Quite clear that someone, USA or RU, has started leaking embarrassing information for the Trump administration. Hegseth seems to have it the toughest right now โ someone is firing back where it hurts.
Guess if there will be more ๐
I am convinced that Trump has had a working group for several years now that has been in direct contact with RU, possibly through channels that the US government would not have insight into, so there is likely more to uncover here and ultimately it might be a violation of the Logan Act, perhaps?
The US security service probably does what they always do and saves up for a rainy day, just like all other security services. Slightly off-topic, but I read somewhere that when new candidates for sensitive positions need approval from the US security services, they never approve those they don’t have any dirt on because they can’t be controlled.
Yesterday you heard Macron being very clear and engaging in excellent strategic communication that made an old Russophobe teary-eyed and all warm where the heart would have been.
Kier Starmer is long-suffering, has definitely not forgotten the Battle of Castillon, so he doesn’t want to be left behind.
We wrote a while ago that it seems like Europe has something up its sleeve because otherwise all this offensive material wouldn’t be delivered to Ukraine ๐ง
Yesterday we posted about the US absolute railroad-mineral deal with Ukraine where they are essentially supposed to have everything from Ukraine for free for all eternity, and not offer anything in return, absolutely no security guarantees โ now don’t make the mistake of not understanding that the US has other goals in mind and this is just a symptom of that, so nothing to be upset about anymore, just like Trump’s all over the place statements. We left these types of agreements behind when the colonial powers fell and don’t want them back anywhere in the world.
However, what is important is that Zelensky has almost broken ties with the US now โ this probably won’t sit well with Trump at all, if one were to guess. A very clear statement from Zelensky that probably made Trump both spit and hiss.
And it’s telling that Putin is now demanding that Zelensky must resign to continue on the path to eternal peace. The quick-witted remember that Trump already tried this. Zelensky is doing a good job, indeed ๐
Overall, one can conclude that Europe is presumably preparing for a beating unless Kier Starmer is lying. At the very least, there should be air protection and troops in western Ukraine in the near future so our friends can move everything they have eastward.
Now, in a couple of posts, I have described what I sincerely believe is Putin’s plan and also Trump’s plan, but that doesn’t mean they will succeed.
If the EU makes a number of tough decisions this spring, we can absolutely achieve our eternal peace when Russia turns inward โ something they were criticized for by many friends of Ukraine even into 2024 when they hinted at it. The eternal peace has ruined too many to believe that Russia will come to its senses.
Here comes a really substantial Saturday rant because fewer people read, so maybe I can get away with it ๐
It arose from three recent events โ
-a member of the government day trades stocks during working hours with insider information.
-we are now supposed to work until we are 75 (according to an economist) but we are net contributors to all sorts of things around the world because we are good people โ tell that to all the companies that now need to pay dearly to adapt all offices for older people with handles and raised toilets, and no thresholds so that walkers can get through.
What will 75-year-olds work with, perhaps there are vacancies in elderly care?
-the government wants to go big with nuclear power and build new and large facilities since none of the decommissioned reactors could be restarted when the Tidรถ League took office. But apparently, they can restart 6 in Germany. Restarting would mean no new nuclear power deal with huge capital flows, so in Sweden, we were probably quick to start scrapping, maybe?
I simply had enough ๐ก
Just like when our opposition went all-in on “green technology” that is now going bankrupt, causing skyrocketing losses for us taxpayers, Stegra is probably not far off, so the current government doesn’t want to be left behind โ never miss a good crisis is the saying, and now defense is to be strengthened and electricity production expanded.
A lesson that is difficult for many to learn is that all political parties are equally bad at doing favors for the business community โ they just bet on different horses and profile themselves differently. I get more upset when a person who claims to be a good Christian philosopher robs me than when an ultra-capitalist with armed robbery written on their t-shirt does what is expected of them.
I always respected Maria W from the Green Party as a politician, for example. When she stepped down from her political duties, she made a comet-like career in green technology โ her first job was probably at a company that provided a fuel product that the Green Party had pushed for legislation on in aviation fuel.
Then the classic with flying โ flight shame only applies to us – not to those who tell us to feel flight shame, the absolute best was the paid influencer who posted about flight shame on Instagram while on the flight to Mallorca, I think it was.
The big losers are always the citizens who just try to do the right thing but end up with skyrocketing electricity bills instead.
โ and now we have less opportunity to strengthen the defense of our country.
Those who didn’t fly at all on their vacation or bought a diesel car – they lost the most of all because that’s absolutely not what those who profile themselves on the issue do. Those who tell us to be environmentally friendly and shut down our critical electricity production for the sake of the environment drive gasoline-guzzling pickups, own large boats, or fly back and forth between Finland โ Sweden to meet partners, or to and from Brussels every week.
Taking the train to Brussels is also a myth that absolutely no one does โ they jump on the plane gladly on Thursdays, and anyone with some sense rebooks from business to economy and thanks for the money after signing up for weekend meetings as well. There were even some EU politicians who had taken a picture from the train station on their way to Brussels recently, and then jumped into a taxi to the airport to not miss the flight ๐
Or all the celebrities and politicians who take private jets to various environmental conferences – and tell us not to fly and be grateful for high electricity bills because it’s good for the environment.
Because it is in the name of the environment that the major deteriorations have been made for quite some time now.
It was a bit off topic but I now believe that Europe is overdoing its defense efforts, and by far – exactly where this will lead is difficult to know since promises may not yet be binding contracts. Lobby groups are sitting rubbing their hands just like the lobby groups in Sweden that convinced us to shut down the electricity production that could have had a dampening effect on electricity prices so that private actors, mainly in solar and wind, thought they would make a fortune.
Ownership of wind power has proven to be a losing concept as there is a lot of wind power when prices are low and vice versa, which is starting to lead to bankruptcies, write-offs, and reduced investments. Do you think there was a lack of experts trying to highlight that but were called anti-environmental and subjected to backlash because they had the audacity to be competent?
An business idea cannot reasonably depend on state support to survive, provided that the state does not choose to take over a market entirely as national infrastructure. But then there should also be price control towards the end customer and not private profits – either one or the other. If we pay for the party, we should also benefit from it as taxpayers.
