#Rob Bauer

[tomorrowusa]

I'm not exactly a sunny optimist. But when there's a viral mindless piling on of negative evaluations, it's time for a reality check.

Ukraine pulled out of the town of Avdiivka because it values the lives of its troops exponentially more than Russia values its troops. Avdiivka is now little more than a pile of rubble which has little strategic value. Undoubtedly Ukraine left a few surprises for the Russians there. ;)

A couple of writers for the journal Foreign Policy spent time talking with participants at the Munich Security Conference (MSC). SitRep is a weekly digest of news and analysis at Foreign Policy. Here are some excerpts.

SitRep had what we thought was a fairly innocuous question for NATO’s top military official Saturday morning. Two years in, are you pessimistic about Ukraine’s chances in fending off Russia’s full-scale invasion? “I’m not!” shouted Dutch Adm. Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, pounding his fist on the table and sending the silverware in front of him clattering in the 15th-century vault-turned-restaurant in the Bayerischer Hof Hotel’s basement. “Pessimists lose wars. Is it difficult for Ukraine? Yes. If you would have asked in 1942 in Europe, ‘How is the war going?’ I don’t think there were a lot of people that were overly optimistic. We still won.”

Americans in particular have short attention spans. A reminder that wars can last longer that one NFL season. US involvement in World War II lasted 3 years 9 months from Pearl Harbor to Japan's formal surrender.

Even accounting for the fact that these types of conferences are saturated with navel-gazing governmental self-congratulations tours, we think the naysayers of the naysayers have a point. Russia is far from starting to win. First, the narrative seeming to take root in some speeches and headlines that Ukraine is on the cusp of losing the war is way off base. The battlefield situation is serious but not to the point where Ukraine is at risk of a full-scale collapse or even facing major setbacks on the front lines, according to the assessments of more than a dozen European defense officials and experts we spoke to. Russia has taken the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka but at an enormous cost in lives and ammunition for a city that has no real strategic significance. [ ... ] Indeed, the scale of Russian losses in the war is truly staggering. Two years in, the Kremlin is still scrambling to transform the country to a wartime economy, and those losses will be hard to recoup. Russia has suffered some 315,000 casualties—accounting for 87 percent of its prewar troop levels, according to a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment—as well as lost 2,200 of its 3,500 prewar tanks and 4,400 of its 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.

Those Russian losses figures are somewhat conservative. More on that in a moment.

Even as Ukraine faces a new wave of ammunition shortages spurred by the political stalemate in Congress over U.S. funding for Ukraine, its lines are holding and European defense officials credit Kyiv with rationing its ammunition smartly and efficiently. [ ... ] Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was one official who didn’t downplay the significance of Russia’s capture of Avdiivka. “When a citizen of Europe reads in the news that Ukraine retreated from Avdiivka, you should realize one simple fact—Russia has gotten closer to your home.” [ ... ] Russian President Vladimir Putin shouldn’t be popping any champagne bottles just yet. “Let’s remember we are 724 days into Russia’s three-day war,” Bauer said.

Russia is currently trying to frighten us with talk of nuclear missiles in space. They have done this before. They drew red lines that Biden then stepped over and there's no response to the Western moves. One thing Russia is proven to be good at is bullshit.

The second anniversary of Russia's full scale invasion is later this week. It is estimated that Russia has suffered US$49.75 billion in losses in this war. Keep in mind that despite its geographic size, Russia has an economy about one-half the size of California's which has less than a third of Russia's population.

Ukraine currently puts Russian fatalities over the 400,000 mark.

402,430 is a number greater than the populations of the capitals of 39 of the 50 US states. Only in a dictatorship where dissidents are murdered would such massive losses in a futile war be allowed.

[tilos-tagebuch]

Unipolar Multipolar 💥 Schreibtischtäter

In der neuen Folge sprechen Dr. Karin Kneissl und Flavio von Witzleben über den wiederholten Beschuss Russlands mit westlichen Langstreckenraketen, in diesem Fall den US-amerikanischen ATACMS und die Frage, wie die russische Antwort darauf aussehen wird.

Zudem diskutieren die beiden die Kriegsvorbereitungen im Westen, insbesondere die deutschen Bunkerpläne, sowie bellizistische Aussagen des Vorsitzenden des NATO-Militärausschusses, Rob Bauer. Weiterhin gehen sie auf den ausgehandelten Waffenstillstand zwischen der Hisbollah und dem Libanon, die fragile politische Lage in Frankreich und die Kriegsszenarien in Syrien ein.

