic thing is that not even “ethnic cleansing Ukraine” generates any hits from the above organizations, and it’s undeniable that Russia is engaged in it in the occupied areas. These organizations are politicized and act with an agenda. They are not independent and do not treat all cases equally.
But that doesn’t make Israel’s actions any less difficult for the Palestinians, and they are quite harsh here – most sensible analysts probably think so.
When this started, I wrote that Israel would go in hard and then encounter problems in urban combat, leading to escalation – which has happened.
Most others commented under my post that “Israel will bomb for a few months as before, then it will be over” – they were wrong as usual.
Now Israel seems to have as its latest move, whatever number it is, to conquer all of Gaza and “destroy Hamas” – the latest statement from Netanyahu.
https://www.ft.com/content/8f1f3372-ecfc-46ed-9003-14b240613388
Hamas will simply flee to surrounding areas and then infiltrate back over time, resulting in the deaths of a few thousand more civilians.
It’s probably time for Palestinian self-governance, but who knows which areas should be considered?
If they couldn’t handle tiny Gaza, how can they leave the West Bank completely undisturbed?
The West doesn’t get any prize for that division in 1947…
The West also doesn’t get any prizes for funding the entire rearmament of Hamas – that has to stop.
Hamas has been completely intertwined in the entire aid apparatus, having their bases and weapon depots under/in UNRWA facilities, and UNRWA employees had dual roles as aid workers and terrorists.
Sinwar, who started his career as a broke terrorist, was worth $5 billion USD thanks to the aid money.
Similar to how the UN, which was supposed to protect the border against Hezbollah, only became a shield for Hezbollah’s bases that they built under UN bases, which the UN was well aware of because it was impossible to miss.
It’s a bit sad that the Palestinian citizens living in these areas never get any peace.
Hamas is the worst for Palestinian civilians.
Yes, Palestinians are a rather disillusioned group today, having learned to survive and would be difficult to reintegrate into their homeland, so redistributing the group is not a winning solution in my opinion. Just ask Lebanon or Jordan.
If we go back to the “beginning,” which would be 1947, the UN’s division was terrible, and after the first war, Gaza and the West Bank were no longer under Israeli control. Today, after several wars, the areas have reached a level of self-control.
If I look at the map from 1947, if I were Israel, I would have felt an imminent risk of being overrun, and with the areas controlled by Israel today, they have slightly better security.
But the West Bank is right in the middle, and completely relinquishing it is a security issue whether one wants it or not.
Israel tried to completely relinquish Gaza and got it on October 7, 2023.
Considering that the sensible countries in MENA have tried to improve relations with Israel, the “world community” may need to start thinking outside the box on how to improve the situation for the Palestinians, or else they will be left behind.
Israel probably needs to maintain control over the Golan Heights, the Sea of Galilee, and Mount Hermon, which they recently snatched in Syria.
By the way, the West Bank is one of the most fertile areas in Israel – I bet Israel would gladly take it if they could get away with it 😀
https://www.gov.il/en/pages/israeli-agriculture
The “walls” around Gaza were absolutely formidable – it would have made Trump and his ridiculous border wall green with envy. And yet, the attack happened over it, despite warnings.
So, what to do?
If Israel improves relations with surrounding countries, isn’t there a looming risk that they will continue to pressure the Palestinians just because they can?
So, in some damn way, the situation probably needs to de-escalate.
I don’t believe in population transfers at all – it solves nothing.
(It doesn’t solve anything in South Africa either, but there the die is cast).
So we might as well stick with how things are today but try to normalize relations.
If things go awry in the West Bank, Israel as a country is threatened, and they will strike back.
If Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon move in the right direction, much can be resolved.
They need to establish some kind of MEU (their version of the EU) in the entire region where Israel respects the Palestinian state/states in exchange for MENA accepting Israel.
Then Russia should be kept as far away from this as possible, along with China and Iran.
I’m not entirely sure what Trump is planning for MENA, but his idea to pave over Gaza probably came from Netanyahu, and topping it off with that AI film was probably not one of his better moves.
The conference in Saudi and Qatar went much better.
If the MENA countries meet halfway, they may need to remove the most extreme settler advocates from decision-making positions in Israel, as they need to stop that too.
I don’t have high hopes for this, but I’m sure that Amnesty, UNRWA, Swedish Peace, all other peace organizations, and the UN will not be involved in this.
Neither are all the politicians who scream about genocide and annihilation. The other side of the coin is that our Western countries, the UN, and UNRWA have enabled Hamas, which led to October 7, 2023. It should be a very heavy burden for them to bear, which doesn’t seem to be the case at all – they lose no sleep over infants being thrown into ovens and burned to death.
Trump might not be so dumb, provided that he doesn’t listen to Netanyahu – he gives all sides a lot of trade deals, which he then feels are good for the USA, and all those countries feel that it’s good for them – and then a layer of security on top of that?
If that doesn’t work out, then it will probably be Norway as usual.