By the way, what happens to the rusting wind turbines when companies go bankrupt – yes, you guessed it right, politicians have considered if they can hold those who rented out the land accountable instead – be environmentally friendly until we shut you down ๐
Capitalism in good times and socialize losses in bad times is what it’s jokingly called when our banks are always saved with tax money regardless of whether it’s a left or right-wing government. Iceland was the only one that made the banks accountable for their investments and look at how Iceland is doing today (it’s doing well).
Germany has just demolished its newest coal power plant that was commissioned six years ago, so the madness is not over yet if you thought so – and the Germans know very well the bad situation they are in ๐ถ
Of course, the same goes for nuclear power now – never miss a good crisis even though it is well known that Russia is a major threat to Europe today.
A sensible proposal to get electricity production within a reasonable time is these small nuclear power plants (SMR) that are off-the-shelf like large containers – they cost around 10 billion SEK and would solve the electricity supply locally for a municipality in an electricity crisis – one reactor is enough for 200,000 households.
If you consider that every municipality is building swimming pools for 2 billion SEK nowadays, and that the electricity shortage is actually only in electricity area S4, maybe a dozen of these would solve the problem?
Moreover, the security around them is probably less than for our large nuclear power plants and they can be placed almost anywhere?
But that’s not what the industry lobbying wants – that municipalities could solve their energy needs within the municipal company with zero profit. So the government naturally has the same big plans for nuclear power as the previous government had for its green initiatives – go big (go broke) and with long lead times.
Anyway, and I truly apologize for the lengthy digression on a Saturday – just when Europe wants to restart its most electricity-intensive industry, the defense industry, the consequences of shutting down vast amounts of electricity production in the name of goodness hit us like a ton of bricks.
The problem with the defense industry is that it needs electricity supply 24/7 and not just when the wind blows. It needs everything else too, by the way.
Moreover, the high electricity prices make the price per grenade higher, so we can produce fewer for the same amount of money.
So how did our THEN government with supporting parties think when they shut down nuclear power in favor of wind and solar power that require wind and sun to deliver electricity?
-because everyone knew that Russia began to rearm its defense forces as early as 2008.
Probably it was less important for them as lucrative jobs in that sector they promoted were more appealing, as it is for all politicians regardless of party color – they do favors for the business sector and secure future jobs. However, kickbacks are only in developing countries, so consultant fees into the spouse’s company are not used in Sweden for such purposes at all – for example, lectures where you can invoice a lot even if you started them this year, and it was just in a meeting room at the company in question.
It seems that if you invest like the US Congress, you always do better than the Nasdaq – or is it a myth?
But since these are areas related to national security, just like our cement production and frogs stopping military exercises and military expansion, Russian psyops are in the background trying to influence.
The fact that our wind farms in the Baltic Sea were stopped by the military was a major media scandal since apparently the military is not environmentally friendly at all, but the quick-witted quickly realized that they would disrupt our heavy attack approach against Russian landing operations from Kaliningrad at least, and also รland and Gotland. Or that our coastal missile batteries would not be able to combat the same.
The Russians tried to build the century’s robot defense with our money ๐คฃ
So in hindsight, it turned out to be a good idea with wind and solar power so Putin’s gas weapon became a dud, and he hadn’t counted on that. And no one gets a prize for guessing that the country that has 100% renewable electricity production, and all vehicles are electric, has a freedom that others can only dream of. If we get there, no one will be happier than I am from the electricity underclass – just want to make that clear so I don’t end up tarred and feathered.
But the fact that we are here today in 2025 with poor electricity production just when we want to build weapons for self-defense is not great.
So we thank France for investing in nuclear power and being able to save the rest of us in Europe.
Since we have the timeline (others can add) –
-The Great Disbandment of Regiments in the 1990s – well into the 2000s.
-Ukraine’s governments over a longer period of time that for some unfathomable reason either disarmed and promoted corruption or were poisoned.
-2008 Russia’s rearmament begins.
-NS-1 2012 (NS-2 was 2022 but never started).
-Gotland
-2014 UA war starts and is an intermediate goal.
-2015 The Great Refugee Crisis
-2016 BREXIT
-2015 to 2020 4 nuclear reactors shut down in Sweden
-2013(?) – shut down coal power, nuclear power, LNG in Europe
(did you know that throughout Europe there was the same strong pressure to demolish hydroelectric power plants partly to restore natural habitats but then for the fish’s paths to spawn).
– 2020 COVID.
-2022 Ukraine war.
Isn’t it very difficult to see that somewhere around +/- 2008 RU seriously started thinking about how to begin its conquest of Eastern Europe and that one can guess that their subversive activities then flooded into Europe at the same time as they significantly strengthened their defense forces.
The only thing I can imagine is that COVID was released by mistake and perhaps too early, what if they had started with Western Europe and Ukraine so we would have been ahead on the curve and kept our own forces in the field in relative isolation โ we probably could have bought ourselves at least half a year?
What we see above is that most of the decisions that harmed us needed to be made in countries around Europe, right? And that’s where I wanted to get after a very long digression, but it works wonders for health to get things off one’s chest.
90% of our problems could have been avoided if WE hadn’t made the decisions we did.
So, is Russia so well anchored in our decision-making processes that they can manipulate them, or is half of the government consciously serving Russia’s interests all the time?
Russia did manage to win the election for Trump twice, so they are not completely incompetent.
I jest a bit about flight shame above, but shutting down fully functional nuclear reactors that could have operated until 2035 without major repairs was a monumental waste, but also very beneficial for Russia โ and it was done right after Russia attacked Ukraine, so it was presumably part of their strategic planning, even I understand that.
And at that time, everyone understood that Russia had ambitious plans โ Gotland, for example.
They managed to halt the shutdown of hydroelectric power plants, but it was well on its way โ I spoke with consultants who were part of that process and they cried. The fact that it even started and the first ones were shut down is quite remarkable, as it was sold as hydroelectric power being a significant environmental polluter. Of course, the wind and solar power lobby also wanted hydroelectric power gone, but one would expect at least some ability for critical thinking from our elected officials, right?
We also managed to protect Cementa’s operations with a last-minute effort, but unfortunately, we got a roll-on/roll-off port in Gotland โ without explosive chambers.
