Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Links — 3 May 2022 Part 2

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
Mark Milley Warns of Growing Potential for 'International Conflict Between Great Powers'
https://sputniknews.com/20220503/mark-milley-warns-of-growing-potential-for-international-conflict-between-great-powers-1095241239.html

Russian Forces Find Torture Chamber Near Kherson, Legless Body in Russian Uniform Rigged to Explode
https://sputniknews.com/20220503/russian-forces-find-torture-chamber-near-kherson-legless-body-in-russian-uniform-rigged-to-blow-1095239009.html

Russia Slams Israeli Gov’t for Supporting Ukrainian Neo-Nazis Amid Diplomatic Flap Over Zelensky
https://sputniknews.com/20220503/russia-slams-israeli-govt-for-supporting-ukrainian-neo-nazis-amid-diplomatic-flap-over-zelensky-1095232593.html

MEE
Russia says Israel supporting 'neo-Nazi regime' in Ukraine

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
New US strategy seeks to arm Japan against China
https://www.rt.com/news/554925-missile-study-pacific-rand/

Internationalist 360ΒΊ
Lula Wants a Latin American Currency
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/03/lula-wants-a-latin-american-currency/

Russian Ops in Ukraine Update: Pentagon Sends Old Vehicles & Ukraine’s True Colors Begin to Show
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/01/russian-ops-in-ukraine-update-pentagon-sends-old-vehicles-ukraines-true-colors-begin-to-show/

Zero Hedge
Pope Admits NATO Likely Provoked Putin's Invasion: "Barking At The Gates Of Russia"
Tyler Durden
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/pope-admits-putins-invasion-likely-motivated-barking-nato-gates-russia

Final Showdown For Azovstal: Firefights Break Out As Azov Fighters Briefly Emerge From Steel Plant
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/final-showdown-azovstal-firefights-breakout-azov-fighters-emerge-steel-plant

Barrage Of Cruise Missiles Rock Western Ukraine, Plunging Lviv Into Darkness
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/barrage-cruise-missiles-rock-western-city-lviv-sections-plunged-darkness

TASS (Russian state media)
Putin signs decree on Russia’s new tit-for-tat sanctions
https://tass.com/politics/1446445

Ukrainian forces keep armor, rocket launchers near schools in Nikolayev — Russian military
https://tass.com/military-operation-in-ukraine/1446551




20 comments:

Footsoldier said...

There’s a major crisis brewing in the noble gas markets - specifically in neon and helium - and it will have a meaningful impact on critical industries from semiconductors to defence and aerospace.

One of the key issues is that 90% of neon comes from Ukraine, and the bulk of that from the Mariupol steelworks. Meanwhile, the helium market, which was already facing critical shortages, was awaiting large supplies from Russia’s LNG Amur project to alleviate them.

Most of the industry operates on a 90-day reserve basis. The war broke out at the end of February.


The semiconductor war has begun but nobody in the western world seems to be any the wiser.



https://mobile.twitter.com/izakaminska/status/1520682267919724545

Matt Franko said...

https://twitter.com/anders_aslund/status/1521578020607348736?s=21&t=QBTjD0VD_Vk_zTxswWgGSg

“ Rumours are swirling in Moscow that former generals / KGB officials are preparing to oust Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, which is increasingly seen across Russia as a strategic mistake / an economic disaster.”

Looks like they’re gonna take out Putin…,

Footsoldier said...

Anders Asland !!!!!


He is a freakshow is to be completely ignored.

He is was the main player with Jeffrey Sachs and Yeltsin reduced russian male life expectancy by 10 years, executed the greatest robbery in history & plunge tens of millions of people into misery.


Aslund *directly* participated in the creation of the economic regime that has plagued & is still plaguing russia, he was a sycophant to the "oligarchs", he looted russia & enriched himself off the suffering brought on by the "shock therapy" he and his fellow thieves introduced and then fled to the West.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_%C3%85slund


He was the Oligarchs man.

Footsoldier said...

He was the guy that came up with the plan to asset strip the place when the Wall fell.

Why Putin came to power to stop him.


Why we are in this situation today as it could have been so different. If it wasn't for the greed and feeding frenzy after the Wall fell.


Footsoldier said...

The man the Pete Peterson foundation sent in with all the same freakshow attributes of that foundation.


