Anon until things chill

X has changed their policy and now you can see where the accounts are based.

Here’s an “influencer from Texas”

The 28-point plan.
AI could come up with something more coherent, palatable, with stronger safeguards, and more detail, and less bizarre.

“The Ukrainians have suffered greatly and are tired by this war, but at least they know why they are fighting…”

That must give pause for thought to many Russians.

As usual, excellent piece by Lawrence, and my go-to blog on this war.

“Can I have 12 bottles of bleach please? That’s my IRA voice”

It’s one thing being an armchair pundit, it’s quite another when you’re in the hot seat - as Reform councillors seem to be finding out.

The silver lining is that these 2 issue policy bad faith charlatans are being exposed at council level rather than at No 10.

Only 4? It seems too civilised for me 😉

Some interesting stuff in there, Lawrence - cuts a broad swathe.
Without trying to sound flippant, do you think there’s a potential for a single decisive battle - a kind of mini-Stalingrad - that will turn the tide? Say Prokovsk, or are both sides unlikely to risk too much in one area?

Sounds good to me. It’s a pleasant place to be and you’ve got some great accounts and bloggers here - I’d wager largely due to functionality and how civil it is.
It’d be nice to see more govs, politicians, but I guess there’s little you can do about that.

Where do you think Bluesky is heading, Paul? Steady away or changes to come? Use of AI, ads, live streams? Smaller stuff like polls and the ability to set up multi-choice questions? (I like the idea of trivia quizzes)

Good spot by ChrisO.
Somebody put time, effort and thought into doing this.
Just a needlessly nasty thing to do.

Words should have meaning. Strong words should carry weight.
We’re fast heading toward the word ‘fascism’ becoming something that’s distasteful or immoral - much removed from its real meaning.
People’s anger appears to lead them to using words loosely.
Nuance, precision, not catch-all words.

Compare & contrast with the dot com bubble of 2,000.
Seems like everyone wants to be in on this next big thing, but the numbers I’m seeing make it seem like someone’s invented a legal cash printer.

Triumph of the Wool, contestants called the Woolf Pack, hosted by Rudolph Knitler
I’d probably watch that. I’d certainly like to see the Venn diagram for it.

Knit happens, Complete Knit Show, Knit Storm (basically any phrase with the word sh*t)
Wool you win?
The Woolf Pack (tad sensitive)
Life’s a Stitch
Stitchcraft
Knit or Quit
Wool Wars
Thread heads
Needles to Say (I had the last laugh)

Far too long was spent thinking up these inconsequential names

LUKOIL RECEIVES OFFER FROM GUNVOR TO PURCHASE INTERNATIONAL ASSETS PJSC “LUKOIL” informs that it received an offer from Gunvor Group Ltd. ​to purchase LUKOIL International GmbH (100% subsidiary of PJSC “LUKOIL” which owns international assets of LUKOIL Group). 

Well, that was fast

www.lukoil.com/PressCenter/...

Very strange ad.
What was the Q put to respondents?
As you say, more effective than what? Than when not using this spray?
Unless scientists, how would respondents know how effective the spray was? - 85% of people can ‘agree’ the sky is green but it’s still wrong
Vitamin K2 not so good then?

ON INTERNATIONAL ASSETS OF LUKOIL GROUP PJSC "LUKOIL" informs that owing to introduction of restrictive measures against the Company and its subsidiaries by some states the Company announces its intention to sell its international assets. T...

I guess it’s a moot point now, at least as far as WQ2 in Iraq goes.

www.lukoil.com/PressCenter/...

Dishonesty (or forgetting) about WW2, its causes, and what was put in place to prevent something similar happening again?
A thought-provoking piece, inviting us to consider the implications of changing our collective memory, & much else.
This is the kind of stuff from Sam I enjoy the most.

Reasons to be glad you left the cesspit of Twitter behind, No. 16,097,566
What an awful place, packed with awful people.

Sorry you have to endure this (and I’ve noticed it for quite a while now). Deeply nasty and personal.
It should go beyond X’s reviewing and T&Cs, it should be a matter for the law, and X should be brought to heel.

Is anyone still taking that “legitimate concerns about immigration etc” thing seriously, or can we just say what we know these people are thinking, but usually know it’s politically inexpedient to say?

US puts sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil Measures mark Donald Trump’s first effort to impose direct cost on Moscow over invasion of Ukraine

The US has sanctioned Lukoil and Rosneft. The first time the Trump administration has imposed direct costs on Moscow over its full-scale invasion.

Sets the tone for the day as EU leaders meet in Brussels....

www.ft.com/content/7bcc...

That’s very kind - thank you.

Hi, do you think the EU will follow suit? I’m involved in the West Qurna 2 development for the Iraqi gov and if the EU sanctions Lukoil the development it will likely face significant problems.

For the reasons why this is not at all surprising see my post ( £/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/deja-vu-al...

Thanks for the update. I’d forgotten about quite a few things in there.

Have you written anything on Putin’s ‘interesting’ views on Rus-Ukr apparent historic unity, from 2021? I’d be interested to know if you think these really are Putin’s beliefs.

en.kremlin.ru/events/presi...

Always an interesting read to keep up to speed on events with lots of reminders wrt what led us here.
TL;DR- don’t expect much in Hungary (if it goes ahead). Both sides’ demands complex and incompatible & Trump wants simplicity, although, given the capricious nature of Trump, you can never be sure.

Another excellent piece, Lawrence. Thank you for the update.
I’d be interested to hear how you rate the likes of Gerasimov and Syrskyi as commanders; or the doctrine, organisation, culture etc of either military.

Can’t expect good writing from an expert on this subject for free. It’s £4.50 a month, and it’s the most informative and readable blog I read on the war in Ukraine, and geopolitics elsewhere.
You also get his son’s regular blogs on government policy.

I remember Hurricane Sleepy Joe Biden in 2005, and my grandfather used to always go on about The Wall Street Biden of 1929

And what is it WITH the unnecessary and INCONSISTENT use of upper CASE letters with MAGA TYPES?!?!?

(Just realised Kimble is a parody account, but it may as well be real.)