🎧 https://www.0815-info.news/Web_Links-Unipolar-Multipolar-Schreibtischtaeter-visit-11580.html

[lonniemichaelfulbright-blog]

The Defender's Chronicle:

NATO considering PREEMPTIVE “precision strikes” on Russia as West shifts from defense to offense against Russia By Ethan Huff // Nov 28, 2024 Things are heating up on the war front as Adm. Rob Bauer, the head of NATO’s military committee, has revealed that as it concerns Russia and the war in Ukraine, the West is now shifting from defense to offense mode. In a recent speech – watch below –…

[head-post]

NATO is ready for conflict with Russia, military committee chief says

The head of the NATO Military Committee Rob Bauer said in an interview with Ukrainian media that the North Atlantic Alliance is ready for a possible conflict with Russia.

Bauer said in an interview with the Ukrainian defence ministry’s publication ArmyInform published on 22 March:

Are we ready? The answer is yes, it’s our main task to be ready. If it [a possible conflict] happens today, then you have to fight with what you have. It is always a combination of readiness for today and at the same time improving capabilities for the future.

In addition, the head of the military committee emphasised that there are no NATO soldiers in Ukraine and no plans to deploy them on the territory of the state. Bauer specified that if one member state of the alliance decides to deploy its troops, “it will be linked to the rest of the alliance”. The official recalled that one of the conditions for Ukraine’s membership in NATO is the absence of a military campaign on the territory of this state.

Read more HERE

[rottenpicklelicker]

Just thinking about how Mac and Dennis both have/had pets that can survive anything and are kinda similar

[mel-rhodes-place]

ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR

February 1, 2024 Australia Day 2024, Sydney Harbour In 1965 our father considered moving to Australia.   With six sons, he certainly would have been accepted and become a “ten-pounder.”   That was what the new immigrants from Britain were called back then.  All they had to do was come up with ten pounds and they could settle in Australia.   A few did go back, but most stayed.   A cousin of mine…

[mariacallous]

NATO will call for all 32 members to put in place civil defense plans in case of an Article 5-level attack at the alliance’s Washington summit, officials familiar with the plan told Foreign Policy.

“We’re going to push the idea in Washington that all allies should commit to having some kind of national planning process that brings together both the military planning and civilian planning for Article 5,” said one NATO official, speaking anonymously based on conditions set by the alliance.

The move is part of an ongoing effort within NATO to prepare for a possible future Russian attack on the alliance that members believe is likely to include long-range missile strikes, disinformation, disruption of ports, and assaults on the energy grid—similar to what the Ukrainians have faced during the country’s full-scale invasion.

The expectation is that countries may have to plan to fend for themselves while they wait for NATO’s political leaders to decide whether to invoke self-defense.

“You have to be capable of being defendable while waiting for Article 5 to come into play,” said Dalia Bankauskaite, a nonresident senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington-based think tank. “You have to be self-sufficient for self-defense within your territory with whatever resources you have.”

The notion that Europe has to prepare for war after NATO’s 75 mostly peaceful years of post-World War II life is slowly becoming the status quo in many allied governments as they grapple with a resurgent Russia that is picking itself up off the canvas from the initial beating it took in Ukraine far faster than anyone expected. But the alarm bells are coming as a shock to the global public square.

Swedish defense chief Gen. Micael Byden’s January statement that all Swedes should mentally prepare for conflict went viral on TikTok. Frightened children and teens flooded the telephone lines of Sweden’s largest child protection group. Then-British Army chief Gen. Patrick Sanders called on Britons to get ready for a level of mobilization not seen since World War II, forcing the press flacks at No. 10 Downing St. to clarify that they weren’t reinstating the draft. (Sanders also got a tongue-lashing from his boss.) German officials have even suggested that Russia could conduct missile attacks against NATO countries.

The reaction within NATO has been to call on member states to further link military planning and civil planning in the event of a regional war. “Deterrence is not only something for the minister of defense and the armed forces—it is a whole-of-society event,” said Royal Netherlands Navy Adm. Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee. “Financial institutions have a role to play. Industry has a role to play. We need the right infrastructure in our nations to transport military equipment over roads, over bridges. A bridge has to be able to carry a tank.”