Think Paul Ryan and Atlas Shrugged on steriods.


Footsoldier said...

He fell out with Zelensky because Zelensky wasn't right wing enough lol.


Matt Franko said...

Derek, sounds like you are not reading the anti-Putin literature….

Footsoldier said...

Definitely not Anders Asland that's for sure.

Tom Hickey said...

Looks like they’re gonna take out Putin…,

ROFLMAO.

OH, and Putin has Parkinson's and cancer. (Daily Mail, echoed in NY Post

and is the richest man in the world (Bill Browder)

and …..

Matt Franko said...

Tom, you have to read the anti-Putin literature…

Matt Franko said...

Derek, the entire global market for neon is like $50m annual…

Intel spends more than that on their coffee mess…

NeilW said...

"Derek, the entire global market for neon is like $50m annual"

I once did some work for a firm that made metal plates for £50 that cost pennies to produce. However the million pound machines they were attached to couldn't be completed without a rating plate, and the ability to knock one out in hours attracted a large premium.

It's not the cost of the stuff that matters. It's the cost of the things that don't get made because of a lack of the stuff.

Nobody has the equipment to distill neon, because it was cheaper to get it from Ukraine.

The number of import diversity of supply issues we're seeing are colossal. All good old efficiency over resilience again. Never mind, suppliers can always pay compensation in dollars. That always fixes things.

NeilW said...

"There are air separation units across the planet as noted. But as also stated there are not many set up for the collection of neon. It takes the shut down of a plant and about 25 days of work to modify the cold box section where the distillation columns are located. Then the infrastructure outside of the cold box needs to be built to refine the neon to microprocessor grade and ultimately to storage tanks ready for shipment. It’s a significant outlay of capital and would only be pursued at large facilities located in a geographical location near the demand.

Given typical business processes, material lead times, engineering, and construction it would be at least an 8 month process from concept to start up – with a focused team. With constraints on getting anything industrial fabricated these days being a major constraint that would be hard to overcome.

The article did not mention the mass of neon that needs to be replaced but it’s unlikely that the US plants can replace it until say 2024."

Matt Franko said...

They’ll all just install their own processors and learn their lesson never to do business with commies ever again …

Footsoldier said...

"Mariupol is for sure the cost leader. However, there might be lots of mothballed capacity (see report p 92)

https://www.deutsche-rohstoffagentur.de/DE/Gemeinsames/Produkte/Downloads/DERA_Rohstoffinformationen/rohstoffinformationen-39_en.pdf

To encourage mothball capacity back prices need to go up. Most restarts also need some maintenance capex. So also the future prices need to come up for the investment descision to clear. "


Is again the difference between bank lending compared with surgical targeted government spending. Privatisation v's nationalisation.


The problem the UK had with steel. If nationalised so much easier to deal with.

Footsoldier said...

They’ll all just install their own processors and learn their lesson never to do business with commies ever again.


LOL!


That's exactly what globalism and Neoliberalism is all about to do business - What they mean by do business is just steal the real resource and then rape the consumer and the worker. They've never learned their lesson in hundreds of years.

Even in this case was with the gas it won't happen unless the US is the supplier. As per usual they'll be doing the raping and pillaging.

What stopping Nordstream was all about.


Matt Franko said...

Oh that’s right I forgot .. the old “vast neoliberal conspiracy!” at work again… my bad…

Tom Hickey said...

Tom, you have to read the anti-Putin literature…

I see this all the time and not just about Putler, a lot of which is traceable to some "source" on Telegram. Same with Trump, etc.

That's not always the case though and sometimes "rumors" and "conspiracy theories" turn out to have legs on checking. A lot of the dirt thrown may be baseless, exaggerated, etc., but some at least has plausibility. Then it a matter of estimating probability based on evidence in terms of, e.g., willingness to act, motivation, opportunity, which is the way detective carry out investigations. I have been following some things for years and am undecided, but I would be following such trails if there were not some smoke.

I check for sources. What I find is wishful thinking or smears with no evidence, often traceable to those with an axe to grind or an agenda to push.

I am an evidence-based kind of guy, not a hear-say guy.

Matt Franko said...

Neon is extracted from air… what do the commies think they have a monopoly on the air now?

That’s going to get them out of the shit? Air?

Matt Franko said...

Commies: “we’re the only ones who have air!”

πŸ˜‚