Continued appreciation for the page is always gratefully received, and there is a QR code for that purpose, as well as a donation page with links to Swedish Rescuers, drones 2 Ukraine, and other organizations we have learned over time are legitimate and dare to donate to.
On Substack – there is still a chance to become subscribers and valuable to me.
https://bsky.app/profile/johanno1.bsky.social
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Good morning!
Russian losses in Ukraine 2025-05-21
SLAVA UKRAINI!
Oh, must be the lowest numbers in a very long time when combined?
Yes, it is really low, while the number of conflicts is still high.
Now, of course, around 1000 KWIA is also high losses.
Lowest numbers in a while. New knees on the way maybe.
“Över natten drabbades Ryssland av en massiv drönarattack, där försvarsministeriet hävdar att 159 UAV:er sköts ned – inklusive 6 nära Moskva. En viktig halvledar- och mikrochipfabrik kopplad till försvarssektorn i Oryol Oblast uppgavs ha blivit träffad. Flygplatser över flera regioner tvingades stänga ner.”
“Trump refusing to adopt sanctions against Russia as it would affect business opportunities with Moscow, NYT reports
“I think there’s a chance of getting something done, and if you do that, you could also make it much worse,” Trump said, referring to implementing additional sanctions. “But there could be a time where that’s going to happen,” he added.
In a post on Truth Social following the call, Trump wrote that peace deal would be a “tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED.””
“Ukrainian women who survived war, injury, and recovery stand proud in a bold new photo project in Playboy Ukraine. Soldiers and civilians alike show that scars and prosthetics do not diminish beauty, strength, or the right to be seen, admired, and loved.”
At RT, they are pleased with Trump.
“Putin ends the charade: Trump call puts brakes on West’s diplomatic offensive
It’s likely that yesterday’s Putin-Trump phone call centered on the ceasefire. Putin’s goal: To persuade Trump that his idea of an unconditional pause plays right into the hands of Ukraine and the European war lobby.
They’re not even hiding it. The plan is to use any ceasefire as a window to resupply, regroup, and possibly escalate. Western European troops entering Ukraine are now openly discussed.
And based on the statements following today’s call, Trump seems to be warming to that logic. Which means the diplomatic round that began on May 10 goes to Russia. It’s been just ten days, and no one’s even talking about the ultimatum made in Kiev anymore.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/617875-putin-ends-charade-trump-call/
“The AFU advanced southwest of Hulyaipol Zaporizhia region”
https://x.com/FreudGreyskull/status/1924936548094771495
Good job Norway! Now it’s starting to look like something!
“This year, Norway will provide nearly $8 billion in support to Ukraine. PM Zelensky says they discussed energy cooperation and increased investments in Ukrainian drone production.”
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lpmikjdkx22s
Update as of 08.00 21.05.2025 on the Russian invasion
Update as of 08.00 21.05.2025 on the Russian invasion
In total, 164 combat engagements were recorded over the past day. ⏱️177, 167, 145, 165, 168, 163, 166, 155, 161, 196, 193, 196, 171, 200, 269, 253, 216, 199, 199, 177, 178, 168, 174, 156, 175, 168, 144, 165, 96, 127, 162, 143, 125, 111, 99
#Kharkiv 3⏱️3, 6, 3, 5, 6, 3, 4, 7, 3, 3, 6, 4, 11, 18, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 2, 2, 9, 6, 0, 0, 0, 4, 4, 0, 1, 2, 7, 1
#Kupyansk 1⏱️3, 2, 1, 4, 4, 1, 2, 5, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 3, 5, 7, 6, 6, 5, 6, 9, 7, 3, 4, 5, 4, 1, 3, 2, 1, 7, 11, 4
#Lyman 30💥💥↗️⏱️23, 22, 24, 17, 16, 24, 29, 20, 25, 8, 17, 27, 24, 21, 31, 22, 16, 27, 27, 36, 21, 18, 20, 22, 19, 15, 20, 14, 25, 12, 14, 17, 20
#Siverskyi 1⏱️4, 6, 10, 4, 3, 5, 3, 6, 8, 4, 8, 5, 6, -, 0, 3, 3, 1, 4, 2, 4, 6, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2
#Kramatorsk 6⏱️6, 9, 8, 8, 8, 4, 4, 9, 10, 6, 10, 5, 4, 10, 6, 8, 6, 6, 13, 10, 16, 13, 8, 13, 1, 6, 4, 5, 7, 6, 8
#Toretsk 14💥⏱️13, 11, 14, 19, 8, 18, 6, 9, 6, 12, 15, 9, 13, 8, 6, 16, 7, 8, 4, 10, 6, 14, 9, 29, 16, 17, 13, 23, 10, 18, 26, 11
#Pokrovsk 44💥💥💥↘️⏱️72, 65, 54, 52, 75, 74, 54, 60, 70, 60, 65, 71, 61, 77, 78, 115, 78, 113, 83, 64, 85, 75, 59, 64, 68, 44, 65, 56, 53, 61, 39, 54, 64 According to preliminary data in the 22-report at 37/129 combats, Ukrainian troops eliminated 144 occupants and wounded 155 in this sector, for a total of 299 KWIA. Ukrainian troops destroyed an armoured combat vehicle, three cars, five motorcycles, an ATV, 11 UAVs and a UAV control antenna.
