14 Comments
May 23, 2022Liked by epimetheus

The newly formed Polish-Ukraine region needs Norway oil more than weapons.

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Haha, sure, but did you see the comments by Polish politicians (a guy named Morawiecki)? He called out Norway for making a killing selling oil and gas to its Polish 'friends' at 5-6 times the price Russia was selling it.

Now the Poles are complaining about their 'friends' and demanding that Norway 'shares' the profits…you cannot make this up.

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May 24, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Hahaha! Norway will be called upon to rescue all of EU!

As an a side, Norway being stupid for money sold most of the oil at ridiculously low prices...

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Maybe, but that's still (much) higher than the Russian price.

Apart from this insanity, it's impossible to further increase hydrocarbon outpur here: most Norwegian deposits have 'peaked' (assuming current cost/price levels and technology), so: everything Norway sells to country A (e.g., Poland) will have to be 'deducted' from country B (e.g., Germany).

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As the fields deplete somebody, somewhere, might wonder why they sold oil at such low past prices. Why Norway even sold into foreign markets at all during those low prices.

All that cash, I surmise, only converted Norway to the side of fascist methodology. I wonder who makes the decisions for that oil slush fund?

Well, we'll see what they think of cash here soon enough as actual resources become scarce. Just for a bit of knowledge you ought to discover EROEI, because that is the most important formula on this planet right now.

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May 24, 2022Liked by epimetheus

The UK as well. Gordon Brown that stupid Clown even sold England's Gold at the 20 year low. Can't make this stuff up!

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Oh yes, the 'smart' Chancellor. What does he do now?

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Kissinger told him to drop this Russian thing...

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May 23, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Donating surplus materiel have two benefits for the norwegian armed forces: it makes the politicians look good, and it saves the cost of dismantling and scrapping (which is quite significant for military vehicles and equipment). Also, it ensures the general staff gets the needed budget for replacements.

Yes, it's really that cynical.

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May 24, 2022·edited May 24, 2022Author

Agreed, it's like that--plus more money for 'new' toys…sick.

At the same time, the Norwegian (local) politicians are adamant about raising wages by 3.7% this year (as called for by the unions), with a strike by school, kindergarten, and healthcare workers looming.

Money for new weapons: check.

Cost-of-living adjustments (ahem) for local workers: quite not.

It's so sick.

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May 23, 2022Liked by epimetheus

The division between defensive and offensive weapons is not just politicial fiction though. Even an engineering corps temporary bridge or a helmet, or a flak vest counts as a "weapon" in the laws and ordinances regulating arms sales. It would f.e. be "weapons smuggling" if I was to bring my old swedish army bayonette while hiking and crossing a nationalborder, silly as it may seem - but laws are blunt.

Morals and ethics in war are justifications and rationalisations - always. If I told you that Sweden had a self-propelled artiellery piece designed to - apart from regular types of ammunition - also fire a massive rain of gas shells in order to stop soviet infantry, would you believe it?

As for secrecy, it's nothing special. All military transports and maneuvers are secret, even when they are en route to exercises using regular roads - the man taking and posting that photo has possibly committed a crime without realising it (basing this on swedish law, also contextual of course).

And the war is fueling not only british and american oligarchs, but Putin's cronies too. It's not like the swiss and italian banks they use are going to confiscate the billions of dollars Putin's gang has deposited there over the years, for the banks to invest in western businessesfor them. It is fully possible, even likely, that if one follows the thread of companies owning each other we'll find modern russian boyars from the court of Tsar Putin eating from the same trough as US and british "respected leaders of industry".

War, It's a racket, as Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler said. (Heck, it was a racket when Gustavus Adolphus was warring with the League too, only it was french and dutch bankers rather than italian and swiss.)

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Agreed on the racket et al.

As to the 'crime' committed by Aftenposten's 'tipster': the paper withheld any information on the person who submitted the picture, and the paper also published it.--Do you see the gov't going after the country's leading (ahem) newspaper?

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May 24, 2022·edited May 24, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Just remind to uninformed readers the date of 22 July 2011 at Oslo and Utoya, where a Norwegian Neo Nazi killed 77 people, 300 injured, mainly young Labour.

Worst crime since WWII.

https://www.shutterstock.com/es/editorial/image-editorial/aftermath-of-anders-behring-breiviks-attack-on-utoeya-island-norway-22-jul-2011-1701520b

The US/CIA/NATO propaganda against any kind of socialist idea has found roots in the Nordic Countries in EU, it's the main enemy. That's why I'm pretty sure that most of the western citizens (say 60/80%) still believe that Putin and Russia are a kind of socialists or communists, so they side with Nazi Ukrainians as the average american citizens have done for the last 80 years...

And in Europe, EU or not EU, they don't realize that is a game play to rule the world, same project Hitler had. The only difference is that Hitler or Goebbels didn't drink Coke and eat McDonald.

So, I must conclude: for the average western citizens (or idiots) better a modern Neo Nazi Government and System than a Socialist one. And they are so, but so idiot, that they tasted in the last 2 years what does it mean to be forced under a Western Neo Nazi Government...

Hope Putin drop the bombs at this point!

Because to change people mind after 80 years of criminal propaganda from United Criminals of America, will take ages.

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Oh my, that date has entered Norwegian consciousness, without question.

As to the substance of your comment: I fear that you're more correct than most people would like to admit. On the other hand, it's not exactly that the Nazification of the rest of the planet isn't advancing at the same time…

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