And now agricultural land is supposed to be restored to wetlands โ everyone is ecstatic while our self-sufficiency rate plummets and concerns in the world rise like a spear.
We sincerely hope that our decision-makers can start valuing issues based on national security and simply shoot down the worst aberrations in the future.
Swedish Peace now believes that we should not arm ourselves more as it may provoke Russia, and instead we should engage in passive resistance like turning road signs when we are invaded โ I’m not kidding, see for yourself ๐ถ
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/svenska-freds-upprustningen-kan-reta-ryssland
Here you have some contemporary history and who wanted to be instrumental in us dismantling the defense forces, everyone probably guessed right the first time.
I read a certain Per’s Wikipedia page and they had forgotten about this, and he was a big supporter of defense instead…
I also understand that personal vested interests and ideology cannot be eliminated, but in the last 25 years, our leaders have made countless bad decisions together with the leaders in Europe, for which Ukraine is now paying the price in liters of children’s blood.
All these decisions have been made against experts’ advice and expertise, and even against the companies themselves. They have even had to remove directors-general, reshuffle boards, enact new laws, and lower/raise taxes for it to work.
Why ๐ง
Holding accountable is not a Swedish national sport at all, but we should probably start thinking in terms of national security quite soon, and Europe’s security, because the global situation is about to escalate soon, and the above is just pure self-destructive behavior in hindsight – and it never ends.
I also saw that banana flies are to be protected in the future โ some simply have too little to do in their tax-subsidized jobs, that must be the conclusion here ๐ถ
If you liked the post, feel free to share it on your channels,
If you want an entertaining comment section โ johanno1.se. The comments are of high quality, I can promise you’ll learn something new every day, and you can also post pictures.
On Substack โ now don’t forget to become paying subscribers even those of you who already follow. It’s great to see that some find it worth reading, appreciate all the effort put into this, and took the step to subscribe, but more are needed ๐
https://bsky.app/profile/johanno1.bsky.social
Swedish rescuers, those I have been in contact with, work quietly and deliver supplies to Ukraine. You don’t see them constantly on social media because they are instead working to support Ukraine.
Don't forget to donate, Ukraine's cause is ours! Support Ukraine!
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Hover over your name at the top right, select edit profile, and you will then find the setting under the language settings heading.
Good morning!
The Russian losses:
1740 KIA
23 Tanks
34 APVs (Armored Personnel Vehicles)
64 Artillery systems
1 MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System)
3 Anti-Aircraft systems
164 UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)
118 Vehicles & Fuel tanks
#SlavaUkraini
https://bsky.app/profile/matsextrude.bsky.social/post/3llim4orip22c
Any peace agreements do not yield much in the lottery row anyway. Good numbers.
Insane numbers clearly and on the rise.
How long can the Russian devils sustain such large losses?
How long can one sustain these enormous losses?
It should reasonably be approaching the breaking point soon.
As I understand it, the war has become more localized. Infantry combat at platoon level. More like skirmishes. The Russians are creeping out of their bunkers and launching daily attacks forward.
One has been wondering about that since the autumn of 2022, but sooner or later they reach the breaking point.
https://open.spotify.com/show/6cnkk1J0I1UqtxTYVUL4Fe?si=jbr3d30qSMW6wR2Tr954fA
Oops, it’s been lively here…
Placing the combat statistics between a crashed walker and two tombuteliers.
Update from 08:00 on 29.03.2025 regarding the Russian invasion
A total of 183โ๏ธfirefights were registered during the last day.
#Kharkiv 4
#Kupyansk 3โ๏ธโ๏ธ
#Lyman 16โ๏ธ๐ฅ
#Siverskyi 1
#Kramatorsk 4
#Toretsk 20
#Pokrovsk 73โ๏ธ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
#Novopavlivka 17๐ฅ
#Huliaipil 4
#Orikhivsk 8โ๏ธ
#Prydniprovsky 2
#Kursk 14๐ฅ
In the Pokrovsk sector, the AFU๐บ๐ฆ stopped 73 of the AFRF๐ท๐บ’s attacks in the areas of Panteleymonivka, Oleksandropil, Tarasivka, Yelyzavetivka, Lysivka, Kotlyne, Novosergiivka, Udachne, Novooleksandrivka, Kotlyarivka, Uspenivka, Preobrazhenka, Andriivka, and towards Kalynove.
Over the past day, the AFU๐บ๐ฆ’s air force, robotic forces, and artillery have struck nine areas with concentrations of personnel, weapons, and military equipment, an air defense system, a command center, two artillery installations, and two other targets.
Hรฅrda strider i Pokrovsk.
Edit
Saw that it was discussed further down
Thank you Johan for your recurring yellow walls, I don’t write much but read you daily!
Based on the 205’s nuance, one might think that close to half of the losses are around prokrovsk, imagine the damn intensity of those battles…..
Insane amounts of blood and material the ryzzars have thrown in lately!
๐ฏ
@GeneralStaffUA reports in the evening report losses specific to Pokrovsk.
Yesterday: Update from 10:00 PM 28.03.2025 on the Russian invasion. According to preliminary estimates, Ukrainian troops have neutralized 364 occupiers in this sector, 221 of them irreversibly. Our defenders also destroyed a tank, eight vehicles, seven motorcycles, two armored personnel carriers, a vehicle for electronic warfare, a self-propelled artillery unit, a cannon, a mortar, and two hostile checkpoints. Two vehicles, three motorcycles, two cannons, and a tank were also severely damaged. (end of report)
If we take 73 battles in Pokrovsk as a share of the total number of battles 183, 2/5. This share of the total would result in approximately 700 personnel losses. About half were reported (364). However, proportionally, there are indications in the evening report of upcoming personnel losses in the counter-report. One must, however, weigh down, say that personnel losses in Pokrovsk correspond to their share of battles in the total, weighted by 1/2.
PS regarding other types of losses such as artillery, tanks, etc., the evening report provides no indication.
Good idea by Putin! I think all democracies should take that on!
“We cannot do business/sign agreements with illegitimate leaders like Putin, Xi, Trump, Orban, etc.”