#Novopavlivka 33💥💥↗️⏱️22, 24, 23, 18, 23, 26, 30, 24, 13, 19, 31 , 28, 32, 23, 24, 52, 66, 23, 15, 16, 13, 23, 13, 13, 19, 10, 15, 17, 19, 5, 12, 9, 9
#Huliaipil 2⏱️0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 13, 0 , 0, 1, 1, 2, 7, 5, 0, 6, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
#Orikhivsk 2⏱️4, 2, 7, 2, 3, 3, 3, 6, 6, 2, 6, 3, 7, 4, 14, 3, 3, 5, 4, 5, 0, 5, 1, 4, 4, 9, 3, 5, 3, 4, 3, 3, 1
#Prydniprovsky 1⏱️1, 1, 2, 0, 1, 1, 5, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 5, 1, 1 , 1, 3, 1, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0
#Kursk 13💥⏱️10, 18, 14, 13, 14, 9, 12, 9, 8, 25, 19, 19, 19, 11, 18 23, 23, 20, 33, 21, 25, 15, 23, 15, 30, 27, 26, 22, 21, 16, 20, 23, 21 In the Kursk sector, the enemy carried out 19 air strikes, dropping 40 drones, and fired 261 times, four of which were from multiple rocket launchers. Ukrainian defenders stopped 13 invaders’ assault operations.
Over the past day, the aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Defence Forces hit nine areas where enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated.
Thank you!
Now there was a slightly bigger change. Lyman and Novopavlivka increased by about 30% compared to before, while Pokrovsk decreased even more. As for Pokrovsk, they are probably aiming to try to surround the city eventually.
“Pope Leo XIV wants to hold peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. This is stated by Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to AFP.
After US Vice President JD Vance’s trip to Rome, it is clear that he wants to see the newly installed pope, Leo XIV, play an important role in world politics. Hours after the meeting, confirmation came from the Vatican.
– I believe that the Pope and the entire Vatican want to be of real help and cooperate to hopefully achieve a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, says JD Vance in an interview with NBC News.”
This is fun in so many different ways. Now it must be considered confirmed, Europe with the help of Meloni has planted the idea that the Vatican should take over the “peace talks,” which mini-swollen is now chattering about in interview after interview.
The Russian Orthodox Church deeply hates the Catholic Church, especially when the new pope has openly taken a stand for Ukraine in the conflict.
And now Moscow is supposed to travel to the Vatican for talks overseen by the pope 😂.
Nicely played by Europe, assuming that Moscow just wants to prolong the war as much as possible. And wanting to maneuver Russia into a corner where even Trump and mini-swollen understand that Moscow is driving the war.
The Swedish defense industry is growing rapidly and turnover has increased by over 56 percent in 2024. This means 500 new jobs per month, reports SR Ekot.
It is primarily the medium-sized Swedish subcontractors that are growing. The growth is due to the large investments that Sweden and allied countries have made in defense.
Congratulations in that case. Maybe we can now manage to stage two plays per month if we really push ourselves 😳.
Keep one and send one to Ukraine. Maybe it won’t go far, but better than nothing.
The twelve Archers they have received have worked well for over a year, so they might slowly start getting more.
The EU is to review the Union’s cooperation agreement with Israel due to the country’s warfare in Gaza, reports Reuters. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas confirmed the news after a meeting with the foreign ministers of the member countries.
“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic,” she said, urging Israel to allow more emergency aid to reach the population.
The agreement, which came into force in 2000, includes political and economic cooperation conditions. 17 out of the EU’s 27 member countries voted to review the agreement, according to diplomats cited by the news agency.
OT: Michael B Tretow has passed away.
“Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus mourn Michael B Tretow after the news of his death. The legendary sound engineer worked on all of ABBA’s albums except the latest one from 2021.
Michael B Tretow was 80 years old.”
Honoring him by playing this (which some claim is about Russians and not raisins).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNm18BRCo0M
“Donald Trump has now decided on how the enormous air defense system called ‘the golden dome’ will look. In a speech together with Defense Minister Pete Hegseth, the President announced that the project will cost almost 1,700 billion kronor.
‘The golden dome’, inspired by the Israeli air defense, will take several years to build.”
To put the cost into perspective, it is equivalent to approximately 10% of a year’s budget deficit (in 2023, the budget deficit was almost exactly 1,700 billion USD).
At times, it is important to save money, but when it comes to projects he himself likes, it’s okay to waste, or when it comes to giving his friends favorable contracts and grants.
