By the way, this isn't mere play. If you talk to the residents around Faslane they are acutely aware that it would be the No.1 nuclear target.
So, no, some of the Highlands are certainly not the safest place to be.
(I'm assuming everyone knows it's the home of our Trident nuclear subs)
Kay word 'parts', as I pointed out the distance from the top to the bottom of the Highlands is longer than the distance between London and the North of England.
Plus of course the whole reason at least 1 submarines with Trident nuclear missiles on board is always on patrol 24/7 is that in the event of nuclear war the UK PM from his bunker could still order a nuclear missile attack on Moscow or whereever the nuclear attack on the UK came from even if Faslane had been hit (though in reality it would almost certainly only be Moscow or Bejing being the 2 capitals of our potential enemies with nuclear weapons). 1 Trident nuclear missile is the equivalent of 8 Hiroshimas on its own
But Glasgow is on the border of the Highlands. At the Faslane part.
I haven't been following the discussion, but I don't think of Faslane as being 'Highlands'. It's too near Glasgow for it to be 'Highlands', demographically, geographically, or culturally. It's close, though.
And since, perhaps uniquely on PB, I've walked around the lot (excepting the islands), I'll put myself as an authority.
Bloody hell. "Highlands" is not some sort of sociological or demographic construct, it's a fact of life. Look on a map.
Not quite sure what you have "walked around" the lot of but a lot of us have been there. Indeed there's actual Scots who post here who probably know almost as much about it as you do.
In my experience the English tend to be pretty knowledgeable about the Highlands. They go on holiday, and they fall in love.
Indeed, Skye is basically the Home Counties + plus mad Dutch drivers nowadays.
I know what JJ means. Argyll is distinct from Assynt. Perthshire from the Cuillin. Speyside from Caithness.
That fucking bridge was the worst mistake in the history of civil engineering. I am a Hilleary btw so not in need of guidance on the whole Skye thang.
Yet the Kylesku Bridge is a thing of unalloyed beauty. Concrete and terrain in perfect harmony.
Sure. It's not the bridge itself, it's what comes over it.
You're either talking about the tourists who support the otherwise paltry economy, or the English.
Try Mull instead. No bridge. God's own country. And get there from the mainland by driving to the end of the world and taking the small ferry from Lochaline to Fishnish. No booking, just turn up. if you can find it.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
I know I don't post much so I won't be missed but I'm quitting this forum for a while because of my anxiety levels. This is in no small part due to idiots like you who insist on trying to talk the world into nuclear war. Before I go let me repeat the minute a British jet comes into contact with a Russian one it's game over. If you want to see the Ukrainian flag fluttering over an irradiated wasteland then that's your affair but I sincerely hope no one in a position of power listens to you.
Hey, I like your stuff. Stay chilled if you can.
Me too. Stereodog argues a minority view intelligently and well.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
Considering your "views" are that Ukrainians should just surrender, I'm not sure there's much to be welcomed.
Why don't you advise Russians to surrender so they don't get killed? 🤔
If Putin has come to the end of the road he might try to take the rest of us with him.
Russian state TV: “Our submarines alone can launch more than 500 nuclear warheads, which guarantees the destruction of the US and NATO for good measure. The principle is: why do we need the world if Russia won’t be in it?” https://twitter.com/ilya_shepelin/status/1498022807627829250
Hell's bells.
Someone needs to stop this madman. And fast.
Moscow has had far more crazed nutcases than Putin over the decades and none of them launched nuclear weapons. They know full well Russia would be leveled if it happened. And they know that Russia will indeed "be in the world" if they don't. This is all an attempt to get others to back down. I.e. a bluff.
His behaviour at the moment is eerily reminiscent of that of Brezhnev in his last years. Crazy foreign ventures. Threats of nuclear annihilation. Trying to sustain over-ambitious military spending at the expense of his country. Rampaging fraud and corruption in the government. The FSB extremely powerful.
Brezhnev, of course, had dementia, complicated by cardiovascular problems and alcoholism.
There may be more to these rumours about Putin's health.
There could be, but I still don't really understand what's going on with him. He clearly is genuinely changed in some ways and embarked on a mad project to take Kiyiv, for instance, or to refer continually to 1940's history.
Yet I wonder what other elements might be performance here, particularly now when he's terrifying the world. Could it be some very strange mixture of elaborately planned theatre and genuine danger and illness, I wonder. We have to take him to a considerable degree at his word when he's making these kinds of threats, ofcourse.
The rounded face could be either Botox or steroids..
Nah, he has always looked like that.