Good rule that slowly but surely cleans up the world? ๐ค
As long as China is arming itself so aggressively, we should steer away all income from them and slowly but surely break them down! Be smart!
A bit interesting that the Chinese government is stopping the deal regarding port terminals, two of which are located at the ends of the Panama Canal.
Exciting ๐
When you think the Chinese has taken a step back and is focusing on something else, he quickly takes two steps forward.
Is it an unknown proverb? ๐
The “green” in Germany seem to have a slightly more sober view of the threat from the Russians than their Swedish sisters and brothers.
Germany
Sweden
Now I don’t know how much truth there is in it, but wasn’t it Die Grune who thought the EU should label Russian gas as sustainable? With the help of Schrรถder/Russia, they influenced Die Grune to push for this and at the same time push for phasing out nuclear power? It might be a rumor, but it sounds like something Russia could do.
What I mean is that I don’t trust their sobriety.
They adjusted themselves a while ago
I think the Swedish Peace Party has a point there.
We are creating new maps in Russian where Lake Vรคnern and Lake Vรคttern are printed as land areas where you can land airplanes with the Systembolaget (Swedish alcohol retail monopoly) next to them.
All streams, rivers, and lakes are printed as roads winding through the country.
๐
At airports and in ports, we can have signs saying WELCOME TO JAPAN, then they get confused and go home. Snip snap snout, this tale is over. ๐
There is a sketch with Hasse Alfredsson from, I guess, the 1960s. It was about the telecommunication company. It was difficult to get a telephone at that time. Among other things, something along the lines of having to wait until a subscriber dies is said.
However, the point in this context is that he explains a plan to place telephone booths on all the outermost skerries. If the Russians were to attack, a recorded voice would say in Russian: “It’s mom, come home.” (From memory.)
For newcomers, it can be noted that at that time there was something called a telephone booth. For a fee, one could make calls from them, and they could also be called. (But only through the Telecommunication Company’s exchange. There were no listed phone numbers for them.)
A bit interesting that the political capital seems to be slipping away from DJT faster than you can bankrupt a casino in Atlantic City. MAGA is losing by 15% in Lancaster PA, in a district they haven’t lost since 1889, yes you read that right, 136 years. In the special election in the 6th district in Florida to replace Mick Waltz, they are trailing by three percentage points against a candidate practically unknown. In the Supreme Court election in WI where Elon Musk has poured over 20 million dollars into an arch-conservative candidate, they are behind by 8 percent. That’s why Trump didn’t dare nominate Stefonic for the UN position. They would probably lose that position in the Senate as well. American voters are already starting to speak out.
Interesting!
On bluesky, I have posted two links – the trade deficit is soaring and the USA is heading towards a recession.
Since everything is always relative, the question is whether the USA has a trick up its sleeve to fare better than us.
If they don’t, things are looking rather dark to say the least ๐
Maga thinks they have it, which is the main thing for Maga ๐.
As mentioned, there were many people in WI last week who still believe that Trump can play 8 dimensions of chess. It doesn’t really help to raise tariffs on products to remain competitive while also believing that inflation will decrease. It’s also a bit ridiculous how long it takes for some decisions to be implemented. Trump proclaims with drums and trumpets that a new car factory will now be built in Savanna. That decision was already made during the previous Trump administration. They haven’t even started. The old man will certainly be dead before he sees the fruits of his efforts. In the short term, the question is whether he will soon be thrown under the bus by his own people. His weapon has been that he has lent his name in support of various candidates in exchange for taking 2-3% of the campaign funds for MAGA and Trump. It seems to be difficult soon as it automatically means loss.
It might be good to have operations running in case we need to convert uranium into plutonium in a few years. Sweden apparently has around 850 kg of uranium stored in Sellafield. However, it is not weapons-grade plutonium, but about 6 kg is needed to make a Nagasaki bomb.
Israel is furious with the USA following the chat leaks, sources tell CBS News. What leaked in the chats was sensitive information that came from an Israeli intelligence source in Yemen and that Israel had informed the USA about, according to the reports.
Hegseth has also brought his FOX News wife to classified meetings.
All in one gang ๐ณ
He wants Waltz to take the blame and resign, but wonders if he himself is starting to get into trouble.
Although Trump probably wants to avoid firing anyone at all, that would give the other side a victory and be an acknowledgment that they actually did something wrong.
The most frightening thing is the view of humanity they exhibit in the chat. They are ordering deadly attacks where they know that relatives of the targets will be killed, girlfriends, children, wives. Pure Call of Duty threads in my opinion. Hegset is really the fool he was feared to be. Tulsi Gabbard is sitting in a congressional hearing and glancing at which of the predetermined non-answers she should take from her note lying on the table. Talk about a total collapse of trust.
FSB doesn’t need to have any spy at the Pentagon, more information if they have anyone who is part of the best girl gang at Fox News.
“โ๏ธA group of ๐ท๐บRussian soldiers, while trying to evacuate a buggy, comes under attack from a ๐บ๐ฆUkrainian FPV drone in the Donetsk region”
It will be a hectic week with work, but I’m sitting here watching UA offensive and RU offensive.
I thought RU would enter a low point now, but the highly anticipated offensive in the southern front is underway and UA is warning about the northern front.
The mud season is approaching, and then UA will probably get started?
If you want to achieve something on the battlefield, this is the year to do it.
And UA understands that nothing will come out of negotiations.
The problem with a UA offensive is that once you have managed to get a battalion through the minefield, Trump turns off the obs and flips the kill switch on the Himars and F16.
I wonder if Erdogan and Trump are cousins?
Yes – Trump has, just like the USA has done for three years, pulled the rug out from under the EU at the right time.
But now it’s do or die for Europe and the EU, so something should happen.
There are rumors of advanced plans from Europe and the UK to put their foot down and provide air protection over western Ukraine. If that happens, it’s game over for Russia. Troops will also be deployed to handle border surveillance against Belarus. This is expected to happen in about 4-6 months and without the USA. I spoke with someone who had been to Germany for an industrial fair. The Germans are apparently super angry and relieved that they are now going to rearm. They apparently laughed at the Americans’ comments that Germany cannot produce weapons. Maybe we should consider whether Trump and Putin have opened Pandora’s box. When Germany starts to rearm, it usually ends with them invading other countries.