Otherwise, it fits well with the strategy that the USA isolates itself and does not interfere in the rest of the world by trying to curb crises where they arise other than through diplomacy and economic incentives (sanctions, tariffs, promises of agreements, etc.).
Instead, the focus is on protecting oneself, and then the world can burn as it pleases.
America First.
I am starting to doubt, for example, whether the USA would actually actively help Taiwan if China makes an attempt.
As long as TSMC has the majority of its production in Taiwan, the USA will protect them. Now TSMC will start production in the USA and when it is up and running, it is not as certain that the USA will bomb the Chinese if they launch an attack, they may settle for leveling the chip factories to the ground and withdrawing.
Sounds likely, of course. They have protection for a few more years.
China probably realizes that they will never achieve independence for the factories by attacking, maybe it’s better to wait until they don’t need to use as much violence.
The Chinese population probably wouldn’t appreciate any massacre of the population in Taiwan. They are Han Chinese and not Uighurs, Vietnamese, or Koreans.
“The 🇪🇺EU has already delivered two-thirds (~1.3 out of 2 million) of the promised shells to 🇺🇦Ukraine — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha Work is underway to send the rest as soon as possible.”
“Last night, Russia launched 76 Shahed & other drones from Kursk, Orel, and Bryansk. Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 63 — 22 destroyed by firepower, 41 jammed by EW systems.”
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lpnxackah22s
“Donald Trump is not worried about Russia showing signs of military buildup along the borders with Finland and Norway, reports SVT News.
– No, I’m not worried at all about that. These are two countries that will be very safe, said the American president to the TV channel’s correspondent during a press conference in the Oval Office.”
It turns out that China is starting to compete instead.
No wonder Trump negotiated massive sales of NVIDIA’s AI chip when he was in QATAR.
“The US’s attempt to reduce the export of AI chips to China has been a failure. That’s according to Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang at a tech event in Taiwan, AFP writes.
According to Huang, Nvidia’s market share has plummeted to 50 percent from a previous 95 percent at the beginning of Joe Biden’s term. One reason for this is that local Chinese manufacturers have been motivated to improve their own products.
– The local companies are very skilled and very determined, and the export restrictions gave them the energy and support to accelerate their development, says Huang.”
https://omni.se/usa-s-reglerade-export-av-ai-chip-har-misslyckats/a/o328Qg
Companies importing goods from China to the USA are now rushing to convert their warehouses into so-called bonded warehouses, which offer relief from Donald Trump’s tariffs. This is reported by Reuters.
There are now around 1,700 bonded warehouses across the USA, but as demand has increased significantly, more and more are considering converting their current facilities. In bonded warehouses, customs duties for imported goods are only paid when the goods leave the warehouse and are sold, which means that companies have better control over their costs.
“The 13th Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine evacuated an injured Defender for 12 kilometers using a ground robotic system. Glory!”
https://bsky.app/profile/antongerashchenko.bsky.social/post/3lpnytp75h22v
“So Russians shop for Swedish luxury products – circumventing the restrictions
To bypass these obstacles [sanctions], Russian consumers have started using alternative methods to access foreign goods. One such method is personal shoppers who buy goods abroad and send them to Russia.”
https://www.svt.se/kultur/sa-shoppar-ryssar-svenska-lyxprodukter-kringgar-restriktionerna“
“Partisan group ATESH—an underground resistance movement operating in occupied territories—has destroyed a Russian EW vehicle in Kherson’s Henichesk district.”
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lpny6kvbfs2s
“Stavropol, Russia 💥👀”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lpo2g7mal22k
“AFU struck the Bolkhov Semiconductor Devices Plant in the Oryol region, an important element of the Russian military industry. ❗️The main area of activity of the: development and production of electronic products for radio-electronic equipment.”
“The 28th Brigade’s Drone Battalion spots a Russian T-80 tank in cover — and takes it out with a fiber-optic guided FPV drone. One precise hit, total destruction. The tank burns.”
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lpnyeu54m22s
“On Russian Telegram: The demographic collapse will be solved by forcing Ukraine and neighbors to become Russian, a formula proved by Putin through the forced deportation of over 800,000 Ukrainian children since the occupation of Crimea. Putin has been indicted as a war criminal for this reason 1/4”
A couple of comments on the account of the situation regarding Gaza and related matters.
Regarding the UN’s role in the partition of the country, there is reason for clarification. In its decision (resolution 181, November 29, 1947), the UN General Assembly proposed that Palestine be divided into a Jewish and an Arab part. However, it is primarily only the Security Council that can make legally binding decisions in the name of the UN (1). Even though the General Assembly in the above-mentioned resolution urged the Security Council to make such a decision, it never happened. Israel was declared a state on May 14, 1948 (2). Then things happened as they did.