He really hasn't. He has a new football-shaped face
Young Putin was quite cheekboney
Mrs P thinks he looks like he's got Parkinson's.
Better hope his finger isn't hovering over the nuclear launch then.....
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Add more airforces to shoot down Russian planes.
And when more are shot down? Russia is not Iraq. They have S-400s, actual high technology.
Keep on enforcing the no fly zone. We can afford to keep going far longer than they can. Putin needs a quick war. If they can't use aerial support for their troops then they will get bogged down for years. Russia's economy can't afford a war that long. And they need the Western components to make their advanced weaponry.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Add more airforces to shoot down Russian planes.
Frankly I was hoping for another 20-30 years of life rather than dying in a nuclear holocaust before the summer.
Quite. I've been moaning about how it feels like this Winter has dragged on forever, but when I wanted it finally to warm up a little being heated to a thousand degrees in half-a-second wasn't quite what I had in mind.
No indeed. And if you avoid that, the resulting winter will last the rest of your short, cold, starved life.
Christ. I do believe Putin has decided to go full Chechnya on Ukraine. He can't stand the humiliation of a reverse, he cannot allow the career or life ending risk of a defeat. So he will obliterate any opposition until he "wins". I would not rule out tactical nukes, but he probably won't need them. He will simply rain down hellfire until he inherits the blasted desert, and calls it victory
Stand by for a new Cold War lasting decades
At this stage, if we just survive long enough to have a new Cold War for decades then I'll be bloody delighted. Bastard Russians.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
If you want to be taken seriously, you could try answering the questions people put to you. Instead you are ignoring them, and trolling us with provocative one line posts.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
Putin is waiting for the right moment to attack Kiev and is doing well in the south of ukraine
This is patent bullshit, they have attacked Kiev already, there is no waiting to attack it.
By the way, this isn't mere play. If you talk to the residents around Faslane they are acutely aware that it would be the No.1 nuclear target.
So, no, some of the Highlands are certainly not the safest place to be.
(I'm assuming everyone knows it's the home of our Trident nuclear subs)
Kay word 'parts', as I pointed out the distance from the top to the bottom of the Highlands is longer than the distance between London and the North of England.
Plus of course the whole reason at least 1 submarines with Trident nuclear missiles on board is always on patrol 24/7 is that in the event of nuclear war the UK PM from his bunker could still order a nuclear missile attack on Moscow or whereever the nuclear attack on the UK came from even if Faslane had been hit (though in reality it would almost certainly only be Moscow or Bejing being the 2 capitals of our potential enemies with nuclear weapons). 1 Trident nuclear missile is the equivalent of 8 Hiroshimas on its own
But Glasgow is on the border of the Highlands. At the Faslane part.
I haven't been following the discussion, but I don't think of Faslane as being 'Highlands'. It's too near Glasgow for it to be 'Highlands', demographically, geographically, or culturally. It's close, though.
And since, perhaps uniquely on PB, I've walked around the lot (excepting the islands), I'll put myself as an authority.
Bloody hell. "Highlands" is not some sort of sociological or demographic construct, it's a fact of life. Look on a map.
Not quite sure what you have "walked around" the lot of but a lot of us have been there. Indeed there's actual Scots who post here who probably know almost as much about it as you do.
In my experience the English tend to be pretty knowledgeable about the Highlands. They go on holiday, and they fall in love.
Indeed, Skye is basically the Home Counties + plus mad Dutch drivers nowadays.
I know what JJ means. Argyll is distinct from Assynt. Perthshire from the Cuillin. Speyside from Caithness.
That fucking bridge was the worst mistake in the history of civil engineering. I am a Hilleary btw so not in need of guidance on the whole Skye thang.
Yet the Kylesku Bridge is a thing of unalloyed beauty. Concrete and terrain in perfect harmony.
Sure. It's not the bridge itself, it's what comes over it.
You're either talking about the tourists who support the otherwise paltry economy, or the English.
Try Mull instead. No bridge. God's own country. And get there from the mainland by driving to the end of the world and taking the small ferry from Lochaline to Fishnish. No booking, just turn up. if you can find it.
Mull has a completely different passing place etiquette.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Add more airforces to shoot down Russian planes.
And when more are shot down? Russia is not Iraq. They have S-400s, actual high technology.
Keep on enforcing the no fly zone. We can afford to keep going far longer than they can. Putin needs a quick war. If they can't use aerial support for their troops then they will get bogged down for years. Russia's economy can't afford a war that long. And they need the Western components to make their advanced weaponry.