NATO countries need sufficient harbor facilities, airports, rail gauges, and energy infrastructure that are not dependent on a small handful of nations. The idea is for each country to have a plan for ensuring continuity of civil government, food, and fuel in the event of a crisis, NATO officials said.

NATO will also have to think about how to deconflict roads and transportation networks in a war if masses of people move west while tanks and logistics trains move east. Countries such as Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland are coming up with plans to evacuate civilians at least 50 miles from the front lines of a conflict with Russia, Bankauskaite said.

The problem of preparedness for an alliance covering more than 10 million square miles and 970 million people—about 4 million of them in uniform—is sprawling. It doesn’t lend itself well to neatly drawn government organizational charts and jurisdictional boundaries; it’s somewhere between defense and homeland security.

But the idea that NATO members need to build up antibodies to resist an attack dates back to the alliance’s founding. Eight years ago, NATO leaders built on that foundation with seven planning requirements for resilience. And they added to that in the 2023 Vilnius summit communique, calling resilience a basis for credible deterrence and defense.

Still, there’s no 2 percent standard for resilience. Just as NATO nations have the ability to set their own defense budgets and structure their own militaries to fit their plans, officials said, member states are likely to be able to set their own requirements for civil defense. The standards will vary from country to country.

“It doesn’t have to be the same, because each country is different,” said one Nordic official involved in the planning. “But everybody should have a minimum level of resilience.”

NATO also has a pool of civil experts to build capacity for resilience in countries that are less prepared. The European Union also has pre-positioned medical stockpiles and supplies of equipment to protect civilians from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.

Some think that the urgency is still being driven by the United States putting more and more troops in Europe to reinforce NATO soil against Russia. “Since the beginning of this war, the U.S. presence in Europe has steadily gained,” said retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, a former NATO supreme allied commander and head of U.S. European Command. “What we see today are further refinements and continued efforts toward getting more ready.”

Historically, the Nordic countries have set the pace for NATO, and many of the new alliance members in the region are already out in front. Newly minted NATO member Sweden has a so-called “total defense” plan that calls on every citizen between the ages of 16 and 70 to help the nation prepare for war, whether through military conscription or assisting with emergency services. Stockholm is set to update the plans this year. They’ve been learning from the Ukrainians: Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin has made multiple visits to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began.

Sweden, which already regularly issues a pamphlet to all 10 million citizens with checklists for how to prepare for a terrorist attack or war, plans to update it later this year. “It will reflect the more dire security situation that we are finding ourselves in now,” Bohlin said. There is even consideration about whether to invoke civil conscription for the rescue services.

Finland, which has universal male conscription, can mobilize 300,000 reservists to fight with a snap of its fingers. The Finns also have a rule of thumb to stockpile enough food, water, and medicine to last 72 hours. Helsinki has increased stockpiling requirements for petroleum by businesses and government entities to a five-month supply. Even the mindset in Finland is changing toward a more wartime economy, the Nordic official said.

Countries have also begun dusting off and tallying up their Cold War-era bomb shelters. Sweden has 65,000 shelters, enough for about 7 million people. Finland has 50,500 shelters, with space for about 90 percent of Finns. Norway has some 20,000, enough for about half the population.

The Baltic countries took up “total defense” plans after the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbas in 2014. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are building a 600-mile line of defense installations along their borders with Russia. Latvia has reinstated a military draft.

These are necessary measures, Baltic officials said, with Russia already conducting low-level hybrid warfare activities on NATO soil, from vandalism to beatings of dissidents in Eastern Europe.

“We know for a fact that there is an active kinetic activity happening in the Baltic states, in the wider region, today,” Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s top diplomat, said at an event in March at the National Press Club in Washington. “Russia is able to have people for hire that would in some cases vandalize buildings, tear down the flags—such things that have happened in Lithuania—and attack people.”

The call for new civil defense requirements is a window into how European societies are changing—and how they will need to change—in light of Russia’s growing military threat. Russia has fired missiles at Ukraine’s electrical grid, kidnapped Ukrainian children, and attacked the transit corridors for much of the world’s grain. NATO is preparing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to use the same playbook in an Article 5-level assault on the allies.

“It’s not only about military effects,” said Bauer, the NATO military chief. “It’s also about hybrid warfare. It’s about energy. It’s about migration. It’s about food. All these things have been used by Putin [and] will be used again by Putin.”