Ok with me as long as they invade the Moscovian Empire (hrrmmpf).
I am honestly completely comfortable with a huge rearmament in Germany. It was a bit fun to joke about it at the beginning of the war, but it must not go too far so that the Germans restrain themselves. This is what their industry needs, and a strong Germany is good for the whole of Europe.
Plus, if they have good job opportunities that require a lot of electricity, there will be more people voting against those silly environmentalists.
“Fox News host Jesse Watters on future plans regarding Greenland:
โAnd being friendly to the world is what got us in this mess. We’re not in high school. We don’t need friends. Every country puts their interests first, and when our interests align, we can do business. & when they don’t – that’s life.
If we have to burn down a few bridges with Denmark to take Greenlandโฆ we’re big boys – we dropped eight bombs on Japan & now they’re our top ally in the Pacific. We may have to burn a bridge to build a big, beautiful new one to the next generation. USA is not handcuffed by history. Trump knows what we needโ
https://bsky.app/profile/antongerashchenko.bsky.social/post/3lljcot2qfc2t“
“Island was the only one that let the banks take responsibility for their investments and see how Iceland is doing today (it’s going well).”
Noted๐
Meanwhile, JD Vance and his wife spent only three hours in Greenland during a visitโentirely on a U.S. military base. Protests and a full business boycott forced them to leave, as locals refused to serve or admit them anywhere.
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3llj4foknus2r
Vance usually has a knack for offending those he visits, so he is probably considered undesirable in most democratic countries.
It’s going well now ๐.
I am continuing to work on (the yellow) wall from this morning.
In Japan, 24 nuclear reactors that were shut down after Fukushima in 2011 have been restarted. The restart process began in 2015. Two reactors were restarted last year.
I do not know exactly when these reactors were shut down, but according to the link below, the reactors were shut down between 2011-2015. Therefore, the reactors that were restarted last year had been shut down for about 10 years.
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64204
Ringhals 1 and 2 were shut down in 2020 and 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Sweden
When the current government took office in 2022, it was apparently impossible to restart these reactors. This is what Vattenfall wrote on March 18, 2023.
“It is very risky, costly, and perhaps not even possible to restart any of the decommissioned reactors at Ringhals. Instead, the focus should be on developing existing nuclear power and creating conditions for building new reactors.”
https://group.vattenfall.com/se/news-and-media/news/2023/torbjorn-wahlborg-not-reasonable-to-restart-reactor-at-ringhals
A new nuclear reactor is estimated to cost 100 billion to build.
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/experten-karnkraften-kan-bli-dyrare-an-vad-regeringen-tror
Two functioning reactors were apparently made inoperable as quickly as possible. This cost the Swedish public finances approximately 100 billion kronor.
I would very much like to know who is responsible for this completely insane destruction of capital. (Which probably also affects the country’s growth prospects.)
If you ask these types of questions, you are not climate-friendly.
Jokes aside – this is how they have managed to silence opposition to this era’s major mistake.
Incompetence, good business for competitors, or Russian influence are all good guesses, and everyone is entitled to their opinion on the matter.
It’s a shame that it’s not being investigated at least.
We had a referendum so we just followed a common decision.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_nuclear_power_referendum,_1980
What I wonder about is why a new referendum was not held before the phase-out began. There’s probably no one to blame, the responsibility lies with all politicians at that time as no one pursued that issue at all.
On the other hand, it’s not like the population raised the issue either. We probably got exactly what we deserved.
In hindsight, it’s probably quite uninteresting now, the question is instead how we solve it going forward.
SD motioned in the Parliament that the state should instruct Vattenfall not to close Ringhals 1. This was during the previous Parliament in early 2020. The motion was defeated with votes 173-174. I don’t need to mention which parties voted how.
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/halland/riksdagen-rostar-om-ringhals
Certainly, it is the future that counts. However, in that context, it may be important to note who is your/our friend to apostrophize a well-known writer in this forum.
Well, that is in the near future so it is significantly more relevant. The decision to close and decommission was made back in 2015, and Vattenfall themselves considered it unprofitable to continue operating it with the electricity prices we had in 2020.
The costs of keeping it running may have been too high, especially if long-term maintenance that would have been necessary if the decision to decommission hadn’t been made back in 2015 wasn’t carried out.
I would need to see the calculations to know if it would have been worth keeping it or not, but even if it may have required a subsidy from the state, it would probably have been better to continue operating it. However, it’s not impossible that by 2020 it was actually too late to continue operating it economically.
But again, the foundation lies in the fact that the general decision was once made to decommission. If that hadn’t happened, things would look completely different. We might not have had more nuclear power plants, but we wouldn’t have shut down the ones we had because then they would have been gradually maintained and improved as long as possible. Research and development would have continued, which might have led to better efficiency, etc. If nothing else, we would probably have been better prepared the day it was time to build something new.
Sure, the red-green coalition voted against it, but in this case, I find it difficult to determine if it was right or not.
It seems like the most important thing for many people is that we have nuclear power regardless, not that we have cheap electricity production.
Three Mile Island was in 1979, and a lot of protests against nuclear power followed, but did the public receive information about nuclear power, reactor types, generations, for example in the TV program “Technical Magazine,” etc.? If not, then it was quite obvious what the result would be.
What would the result have been if a referendum had been held after climate change was recognized as caused by carbon dioxide emissions?
You cannot have a referendum if the people have not been informed of the facts from both the yes and no sides. That is not democracy. At the same time, the result of far-reaching decisions should be able to change when new facts come to light.
Agreed, even some environmentalists are starting to realize that nuclear power may not be such a bad idea after all. Approaching the nuclear power issue based on an ancient referendum (like the red-green parties have done) when conditions change and the actual risk is seen to be minimal, is just plain foolishness.
That’s why I believe that a new referendum should have been held 10-20 years ago. The question is whether any recent surveys have even been conducted to see what people think?
As you say, it’s important to communicate information so that as many people as possible have the correct facts and don’t vote just because they are either generally terrified of nuclear power or, on the contrary, have bought into the myth that nuclear power is the only sensible alternative.
