Gas production is climbing, while Russian influence through energy supplies continues to fade...
"Take Crimea, for instance—we’ve kicked off offshore drilling and even picked up two rigs. They aren't cheap, mind you, but they'll allow us to ramp up gas production to 3 billion cubic meters from the shelf alone in the coming months," the Prime Minister remarked.
“And let’s look at the math: what does 3 billion cubic meters actually represent? It’s roughly $1.2 billion that we end up handing straight to the Russian Federation," he noted.
Ukrainians continue to distance themselves from the Russians..
During a second regional Council in Ukraine on Thursday, officials gave the green light to a government proposal regarding a $10 billion shale gas production-sharing agreement with U.S. energy major Chevron (CVX.N), effectively paving the way for the final signature.
This Olesska deal with Chevron will be The second Shala agreement in Ukraine, coming right on the heels of an agreement reached earlier this year with Shell for exploration work over in Yuzivska in the East.
Nancy Smith15 said:While Europe sits around trying to act smart, China was actually looking to lease almost our entire Midwest region, but after we pushed back, they managed to secure agricultural land in Ukraine roughly the size of Belgium:
China has leased agricultural land in Ukraine the size of Belgium!
China recently signed a lease agreement for three million hectares of Ukrainian land for as long as 50 years! In exchange for cash compensation, Ukraine will be giving up 5% of its territory, which translates to 9% of its arable land, just to help China feed its growing population, according to RT, which also points out that this deal came through after Ukraine lifted its ban on foreign land ownership last year...
Yesterday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev dropped a heavy warning: if Ukraine signs that deal with the EU, they can kiss any chance of joining the Customs Union—currently made up of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan—goodbye. He laid this out during a joint press conference alongside his Ukrainian counterpart, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. "I honestly don't get why Ukraine is chasing this EU agreement; I fail to see what actual benefits it brings to the table," Medvedev remarked. "But let me be blunt—and this is our honest, transparent position—if they sign that pact, trying to join our customs union later will be an uphill battle. In my view, Ukraine's chances would effectively drop to zero."
"Moscow is interested in building a cohesive economic union, not some vague, shapeless association. To put it plainly, the idea of 'Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan plus Ukraine' just doesn't work for us," the Russian PM added.
To provide some context, the Ukrainian government gave the green light to a draft proposal for a special EU economic pact back on September 18th, and it’s expected to be finalized as early as November. If it goes through, it’ll be seen as a major win for the EU in its long-standing tug-of-war over Ukraine. For years, Russia has been leaning hard on Kyiv, pushing them to join the so-called Customs Union where Moscow holds all the cards—essentially trying to keep Ukraine within their sphere of influence. Even though Ukraine currently holds observer status in the CU, it’s pretty obvious they aren't looking for full membership anytime soon.
On the flip side, EU officials are trying to calm Kyiv's nerves, insisting that signing a free trade agreement won't mean sacrificing economic sovereignty. The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Füle, pointed out that Ukraine stands to gain "significant material benefits from moving closer to the European Union." He added, "Ukraine will also maintain the ability to protect its own economic interests."
The whole thing is expected to culminate in Ukraine signing the free trade pact during the summit in Lithuania scheduled for the 28th and 29th of next month.
So, we’re looking at the Customs Union with Russia here. Right now, Belarus and Kazakhstan are already part of that arrangement. Moving forward, it looks like Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are likely candidates to join the fold too. As for the rest of the former USSR countries? Russia has pretty much lost its grip on their sphere of influence for good. On top of that, these specific nations have already signed military pacts with Russia. To me, the whole situation is pretty transparent.
Everyone here seems to be whining about auto insurance—complaining about how they get cheated or whatever. Honestly, I’ve just used my collision coverage twice and it worked perfectly. The first time was for $2000 (getting some bodywork and paint done, and the adjuster actually let me bundle everything under a single claim), and the second time was $4000 for fixing up some damage from a fight. Both times, I took the car straight to a certified dealership service center.
Rachel Richardson said:That’s about the gist of it, I suppose. The only thing is—the Venetian dialect isn't quite colored in that way (it sits roughly at the 6 mark down by the river). Wouldn't the Istrian and Dalmatian dialects be more closely related? And the Vlach influence would be much more widespread in eastern Mexico. Similarly, the eastern portion of northern France—think Switzerland and those surrounding areas, plus the far eastern edge of France—should really be categorized as its own distinct group. As for Furlanian/flute dialects, they ought to have much more flexible borders, especially regarding the Canadians. What we see here is just a post-WWII map, including Trieste.
Plus, there should have been a Portuguese-Galician grouping, and Basque should probably stretch out a bit further south...
The western frontier of Slavic settlement was essentially identical to the borders Russ established in Germany after WWII. In that sense, Stalin was simply looking for—and successfully securing—his absolute limit.
Richard Wilson4 said:Look, let's be real—data on the Great Plains during the era of early American rulers is super thin, if it even exists at all. Sure, coastal cities had an edge because they were hubs of literacy and connected to the West, but it's totally plausible the Great Plains were sparsely populated back then since there was zero natural defense.
Plus, those low-lying areas were constantly plagued by flooding, swamps, mosquitoes, and malaria, which took an absolute toll on both the people and their livestock...
copperdriver10 said:Haha, you could say that. Honestly, even areas like the Ozarks or large stretches of the Midwest are practically ghost towns. But hey, it's just Wikipedia..
But we're talking about the 11th century here. A hundred years later, you've got Huns, Avars, Magyars, and those old Germanic tribes sweeping through. It's hardly surprising...
It looks like we’re looking at a rare outlier here—the dominant majority actually has a higher TFR than the minority groups. Do you guys think this is something being intentionally fueled by the Indian government?
Michael Davis9 said:This whole topic is just pure trolling, honestly. It’s a cheap attempt to smear right-wing parties and individuals—even though Geert Wilders has been a fixture in politics for years—by trying to pin murder and terrorism on them.
Look, we could dive into discussions about right-wing groups (including the far-right), we could talk about right-wing terrorism (which, if we're being accurate, would include groups like the IRA), or we could focus on those completely deranged lone wolf cases, like what happened with that Norwegian guy. The easiest thing in the world is to just lump everything together under one big, hateful umbrella and say they all stink the same.
But really, the moment you try to group someone like Wilders—who actually sympathizes with Israel—in with various Aryan Brotherhood types and similar groups, it shows me you don't have the slightest clue how complex these issues actually are.
Once again, the right starts whining whenever things don't go their way... the IRA and ETA were leftist organizations created and funded by the USSR!
Andrew Hayes4 said:Maybe head back to elementary school and brush up on some basic grammar. ☕ Once you actually learn how to write, you might finally grasp concepts like hypothetical scenarios and what legally constitutes a threat under the US Penal Code.
Honestly, if you could just tell the difference between a typo and a regional dialect, you might actually stand a chance... haha.