Dueling reports:
(Is it me, or has Financial Times been weirdly Russia-leaning in recent weeks?)
China has to be told that full on world war III will not be good for business.
Do they want to be the ultimate ruler over a radioactive smoking world?
I’m not sure that reporting on the intentions of China is really pro- or anti-Russia, either way that you cut it.
I would also note that right at the top of your article it says, “U.S. officials told several news outlets on the condition of anonymity over the weekend that Russia had made the appeal to its Asian ally.”
I don’t really see any conflict between the two reports?
Brave Russian:
The US claimed that Russia had asked China for military equipment, specifically drones. Russia and China deny this.
The US has made it clear that this would be unacceptable, and there would be consequences for any country that did this.
I think it’s likely that there were talks about this between Russia and China, and the US is getting out ahead of this kind of talk, and was probably wise to get it out into the open before anything was agreed upon between Russia and China in secret.
I just saw that report on the NYT live blog. That took some serious guts.
Well damn if that doesn’t make me feel conflicted about who to root for.
Elon is such a tool.
“Two men enter - nobody leaves”
I dunno, is Elon going to be in an Iron Man suit? ‘Cause I can just see Vlad having on him a concealed poison-tipped needle to use when getting close.
Interesting timing.
A brawl between Musk and Putin would be a win-win for everyone. Either way, one villain is going down.
At some point, the West will run out of missiles it can send Ukraine. Wonder what other non-direct assistance they could give then.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who was thinking that.
Just because Zelenskyy didn’t accept a ride a week or two ago doesn’t mean he’d be unwilling to accept one in the future if circumstances change.
There are so many ways succession/exile planning can go. At some point Zelenskky might leave. I would hold the Ukrainian government has set up a line of succession in case Zelenskyy is killed. There could be plans to set up a government in exile that aren’t presently being used but could be. We don’t know, and I don’t expect we would know under the circumstances.
There was a statement by Zelenskyy that he hasn’t seen his family since the earliest day(s) of the invasion. They are certainly in a secure and secret location and they might in fact be out of the country. We don’t know, and I don’t expect we would know under the circumstances.
FOX News correspondent injured:
I don’t think China wants to get involved and their main concern is their money. And also world security.
Russia can ask all it wants. What matters is whether or not China will answer “yes” or “no” to the asking.
I worry about that, too. But try not to worry too much at this point.
Yes you’re right to correct me. China has been doing very well indeed in the last couple of decades. No way they would want to risk a change to the world order when the world order is treating it pretty well. They don’t particularly like NATO and would like to see it stop expanding but it’s something they will tolerate.
>>>cough<<<
No, that is Tulsi Gabbard claiming the US has biolabs in Ukraine. Ms. Gabbard does not speak for the US in an official capacity and is no longer even a member of Congress.
A couple of points:
- She says 25 to 30 biolabs. Which is it, Tulsi? Why can’t you give an exact number if you’re delivering “undeniable” facts?
- Yeah, research on “dangerous pathogens”. Which is a legitimate type of research. It’s the sort of research that gave us the vaccines for the Covid-19 virus. Or does Tulsi think someone just pulls a vaccine out of their ass on demand?
- What sort of “dangerous pathogens” are you referring to, Tulsi? Flu virus? MRSA bacteria? TB? E. coli? Y. pestis? Rabies? HIV? What? You have all this intel but you can define the threat beyond “dangerous pathogens”? Really? I’m not afraid of multisyllabic words, Tulsi, I mean, I just said “multisyllabic” right there.
- Tulsi wants these (unspecified number of) labs shut down and their “pathogens” destroyed. Gee, I dunno - what do you want us to do, Tulsi, drop a bomb on the labs? Oh, wait…
- The “Biden-Harris Administration” needs to work with “Russia, Ukraine, NATO, the UN”… you know, if we could work with Russia there wouldn’t BE a war going on.
- Blah, blah, blah Tulsi repeats the rumors about Covid-19 having “originated” in a “biolab” in Wuhan despite all the evidence that it came from a market in Wuhan. But don’t get confused by the facts.
- Then she says “all these labs should have been shut down two years ago”. Ignoring that the US really can’t control what’s going on in other countries, I guess she wants to halt medical research on combating diseases.
Sorry, I don’t find this source credible.
I am also wondering how Putin is paying her these days now that a sheet of toilet paper is worth more than a Russian ruble.
I am baffled about why anyone would print any of the sewage that flows from Gabbard’s mouth.
Please take anything else about Gabbard to its own thread.