It is not realistic that today’s conflict would be resolved by Palestinian refugees or their descendants being granted the right to return to present-day Israel. However, there have been proposals for Palestinians to be economically compensated for the property they lost when they were forced out of their homes and land. With a significant sum in their pockets, they should be able to be received by surrounding Arab states. The EU has also offered to help finance such a solution. Apparently, this has been rejected by Israel. Bo Rothstein, who is always worth reading, wrote about this quite recently in Fokus (3). (In my somewhat biased opinion, social scientists and worth reading are not the main association.)
A quote from the article:
“Regardless of whether their parents or grandparents once voluntarily fled in the hope of soon being able to return under the protection of the victorious Arab armies, or whether they were expelled by Israeli forces, an injustice has been committed against the Palestinian refugees. Something that was theirs has been taken from them and for this, they are entitled to compensation. The property they left behind has a market value today, the income they lost can be estimated.”
1.
https://fn.se/vi-gor/vi-utbildar-och-informerar/fn-info/fn-som-organisation/
2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel
3.
https://www.fokus.se/opinion/den-forbisedda-fredslosningen/
Rothstein writes in a follow-up article regarding the possibility for Arab states to welcome refugees from Gaza.
Approximately two million inhabitants in Gaza.
“For the Arab countries, this would involve about half a percent of their total population. By way of comparison, it can be mentioned that Sweden only received refugees amounting to just over three percent of its own population in the years 2014-2016, i.e. six times more than what the Arab countries would need to do.”
https://www.fokus.se/opinion/arablanderna-bor-valkomna-gazas-tva-miljoner-palestinier/
The Arab states have some experience of what can happen when too many Palestinians are brought in. Chaos in Jordan and Lebanon, when Iraq attacked Kuwait, the Palestinian guest workers sided with Iraq.
Not an easy question as no one wants to accept them.
That Israel won the people’s middle votes both in Sweden and internationally has apparently made the “independent” Svt go into overdrive. Now the people shall be lectured! We are constantly fed with the idea that it is only a matter of time before the Palestinians starve to death, that only innocent women and children are killed, in schools and hospitals. We should overlook the fact that Hamas uses human shields.
Hamas is and has always been a terrorist organization that uses civilians and civilian lives to further its own cause. In order to continue fighting, the terrorists need food, a lot of food, their caloric needs are several times higher than that of a child. In Hamas’ world, children must take a back seat to the fighters, starving children only promote their support. Their cynicism is terrible.
Relief supplies are on the way and Israel is trying to organize it so that civilians receive food and it is not taken by Hamas, which has happened before. Hamas has then used the food as a tool of power over the civilian population.
Excerpt from an article in DN below.
“Today, most of these authorities and their leaders are gone, but Hamas continues to control the strip. Protests against Hamas that have broken out have been ruthlessly suppressed by Sahem, Hamas’ unit for political control. One of Sahem’s tasks, besides silencing critics and killing suspected collaborators, is to ensure that no Gazans agree to participate in the distribution of emergency aid and assistance. As soon as Israel managed to recruit independent Palestinians for the distribution of food and water, they have been killed by Sahem’s agents. Control over the goods, and their sale, is central to Hamas’ continued rule. To break that pattern, the USA and Israel have now established a new method, which will soon be launched, with Americans in the role of distributors. This, it is hoped in Jerusalem, will cut off Hamas’ revenues from the severed aid.”
https://www.dn.se/varlden/nathan-shachar-hamas-ledare-dodad-men-fa-tecken-pa-okad-forhandlingsvilja/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR5oNEQd8YjBMYMM8D7_yIWHYFhbZZ_TTzOtj7_zUfJs_wp10qKONmOmyEqI9Q_aem_7C9oq8pyuYBzmGo2rm5dGA
I agree: Within mass media and culture, we have a gathering of people who consider themselves to be the moral and intellectual elite. An elite that seems to believe that it is obvious that if a biological man considers himself a woman, then he should have the right to change in women’s changing rooms. The potential discomfort of biological women of all ages, from the elderly to those who are mentally no more than girls, is irrelevant. Even rapists should have the right to serve their prison sentence in women’s prisons.
Then, of course, one should have the right to change names as many times as one wants. Even change social security numbers. Great for criminals. However, it creates difficulties for law enforcement and also for ordinary citizens who may need to scrutinize a person with whom they are about to do business. Such things should of course be disregarded for the greater good.
Then the self-proclaimed elite is surprised and upset when people eventually choose to vote for those who run on opposition to their “fine” political views. Which, as is known, can result in a more or less repugnant person.
Hamas is of course a terrorist organization that should cease to exist, but can it really be claimed that civilians are not incredibly hard hit by the war?
If we compare it to the war in Ukraine, what Israel is doing would be equivalent to Ukraine indiscriminately bombing Russian cities and hospitals. That is, in roughly the same way that Russia is doing today.
You don’t bomb a hospital just because you suspect someone is hiding there, no matter how cowardly it is to actually hide there.
You can be against Hamas and what they stand for and still think that Israel is committing excesses.
But it seems to be impossible in today’s society where everything has to be polarized.