At which point Putin launches his nukes and it's Game Over... for us all.
By the way, this isn't mere play. If you talk to the residents around Faslane they are acutely aware that it would be the No.1 nuclear target.
So, no, some of the Highlands are certainly not the safest place to be.
(I'm assuming everyone knows it's the home of our Trident nuclear subs)
Kay word 'parts', as I pointed out the distance from the top to the bottom of the Highlands is longer than the distance between London and the North of England.
Plus of course the whole reason at least 1 submarines with Trident nuclear missiles on board is always on patrol 24/7 is that in the event of nuclear war the UK PM from his bunker could still order a nuclear missile attack on Moscow or whereever the nuclear attack on the UK came from even if Faslane had been hit (though in reality it would almost certainly only be Moscow or Bejing being the 2 capitals of our potential enemies with nuclear weapons). 1 Trident nuclear missile is the equivalent of 8 Hiroshimas on its own
But Glasgow is on the border of the Highlands. At the Faslane part.
I haven't been following the discussion, but I don't think of Faslane as being 'Highlands'. It's too near Glasgow for it to be 'Highlands', demographically, geographically, or culturally. It's close, though.
And since, perhaps uniquely on PB, I've walked around the lot (excepting the islands), I'll put myself as an authority.
Bloody hell. "Highlands" is not some sort of sociological or demographic construct, it's a fact of life. Look on a map.
Not quite sure what you have "walked around" the lot of but a lot of us have been there. Indeed there's actual Scots who post here who probably know almost as much about it as you do.
In my experience the English tend to be pretty knowledgeable about the Highlands. They go on holiday, and they fall in love.
Indeed, Skye is basically the Home Counties + plus mad Dutch drivers nowadays.
I know what JJ means. Argyll is distinct from Assynt. Perthshire from the Cuillin. Speyside from Caithness.
That fucking bridge was the worst mistake in the history of civil engineering. I am a Hilleary btw so not in need of guidance on the whole Skye thang.
Yet the Kylesku Bridge is a thing of unalloyed beauty. Concrete and terrain in perfect harmony.
It has to be taken at 80 though...
The drive from Ullapool to Durness was the best in the Kingdom before, cough spit, some idiot invented the NC500.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Well the RAF couldn't enforce that on their own. Do not assume, however, that a de facto no fly could not come into effect in the west of Ukraine at some point. NATO have kitted for it, lets put it that way.
Do you think the Ukraine Air force are flying out of Romania/Poland?
Would explain their remarkable resilience.
Yes, that's got me puzzled. How the f*ck do you hide an airforce, even a small one like Ukraine's?
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Amazingly, people can be genuine in their emotions and opinions, even without being willing to personally join in the fight of a war, nor should that be a requirement if one is to comment on matter of global importance, or local importance for that matter.
We see this on all manner of topics, but I find the pretence that there is something weak or untoward in strong emotional expression if one is not willing to literally or figuratively storm a barricade somewhere, in this case Ukraine, to be far from showing level headed pragmatism, rather it is a standard debating technique to imply the views expressed are somehow not legitimate ro undermined by lack of conviction. You want higher taxes but aren't voluntarily paying more? You support Sindy but aren't even living there? You support free markets but aren't going to just disband the NHS?
Are people getting carried away at times? Of course, we're all human here (probably). Do people need to dial it down a notch? Perhaps. Does people sticking to making comments on an online blog rather than joining the legion undermine any points they have made as a result?
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
If we start shooting down Russian aircraft, we don’t control what happens next. To have a no fly zone you have to be prepared to do so.
Like I say, emotionally I’d love to intervene. Logically I know we can’t directly, but I’m glad to see the west push the limits (though silently a bit worried we might find the limit).
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
Putin is waiting for the right moment to attack Kiev and is doing well in the south of ukraine
Getting that traffic jam up a 40 mile road is not a quick job.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Add more airforces to shoot down Russian planes.
Frankly I was hoping for another 20-30 years of life rather than dying in a nuclear holocaust before the summer.
My pension is pretty shite so I am pretty easy osey myself.
Shameful of Govt to refuse to even help other relatives in a terrible European war like this.
Home Office must immediately extend this to wider family members and then they must set out a broader sanctuary route so UK also does its bit to help other Ukrainians too/2
Putin has doubled down. He is going to Grozny Ukraine into submission. Hideous. Many thousands will die
Which is why Ukraine should think about surrendering now and enter negotiations...many lives will be saved
It must be incredibly emasculating for you to have your tongue so far up the arse of a flabby chested syphilitic foggy like Putin. Is it because you are so economically pathetic you need to shill for a few rubles? Or is it because you're the sort of loser white man you have to embrace white nationalism as a way to claim credit for other people's achievements?
