Russian oligarchs are already emailing UK journos demanding they withdraw references to criminality/Putin links. Boris Johnson should change UK's insane libel law.
Why is literally NO ONE talking about a pre-emptive First Strike on Russia?
Forget this SWIFT nonsense, just take em out. Nuke the Whole Show. Led by the UK, with France and the USA behind us, just toast the entire country. Turn it into weird crystallised rock, with tiny bits of algae as the only life remaining.
Why is literally NO ONE talking about a pre-emptive First Strike on Russia?
Forget this SWIFT nonsense, just take em out. Nuke the Whole Show. Led by the UK, with France and the USA behind us, just toast the entire country. Turn it into weird crystallised rock, with tiny bits of algae as the only life remaining.
Sorted
And you describe my contribution as embarrassing.....
Why is literally NO ONE talking about a pre-emptive First Strike on Russia?
Forget this SWIFT nonsense, just take em out. Nuke the Whole Show. Led by the UK, with France and the USA behind us, just toast the entire country. Turn it into weird crystallised rock, with tiny bits of algae as the only life remaining.
Sorted
Is the drinks cabinet open early, Leon ?
Stony cold sober.
That's scarier.
FFS I'm joking!
Black humour is all that is left
That said, I have always been intrigued by the concept of First Strike, and it is an integral part of the philosophy of strategic nuclear deterrence. You need to have nukes that will SURVIVE a first strike, hence our submarines
Clearly I do not think Russia's actions - however medieval and repulsive - merit us turning 140m mostly innocent Russians into radiated vapour
And many millions of Britons. You can't win a nuclear war. It's called mutually assured destruction for a reason.
Sigh. I really wish America had a more inspiring or even sentient POTUS than Biden, right now.
Putin has chosen his moment well, in terms of weak western leadership
What difference would it have made, seriously? We've danced a dance the last few weeks but the outcome has been inevitable.
We can and no doubt will debate when mistakes were made and what else we could and should have done. None of that matters now.
We have to stop the conflict going beyond Ukraine and ensuring in economic terms Russia pays a heavy price and if we have to pay a price too, so be it.
I reckon the mere presence of a powerful, convincing, articulate president in the White House might have been enough to deter Putin
Instead Putin saw Sleepy Joe Biden. And then Putin looked at Berlin and saw "Olaf Schulz". Then Putin quietly sniggered at Macron and indulged his French preening, before making him look like a schoolboy. And then Putin eyed up 10 Downing Street, and I fear that probably didn't scare the Russian leader too much, either.
It's not really getting any better with Biden and the questions.
Well I'm none the wiser from the descriptions.
I thought he was fine. He slurs his speech sometimes and struggles to hear some of the questions but they all shout at once and most of them sound like they are still wearing masks.
Anyone who thinks Biden is a problem needs to spend ten minutes thinking what a Trump press conference would have been like in these circumstances. Christ. Trump would be handing out the Freedom Medal to his mate Vlad.
Why is literally NO ONE talking about a pre-emptive First Strike on Russia?
Forget this SWIFT nonsense, just take em out. Nuke the Whole Show. Led by the UK, with France and the USA behind us, just toast the entire country. Turn it into weird crystallised rock, with tiny bits of algae as the only life remaining.
Sorted
And you describe my contribution as embarrassing.....
Mine was a joke. You literally did not know anything about the great, genocidal Famine in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. When millions died and cannibalism was rife, almost all of it occurring in the Ukraine
Biden reads the autocue like somebody who has no idea what they are saying or what it means.
It is...worrying.
It is poor. But as long as those in charge of him know what they are doing, we'll be OK. He's allowing them to write the right words.
He's answering now (live) a series of tricky press questions off the cuff in a perfectly fine manner.
I'm a little behind but yes, he's actually doing better at answering than reading.
Yes, I too thought that was odd.
He seemed to be having trouble with the autocue, peering as if it wasn't clear. His responses to questions were very good however, and he was totally fluent.
A Metropolitan police officer has been cleared of rape after prosecutors dropped the case against him.
PC Adam Zaman, 28, of Romford, east London, was accused of raping a woman at the Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street, central London in October last year.
The court heard that the complainant had been informed of her right to review and Hunter explained that the CPS’s decision had been made at the “highest levels”.
It's not really getting any better with Biden and the questions.
Well I'm none the wiser from the descriptions.
I thought he was fine. He slurs his speech sometimes and struggles to hear some of the questions but they all shout at once and most of them sound like they are still wearing masks.
Anyone who thinks Biden is a problem needs to spend ten minutes thinking what a Trump press conference would have been like in these circumstances. Christ. Trump would be handing out the Freedom Medal to his mate Vlad.
Or a Johnson conference.
Biden listens to the questions and provides a straight answer, maybe a bit stuttered, but totally comprehensible.
It's not really getting any better with Biden and the questions.
Well I'm none the wiser from the descriptions.
I thought he was fine. He slurs his speech sometimes and struggles to hear some of the questions but they all shout at once and most of them sound like they are still wearing masks.
Anyone who thinks Biden is a problem needs to spend ten minutes thinking what a Trump press conference would have been like in these circumstances. Christ. Trump would be handing out the Freedom Medal to his mate Vlad.