A thought… this may sound childish, but we are not dealing with “adults” either… Can’t we report ALL embezzlements – i.e. closures/strange procurements/money-draining projects/negative projects/etc.? Like the so-called “unstartable” reactors?!? It’s obviously a scam! Japan can restart reactors that are about 10 years old, and our 5-year-old ones are “impossible to restart,” so it’s clearly a scam!! Report it.
“Yes, but it won’t lead anywhere,” someone might think. Well… if reports start pouring in about this and similar issues, it will not only be burdensome for the police but eventually become a media issue, and someone might start wondering where the money REALLY goes… So report! – decommissioned reactors, unnecessarily built ponds, redeveloped farmland, etc. – you get it. Be creative; refer to corruption, economic crime, national security, false “product declaration,” insider trading, inflated invoices, etc.
When it comes to nuclear power, I think it feels outdated but I agree that more responsibility is needed in other aspects. It’s a bit too easy to get away with things now. We can vote out the politicians but the officials go free.
Wrong place.
No, he wants to report those behind the decision to shut down, but it feels like it’s too late for that now when the basis is an old referendum.
Shutting down nuclear power plants prematurely was of course a big mistake, and there are probably not many people today who think it was the right decision. Blaming the Green Party for it, on the other hand, feels dishonest since we actually had a referendum on it and the majority wanted to phase out nuclear power.
The only right thing to do would have been to have another referendum before starting the phase-out. Trying to find those responsible for why we phased out nuclear power is uninteresting; however, those responsible for not organizing a new referendum are.
When it comes to wind power, it’s really fortunate that we have it, and currently, it’s actually a good alternative after all. When it’s windy, we reduce hydroelectric power, and vice versa. It’s not surprising that it’s difficult to make it economically viable. Electricity becomes cheaper when it’s windy and more expensive when it’s calm. When hydroelectric power is used to its full capacity, the price is high, benefiting companies like Vattenfall the most, even though they are also dependent on wind power. Hydroelectric power wouldn’t be enough without wind power. Without wind power, we would have much higher electricity prices. Additionally, we would have had significant price spikes as soon as there was a shortage, as concerns would arise about the filling level of the water reservoirs (as was the case for quite a few years).
I would like to see an expansion of hydroelectric power combined with wind power and a fairer distribution of income.
Not as a final solution, but just to manage decently for another ~10 years until Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) become a viable alternative. Today, we have virtually no shortage of electricity, even though prices are high because it must be transported down to the electricity underclass.
Alternatively, if we invest in traditional nuclear power, I would prefer the state to own it if we are to contribute the capital (as the referendum also stated), or let private companies take the initiative. If they don’t see the opportunity to make a profit, it’s probably not a good solution in the end, regardless of whether they receive loans or not.
Sure, we had a referendum, I am now 50 years old and was 6 years old when the vote took place, I don’t really feel like I chose this.
It gets a bit strange when politics ignores the result for 40 years and then shuts it down when completely different conditions apply two generations later.
I completely agree, that’s why we would have needed another vote before the decommissioning began. It could easily have been done in conjunction with a regular election, as there was no rush to scrap them, and if I may guess, they would have been allowed to remain.
I think we should have a vote on how we proceed in the future regarding nuclear power, partly to confirm that the population is okay with nuclear power now, but also on how it should look, if the state should finance it, etc.
Oh, now I read this
Another factor is the debate that arises before a referendum; if it is handled well, it is significantly better than an investigation with a directive skewed by a government.
I agree. I think MatsEx is trying to save face for the red-green coalition by suggesting that we should have had a nuclear power referendum. A formal argument. No substance.
At the time of the referendum, there were 6 nuclear reactors in operation, 4 were ready to start, and 2 were under construction.
Lines 1 and 2, which together won convincingly, had a common first page on the ballot paper.
“Nuclear power is phased out at a rate that is possible considering the need for electrical power to maintain employment and welfare. To, among other things, reduce oil dependency and while waiting for renewable energy sources to become available, at most the 12 nuclear reactors that are currently in operation, ready, or under construction will be used. No further nuclear expansion shall occur. Safety considerations will be crucial for the order in which the reactors are decommissioned.”
[Link to source](https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folkomr%C3%B6stningen_om_k%C3%A4rnkraften_i_Sverige_1980)
It’s quite true in a way that things have worked out quite well. We have expanded wind power that, together with hydroelectric power, works well, and we operate enough reactors to produce the electricity needed. We export more than we import.
The people have gotten exactly what they voted for. ๐
I think Jan W has summarized it well below what we voted on ๐
Then the question is how long a referendum is valid, I think at least, a lot happens in 40 years.
No, MP has been driving the issue and pushing for changing laws, regulations, a new CEO, and something with the board – it’s all on video so not much to discuss about.
And how ecstatic they were about the closure in tweets that have been saved, which they don’t want to acknowledge today.
Since the 2006 election, we have had an “Alliance/Conservative” majority in the Parliament. The Green Party (MP) has had a maximum of 18 seats in parliament. Nuclear power is extremely expensive, no one wanted to buy it, and the only way to handle the waste is to use it up in new nuclear reactors. We export about 5,000 MW every day, so we have a surplus of electricity. Our problem is that Swedish power companies are not expanding the electricity grid at the necessary pace, and we should have ignored dividing the country into electricity zones – Germany did it.
There is a good column by Anna Dahlberg on the subject.
“Then the red-green government takes a firm grip on the management of Vattenfall. A ministerial group consisting of four ministers – Mikael Damberg, ร sa Romson, Per Bolund, and Ibrahim Baylan – is put together with the aim of making Vattenfall a leader in the transition to renewable energy.
One of the tools used is to replace parts of Vattenfall’s board. Two new board members are to ensure the “right expertise,” including the professor and nuclear power critic Tomas Kรฅberger.”
https://www.expressen.se/ledare/anna-dahlberg/s-och-mp-maste-erkanna-sitt-ansvar-for-elbristen/
From SvD
Vattenfall’s newly appointed CEO Magnus Hall faces harsh criticism from heavyweight members of the Green Party after he expressed opposition to the agreement reached by the Social Democrats and the Green Party on nuclear power. In practice, they are telling him to be silent and follow the government’s decision or leave his job.
https://www.svd.se/a/76ea98eb-1e6c-34e3-b5cd-e32f03abc1f7/vattenfall-vd-ifragasatts-efter-karnkraftskritik
Yes, absolutely, it has been a core issue for them so they are not innocent, but when it was voted on, the majority thought the same.