If you say something negative about Israel, you are automatically for Hamas and want to eradicate all Jews.
If you say something negative about Hamas, you support genocide against all Palestinians.
Israel does not engage in indiscriminate bombing; they try to move the civilian population around so they will not be affected.
Clearly, the distribution of food has not been successful as Hamas has taken it to their warehouses while the population has been left without. This must come to an end, and the solution is not to fill Hamas’ warehouses even more but to ensure that the food reaches the civilian population.
Yes, Hamas’ goal is a wiped-out Israel, not a thriving Palestine. Other Palestinians are merely human shields that can be exploited for propaganda purposes. The more women and children are claimed to have been killed by Israel, the more media and activists serve Hamas’ agenda. That Israel, in turn, uses excessive force is of course true; initially, Israel warned the residents of a house before it was bombed, but now I don’t know if that is still being done.
Hamas counted on Israel using excessive force, so they struck as hard as possible on the 7th of October, targeting soft goals, youth, and families. They know they cannot defeat Israel, but if Israel’s revenge becomes bloody enough, with many women and children killed, Israel loses in reputation and gains more enemies in the world, which is a partial victory for Hamas. Netanyahu’s talk of relocating Palestinians to other countries does not work; the UN has granted them permanent refugee status, and as I understand it, the Arab League has agreed never to grant citizenship to a Palestinian; they will continue the fight against Israel.
A book recommendation: “Israel and Her Enemies” by Bengt G Nilsson.
Thank you johanno1, don’t have time to write much today but China is interesting in so many different ways.
A fundamental principle in the relationship with China has been the One-China policy, which means that the world recognizes that there is only one China and that Taiwan is a part of it. The policy also means that China accepts that Taiwan has a different system of governance than mainland China.
This delicate balance has been in place for a long time, but stronger forces in Taiwan want to declare independence and break away from China, while stronger forces in mainland China want to incorporate Taiwan into the mainland Chinese political system and prevent independence.
The USA has always been clear about the One-China policy, but Trump and the mini-swollen one are of course happily dancing around the Chinese vases, while China of course takes the opportunity to escalate.
Regarding other China-related issues such as the borders with India, they have been disputed for over 100 years, a result of Britain’s colonial claims. The conflict has persisted despite China’s transformation through Maoist revolution. The same can be said about border conflicts with Russia, which have been ongoing for almost 160 years. China is playing the long game and has achieved a partial victory against Moscow by now having free passage even with warships through the disputed border river Amur.
It should be noted that every time India and Pakistan heat up, China usually takes the opportunity to assert its positions in the border areas.
“Mer filmklipp av skador på Bolkhov Semiconductor Devices Plant i Oryol Regionen.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lpof53ys2s2g
OT: Speaking of a Swede keeping quiet. 😄
“A Swedish lesser black-backed gull that was on its way to Sweden after wintering in Congo-Kinshasa was captured by Ethiopian locals – and suspected of being a spy bird, reports TV4 News.
Above all, it was a transmitter on the bird’s back that aroused suspicion. But it was not a spy tool. It is used in a Swedish research project mapping lesser black-backed gulls and common cranes from the Baltic Sea area, says ornithologist Niklas Aronsson.”
https://omni.se/svensk-silltrut-misstanktes-vara-spion-i-etiopien/a/bmxoxk
Andriy Portnov, en tidigare högt uppsatt tjänsteman i den före detta ukrainska presidenten Viktor Yanukovychs administration, sköts till döds av okända angripare utanför American School i Madrid, rapporterade Reuters den 21 maj med hänvisning till en källa nära utredningen.
Watched “independent” SVT’s The Game about nuclear power that aired on The World of Science.
Now SVT has taken its false indoctrination to new levels by creating a series where they do their utmost to smear nuclear power.
Linus Brohult, the journalist who produced The Game about nuclear power, is a former environmental activist with a background in the Green Party’s youth organization and convicted of incitement to serious crime in connection with a sabotage action directed against a highway construction in Stockholm.
There are also several professors and experts involved in the Green Party and the Left Party. It’s all about it being expensive and dangerous.
One of the worst programs I have seen since they mocked those who doubted Northvolt.
Really strange if it happened during the World of Science. They think one should be able to stick to the facts.
Of course, it will be expensive but the danger is mostly imaginary. Like people who are afraid they will die if they take a flight but have no problem walking around in the city.
The election campaign has started on SVT/SR.
Debate today about the financing of nuclear power. Unfortunately, this is something that the previous nuclear shutdowns have led to. No one dares to invest money when there is a risk that the Green Party will hold the balance of power.
Without the environmental Taliban, financing would not have been a problem.
It’s called establishment opinions. They exist in our mainstream media, that is, media owned by Bonnier or Schibsted and SVT-SR. Also note the news agency TT which is co-owned by Bonnier and Schibsted. Here is also Omni, which is often referred to here in the thread. Omni is owned by Schibsted. Those who search on Google on a mobile phone also get news snippets from outlets like Nyheter 24 or Dagens PS or Han Oscarsson who was previously on TV4. All mainstream media-colored material. Those who do not want to see the world through rose-colored or green-colored glasses can turn to independent media online. Here you can find Gröning and Blomgren and Stefan Sauk, among others. It feels liberating.