Trump being the alternative (frightening as it is) does not, I am afraid, make Biden somehow better than he is. He'd doddery and frail. As Francis says, he reads his autocue very strangely, like someone who doesn't quite understand the language but knows the sounds. Kinda
Sigh. I really wish America had a more inspiring or even sentient POTUS than Biden, right now.
Putin has chosen his moment well, in terms of weak western leadership
What difference would it have made, seriously? We've danced a dance the last few weeks but the outcome has been inevitable.
We can and no doubt will debate when mistakes were made and what else we could and should have done. None of that matters now.
We have to stop the conflict going beyond Ukraine and ensuring in economic terms Russia pays a heavy price and if we have to pay a price too, so be it.
I reckon the mere presence of a powerful, convincing, articulate president in the White House might have been enough to deter Putin
Instead Putin saw Sleepy Joe Biden. And then Putin looked at Berlin and saw "Olaf Schulz". Then Putin quietly sniggered at Macron and indulged his French preening, before making him look like a schoolboy. And then Putin eyed up 10 Downing Street, and I fear that probably didn't scare the Russian leader too much, either.
Et voila
In 2014, you had Obama, Merkel, Sarkozy and Cameron and that didn't put off Putin annexing the Crimea.
Seems Putin is standing alone. Slightly embarrassing to have to watch Johnson chuntering in front of his Union Jack. He's probably less popular with the UK population than Putin is with his. As for the Trump fans....God knows what they make of their idol's choices. It's a complicated world. I'm putting my faith in the EU. They tend to get most things right and I believe in their instincts
Sadly it is the EU who are in crisis tonight as they pay the price for selling their energy economy to Russia with Germany absolutely in hock, and France and Italy unable to agree to US and UK demands to throw Russia out of swift as it would cost then €30 billion or more
You need to take off your blinkers
What was wrong with the EU buying energy from Russia?
The reality is that BNP, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank have billions of dollars of exposure to Russia. If Russian oil companies cannot make their interest payments, that's a massive problem for those banks. (And, for the record, there are a couple of US banks who are also going to be shitting themselves, but it's a much smaller problem, proportionally, in the US.)
Now, BNP is highly profitable and well capitalised. It would be painful, but not fatal. But the German banks are neither particularly profitable, nor particularly well capitalized.
If that's true about the airport being back under Ukrainian control it's a big plus for the Ukrainian military - the troops that took it by helicopter will have been towards the elite end of things.
Interesting that there were tales of transport planes heading in too - perhaps a large deployment through the airport had been planned.
Sigh. I really wish America had a more inspiring or even sentient POTUS than Biden, right now.
Putin has chosen his moment well, in terms of weak western leadership
What difference would it have made, seriously? We've danced a dance the last few weeks but the outcome has been inevitable.
We can and no doubt will debate when mistakes were made and what else we could and should have done. None of that matters now.
We have to stop the conflict going beyond Ukraine and ensuring in economic terms Russia pays a heavy price and if we have to pay a price too, so be it.
I reckon the mere presence of a powerful, convincing, articulate president in the White House might have been enough to deter Putin
Instead Putin saw Sleepy Joe Biden. And then Putin looked at Berlin and saw "Olaf Schulz". Then Putin quietly sniggered at Macron and indulged his French preening, before making him look like a schoolboy. And then Putin eyed up 10 Downing Street, and I fear that probably didn't scare the Russian leader too much, either.
Et voila
In 2014, you had Obama, Merkel, Sarkozy and Cameron and that didn't put off Putin annexing the Crimea.
Were they all weak as well?
For all their faults, they were better than the shower we have now.
What we need is Reagan, Thatcher, Mitterand and Kohl
Seems Putin is standing alone. Slightly embarrassing to have to watch Johnson chuntering in front of his Union Jack. He's probably less popular with the UK population than Putin is with his. As for the Trump fans....God knows what they make of their idol's choices. It's a complicated world. I'm putting my faith in the EU. They tend to get most things right and I believe in their instincts
Sadly it is the EU who are in crisis tonight as they pay the price for selling their energy economy to Russia with Germany absolutely in hock, and France and Italy unable to agree to US and UK demands to throw Russia out of swift as it would cost then €30 billion or more
You need to take off your blinkers
What was wrong with the EU buying energy from Russia?
If you do not know the answer to that then I am astonished
The reality is that BNP, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank have billions of dollars of exposure to Russia. If Russian oil companies cannot make their interest payments, that's a massive problem for those banks. (And, for the record, there are a couple of US banks who are also going to be shitting themselves, but it's a much smaller problem, proportionally, in the US.)
Now, BNP is highly profitable and well capitalised. It would be painful, but not fatal. But the German banks are neither particularly profitable, nor particularly well capitalized.
Sigh. I really wish America had a more inspiring or even sentient POTUS than Biden, right now.
Putin has chosen his moment well, in terms of weak western leadership
What difference would it have made, seriously? We've danced a dance the last few weeks but the outcome has been inevitable.
We can and no doubt will debate when mistakes were made and what else we could and should have done. None of that matters now.
We have to stop the conflict going beyond Ukraine and ensuring in economic terms Russia pays a heavy price and if we have to pay a price too, so be it.