A new reality of preparing for war could have expansive ripple effects on civilian life after seven decades of mostly peaceful times on the continent. But NATO nations will need a plan to deal with Russia’s efforts to target civilians—through attacks on critical infrastructure and buildings, neighborhoods, and schools as well as through disinformation that has been on display in two years of full-scale war in Ukraine.

NATO militaries have become adept at dealing with small numbers of wounded soldiers in the past two decades, as most of the alliance fought in Afghanistan. But in an Article 5-level war, there might be mass military and civilian casualties all at once, and hospitals may need to run around the clock.

The logic goes that the quicker NATO countries can prepare, the readier they will be for massive numbers of troops to flow in. Especially in NATO’s front-line states, where nations are on heightened alert about Russia’s hybrid threats, there’s a desire to start pushing back.

“They are pushing the line,” said Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister. “They are testing us. And I’m sure that somewhere down the line, we will have to start pushing back

[heghogsblog]

Chairman of NATO Military Committee, Rob Bauer:

The Russians are basically everywhere! In Cyber! In Space! In Africa! In the Arctic! In the Atlantic ocean! They are everywhere

Русские практически везде! В киберпространстве! В космосе! В Африке! В Арктике! В Атлантическом океане! Они повсюду.

[thatssosussex]

Chair of NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer to Prince Harry:

⁣“Thank you Prince Harry for championing, serving after service.”⁣

⁣The 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Invictus Foundation was held at St Paul's Cathedral. (5/8/24)

[injouable]

Frank Crawley in Rebecca das Musical was ROBBED as a character, hear me out

I was so shocked when I reread the book after watching the musical and realized the big difference in roles that Frank has in the story.

The most important thing, I think, is that in the book it becomes clear that Frank always knew that Max killed Rebecca, and all the time he kept this secret and did everything to protect Max from the consequences.

That's why the book equivalent to "Ehrlichkeit und Vertrauen" scene is completely different and much more tense and intriguing. Like in the book Frank is VERY nervous when he has to talk about Rebecca. All of the questions coming from "I" make him feel anxios and uneasy. And from this dialog and some further chapters we find out that Rebecca tried to seduce Frank and he actually came to one of her "partys" in the boathous where also Jack Favell was present, and Frank apparently was close to having sex with Rebecca but either refused in the last moment or Rebecca herself rejected him as a mockery which is more likely. Each of this options would make him feel humiliated and also guilty because of his loyalty and actual affection towards Max, which is repeatedly mentioned in the book. And this incident was so distressing for him that he tried to quit his job and leave Manderly.

All of these circumstances make Frank's behavior in this scene alarming and suspicious and his efforts to persuade "I" that she is the right person to be with Max are much more desperate.

And instead of this in the musical there is a warm and friendly song without a glimpse of that huge anxiety and guilt which Frank is struggling with in the book and without the additional build up to the general intrigue of the story. It's a song without any doubt or regret existing just to cheer up the main character.

I really don't get it, why Kunze and Levay decided to simplify this moment. It's such a pity, how plain the character became with the change of this one scene. I can come in terms with the fact that Frank is an unimportant side character and there is no point in developing his story in a time-limited musical. But why would you cross out the background that is actually relevant to the main story?

And the funniest thing is that there is a very small interview with André Bauer as the original Frank, and it's clear that he has all the background from the book in mind, but there is no space to use it in the musical. It's simply impossible to put emotion and inner thoughts from the book in "Ehrlichkeit und Vertrauen". It would look ridiculous, because it’s not written in this way and clearly it wasn't the directors wish either. Though in the trial scene and the final telephone scene (I noticed it in the St. Gallen 2011 bootleg) the acting implies that Frank knows that Max killed Rebecca, but it's a bare minimum of what could be done.

[asgoodeasgold]

‼️BREAKING NEWS 💥NEW LEAD ROLE💥 for Matthew Goode in Netflix crime thriller series ‘Department Q’

It started filming in January. Directed by Scott Frank, the series is based on best-selling ‘Nordic noir’ novels by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. 

The show centers around "brilliant but difficult" detective Carl Morck, wracked with guilt at a case gone wrong that left his partner paralysed and another policeman dead . He is sidelined into a new Department Q for cold cases but assembles a team of misfits and finds his A game again. The story is transposed to Edinburgh.

Frank Scott said: “Carl Morck is one of those classic detective antiheroes, funny and dark at the same time, that I can never get enough of. I think audiences will feel the same way.” (Herald)

Other cast members include Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Kelly MacDonald, and Leah Byrne.