Followed by an opinion article in Aftonbladet from Greenpeace where they try to make it sound like nuclear power would not be good for the climate. When the argument actually is about it taking a little longer before we have fully started production compared to how it might potentially work if we ignored nuclear power and continued with an ideal scenario of wind power.
Sigh.
https://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/a/eMgXwg/greenpeace-sverige-finns-flera-starka-skal-att-saga-nej-till-ny-karnkraft
(The only problem I have with nuclear power is the economic aspect, and if we as citizens are to pay for it, I prefer that we as citizens also have ownership.)
I agree regarding ownership.
Please an state ownership that preferably lies outside of Vattenfall and that does not own any other alternative power sources so that they do not tamper with power production to maximize their profit.
In what way do you mean that Vattenfall is tampering with power production?
I don’t mean that they do it, but it’s quite easy to do if you are a major player and it’s an oligopoly. It’s better for customers if you let the different types of energy sources compete with each other.
With state ownership, customer benefit should be the overriding factor instead of the company’s ability to generate profit.
Don’t be fooled – those with capital in Sweden have placed an order for M about a huge investment in nuclear power that we will have to pay for.
It’s no better than the green deception that some are never allowed to criticize…
Vattenfall is thinking right and their focus is on small modular nuclear power plants.
If we get this going, the municipalities that need it within their own electricity companies will be able to get loans from the state to build one, and then the municipality has solved its crisis – I guess a dozen or so would be enough?
This mammoth investment in new reactors where we reinvent the wheel without having the knowledge within the country will end up costing three times the forecast.
Then we’ll get a fixed electricity price from all of this at 80 öre, I think that was the last figure?
The advantage of having many small-scale power plants located close to consumers is that we minimize transmission losses and avoid a massive expansion of the electricity grid, which would be necessary if we were to maximize the expansion of solar and wind power.
Saw that program and it was mostly a lot of opinions and a little presentation of facts. I want to see calculations.
Yes, nuclear power is expensive to build and can take a long time, but that’s not a rule. Olkiluoto 3 and Flamanville are large and complex reactors that had not been built before, the planning was done afterwards.
Olkiluoto 3 is 1600MW, a modern Vestas wind turbine for onshore installation is for example 7.2MW. The availability for Olkiluoto 3 was 84.9% last year, which is low due to longer shutdowns, there is a certain learning curve. It produced 9.69TWh.
Wind power in Finland produced 19.9TWh last year. The total installed wind power capacity at the end of the year was 8358MW, distributed among 1835 wind turbines. A total of 235 power plants with 1414MW capacity were added during the year. So, one could say that the average power during the year was 6944MW distributed among 1721 power plants. Looking at the availability over the year, it was 32.7%.
If we were to replace Olkiluto 3 with, for example, 7.2MW Vestas turbines, it would be 578 wind turbines just to replace the average power, then we would still have unpredictable power, so we will need imports, batteries, or pumped-storage power plants.
Ajdå.
“Large-scale fire at the Bilotserkivska Thermal Power Plant in Kyiv region.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lpoflfdnik2g
“Two people died in a large-scale fire at the Bilotserkivska CHP plant in the Kyiv region. It was allegedly during technical work that the fire broke out.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lpog4pbmws2g
“Drone threat in Moscow region 🦅🦅🦅”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lpoguw2yn22g
“Sumy must be ours!” – Putin was told during a meeting in Kursk region of Russia. Putin did not object: “That’s why Alexander Yevseyevich [current governor] was elected, he also wants more.” This is exactly how much Putin wants peace – wanting to cease another #Ukrainian city.”
https://bsky.app/profile/antongerashchenko.bsky.social/post/3lpogkik5f22h
Now today’s Trump is higher than himself last time, in a month he might pass the zero line.
You know what I believe – that Trump will pick the low-hanging fruit so that citizens will be better off and his popularity will rise (again).
You mean that the citizens believe they are better off?
Right now, they are probably so relieved that the worst tariffs disappeared that out of pure joy they have already forgotten that it was Trump who first introduced them (Americans seem to have a terrible memory when it comes to Trump). 😄
Citizens in general want a few things – jobs, advice, security, housing, and a good future for their children.
If voters in the USA feel they are doing better in the above issues, his popularity will rise.
“A 203mm 2S7 “Pion” self-propelled artillery system, still in service with Ukraine’s 43rd Artillery Brigade.”
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lpoikp66v22s
“A ship from the Russian shadow fleet has carried out a “suspicious maneuver” next to a Swedish-Polish cable in the Baltic Sea, writes Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on X.”
https://omni.se/a/8qMWwE
It will be interesting to see what comes of it.