Therefore, another vote would have been important because then the result would likely have been the opposite.
Referendums are only advisory, and the argument that we voted on it 40 years ago is a bit ridiculous. 2/3 of the voters are no longer alive, and the remaining 1/3 may very well have a different opinion now. The world is changing, there are alternative energy sources, and nuclear power plants can be made much safer. Even existing nuclear power plants have been upgraded.
It is undeniable that the Green Party was strongly driving the recent wave of nuclear power shutdowns. We can thank the Center Party and the Social Democrats for the closure of Barsebรคck.
After the referendum, there was probably also a reduction in long-term maintenance, as well as in development and education; after a while, it became difficult to change course.
It was essentially legislated on a thought ban. All research was prohibited but allowed again after the Alliance changed the law.
Probably, when it comes to R1, the decision to phase out was made as early as 2015 with the goal of it happening in 2020, and after that it would be a dereliction of duty to carry out more long-term maintenance. By 2020, it was probably too late to decide to continue without it resulting in enormous costs, perhaps more than building anew.
However, it’s not ridiculous because that’s the line that has been pursued since then. A new referendum would have been needed to change direction.
I would rather say that it would be undemocratic not to pursue the line that the people have actually voted on until it is clear that the people want something else.
The mistake was perhaps to have a referendum from the beginning. If it had been avoided, maybe even the nuclear power policy would have changed faster when the view on nuclear power changed.
However, I would actually wish that we had more referendums (e.g. in connection with elections) and a little more direct democracy.
It would lead to faster changes based on the will of the people.
“Su-27 and MiG-29 with high-precision GBU bombs destroyed Russians.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lljgfkvkl225
“Sat pics revealed that Ukrainian forces substantially fortified the surrounding areas of Pokrovsk. The defense network is at least twice as dense as the one between Avdiivka and Pokrovsk, an area which took Russians more than 16 months to cover, while losing hundreds of thousands of Russian troops.”
A discussion about retirement at 75 is probably where we will end up if we do not want any immigration, as we have very low birth rates in Sweden. The interest in having children is so low that it is difficult to do much about it. We already have some of the world’s best conditions for families with children.
I do not agree. I do not believe in the modern Swedish family policy where women are expected to return to work soon after giving birth. And have the children in daycare from a young age. It is not the “best conditions in the world” for families with children. I have children and grandchildren in the city and see how both children and parents are not doing well. Daycares are causing ill health. Children need to be able to stay at home with their mother for much longer than is the case now. Yes, it leans towards traditional family roles. I stand by that. The low birth rates have their logic in that context.
We waited until three years or until they could start talking.
Then we knew that they could communicate discrepancies at least somewhat decently.
You see, it works perfectly fine to do so already today if you feel that it is important.
Nowadays, women are generally better educated than their men and should therefore contribute more to the development of society. It should be low-educated men who take on greater responsibility and stay at home taking care of children.
Sure, if we overlook the fact that men and women are different, think differently, and have different motivations (at the group level, of course)…
But isn’t it up to the parents themselves to prioritize? If one believes that one party should stay at home longer, perhaps they have to abstain from other things?
Or do you want the state to finance it through taxes? We already spend over 80 billion today on child benefits and parental insurance. If the birth rate were to increase so that “everyone” has children, those costs would more than double, and if we add that someone should stay at home with the children for an additional 3-4 years, the costs would skyrocket even more.
Personally, I’m not at all sure that the possibility of staying at home longer would lead to increased childbirth.
I gave up responsibility after M made all the sell-offs at greatly reduced prices to their own in Stockholm and the country.
Nordin was like a scratched record for many years, selling too cheaply out of ignorance and now wanted to improve.
When S took office with a majority, a motion was made to revalue all sell-offs to market prices and demand the difference.
The S majority government voted down the proposal.
THAT’s when I realized that everyone is playing the same game, just on different playing fields ๐
Don’t know who it was a reply to now
Oops, 10 minutes to edit now – wow
You can keep it going forever by editing a little every 10th minute.
The transfer in the form of converting rental apartments to tenant-owned apartments is the largest wealth transfer in Sweden’s history since the reduction at the end of the 17th century. Completely crazy, that’s why I have never voted for the Moderates (political party) and it became impossible when they put forward clowns like Reinfeldt and the ponytail. “Defense is a special interest” or whatever the good Fredrik said.
Yes, that too, a modern classic where practically every politician was on board ๐
Not Odenberg who resigned when he was forced to cut defense spending by 3-4 billion SEK. He was not opposed to the cuts per se, but was of the opinion that one should first determine what the defense should be able to handle, then look at the budget…
I don’t have the energy to look for sources right now. But as I remember it, the conservatives in Stockholm sold things like healthcare centers and schools at book value for inventory, etc.
The one who seeks shall find. Below is just one example. There is more for those who seek.
In January, it was revealed that the conservative alliance in Stockholm County Council had allowed six doctors to buy the healthcare center Serafen for 694,500 SEK – which was then sold on for around 20 million.
https://nyheter24.se/nyheter/inrikes/689286-nu-utreds-korruption-i-alliansens-serafen-skandal
After 2 years ๐
It is then that one is grateful that we have high taxes in Sweden ๐ข
Are we still tiptoeing around this like a boiled frog?
After all, Europe is planning to intervene in Ukraine, and practically everyone serious expects an escalation by autumn – several defense forces have increased their readiness, including Sweden.
Shouldn’t we start considering some form of conscription with intake this summer since it takes a year to train?
Haven’t we been conscripted and can’t we all be called up for a year?