I reckon the mere presence of a powerful, convincing, articulate president in the White House might have been enough to deter Putin
Instead Putin saw Sleepy Joe Biden. And then Putin looked at Berlin and saw "Olaf Schulz". Then Putin quietly sniggered at Macron and indulged his French preening, before making him look like a schoolboy. And then Putin eyed up 10 Downing Street, and I fear that probably didn't scare the Russian leader too much, either.
Et voila
In 2014, you had Obama, Merkel, Sarkozy and Cameron and that didn't put off Putin annexing the Crimea.
Were they all weak as well?
Ah hem.
Hollande was French President. Sarkozy departed in 2012.
The reality is that BNP, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank have billions of dollars of exposure to Russia. If Russian oil companies cannot make their interest payments, that's a massive problem for those banks. (And, for the record, there are a couple of US banks who are also going to be shitting themselves, but it's a much smaller problem, proportionally, in the US.)
Now, BNP is highly profitable and well capitalised. It would be painful, but not fatal. But the German banks are neither particularly profitable, nor particularly well capitalized.
Too stupid to fail?
I hope and trust that the US are putting behind the scenes pressure on Germany to support their allies. Maybe we should stop buying German cars.
"How the SNP became the most anti-Putin party in the UK Nicola Sturgeon and her nationalists have turned their backs on Alex Salmond’s pro-Russian antics by standing steadfastly with Ukraine. By Chris Deerin"
Why is literally NO ONE talking about a pre-emptive First Strike on Russia?
Forget this SWIFT nonsense, just take em out. Nuke the Whole Show. Led by the UK, with France and the USA behind us, just toast the entire country. Turn it into weird crystallised rock, with tiny bits of algae as the only life remaining.
Sorted
Before the first strike, you might want to return to Penarth or better still Sri Lanka in the event of a retaliatory strike.
If that's true about the airport being back under Ukrainian control it's a big plus for the Ukrainian military - the troops that took it by helicopter will have been towards the elite end of things.
Interesting that there were tales of transport planes heading in too - perhaps a large deployment through the airport had been planned.
If the Russians had been (or are) able to capture the government in Kiev, it would have made it much harder for Ukraine to fight, depending on what their continuity of government plan is like.
Sigh. I really wish America had a more inspiring or even sentient POTUS than Biden, right now.
Putin has chosen his moment well, in terms of weak western leadership
What difference would it have made, seriously? We've danced a dance the last few weeks but the outcome has been inevitable.
We can and no doubt will debate when mistakes were made and what else we could and should have done. None of that matters now.
We have to stop the conflict going beyond Ukraine and ensuring in economic terms Russia pays a heavy price and if we have to pay a price too, so be it.
I reckon the mere presence of a powerful, convincing, articulate president in the White House might have been enough to deter Putin
Instead Putin saw Sleepy Joe Biden. And then Putin looked at Berlin and saw "Olaf Schulz". Then Putin quietly sniggered at Macron and indulged his French preening, before making him look like a schoolboy. And then Putin eyed up 10 Downing Street, and I fear that probably didn't scare the Russian leader too much, either.
Et voila
In 2014, you had Obama, Merkel, Sarkozy and Cameron and that didn't put off Putin annexing the Crimea.
Were they all weak as well?
For all their faults, they were better than the shower we have now.
What we need is Reagan, Thatcher, Mitterand and Kohl
*sigh*
Reagan was arguably in worse mental condition for a lot of his time than Biden is now, though. Thatcher, Mitterand and Kohl were in better shape.
None of them were Churchill or Roosevelt, going even further back.
Why is literally NO ONE talking about a pre-emptive First Strike on Russia?
Forget this SWIFT nonsense, just take em out. Nuke the Whole Show. Led by the UK, with France and the USA behind us, just toast the entire country. Turn it into weird crystallised rock, with tiny bits of algae as the only life remaining.
Sorted
Is the drinks cabinet open early, Leon ?
"Stilgar,"Paul said, "you urgently need a sense of balance which can come only from an understanding of long-term effects. What little information we have about the old times, the pittance of data which the Butlerians left us, Korba has brought it for you. Start with the Genghis Khan." Ghengis... Khan? Was he of the Sardaukar, m'Lord?" "Oh, long before that. He killed... perhaps four million." He must've had formidable weaponry to kill that many, Sire. Lasbeams, perhaps, or..." "He didn't kill them himself, Stil. He killed the way I kill, by sending out his legions. There's another emperor I want you to note in passing - a Hitler. He killed more than six million. Pretty good for those days.' "Killed... by his legions?" Stilgar asked. "Yes" "Not very impressive statistics, m'Lord." "Very good Stil." Paul glanced at the reels in Korba's hands. Korba stood with them as though he wished he could drop them and flee. "Statistics: at a conservative estimate, I've killed sixty-one billion, sterlized ninety planets, completely demoralized five hundred others. I've wiped out the followers of forty religions which had existed since-" "Unbelievers!" Korba protested. "Unbelievers all!" "No," Paul said. "Believers."
I'm sure in some other corner of the Internet there are people explaining how it is all Israel's fault.
Yes. Especially since Germany is the only country which has taken action above and beyond what was widely predicted.
Have they reversed their ban on weapons made in Germany being supplied to Ukraine?