Scott Frank is the lead creator. He is a sought-after scriptwriter and directed the Queen’s Gambit, Minority Report, Godless and The Lookout (with Matthew as Gary Spargo).

He will lead the team of writers including Chandni Lakhani (Black Mirror, Vigil), Stephen Greenhorn and Colette Kane.

This will be an eight-part series and will be produced by Sony-owned Left Bank Pictures, the company behind The Crown and Outlander.

Rob Bullock, Andy Harries and David Brown will be co-producing the series. (IMDB)

The book series has already been adapted into a film series in Denmark. The action will be transported from Copenhagen to Scotland for this new production.

📷 Photo credits - my edits from

Photo of Scott Frank by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Photo of Jussi Adler-Olsen from his website

Photos of Matthew Goode by Philip Sinden (for Brummel, Sep 2017) and Uli Webber (for Style Italia, Feb 2017) via matthew-goode.net

Photo of Edinburgh "Jagged walkways" by Andrew B Harris

The Lookout promo still & poster (via matthew-goode.net)

Photos of Scott Frank & Matthew Goode at The Lookout premiere by Alexandra Wyman/WireImage/Miramax Film/Getty

All credits are on the pictures

Read more here ⬇️

More info

[darkmaga-returns]

Anyone that thinks that it is going to be easy to end the war in Ukraine is just being delusional.  The Russians do not want to end the war right now because they are winning and they don’t want to stop until they have achieved their goals.  The Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv does not want to end the war right now because it is their golden goose.  Giant mountains of money have been flowing into the country, but once the war ends the endless flow of cash will stop.  Politicians all over western Europe don’t want the war to end either, because they have become absolutely obsessed with defeating Russia.  In fact, the UK and France are so determined to keep the war going that they are actually talking about sending troops to Ukraine…

Britain and France are in talks to send troops to Ukraine to deter Vladimir Putin, it has emerged. London and Paris want to create a “core of allies in Europe” as fears intensify that President-elect Donald Trump could withdraw military support for Ukraine.

This was one of the top stories on the Drudge Report today.

Our allies in Europe are making it very clear that they plan to continue with the war no matter what Donald Trump decides to do once he is inaugurated.

NATO’s top military official is warning that Europeans may have to make sacrifices in order to support Ukraine if Trump reduces the level of U.S. funding for the war…

Europeans must be ready to sacrifice some “luxuries” to pay to support Ukraine and to prevent a “wartime scenario” coming to the nations of the continent if they are insufficiently prepared, NATO’s most senior military officer said in a speech namechecking both Russia and China as threats.

Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, who probably has no idea what a real war looks like, is also encouraging European businesses to “adjust their production and distribution lines” for a wartime scenario…

[saintmeghanmarkle]

It seems that yes that Harry duke of Dial-IN spoke at the NATO Committee by u/Human-Economics6894

It seems that yes, that Harry, duke of Dial-IN, spoke at the NATO Committee An Argentine pagePrince Harry addressed the NATO Military Committee via video link about the role of his charity Invictus in supporting wounded, sick and ill service members and veterans.The Duke of Sussex, 40, spoke to the committee about 'the breadth and development of the Invictus program and the progress it is making to expand the scope of its mission'.Although Harry himself did not attend the meeting in New York, a delegation from the Invictus Games Group was sent.https://ift.tt/SvJw8Pi call him the Duke of Dial-In 😂😂 😂 😂The term dial-in is used when participants connect to an event by telephone and not over the Internet. The dial-in is mainly used when there are audio or video problems.NATO official websiteOn 30 October 2024, the Invictus Games Foundation briefed the NATO Military Committee at NATO Headquarters on Invictus' role in supporting wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, addressed the Military Committee via VTC, and a delegation attended the meeting in person. The delegation included: Dominic Reid, CEO of Invictus; Lord Allen, Chancellor of the Board of Trustees; and Richard Smith, deputy chief executive.The meeting with representatives of the Invictus Games Foundation provided a platform for the NATO Military Committee to explore and learn how allied nations can establish or develop a relationship with the Invictus Games. Admiral Bauer emphasized the importance of protecting wounded allied service members, veterans and their families. He highlighted the invaluable support and hope that the Invictus Games Foundation provides to the invincible souls of inspiring wounded, injured and sick service members and veterans. "I believe the work of the Invictus Games Foundation is very important and goes to the heart of our shared values ​​as military personnel." Admiral Bauer conveyed the power of the Invictus Games Foundation to reach far beyond the Games themselves, changing and sometimes even saving the lives of both wounded soldiers and their families.Today's Military Committee session follows a meeting between Military Committee Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer and Prince Harry in May 2024, where Admiral Bauer attended a Thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral in London.https://ift.tt/reQLkD9 things: 1) he is in Montecito, 2) getting a divorce is not in his plans since he posed with a photo of his wedding with his wife post link: https://ift.tt/YnzA6wg author: Human-Economics6894 submitted: October 31, 2024 at 12:38PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[good-realtor-bad-realtor-dynamic]