The department of stupid questions… but from what I understand from Ukraine, both FPS gamers and airsoft (mil-sim) players have done quite well in the war – thanks to their “experiences”… So, should we create some kind of training for civilians through these methods?? The more people who can handle the chaos of war, the better I think… or am I completely wrong…
Hungary to conduct postal survey on Ukraine’s EU accession, โ Hungarian government spokesman It will be accompanied by an information bulletin, which will contain data only on “risks”. It will describe that Ukraine will allegedly take away all funding, farm subsidies, the 13th salaryโฆ.
https://bsky.app/profile/theukrainianreview.bsky.social/post/3lljvp6vits2x
The Hungarian economy is already rotten and extremely dependent on subsidies from the EU. This cycle of subsidies that the EU is engaged in must stop. It’s okay to provide subsidies when needed, but it must not hinder a country’s development. Hungary has been in the EU and lived on subsidies for too long.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vuฤiฤ has confirmed that representatives of Russiaโs FSB arrived in the country to assist in investigating allegations of the use of a โsound cannonโ against protesters.
https://united24media.com/latest-news/serbia-invites-russian-fsb-officers-to-investigate-use-of-sound-cannon-at-protests-7166
Serbia used sound to scare protesters a few weeks ago.
If one thinks that the big offensive isn’t happening in Ukraine… it seems to align with your analyses Johan No1!!
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3lljqnbmmw223
๐บ๐ธ Less than 30% of Americans want to join Greenland, according to a March poll from Fox News which CNNโs Anderson Cooper aired on Friday, – The Guardian ๐ฌ๐ฑ Meanwhile, 85% of Greenlanders are opposed to the US taking over the territory.
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lljthfec522o
Interesting if it’s true that barely 30% of Americans want the US to belong to Greenland. ๐๐ Seems silly to ask the question.
What I don’t understand is why they want to take over Greenland and Canada, thus getting people who vote against them? Will it become two “blue states”? The only logical thing is that the Trump alarmists are right in that case, and democracy is being undermined.
Russians have come up with a costume-bag for carrying two TM-62 anti-tank mines… It could be a bit spectacular if they are hit by a drone.
Ukraine can produce up to 5M FPV drones per year, with over 150 domestic manufacturers and one factory making 4K drones daily. Drones now account for 85% of frontline strikes, and Ukraine has surpassed Russia in UAV production. The main challenge remains funding.
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lljjkrhmmc2r
5 million per year?! Equivalent to 13700/day. Ukraine usually reports that the Russians send 2500-3000/day, surely a number is probably never detected by Ukraine, but Ukraine should have access to nearly three times as many.
One can assume that the majority are deployed in the hot sections, for example at Pokrovsk, where a couple of thousand should be used every day.
There are also many myths and claims about what gives us euphoria in life – for example, that we become happy by having children. There is research that shows the opposite, although factors such as social support, parental leave, personal preferences, and income also play a role, according to Erik Angner.
– People with children are generally less happy than people without. And people who spend time with their children have less joy in it than when they do many other things, like going to the movies, drinking alcohol, or watching sports on TV. ๐ค
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/experten-manniskor-med-barn-ar-generellt-mindre-lyckliga
I don’t believe that for a second. You can probably find some group it applies to (like 25-year-olds living in Sรถdermalm), but no more than that. Disinformation.
Confirmation bias is when one chooses to ignore information that goes against their own worldview. ๐
Interesting and it could be a partial explanation for why the birth rate is decreasing.
Pete Hegseth, the current US Defense Secretary, has confirmed that his younger brother, Phil Hegseth, holds a prominent position within the Pentagon.
Phil Hegseth serves as a senior advisor to the Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and liaison officer to the Department of Defense.
A 1967 federal nepotism law prohibits government officials from hiring, promoting or recommending relatives to any civilian position over which they exercise control.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/pete-hegseth-brother-job-wife-b2723750.html
As the blogger stated above, SOMEONE is leaking embarrassing information, not least about Hegseth, probably not fully understanding that there is more and worse… The question is just if anyone in the current administration cares?
Is icebreaking? ๐บ๐ธ ๐ซ๐ฎ
Trump Posts on ๐
@trump_repost
ยท
1h
I just played a round of Golf with Alexander Stubb, President of Finland. He is a very good player, and we won the Men’s Member-Guest Golf Tournament at Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach County, with the Legendary Gary Player, Senator Lindsey Graham, and former Congressman and highly successful Television Host, Trey Gowdy. President Stubb and I look forward to strengthening the partnership between the United States and Finland, and that includes the purchase and development of a large number of badly needed Icebreakers for the U.S., delivering Peace and International Security for our Countries, and the World. President Stubb told me, in the most powerful of words, that the United States is STRONG, and BACK, AGAIN. I AGREE!
https://x.com/trump_repost/status/1906078106341007687?s=46
What do you think they will use the icebreakers for… where is there ice… right, around Greenland and the Arctic…
They are allowed to be sold with a kill switch…
Thank you Johan!
For an analysis with explanations so one understands how everything is connected ๐ง
The Russians have a black belt in subversive activities ๐ณ
I have briefly worked with a guy who has dedicated his professional life to electricity production. He had been involved in the decommissioning of both Ringhals reactors, and he claimed that the decommissioning had nothing to do with politics.
The thick protective plate around the reactor core was actually rusted, and it was absolutely necessary to shut down both reactors. Sure, it might have been possible to replace the protective plate, but since it was rusted, the time had passed when one could simply enclose the previous closure. So, the cost for the renovation had multiplied, mostly because now it was necessary to take a completely different consideration of the core’s radioactivity – and there was therefore no economy at all in continuing to operate Ringhals 1 and 2.
His conclusion was that if one had wanted to continue operating Ringhals, one should have renovated ten to fifteen years before the shutdown.
I think that’s quite accurate. Renovating can end up being significantly more expensive than building new if you don’t continuously plan for ongoing operations and perform the maintenance required. (But in the end, that won’t help either, of course, no matter how much you renovate, the cost will eventually become too high, for example, when structural components eventually need to be replaced).
As I have written, it stems from the referendum where the majority wanted to phase out nuclear power.
Have to note that for many, the most important thing seems to be that we blame the red-green parties and the Green Party (preferably they should maybe be designated as traitors to the country?) for slowing down nuclear power (even if it was the will of the people from the beginning, why bother with democracy?) simply because we must have nuclear power at any cost regardless of whether it can become so expensive that it leads to higher electricity prices than today. ๐
Is it snowing on your hill ๐
Well, here it’s all about wearing double layers of snowmobile suits! ๐