It's funny you should mention that, but no they haven't. And to me, that is utterly unconscionable.
The Brits, the French and the Estonians have all shipped weapons to the Ukraine. But Germany has banned re-export to the Ukraine, which is utterly disgraceful.
I'm sure in some other corner of the Internet there are people explaining how it is all Israel's fault.
Yes. Especially since Germany is the only country which has taken action above and beyond what was widely predicted.
Have they reversed their ban on weapons made in Germany being supplied to Ukraine?
No. But they have postponed a pipeline. Has the UK done anything so greatly against its own interests? Supplying weapons in return for payment isn't a sacrifice.
"How the SNP became the most anti-Putin party in the UK Nicola Sturgeon and her nationalists have turned their backs on Alex Salmond’s pro-Russian antics by standing steadfastly with Ukraine. By Chris Deerin"
I dont want to disappoint anyone but whilst the Ukrainians are putting up resistance the Russian have only committed a fraction of their first echelon forces so there is more to come. The likes of the possibly failed smash and grab on the Hostomel airfield near Kiev are prelims.
It is imperative that whatever airpower the ukraine has stays intact overnight as the Russians are looking for it. Just as important if they can somehow do it is disrupt russian airpower at source, as the Russian advantages there are bigger than any other particular capability between the forces.
I'm sure in some other corner of the Internet there are people explaining how it is all Israel's fault.
Yes. Especially since Germany is the only country which has taken action above and beyond what was widely predicted.
Have they reversed their ban on weapons made in Germany being supplied to Ukraine?
It's funny you should mention that, but no they haven't. And to me, that is utterly unconscionable.
The Brits, the French and the Estonians have all shipped weapons to the Ukraine. But Germany has banned re-export to the Ukraine, which is utterly disgraceful.
While directly selling to UAE and Saudi. Disgusting.
"David Gauke @DavidGauke How twisted must your world view be that your first response to an unprovoked invasion is to condemn those institutions which seek to offer peace & security to those trying to escape tyranny, rather than condemn the invading tyrant?
Quote Tweet Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage · 6h Well, I was wrong. Putin has gone much further than I thought he would.
A consequence of EU and NATO expansion, which came to a head in 2014. It made no sense to poke the Russian bear with a stick.
These are dark days for Europe. 1:31 PM · Feb 24, 2022"
I dont want to disappoint anyone but whilst the Ukrainians are putting up resistance the Russian have only committed a fraction of their first echelon forces so there is more to come. The likes of the possibly failed smash and grab on the Hostomel airfield near Kiev are prelims.
It is imperative that whatever airpower the ukraine has stays intact overnight as the Russians are looking for it. Just as important if they can somehow do it is disrupt russian airpower at source, as the Russian advantages there are bigger than any other particular capability between the forces.
Presumably the Ukrainians could do with more SAMs to help them deal with the air threat - particularly helicopters.
"David Gauke @DavidGauke How twisted must your world view be that your first response to an unprovoked invasion is to condemn those institutions which seek to offer peace & security to those trying to escape tyranny, rather than condemn the invading tyrant?
Quote Tweet Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage · 6h Well, I was wrong. Putin has gone much further than I thought he would.
A consequence of EU and NATO expansion, which came to a head in 2014. It made no sense to poke the Russian bear with a stick.
These are dark days for Europe. 1:31 PM · Feb 24, 2022"
"David Gauke @DavidGauke How twisted must your world view be that your first response to an unprovoked invasion is to condemn those institutions which seek to offer peace & security to those trying to escape tyranny, rather than condemn the invading tyrant?
Quote Tweet Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage · 6h Well, I was wrong. Putin has gone much further than I thought he would.
A consequence of EU and NATO expansion, which came to a head in 2014. It made no sense to poke the Russian bear with a stick.
These are dark days for Europe. 1:31 PM · Feb 24, 2022"
Caroline Lucas @CarolineLucas · 1h At last we’re getting closer to scale of sanctions & legislation needed. More still to be done but this is an important and significant step in isolating the Kremlin & signalling solidarity with Ukraine #StandWithUkraine
Such displays of public protest are seriously brave in Putin’s Russia.
Elena Kovalskaya, the director of Moscow’s Vsevolod Meyerhold State Theater and Cultural Center, has announced her resignation in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s impossible to work for a murderer and collect a salary from him,” she writes. https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1496850934298726405
"David Gauke @DavidGauke How twisted must your world view be that your first response to an unprovoked invasion is to condemn those institutions which seek to offer peace & security to those trying to escape tyranny, rather than condemn the invading tyrant?
Quote Tweet Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage · 6h Well, I was wrong. Putin has gone much further than I thought he would.
A consequence of EU and NATO expansion, which came to a head in 2014. It made no sense to poke the Russian bear with a stick.
These are dark days for Europe. 1:31 PM · Feb 24, 2022"
The reality is that BNP, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank have billions of dollars of exposure to Russia. If Russian oil companies cannot make their interest payments, that's a massive problem for those banks. (And, for the record, there are a couple of US banks who are also going to be shitting themselves, but it's a much smaller problem, proportionally, in the US.)
Now, BNP is highly profitable and well capitalised. It would be painful, but not fatal. But the German banks are neither particularly profitable, nor particularly well capitalized.
