Russia-Ukraine War (Threadbanned in op)

Wallace was never a principled left-winger.

Wallace was a committed anti-war campaigner and he aligned himself with the Kieran Allen of the SWP, the IAWM and others during the gulf wars, prior to him entering politics. An anti-war stance is by definition a left-wing stance and where alliances with other anti-war/anti-imperialists could be developed.

I'll take a stab at the satellite part of your question, though I'll of course defer to people with greater experience in that matter. It is of course true that satellites can't look directly into a warehouse to check out the state of a vehicle, read the maintenance log, etc. However, there are several indirect indicators that can be used.

In the visual spectrum, it would be the state of the ground around those warehouses. Is the area well-kept or overgrown and chaotic? Has any vegetation recently been disturbed by vehicles moving through? The same goes for any soil that might be surrounding the complex in question. This can tell you whether the tanks in question have been taken out for test drives, etc. recently to check their functionality. And of course, there's the state of the warehouses themselves. Are there indications of damaged roof panels or other structural damage?

On the infrared side, satellites should be able to pick up any residual heat from a tank's engine being run, even inside a building. I can't imagine the likes of the 420th reserve guards tank battalion in upper Yakutia being too fussed about the presence of US satellites overhead, so at least some overpasses would have had to show at least some of that activity. And while the types of high resolution imagery that military satellites capture will hardly ever leave the realms of the military or intelligence community, there are enough commercial earth observation satellites out there that should at least be able to pick up some indication of recent activity.

These are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head. There might be other indicators and of course none of us have any real idea of the capability of modern recon satellites. Once again, I accept that these are only indirect indicators, but they're at least something.

Stock reply from Ukraine and West .. GO FCK YOURSELF

And, we love the sponger lifestyle paid for by tax revenues from… <crickets>

Plus the free military protection.

Irish politics has never really required you to do anything for anyone. It's often enough to simply be memorable/ recognisable and seen to be sticking it to the elites.

If Wurzel had neat hair, shaved and wore a suit the chances of him being elected would be slashed. As a wine bar owning, vineyard owning, property developing, brown envelope bothering tax fraud, he'd just look like any other money hungry Irish leach.

Same with the Healy Rae's and Lowry's… although at least the Healy Raes seem to be in touch with their local constituents and fight for things that bother them, as long as it stands to benefit the Healy Raes too.

Wallace will be back as a TD if he wants the salary and pension and is bothered to run.

There are plenty of anti-war centrists. Plenty of them. Anti-war does not equal left wing. Its a far more nuanced issue than that, and surely being a tax dodger millionaire disqualifies you from membership of the left wing club.

Yes, he may sing the left wing tune, but he's a complete fraud and a charlatan.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mick-wallace-off-the-hook-after-14m-tax-dodge/26891291.html

To echo the other comment here, nope. He uses the "anti-war" schtick as a mask to blame Western and European democracies whilst repeatedly voting in favour of war-mongers like Putin's Russia, as it literally invades the continent he's supposed to represent.

Stop discussing Wallace, he wasn't reelected so we move on.

Using the interest on frozen Russian assets to provide $50bn to Ukraine is a fantastic move.

I wonder did Russia ever consider moving their national funds back to Russia prior to invasion ?

Also I like the fact that it's only interest.

Although it seems unlikely now, in a future state of Russia having those assets unfrozen would be a great way for a potential (friendlier) future Russia leader to gain credibility and increase standards of living across the country. It's leverage basically. It's money rightfully belonging to the Russian people, we just want to be sure it won't all end up pumping into their military for more invasions.

I wonder what the terms of the various loans being given to Ukraine are?

The cynic in me sees the US wetting itself at the prospect of coining it in over there in the years to come, whether the Treasury through loan repayments or the usual well-in-with-the-elites private sector companies in the rebuilding process.

Fcuk off Putin with your gaslighting and false olive branch bullshit

Wasn't clear enough. Anti-US pols in Ireland should reckon with, what would happen if US multis pulled up stakes and left. It's the government run as a sponge for US $$$.

https://archive.is/FweOp

$100bn might end up in the Future Ireland fund, the bulk of which comes from US spending. Most countries don't run a budget surplus. At least some of the surplus will be squirrelled away for a future rainy day…one hopes.

But, sure, US bad! NATO bad! Send the money over!

We'll wait and see I guess. Anyway, its a side issue right now. Main thing is funds and hardware being delivered. Keep it flowing.