I'm gonna be rewatching and replaying this episode of the podcast a lot. Glenn and Charlie were on something and I haven't laughed this hard in ages!

Glenn providing sweet, sweet fan service to the creeps with those fuckin arms out. All the lads looked good today.

THEY KNOW WE LIKE GLENN'S BAND TSHIRTS!!!!

Glenn opening with a Take on t-shirt sleeve lengths

Sports talk! Which means we get to hear Rob beg Glenn to watch his shows and Glenn repeatedly blow him off and complain about sports

"What I don't enjoy is a one hour game taking four hours" - Glenn dragging American football (accurate)

"I'll hear you talk about a 4 hour play you were riveted by" - yes Rob, call! Glenn! out!

"Pounding someone and getting pounded by somebody." That's what gets Glenn off. No I will not provide context.

"IASIP is the 2nd place of tv shows" / "Ooh I think we're 15th place"

D&Bs did an advertisement flop when this episode aired?! Love the history lesson.

Apparently FX gets all the product placement money!

There's gonna be an episode on the current economic shitshow and inflation this season — called it!

Charlie and Glenn really went all out riffing with all the little voices they like to do and they have the best comedic chemistry!

Rob's mind voice to John Wayne and studio head impressions to surfer bros, and all hilarious as fuck

"John Wayne seems like a bit of a pussy" lmao

John Wayne the surfer bro shredding gnar reminded me of their Keanu from Point Break bit — funniest shit in ages

Shooting trash out of the sky should be in a Sunny episode

Aliens are jelly people

Rob's cat is called Moose? Jack Bauer was the original.

Thank you for the cat videos on the side.

Moose beat off a hawk's attack!

They looked good today so I filled up on screenshots.

[dertaglichedan]

Top NATO official calls on business leaders to prepare for 'wartime scenario'

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A top NATO military official on Monday urged businesses to be prepared for a wartime scenario and adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly, in order to be less vulnerable to blackmail from countries such as Russia and China.

"If we can make sure that all crucial services and goods can be delivered no matter what, then that is a key part of our deterrence," the chair of NATO's military committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, said in Brussels.

Speaking at an event of the European Policy Centre think tank, he described deterrence as going far beyond military capability alone, since all available instruments could and would be used in war.

"We're seeing that with the growing number of sabotage acts, and Europe has seen that with energy supply," Bauer said.

"We thought we had a deal with Gazprom, but we actually had a deal with Mr Putin. And the same goes for Chinese-owned infrastructure and goods. We actually have a deal with (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping)."

Bauer noted western dependencies on supplies from China, with 60% of all rare earth materials produced and 90% processed there. He said chemical ingredients for sedatives, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and low blood pressure medicines were also coming from China.

"We are naive if we think the Communist Party will never use that power. Business leaders in Europe and America need to realise that the commercial decisions they make have strategic consequences for the security of their nation," Bauer stressed.

"Businesses need to be prepared for a wartime scenario and adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly. Because while it may be the military who wins battles, it's the economies that win wars."

[lilfishiefigureskates]

Skate Canada Review

Men:

Ilia Malinin (USA) Total Score 301.82 - Congrats to Ilia for qualifying for the Grand Prix Final! Despite the challenge of going to back to back competitions Ilia had no problem with securing his second gold medal of the Grand Prix series. Technically he preformed better than he did at Skate America, but I think he was definitely feeling a bit tired, and I think he was struggling especially in the middle section of his free program. His short program has grown on me a lot even tho it’s literally the ugliest costume I’ve ever seen. Also, I’ve been hearing that this was the last time he will be competing in his current free skate costume which is a tragedy, because it’s the best costume he’s had and really don’t see him getting a better one. I think his PCS score was too high.