I was reading up on it yesterday, the argument is it might be bigged up how much it hurts Putin vs the pain to ourselves. Putin has already war gamed we could do it and offset, not entirely obviously, by setting up an alternative. Whilst politicians are now desperate to look tough to their own domestic audiences.
The bottom line is, it was right for HoC to show the solidarity today, but it’s not going to last towards the sanction package as details emerge.
"How the SNP became the most anti-Putin party in the UK Nicola Sturgeon and her nationalists have turned their backs on Alex Salmond’s pro-Russian antics by standing steadfastly with Ukraine. By Chris Deerin"
The SNP are the anti Salmond party. Putin has just been caught in the crossfire.
It's also completely fucking risible
The SNP want to unilaterally disarm, get rid of the nukes, meaning Putin can just send his navy from Murmansk and take over indy Scotland any time he likes
That is the logic of their position. Unless, of course, the SNP still intend to sort of rely on Trident, England and the Americans to defend them, the same way they still sort of want to use the UK pound after indy, but can't quite say it.
"Seriously this whole thing has pushed my view of the UK back up, basically all the intelligence has from them and they are open about it, they sent arms and the provided training on how to use them, were very vocal about what would happen if they invaded and are now pushing this. Just like with Covid vaccines the UK is proving that, maybe for something's, leaving the EU was a good thing, they have their voice back and they are not afraid to use it."
"How the SNP became the most anti-Putin party in the UK Nicola Sturgeon and her nationalists have turned their backs on Alex Salmond’s pro-Russian antics by standing steadfastly with Ukraine. By Chris Deerin"
The SNP are the anti Salmond party. Putin has just been caught in the crossfire.
It's also completely fucking risible
The SNP want to unilaterally disarm, get rid of the nukes, meaning Putin can just send his navy from Murmansk and take over indy Scotland any time he likes
That is the logic of their position. Unless, of course, the SNP still intend to sort of rely on Trident, England and the Americans to defend them, the same way they still sort of want to use the UK pound after indy, but can't quite say it.
What a busload of wankers
Sounds like the Irish of course, who do exactly this, even when the Nazis rampage across Europe.
Such displays of public protest are seriously brave in Putin’s Russia.
Elena Kovalskaya, the director of Moscow’s Vsevolod Meyerhold State Theater and Cultural Center, has announced her resignation in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s impossible to work for a murderer and collect a salary from him,” she writes. https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1496850934298726405
Of course, Vsevolod Meyerhold himself was arrested, tortured and executed the next day, 2 February 1940.
"How the SNP became the most anti-Putin party in the UK Nicola Sturgeon and her nationalists have turned their backs on Alex Salmond’s pro-Russian antics by standing steadfastly with Ukraine. By Chris Deerin"
The SNP are the anti Salmond party. Putin has just been caught in the crossfire.
It's also completely fucking risible
The SNP want to unilaterally disarm, get rid of the nukes, meaning Putin can just send his navy from Murmansk and take over indy Scotland any time he likes
That is the logic of their position. Unless, of course, the SNP still intend to sort of rely on Trident, England and the Americans to defend them, the same way they still sort of want to use the UK pound after indy, but can't quite say it.
Such displays of public protest are seriously brave in Putin’s Russia.
Elena Kovalskaya, the director of Moscow’s Vsevolod Meyerhold State Theater and Cultural Center, has announced her resignation in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s impossible to work for a murderer and collect a salary from him,” she writes. https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1496850934298726405
That is tremendously courageous. These people often end up in jail for many years. Brave brave woman
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith · 38s Second Cobr of the day happening now. PM to host a full Cabinet meeting afterwards too. So his day to last at least 4am - 9pm.
Such displays of public protest are seriously brave in Putin’s Russia.
Elena Kovalskaya, the director of Moscow’s Vsevolod Meyerhold State Theater and Cultural Center, has announced her resignation in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s impossible to work for a murderer and collect a salary from him,” she writes. https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1496850934298726405
We should offer asylum to regime dissidents like this.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith · 38s Second Cobr of the day happening now. PM to host a full Cabinet meeting afterwards too. So his day to last at least 4am - 9pm.
I doubt Boris has ever - literally ever - pulled a shift this long before.
"David Gauke @DavidGauke How twisted must your world view be that your first response to an unprovoked invasion is to condemn those institutions which seek to offer peace & security to those trying to escape tyranny, rather than condemn the invading tyrant?
Quote Tweet Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage · 6h Well, I was wrong. Putin has gone much further than I thought he would.
A consequence of EU and NATO expansion, which came to a head in 2014. It made no sense to poke the Russian bear with a stick.
These are dark days for Europe. 1:31 PM · Feb 24, 2022"
Yep. Shocking how Farage would sell this country's fundamental values down the river. He claims to be wrapped in the flag, to be the ultimate english nationalist. He's a fake. A 5th columnist. A traitor to this country's core beliefs.
Thatcher, his great hero, would have known what he was.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith · 38s Second Cobr of the day happening now. PM to host a full Cabinet meeting afterwards too. So his day to last at least 4am - 9pm.
Begins to make up for the many times he has been missing in action (or inaction).
