Thomas Ulich @MiVyoo@qoto.org

🗓 Leap year. Année bissextile. Schaltjahr.

We mark this rare February 29 by celebrating the unique nature of the EU.

Our Union, with 24 EU official languages, shows what being united in diversity means.

Multilingualism is our greatest strength– It breaks barriers and helps us travel, collaborate, and understand each other.

Let's celebrate it every year, every day.

It has now been more than two years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In this video I give an optimistic and a pessimistic scenario for what will happen in year three. They are very different, and that shows the spectrum of possible outcomes. Nothing is decided yet, and it really could go either way. https://youtu.be/bJK5NYxGNOQ

#Zelensky in Mykhailivska Square. Wall of memory. Together with our partners, we honored our bravest people who fought for #Ukraine and freedom and gave their lives so that Ukraine could live.

Eternal glory and gratitude to our Heroes!

Watch (80 Second) Insta Reel Source: Zelenskyy Official

For all the hype about AI, it's disappointing that spam is still a huge problem. You'd think intelligent algorithms could figure this one out. AI can apparently write poetry, make videos, draw pictures, and beat chess masters, but we still get bombarded with spam emails and scammy social media posts.

"Great people of a great country! I am incredibly proud of everyone. I admire each and every one of them. I believe in everyone. Any normal person wants the war to end. But none of us will allow our country to end." -Volodymyr Zelenskyy

#Ukraine

Watch Insta Reel Source: Zelenskyy Official
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3ufbIUMkQ1/?igsh=MWJ0ZzIzYW1uMjhoYg==

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it a thousand times: There are three branches of government. Your church is not one of them.

Hitler didn’t operate the gas chambers himself. But he was responsible.

Bin Laden didn’t fly the planes himself. But he was responsible.

Putin didn’t kill Navalny himself. But he was responsible.

Trump didn’t storm the Capitol himself. But he was responsible.

Justice matters.

I love that “you sound scared” has become a way to shut down critics of AI.

…yes.

yes, I absolutely am scared of it.

No, I’m not ashamed of that.

I don’t hate AI. I don't believe it’s going to destroy us terminator style.

But I’m scared half to hell of the misinformation, political divisions, unemployment, manipulation, spam and deepfake porn and what it’s going to do to our world.

Like it or dislike it, everyone should have a healthy level of fear about what this technology can do.

@anderspuck it is telling that it's the German social democratic candidate Katarina Barley who is proposing it. The widely read German rightwing paper Die Welt proposed a German nuclear bomb right after the full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Also to note: there is no real outrage in Germany.

Most of the criticism is in the realm of "technicalities" (it takes time to build one) and that we should invest in conventional deterrence first.

If the U.S. will play a smaller role in European security going forward, we need to have a conversation about nuclear weapons. The current UK and French arsenals are not sufficient to deter Russia, but the big question is if the solution is to grow their stockpiles, or if more countries need to join the nuclear club.

(The fact that this is now a discussion just goes to show the shortsightedness of American isolationalism.)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/15/uk-europe-nuclear-shield-donald-trump-germany-nato-deterrent

I like how American news media are broadcasting on location in New York because the city has received… and I hope you are sitting down for this dramatic update… THREE inches of snow!

Or as we call it in Scandinavia: Spring. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Russia puts Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, on wanted list https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/13/russia-puts-estonian-prime-minister-kaja-kallas-on-wanted-list?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Baseballs do present a challenge to this theory, but I'm convinced we just haven't found the right seasoning.
https://xkcd.com/2893/

The fact that far too many people cannot recognize fascism unless it looks exactly like Nazi Germany is very dangerous.

A former SACEUR reacts to Trump’s NATO remark.

While the US congress is in tatters, Finland sends its 22nd aid package to Ukraine worth EUR 190 million.

Thank you to the awesome Finns!

🇫🇮♥️🇺🇦

Chancellor Scholz said when leaving the White House:

“United States support is indispensable for the question of whether Ukraine will be able to defend itself.”

This is defeatists statement is not only wrong but reflects everything what’s wrong in general with this German administration. It is true that US’ help is crucial for the Ukrainian fight, but instead of giving in, it is necessary that Berlin takes up the responsibility. Europe is our continent and it is our duty to keep it safe.

“A big bowl of nothing”

Military analyst @anderspuck drives a freight train straight through Tucker Carlson’s so-called interview and lays out the REAL questions a REAL journalist could have asked — thereby revealing why no one gets to interview Putin, but the fired Fox News host.

https://youtu.be/-aR8FJ9hlTw?si=sR_YpT1PrcYV9hoz

The moment President Zelenskyy awarded the title "Hero of #Ukraine" to Valery Zaluzhny and Kiryl Budanov

Слава Україні, Slava Ukraini

Watch (20 Second) Insta Reel Source:24tvua

⚡️Netherlands to send 6 more F-16 jets to Ukraine.

The Netherlands is preparing to send Ukraine an additional six U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren announced on Feb. 5.

This brings the total number of jets pledged to Ukraine by the Netherlands to 24. Ollongren didn’t provide any details on the delivery schedule.

🔗 https://kyivindependent.com/netherlands-to-send-6-more-f-16-jets-to-ukraine/