Ostap Karmodi

How Europe Should Defend Itself: An Unpopular View I thank @Noahpinion, @milkeninstitute and many others for food for thought. nextathens.substack.com/p/stick-and-tw…

NATO加盟約30か国の大使が今月中旬、一斉に日本を訪問する方向で調整が進んでいます。 「約30か国が同時に」という規模に、まず驚いてください。 外交の現場でこれほどの規模の集団訪問は、極めて異例です。 NATOは現在32か国が加盟する軍事同盟で、日本はそのメンバーではありません。

RT @jbetlach: Izraelská armáda se připravuje na scénář, v němž otázka obohaceného uranu nebude v rámci případné dohody mezi USA a Íránem vy…

Tourism bans, Airbnb bans, these are bad ideas Hypertourism should be taxed into manageable levels with Pigovian tools like this 👇 You don't need a ban, you need an aggressive but thoughtful tax regime that moderates hypertourism & yields wide public benefit

Just to underline: we are talking here about a terrorist who tried to murder 140 toddlers.

I hope Netanyahu knows it

I wonder how long Trump can suffer Iranian mockery. Iranians seemingly do too.

To celebrate the ceasefire Iran bombed the pipeline the Saudi used to export its oil without sending it through Hormuz

That was inevitable

@visegrad24 Also the ones of UAE and Kuwait

BREAKING: Looks like Iran is still attacking Saudi oil infrastructure despite the ceasefire agreement. A suicide drone just struck a pumping station on the East-West Oil Pipeline. It was used for sending oil to a Red Sea port, bypassing the blocked Hormuz Strait in recent weeks

If the ceasfire ends up holding, Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is going to be a shoo-in for the next FIFA Peace Prize.

@mattyglesias Yep, right you are. Sorry.

@ostap Except he didn't write a New York Times column?

It's unfortunate that these Grok summaries are inaccurate.

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

@jonkarl I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

This morning, I asked President Trump if he’s okay with the Iranians charging a toll for all ships that go through the Strait of Hormuz, he told me there may be a Joint US-Iran venture to charge tolls: “We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people.” “It’s a beautiful thing”

NEW: The Iran war and Trump’s handling of it have weakened America in the eyes of its adversaries, US allies say. The conflict has been a strategic setback, bolstering China and Russia while squandering American strengths and damaging its alliances, according to people familiar

Trump-style ceasefire

Британское правительство объявило, что запрещает Канье Уэсту, которого теперь зовут Йе, въезд в страну. Уэст был хедлайнером запланированного на лето музыкального фестиваля. Фестиваль теперь отменили. И ещё 9 Новостей Конца Света в новом выпуске НКС novynovgorod.substack.com/p/736

Just a thought: Ukraine’s President is Jewish. Our Defense Minister is a Muslim, a Crimean Tatar. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is an ethnic Russian. Our top drone ace — recently awarded the title Hero of Ukraine — is an ethnic Hungarian. Over 70,000 women serve in the military now. Almost all of the most renowned combat medics are women. The revolution that changed this country forever began with a Facebook post by an ethnic Afghan Pashtun, a prominent Ukrainian journalist. And in our parliament, we have a Black MP — an Afro-Ukrainian and universally admired Olympic champion. All of this — in a country that is still, for the most part, Slavic. On the streets of Kyiv today, you’ll see halal restaurants for Muslim tourists standing peacefully next to Jewish eateries. Nearby are a museum and a monument to Sholem Aleichem, and a plaque bearing the face of Golda Meir, who once lived here. Among our main landmarks: 19th-century synagogues. Just a short walk away — a large mosque and Muslim cultural center. And above all, of course — the ancient Christian churches and monasteries that are the oldest and most significant in the East Slavic world. I still can’t get over the fact that Ukraine’s chief Muslim mufti (an ethnic Tatar from Donetsk) stepped down to serve as a frontline paramedic in the army. That our chief rabbi works tirelessly every day to help Ukraine across the globe — and that his adopted son died fighting for Ukraine, weapon in hand. For many years now, a giant glowing menorah has stood each Hanukkah in the heart of Kyiv’s main square. And on Independence Day, every religious denomination gathers in Saint Sophia Cathedral to offer prayers for Ukraine, each in their own rite. Just as they all come together for remembrance at Babyn Yar and the Holodomor monument. The more you look at the world, the more often you realize how much healthier Ukrainian society has become when it comes to coexistence between nationalities and faiths. We weren’t always like this. We are becoming this now — as the country is being radically transformed by revolution and by the defense against imperial Russia. We are shedding the weight of so many remnants of the past — really fast. Just recently in May, Ukraine held its WWII commemorations — with poppies and the slogan “Never again!” What a stark contrast to the satanic frenzy of Russia’s “Victory Day,” with its death cult, its “We can do it again!” bravado, and its glorification of dying for the Tsar. Against the backdrop of war, Ukraine is living through a real national and cultural renaissance. We are rediscovering the Ukrainian language, Ukrainian books, music, cinema — as something precious. And for how many decades were we taught to look down on everything Ukrainian — as “third-rate,” “peasant,” “inferior”?... I walk the streets of Kyiv on Christmas (December 25th, not January 7th as demanded by Moscow priests) and see bands of children in traditional embroidered clothes carrying colorful Bethlehem stars and singing carols. “Ukrainian Christmas” is returning to these lands as a vibrant cultural tradition. On Easter, crowds gather near Saint Sophia Cathedral for picnics and spring dances. In the old city above Podil, I often hear youth pounding out Cossack songs on drums. I always see many people at our nation’s sacred places — the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the cathedrals of Lviv, the Motherland Monument, the old castles. We haven’t suddenly become devout believers. We’ve simply come to take pride, like never before, in being Ukrainian — in treasuring our traditions, our culture, our history, and our way of life, in our own country. New traditions keep being born in wartime, against all odds. Today, we honor war veterans by inviting them to make the symbolic first kick at football matches — and then we give them a standing ovation from the stands, for their service. I could go on like this for hours. What I’m trying to say is — I love what Ukraine is becoming. This hope — breaking through unspeakable pain and hardship — feels like a light piercing the tunnel. Ukraine now, and Ukraine 12 years ago, are two completely different countries. The road ahead is brutally hard, but if only — if only our Ukraine can survive this war for its very existence.

5/5 For the U.S., Trump’s ceasefire has given those opposed to the war an opportunity to join forces and introduce bills and file lawsuits that will make resuming this war, if not completely impossible, then very difficult. Big Win!

4/5 Iran isn’t even required to stop the attacks: American sources stated yesterday that it may take Iran some time to cease fire, since that very chain of command has been disrupted, and orders may not reach the relevant units immediately. I think this will take about two weeks

1/5 So, what has Trump’s *Art of the Deal* brought about? First, what it has brought Iran: - Iran gains control of the Strait of Hormuz, decides who gets to pass through it, and collects money from passing ships.