Shun Sato (Japan) Total Score 261.12 - I think it’s such a slay to skate to Ladies in Lavender when you’re not a lady. He absolutely slayed his short program, but he needs to get his step sequence up from a level 2, because that’s bogging his score down a bit. He struggled a bit in the free program, so I am looking forward to seeing it once he gets it clean. I really liked both of his costumes and I like the new hair color. #FurecocoTrioForever

Junhwan Cha (South Korea) Total Score 260.31 - I am so happy that Jun made it onto the podium!!!! However, I’m going to be honest when I say I’m not really vibing with his programs this season. The Imagine Dragons short program makes no sense to me, and I don’t really like the Latina lady screaming at me in his free program, but his blouse is beautiful, so I will say that I like his free better than his short. There’s lots of room to grow in his free program, and he only had 2 combos, so we def need to change that. His Ina Bauer was great, but he finished a little late on the music. IDK why the judges didn’t give the PCS skills he deserved. He was robbed.

Sota Yamamoto (Japan) Total Score 257 - I love Sota so much and I wish there was four spots on the podium cause I wanted him to be on the podium so badly!!! I love the purple shirt in the short program, and overall the short was very solid. I also really liked his free program. At first I thought it was gonna be a bit boring but the music did a great job at building through the program. I’m absolutely gutted that he fell on his 4T. He also needs to work on not telegraphing his jumps as much.

Vladimir Litvintsev (Azerbaijan) Total Score 222.9 - I had no idea who he was but then I realized that he was the fool who skated to the Lion King while wearing a tiger print t-shirt lol. The Game of Thrones short program was pretty solid. Didn’t love the Nutcracker EPIC version tho, especially the singing at the end. Keep it all Xmas music or don’t use Xmas music. I think he ran out of steam a bit in the second half of his program, and he needs more choreography cause right now he just has a lot of crossovers.

Gabriele Frangipani (Italy) Total Score 222.57 - Who needs Daniel Grassl when we got this guy! He was giving me Adam Driver vibes, and I think it’s cause they have similar noses. Tbh I don’t really remember much from his programs, and they just felt a bit meh to me, but on his defense I was half asleep during his free program. Hopefully he’ll be less meh at the NHK trophy.

Aleksa Rakic (Canada) Total Score 222.49 - Having this guy as the highest scoring Canadian was not on my bingo card. He seems to struggle a bit on his 3A and overall i thought his jump technique was kinda ugly. Overall he had pretty consistently low GOEs on his jumping elements and he didn’t perform well. Lots of room to grow at least.

Jason Brown (USA) Total Score 218. 75 - My beloved. On the technical level, he did not have the best skates, but his overall skating skills remain unmatched. Jason usually isn’t competing this early in the season, so hopefully he just needs more time to get into the groove. I am not really vibing with free music. It was very one note and a little boring ngl. I did like the cartwheel tho.

Stephen Gogolev (Canada) Total Score 216. 84 - Had a pretty good short program but fell apart during the free. Needed more speed and energy, and he needed to EMOTE! He kinda just looked tired

Mark Gordonitsky (Israel) Total Score 213.31 - Meh.

Luc Econmides (France) Total Score 211.88 - IDk why but I always forget what he looks like and then I get surprised when I see him and he looks like he does. Interstellar program was interesting with the head twitching at the beginning and the fake writing at the end but my man was ACTING so I will take it. Had a super scary axis on his 3A in the short and on the 3Lz in the free.

Roman Sadovsky (Canada) WD - I guess he tweaked his back before the event started which is why he wasn’t doing any jumps during practice. But luckily, the injury should have no long lasting impact. I feel so bad for this guy, I feel like he always has the worst luck.

Women:

Kaori Sakamoto (Japan) Total Score 201.21 - I love Kaori so much. She is definitely pushing herself with both of her programs this season, and I just don’t think she feels comfortable yet in either of them. The short was solid, but she did have some unexpected trouble in the free. She looked a little tired, but that’s okay cause we are early in the season, so there’s still time to build up stamina. The blonde hair is starting to grow on me and I love both of the costumes.

Rino Matsuike (Japan) Total Score 192.16 - Talk about the COMEBACK QUEEN. I love the Moulin Rogue program so it better be clean at Finlandia. Her free program was honestly the highlight of the weekend. She had a GORGEOUS spiral and overall excellent skating skills and quality of movement. She slayed.

