Quotewhat is the point of such negotiations?

QuoteBiodiversity collapse shouldn't be the business of banks, but that's exactly what many banks are causing. Our banking system is broken, and our governments are failing to act.

Banks like Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ, Santander and Barclays are making billions of dollars in profits by enabling companies that are ripping through rainforests, turbo-charging climate change and harming local communities.

They're bankrolling some of the most destructive companies around — from beef companies like JBS clearing the Amazon, to palm oil giants like Sinar Mas destroying Orangutan habitat in Indonesia.

Quote from: MeltingMan on March 12, 2024, 12:41:45As far as I know, Turkey has signaled that it will act as a mediator. A greater gift cannot be given to Mr. Erdogan, who will not run again. 

QuoteTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia, offered during a visit on Friday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries.

Erdogan, who has repeatedly discussed brokering a peace deal, said at a news conference in Istanbul following his meeting with Zelenskyy that he hoped Russia would be on board with Turkey's offer.

"Since the beginning, we have contributed as much as we could toward ending the war through negotiations," Erdogan said. "We are also ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also be included."

QuoteWhy are there no negotiations with Putin? This question is not as simple as it may appear. Nevertheless, there are two main reasons.

The first reason, the "image of the war," is obvious, but Putin does not understand it, and no one can explain it to him.

The second reason, which is much more significant, is structural: Putin lacks the ability to take on binding commitments. In reality, it's precisely this structural reason that impedes negotiations.

The difficulty lies in the fact that negotiations with Putin are currently pointless because he cannot make any meaningful commitments. He can make promises in words, but in reality, these promises are worthless. Over his 20-year rule, he has promised practically everything — his signature is on the border treaty with Ukraine, for example. And he violated all of it. Over the past two years, he has broken almost every promise he made. Again, Putin himself may not even know about this. I suspect it would be a terrible risk for his subordinates to remind him of what he said a month, a year, or even a week ago. But everyone else knows that he breaks all of his promises. No matter how pragmatic and cynical a negotiator might be, what is the point of such negotiations?

QuoteKarl Wallinger, the Welsh-born musician, composer and frontman of World Party, has died at the age of 66.

His death was confirmed in a statement from his publicist, who said Wallinger was "presciently ahead of his time". According to the statement, Wallinger died on Sunday; no cause of death was given.

In 1983, Wallinger joined the Waterboys and played on their first three albums as a multi-instrumentalist, including on the folk-rock band's biggest hit, The Whole of the Moon.

Best known for his work as World Party, which he formed in 1986 after leaving the Waterboys, Wallinger also worked on Sinéad O'Connor's 1987 debut album, The Lion and the Cobra.

Quote from: NZZTragedy in Valais: On Sunday, five ski tourers were found dead on Tête Blanche at an altitude of over 3,500 meters.

Quote from: Aargauer ZeitungThe search was very difficult due to gusts of wind and snowfall. The rescue workers continue to look for the sixth person at high pressure.

Quote from: MeltingMan on March 11, 2024, 11:18:47[ and negotiations.

QuoteIn an interview that has so far only been partly in public, Pope Francis comments on the continuing war in Ukraine. Without calling the country, he calls Ukraine to "Courage to the White Flag" and negotiations. The full interview will be broadcast on March 20.