Caroline Lucas @CarolineLucas · 1h At last we’re getting closer to scale of sanctions & legislation needed. More still to be done but this is an important and significant step in isolating the Kremlin & signalling solidarity with Ukraine #StandWithUkraine
"How the SNP became the most anti-Putin party in the UK Nicola Sturgeon and her nationalists have turned their backs on Alex Salmond’s pro-Russian antics by standing steadfastly with Ukraine. By Chris Deerin"
The SNP are the anti Salmond party. Putin has just been caught in the crossfire.
It's also completely fucking risible
The SNP want to unilaterally disarm, get rid of the nukes, meaning Putin can just send his navy from Murmansk and take over indy Scotland any time he likes
That is the logic of their position. Unless, of course, the SNP still intend to sort of rely on Trident, England and the Americans to defend them, the same way they still sort of want to use the UK pound after indy, but can't quite say it.
What a busload of wankers
Works for the Irish.
It’s not obvious to me why we let various European states free ride on the NATO security architecture.
Ireland. Austria. Switzerland. Sweden.
Sweden has a large weapons industry FFS.
Finland I can kind-of understand, but they appear to be the only ones giving some serious thought to the issue right now.
The reality is that BNP, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank have billions of dollars of exposure to Russia. If Russian oil companies cannot make their interest payments, that's a massive problem for those banks. (And, for the record, there are a couple of US banks who are also going to be shitting themselves, but it's a much smaller problem, proportionally, in the US.)
Now, BNP is highly profitable and well capitalised. It would be painful, but not fatal. But the German banks are neither particularly profitable, nor particularly well capitalized.
I was reading up on it yesterday, the argument is it might be bigged up how much it hurts Putin vs the pain to ourselves. Putin has already war gamed we could do it and offset, not entirely obviously, by setting up an alternative. Whilst politicians are now desperate to look tough to their own domestic audiences.
The bottom line is, it was right for HoC to show the solidarity today, but it’s not going to last towards the sanction package as details emerge.
Western economies are large, highly diverse and flexible. Russia's is not. No banking flows and no gas exports completely screws them more than us. Putin’s calculation isn't that he could withstand hard sanctions. It is that the West wouldn't push them through and sustain them.
The reality is that BNP, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank have billions of dollars of exposure to Russia. If Russian oil companies cannot make their interest payments, that's a massive problem for those banks. (And, for the record, there are a couple of US banks who are also going to be shitting themselves, but it's a much smaller problem, proportionally, in the US.)
Now, BNP is highly profitable and well capitalised. It would be painful, but not fatal. But the German banks are neither particularly profitable, nor particularly well capitalized.
I was reading up on it yesterday, the argument is it might be bigged up how much it hurts Putin vs the pain to ourselves. Putin has already war gamed we could do it and offset, not entirely obviously, by setting up an alternative. Whilst politicians are now desperate to look tough to their own domestic audiences.
The bottom line is, it was right for HoC to show the solidarity today, but it’s not going to last towards the sanction package as details emerge.
Western economies are large, highly diverse and flexible. Russia's is not. No banking flows and no gas exports completely screws them more than us. Putin’s calculation isn't that he could withstand hard sanctions. It is that the West wouldn't push them through and sustain them.
RU economy, despite its massive landmass, is no bigger than Italy's. Desperately reliant on a few core materials and minings/oil/gas production.
"How the SNP became the most anti-Putin party in the UK Nicola Sturgeon and her nationalists have turned their backs on Alex Salmond’s pro-Russian antics by standing steadfastly with Ukraine. By Chris Deerin"
The SNP are the anti Salmond party. Putin has just been caught in the crossfire.
It's also completely fucking risible
The SNP want to unilaterally disarm, get rid of the nukes, meaning Putin can just send his navy from Murmansk and take over indy Scotland any time he likes
That is the logic of their position. Unless, of course, the SNP still intend to sort of rely on Trident, England and the Americans to defend them, the same way they still sort of want to use the UK pound after indy, but can't quite say it.
What a busload of wankers
Works for the Irish.
It’s not obvious to me why we let various European states free ride on the NATO security architecture.
Ireland. Austria. Switzerland. Sweden.
Sweden has a large weapons industry FFS.
Finland I can kind-of understand, but they appear to be the only ones giving some serious thought to the issue right now.
Completely agree! Neutrality in the face of evil is evil.
Such displays of public protest are seriously brave in Putin’s Russia.
Elena Kovalskaya, the director of Moscow’s Vsevolod Meyerhold State Theater and Cultural Center, has announced her resignation in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s impossible to work for a murderer and collect a salary from him,” she writes. https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1496850934298726405
We should offer asylum to regime dissidents like this.
The director of a theatre named after a person murdered by the Russian State flips the bird at the Russian State?
"David Gauke @DavidGauke How twisted must your world view be that your first response to an unprovoked invasion is to condemn those institutions which seek to offer peace & security to those trying to escape tyranny, rather than condemn the invading tyrant?
Quote Tweet Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage · 6h Well, I was wrong. Putin has gone much further than I thought he would.
A consequence of EU and NATO expansion, which came to a head in 2014. It made no sense to poke the Russian bear with a stick.