Hana Yoshida (Japan) Total Score 191.37 - I really liked her short program. She just had a little boo boo with the step out on the combo, and I think she could use more speed during her stsq. I really liked her dress for the free program, but I did not like the mesh gloves. It’s a shame she went down on the 3Lz.

Kimmy Repond (Switzerland) Total Score 191.07 - IDK why but I did not expect her to do as well as she did. Idk how tall she is, but she looks super tall, and her long limbs just looked a bit awkward. I’m pretty sure she ended a smidge behind her music in both the short and the free. I thought she had really nice spins tho.

Madeline Schizas (Canada) Total Score 190.04 - Dear Maddie, there is only one Lion King program and it belong to Wakaba. I did like the Danse Macabre free tho. I’m glad she went with red for the costume instead of black. She was one of my highlights of the weekend, cause I was just so happy that she skated two clean programs in front of her home crowd!!!This was probably the best I’ve seen her perform.

Alysa Liu (USA) Total Score 187.69 - Miss girl kinda got hit hard with the URs, but she still had a great return to the Grand Prix! I really liked both of her programs, especially the free. I think she needs to build up her stamina a smidge, but I’m just so happy to she her back it makes by heart flutter.

Elyce Lin-Gracey (USA) Total Score 182.37 - I wanted her to do good so badly. She almost got the same exact scores that she got at Skate America, so at least she is consistent. But she is just a lil’ cutie and she just needs time to develop and grow! Props to her for competing back to back.

Kaiya Ruiter (Canada) Total Score 162.32 - I liked the short program, but I didn’t realize the free was a Wonder Woman program until we got to the end of the program and the electric guitars were doing the Wonder Woman thing. Had a couple of URs and a two footed landing. But she was very cute, and very engaging.

Ekaterina Kurakove (Poland) Total Score 162.07 - ‘Twas a rough short program. Stepped out on the lutz and it was under-rotated and she didn’t get her combo. She was also pretty slow on the spins. However, she kept on emoting throughout the whole performance. I’m not vibing with the Cats program. Her first mistake was picking the movie version. Her second mistake was wearing the cat ears. Just felt very juniorish to me. I also think there were too many music cuts.

Sara-Maude Dupuis (Canada) Total Score 160.46 - Couldn’t get her combo in the short. Had a crazy axis on the 3Lz in the free and was just getting a lot of URs in general. Overall her jumps were just looking a bit scary. She wore a green dress tho and I thought she slayed

Seoyeong Wi (South Korea) Total Score 140.85 - Got hit hard with the URs. I really liked both of her programs and I thought her costumes were gorgeous, but she just didn’t perform well to them. She really ran out of gas at the end of the free program.

Yelim Kim - (South Korea) Total Score 136.14 - This honestly made me so sad. She is such a beautiful skater but the jumps are just not there. I guess she is recovering from back surgery?!?!?!? Idk, I just really don’t want to watch her perform another disaster program.

Pairs:

Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps (Canada) Total Score 197.33 - They’re obviously not in top shape yet, but like I’ve been saying, we’re still early in the season so no need to freak out. Did not really vibe with the short program. The heavy breathing really turned me off, and I’ve learned that this cover was used for 50 Shades of Grey, which turned me off even more. I do like the free a lot better, but IDK what the theme is, or what it’s about. They have a shared dog and it’s super cute.

Ekaterina Geynish / Dmitrii Chigirev (Uzbekistan) Total Score 189.65 - I did not like the weird opening movements in the short. A little trouble with the throw jumps but pretty good overall synchro.

Anastasia Golubeva / Hektor Giotopoulos Moore (Australia) Total Score 186.14 - I hated the music change in the short. And they copied Kao’s free program for their free program lol.

Dance:

Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier (Canada) Total Score 214.84 - The costumes in the rhythm slayed, but his backless suit in the free traumatized me. I get the what they were going for but I don’t think it was executed well. They are so fast, and they are both excellent performers

Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha (Canada) Total Score 199.9 - I liked the in synch lip syncing, but I did not like it when they FELL! They are so fast on the twizzles and they serve so much face. I’ve heard people don’t like the Sound of Silence free, but I was vibing with it.

Evgeniia Lopareva / Geoffrey Brissaud (France) Total Score 194.25 - Look they were great, but I just don’t vibe with them and IDK why. Rasputin rhythm dance was insane but in a good way. Maybe they’ll grow on me.