Lower them – torpedo straight into the side from our submarine in surface position with the Swedish flag waving in the wind.
I miss the king, or at least a doll representing his majesty riding the torpedo 🧐.
“Dan opposes Romanian peacekeepers in Ukraine but affirms pro-Kyiv course. “First, to have a big operational support on Romanian territory, yes. To be part of the armies guaranteeing peace in Ukraine, no,” Romanian President-elect Nicusor Dan told Politico.”
https://bsky.app/profile/kyivindependent.com/post/3lpomkv45p223
https://kyivindependent.com/president-elect-dan-opposes-romanian-peacekeepers-in-ukraine-but-affirms-pro-kyiv-course/
“The US has tested a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, it has covered about 7,000 km, — Pentagon ❗️The launch was carried out from the Vandenberg base in California. The missile reached its target at a test site in the Marshall Islands.”
Får väl betraktas som en strategisk signal till Danmark 😳.
It may well be considered as a strategic signal to Denmark 😳.
Is it getting so tight on money in the state treasury that they want to cut pensions? They are so poor for most people.
“Russian propagandists on Solovyov’s show propose abolishing Russian pensions, arguing that elderly people should be supported by the children they “gave birth to,” otherwise they “should die.””
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3lpomh7rahs2c
🥳👍🏻
“US Senator Chuck Grassley: «Putin has kidnapped thousands of children to brainwash and Russify them, to destroy their cultural heritage. This is a moral outrage. I introduced a bipartisan resolution today calling for return of these children before peace agreement is finalized.»”
It’s worse than that – Russia has several hundred thousand UA children and teenagers who are already being trained militarily to become the next group to fight in Ukraine.
Russia: “The market for new road construction equipment is still in a nosedive: sales fell by 36.6% in the first quarter.”
Shipments grew in the excavator segment by 39%, truck-mounted cranes by 7%, and mini-loaders by 1%. The association does not provide absolute figures.”
https://bsky.app/profile/prune602.bsky.social/post/3lpooacnots2q
😂 Trump gets rid of Elon (until the next election when he needs Twitter and his money).
https://bsky.app/profile/nasko79.bsky.social/post/3lpoiuhpqos2z
I kept my finger on the trigger for one day too long so Blankspot beat me to it 😀
Tomorrow there will be a post about this – please bear with us that it will be on a weekday…
https://blankspot.se/uppgifter-ud-diplomat-och-kurdisk-aktivist-offrades-i-byte-for-medin/
Rubio failed to call Putin a war criminal when asked directly:
– Senator Keating: Putin. Is he a war criminal?
– Rubio: What happened there does look like war crimes. But our main goal is to stop the war.
– Senator Keating: Is he a war criminal?
– Rubio: We can’t stop the war without talking to Mr. Putin.
– Senator Keating: No, it’s pretty simple. Is he a war criminal?
– Rubio: This is the person we’re talking to!
– Senator Keating: Is Putin a war criminal? It’s not complicated.
– Rubio: I’m trying to answer by saying that we’re working to stop the war right now.
Unfortunately to see how Pu has taken control of the US government through the proxy in the White House. Tr and Pu should not be allowed to talk to each other.
“A Russian patriot is absolutely outraged. The scene: a cemetery of Great Patriotic War veterans is literally flooded with sewage. It seems, once again, Russia couldn’t care less about its own “heroes.”
https://bsky.app/profile/wartranslated.bsky.social/post/3lpowbqnnrs2u“
“Exclusive: Intercepted radio chatter and drone footage appear to capture Russian orders to kill surrendering Ukrainian troops”
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/21/europe/russian-forces-ukrainian-troops-radio-chatter-intl-invs
Terrible, accidentally saw the movie about the incident.
😡😡😡
🇺🇸 Trump says Russia shouldn’t have been kicked out of the “G8.”
At a White House meeting with South Africa’s president, he called the G8 format better than the G7 and said it would be better if Russia were still part of it. He also claimed G7 and G20 wouldn’t matter without the US.
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lpp7i3cjy22s
The EU imposes additional sanctions against Russia while Trump invites them into the inner circle.
He has never thought to ask France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the EU what they think of that proposal?
If someone claims that Ukraine’s pursuit of NATO membership led to Russia’s invasion, show them this picture. This is Ukrainian NATO sentiment before Russia’s occupation of Crimea and invasion of Donbas in 2014. NATO is Ukraine’s response to Russian aggression, not the other way around.
https://bsky.app/profile/alexvoronov.bsky.social/post/3lpp6jsgk2c23
Onsdagsfylla 🥳
Glory to Ukraine 💛💙
Friday all week 🥳🍾
rump must go.
More dangerous than slime through.
Jan Knutsson has been suggested as the name of the protonmail that sent Thyberg’s pictures to the government office.
Possible that the sender also had a grudge against our NATO ambassador. Knutsson was the head of the cabinet when the diplomat who died did not receive a new assignment as ambassador but got some crappy job at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.