Rumours only at this point in time. Nothing confirmed as yet.

That means to finish stealing any money, possessions, property or food that anyone else in the world may still have that they have not already taken

Speaker Pelosi was to be in Taiwan this Saturday. She's in Kyiv.

Slava Ukraini!!!!!

69th day of war:

Steel workers and other civilians caught up within a steel plant in Mariupol have been evacuated.

Subsequently, (yesterday's) videos show missiles striking the coal yard and coal crushing and transfer houses within the plant and blowing them up.

The steel plant was the last Ukrainian resistance point in Mariupol, a city that had sunk a Russian cargo ship Moskva while at harbor. CNN says this was a warship.

There's no news about the soldiers who were holed up inside the steel plant. Suspected, a few 'foreign fighters' among them. May have preferred death to surrender to the 'barbarians'.

Politicians don't fight wars.
We do.
War twists the soul out of you.

Pope Francis, "NATO started the war in Ukraine by barking at Russia’s door."

Mexico has declared 'neutrality'
And gone a step further,
'Will not apply sanctions on any country'

Chancellor Olaf Scholtz speaking to a May Day rally said that he respected all pacifists but with a looming food crisis staring at Africa he is constrained to send arms to Ukraine worth 84 billion pounds

In other words, sending

100 billion euros or,

105 billion dollars

worth of military equipment to Ukraine

(which he says will be replaced by US soon)

so that Africans will receive Ukrainian wheat.

(There's some truth, but not the whole truth)

Greece has announced that they are not sending 'anymore' arms to Ukraine. (Reasons may not be political as we know Greece economy is probably still recovering from the crisis in 2015)

The argument is Africa will be worst hit by shortage of wheat held up in Ukraine. Africa is already feeling the bite of shortage.

Time for Putin to rethink.

India - Gasoline prices: USD 6.10 / Gal - Regular
May 15, 2022

14 Mar prices = $5.6 / Gal - due to taxes - retail

50 cents in 2 months!


US avg in Mar - 4.33

In May - - 4.37 --- just 5 cents!!

Biden says 'No problem, he's releasing 1 Mil barrels / day for next 6 months.

If Indian rate hike is an index then by 6 months, oil price here would hike up by $1.20 to $1.50

Another reason to negotiate for peace or
hang on for 6 months till Biden liberates Ukraine and restarts drilling at the Balkan oil reserves.

Oil prices and wheat shortage are expected to trip 69 countries and bust their economies - as per Indian channel

Sri Lanka is already bankrupt

Egypt - largest importer of wheat
has reserves for 60 days

Tunisia - foreign debt marginally exceeds GDP

Lebanon - already bread shortage

Argentina - approached IMF for a 45 billion dollar load to refinance debt

El Salvador

Peru

--
Kenya Debt is 70% of GDP and rising
Kenya has been a leading country in Africa

-- others --

What does this mean to US and Europe.

Keep the borders open.
We are coming.
1.7 billion of us.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush said in a speech during an event in Dallas on Wednesday

What with patriots from Europe, 'volunteering' on the ground in Ukraine; apart from official support including training officers on use of hi-tech supplies from various countries - one can imagine the nature of talks between Valery and Mark

Mark: "My friend, whatever you do, don't send troops to Kyiv. The President has a finger on the hot button"


Valery: "Da, we remain in South. You deny Finland and Sweden membership to NATO, okay comrade?".

Mark: "Too late. President welcomed them already. How about prisoner swap?"

Valery: "Nyet possible. Many volunteers, yours ..."

Satellite link gets cut

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

UNFAO

FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities


Food shortage in Africa is real

If Russia does not cooperate, the crisis vould grow to epic proportions

As per FAO, so far Russia is sending wheat to Africa

Wheat prices had record price increase in March.


https://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en


The WFP warned that if the war lasts beyond April, acute hunger may increase by 17 percent globally, with the sharpest increases expected in countries in East, West, and Southern Africa.

US Gasoline prices likely to hit $6 in June



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zssfsGV1WnM

We hear a lot about food shortage but it should be borne in mind that there is not an actual shortage of food in the world. There is a distribution problem.

The news is full of how Ukraine's food supply is not being exported and that this is causing world hunger. Really? Ukraine is still exporting minerals, manufactured goods and has freedom of movement across a large border. Weapons and supplies are going into the country. Why do we believe that food is not being exported from Ukraine?

Russia's food exports of around 14,290 million USD per year are being stifled by sanctions voluntarily placed upon them by the countries now demanding food, oil and gas from them. Obviously, Russia wants to export all it can: countries have to balance their trade and sell to the rest of the world. Very little of their food went to Africa.

Ukraine's food exports of around 1,304 million USD per year, like Russia's far greater amount, also mostly goes to Europe and Asia, with only a little going to Africa.

If Africa is running low on food, it is because food they would have been buying is instead being bought up by countries who are refusing to buy from Russia. Most of these countries are likely to be European but I have not looked into that.

The countries who helped push Russia into a corner, by laughing at them when Russia wanted to join NATO and the EU, are now the ones also applying sanctions to Russia while demanding food, oil and gas from them. Obviously, Russia wants to export all it can: countries have to balance their trade and sell to the rest of the world. But they have to trade on a reasonable basis. Trading in a currency that they are then being denied to use, is not trade, it would be giving it away.

Meanwhile, the behaviour at the United Nations is as bad as—if not worse than—that in the League of Nations in the 1930s (often blamed for the reason WW2 got underway). Such an organisation should be the place to discuss, negotiate and try to understand one another. Instead, the global warmongers and haters are making the situation worse. Any school teacher knows that you don't diffuse a situation by slinging insults and petulantly refusing to talk; yet many in the UN are doing just that, heaping extra problems upon Russia on top of the forced isolation of keeping them out of security and trade groups. The food distribution problems, which could be sorted out by the UN, are being made worse.

Takes some tine to soak in this information.