These are dark days for Europe. 1:31 PM · Feb 24, 2022"
Yep. Shocking how Farage would sell this country's fundamental values down the river. He claims to be wrapped in the flag, to be the ultimate english nationalist. He's a fake. A 5th columnist. A traitor to this country's core beliefs.
Thatcher, his great hero, would have known what he was.
Traitor is a strong word.
Nevertheless, it would be interesting to understand his finances, his relations to Trump, and why he was sniffing about Julian Assange.
A spokeswoman for SWIFT, Frau Bonk, responds to Big G “oh hang on a minute, there’s as much dirty Russian money in the Tory party than in us.”
Maybe a wee bit cynical and deflecting from what is a serious issue within the EU
Or maybe not.
You have to concede this one Big G. Just as I have to admit we libdems need to lock Vince Cable in a wardrobe before he can do more damage to the Lib Dem poll surge. There’s a lesson to be learnt right across the piece, not just Tories knocking Germans. The UK government as well as western allies have been lazy and greedy for years, Putin has war gamed this and whatever boosterised sanction bombard doesn’t come as a blitzkrieg to him. The Russian government, Putin in particular, don't take sanctions bombardments seriously, and not because they dismiss the potential economic damage they can do, but because he puts Russian national security much more seriously than Russian economic welfare. The West will be outraged and there'll be all sorts of sanctions and stuff, as there were after the invasion of Crimea back in 2014. And the Salisbury outrage. Remember, just a couple of years after Salisbury the Tory party have taken two million pounds of dirty Russian money they refuse to give back. Worse than that they insult our intelligence now peddling the line they have never taken dirty money from Russia, China, McMafia oligarchs or anyone. And of course Putin sleeps soundly tonight because he knows the West will begin to forget and want to resume normal business with Russia. in a few years we'll back to where we were before. Just like last time. Just like the time before. the West have attention deficit disorder with regard to international politics.
Ben Riley-Smith @benrileysmith · 38s Second Cobr of the day happening now. PM to host a full Cabinet meeting afterwards too. So his day to last at least 4am - 9pm.
Begins to make up for the many times he has been missing in action (or inaction).
Johnson has been on form today. I'm am not one of his supporters to say the least, but he has at least ditched the smirk and the jokes and the faux hard hat bollx and done a couple of decent speeches and performances.
Comments
Well other than the fact that Biden hasn't turned Moscow into glassware I guess.
Instead Putin saw Sleepy Joe Biden. And then Putin looked at Berlin and saw "Olaf Schulz". Then Putin quietly sniggered at Macron and indulged his French preening, before making him look like a schoolboy. And then Putin eyed up 10 Downing Street, and I fear that probably didn't scare the Russian leader too much, either.
Et voila
German banks, on the other hand, would probably benefit from not being to lose more money in Russia.
Anyone who thinks Biden is a problem needs to spend ten minutes thinking what a Trump press conference would have been like in these circumstances. Christ. Trump would be handing out the Freedom Medal to his mate Vlad.
Shameful. Shameful
He seemed to be having trouble with the autocue, peering as if it wasn't clear. His responses to questions were very good however, and he was totally fluent.
I'm sure in some other corner of the Internet there are people explaining how it is all Israel's fault.
A Metropolitan police officer has been cleared of rape after prosecutors dropped the case against him.
PC Adam Zaman, 28, of Romford, east London, was accused of raping a woman at the Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street, central London in October last year.
The court heard that the complainant had been informed of her right to review and Hunter explained that the CPS’s decision had been made at the “highest levels”.
Bit of a change from Starmer’s time in charge.
Biden listens to the questions and provides a straight answer, maybe a bit stuttered, but totally comprehensible.
Boris just waffles abstractly.
Were they all weak as well?
Now, BNP is highly profitable and well capitalised. It would be painful, but not fatal. But the German banks are neither particularly profitable, nor particularly well capitalized.
Interesting that there were tales of transport planes heading in too - perhaps a large deployment through the airport had been planned.
What we need is Reagan, Thatcher, Mitterand and Kohl
*sigh*
Especially since Germany is the only country which has taken action above and beyond what was widely predicted.
Hollande was French President. Sarkozy departed in 2012.
Nicola Sturgeon and her nationalists have turned their backs on Alex Salmond’s pro-Russian antics by standing steadfastly with Ukraine.
By Chris Deerin"
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/scotland/2022/02/how-the-snp-became-the-most-anti-putin-party-in-the-uk
Personally I think the sanctions should be brutal and Europe needs to take the pain.
None of them were Churchill or Roosevelt, going even further back.
(FWIW, I doubt there's EUR30bn of exposure in French and Italian banking systems. I reckon the real number is probably EUR8-12bn)
"Stilgar,"Paul said, "you urgently need a sense of balance which can come only from an understanding of long-term effects. What little information we have about the old times, the pittance of data which the Butlerians left us, Korba has brought it for you. Start with the Genghis Khan."
Ghengis... Khan? Was he of the Sardaukar, m'Lord?"
"Oh, long before that. He killed... perhaps four million."
He must've had formidable weaponry to kill that many, Sire. Lasbeams, perhaps, or..."
"He didn't kill them himself, Stil. He killed the way I kill, by sending out his legions. There's another emperor I want you to note in passing - a Hitler. He killed more than six million. Pretty good for those days.'
"Killed... by his legions?" Stilgar asked.
"Yes"
"Not very impressive statistics, m'Lord."
"Very good Stil." Paul glanced at the reels in Korba's hands. Korba stood with them as though he wished he could drop them and flee. "Statistics: at a conservative estimate, I've killed sixty-one billion, sterlized ninety planets, completely demoralized five hundred others. I've wiped out the followers of forty religions which had existed since-"
"Unbelievers!" Korba protested. "Unbelievers all!"
"No," Paul said. "Believers."
The Brits, the French and the Estonians have all shipped weapons to the Ukraine. But Germany has banned re-export to the Ukraine, which is utterly disgraceful.
Indeed @rcs1000 has also confirmed France would suffer (see 7.08pm)
It is imperative that whatever airpower the ukraine has stays intact overnight as the Russians are looking for it. Just as important if they can somehow do it is disrupt russian airpower at source, as the Russian advantages there are bigger than any other particular capability between the forces.
@DavidGauke
How twisted must your world view be that your first response to an unprovoked invasion is to condemn those institutions which seek to offer peace & security to those trying to escape tyranny, rather than condemn the invading tyrant?
Quote Tweet
Nigel Farage
@Nigel_Farage
· 6h
Well, I was wrong. Putin has gone much further than I thought he would.
A consequence of EU and NATO expansion, which came to a head in 2014. It made no sense to poke the Russian bear with a stick.
These are dark days for Europe.
1:31 PM · Feb 24, 2022"
https://twitter.com/DavidGauke/status/1496840096577998849
It would be pretty handy if it wasn't the usual suspects doing it.
Caroline Lucas
@CarolineLucas
·
1h
At last we’re getting closer to scale of sanctions & legislation needed. More still to be done but this is an important and significant step in isolating the Kremlin & signalling solidarity with Ukraine #StandWithUkraine
https://twitter.com/CarolineLucas
===
Although time to drop her twitter head photo of her standing with a load of StopTheWar Labour MPs me thinks.
Elena Kovalskaya, the director of Moscow’s Vsevolod Meyerhold State Theater and Cultural Center, has announced her resignation in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s impossible to work for a murderer and collect a salary from him,” she writes.
https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1496850934298726405
The bottom line is, it was right for HoC to show the solidarity today, but it’s not going to last towards the sanction package as details emerge.
The SNP want to unilaterally disarm, get rid of the nukes, meaning Putin can just send his navy from Murmansk and take over indy Scotland any time he likes
That is the logic of their position. Unless, of course, the SNP still intend to sort of rely on Trident, England and the Americans to defend them, the same way they still sort of want to use the UK pound after indy, but can't quite say it.
What a busload of wankers
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/t0epur/comment/hya0au3/
"Seriously this whole thing has pushed my view of the UK back up, basically all the intelligence has from them and they are open about it, they sent arms and the provided training on how to use them, were very vocal about what would happen if they invaded and are now pushing this. Just like with Covid vaccines the UK is proving that, maybe for something's, leaving the EU was a good thing, they have their voice back and they are not afraid to use it."
I agree that is brave.
@benrileysmith
·
38s
Second Cobr of the day happening now. PM to host a full Cabinet meeting afterwards too. So his day to last at least 4am - 9pm.
Me, me, me.
Thatcher, his great hero, would have known what he was.
Ireland.
Austria.
Switzerland.
Sweden.
Sweden has a large weapons industry FFS.
Finland I can kind-of understand, but they appear to be the only ones giving some serious thought to the issue right now.
Damn....
Nevertheless, it would be interesting to understand his finances, his relations to Trump, and why he was sniffing about Julian Assange.
Apocalyptic bombardment around Kharkov, seen from a distance, which somehow makes it scarier
"Heavy artillery shelling hit Kharkiv tonight. Ukraine."
https://twitter.com/aldin_ww/status/1496933579842109441?s=20&t=rSTOC2xGkXJEd0LNpLYdig
Could be fake or erroneous. But if that really is bombs and shells falling on a city.....
EDIT: Some claim it is from last night
You have to concede this one Big G. Just as I have to admit we libdems need to lock Vince Cable in a wardrobe before he can do more damage to the Lib Dem poll surge. There’s a lesson to be learnt right across the piece, not just Tories knocking Germans. The UK government as well as western allies have been lazy and greedy for years, Putin has war gamed this and whatever boosterised sanction bombard doesn’t come as a blitzkrieg to him. The Russian government, Putin in particular, don't take sanctions bombardments seriously, and not because they dismiss the potential economic damage they can do, but because he puts Russian national security much more seriously than Russian economic welfare. The West will be outraged and there'll be all sorts of sanctions and stuff, as there were after the invasion of Crimea back in 2014. And the Salisbury outrage. Remember, just a couple of years after Salisbury the Tory party have taken two million pounds of dirty Russian money they refuse to give back. Worse than that they insult our intelligence now peddling the line they have never taken dirty money from Russia, China, McMafia oligarchs or anyone.
And of course Putin sleeps soundly tonight because he knows the West will begin to forget and want to resume normal business with Russia. in a few years we'll back to where we were before. Just like last time. Just like the time before. the West have attention deficit disorder with regard to international politics.