Travis Akers @travisakers Pravda Brewery, based in Lviv, Ukraine, has suspended its beer brewing operations and is now making Molotov cocktails for residents to use against invading Russian forces.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
@PJohnson has not said anything libellous, or horribly racist, or grotesquely violent towards another poster. He (she?) has not doxxed anyone or broken any other crucial rule
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Well the RAF couldn't enforce that on their own. Do not assume, however, that a de facto no fly could not come into effect in the west of Ukraine at some point. NATO have kitted for it, lets put it that way.
Do you think the Ukraine Air force are flying out of Romania/Poland?
Would explain their remarkable resilience.
Yes, that's got me puzzled. How the f*ck do you hide an airforce, even a small one like Ukraine's?
Ukraine is a very large country and, according to reports, has quite a lot of suspiciously well-maintained stretches of long, straight road. Out West, in regions that the Russian army hasn't yet got close to.
A member of the Belarusian military speaks to the Belarusian troops.
There's something going on with Lukashenko too. He seems to have been critical to the arranging the meeting today, and his form of words for the threat was quite odd.
"We have to be very careful, because nuclear war could be the end of everything." That could be interpreted as a direct threat to Putin and the regime, prophesying its end, as much as anything else, and for a hardman his face looked terrified.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
Considering your "views" are that Ukrainians should just surrender, I'm not sure there's much to be welcomed.
Why don't you advise Russians to surrender so they don't get killed? 🤔
Ukrainian surrender means some number of people still get killed, since it is Putin's stated policy to root out various undesirables. Russian surrender would mean no more killing, since the Ukrainians don't have any policy to march into Russia to take out nazis or whatever. So by his own 'concerned' approach the latter is more peaceful.
Putin has doubled down. He is going to Grozny Ukraine into submission. Hideous. Many thousands will die
Which is why Ukraine should think about surrendering now and enter negotiations...many lives will be saved
When you chose your PB name did you ever consider using an initial A rather than a P? It would have been rather prophetic considering the posts you have subsequently made.
I appreciate PBs policy of inclusivity, but do we really need this offensive propaganda?
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
Putin is waiting for the right moment to attack Kiev and is doing well in the south of ukraine
Getting that traffic jam up a 40 mile road is not a quick job.
And an incredible target for drones. Especially with those fuel and ammunition lorries.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Add more airforces to shoot down Russian planes.
Frankly I was hoping for another 20-30 years of life rather than dying in a nuclear holocaust before the summer.
My pension is pretty shite so I am pretty easy osey myself.
Money isn't everything. Indeed money is next to nothing compared to life, love and health.
Yesterday, multiple Russian state media published an extremely shocking, even for Kremlin standards, essay: it presumed "Putin solved the Ukrainian question for ever" - i.e. it presumed Russia took over Ukraine and essentially annexed it into a forever-new--old-union. But...
..this essay was apparently written for a scenario where Russian armed forces had taken over Kyiv and subjugated the country...Which didn't actually happen. So, what did state news agency do? They deleted the article, as if the plan had never been published in the first place.
Ok, one can assume this was just an editorial mistake that was caught early, and the essay did not reflect the State view..EXCEPT.. this same essay was carried on other state-run channels too, like @SputnikInt
Putin has doubled down. He is going to Grozny Ukraine into submission. Hideous. Many thousands will die
Which is why Ukraine should think about surrendering now and enter negotiations...many lives will be saved
Wouldn't a halt to invasion save even more lives?
If you would otherwise claim that because of its concerns Russia shouldn't halt its attacks you are saying there are situations it is ok to kill others. Apparently, self defence is not one of them.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
Having a half-assed rent-a-bot-for-Putin infest PB for time being, is just a back-handed tribute from the Secret Policeman's Other Ball . . .
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
If we start shooting down Russian aircraft, we don’t control what happens next. To have a no fly zone you have to be prepared to do so.
Like I say, emotionally I’d love to intervene. Logically I know we can’t directly, but I’m glad to see the west push the limits (though silently a bit worried we might find the limit).
Unexpectedly, the war is on a knife edge. Russia is struggling against a poor country a quarter of its size. Putin can't afford to expand the war. His whole plan now is to level the entire country of Ukraine to beat them into submission. If there is any military intervention at all from someone else on Ukraine's side, he is fucked.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
"I think it is unacceptable for people who are attacked to defend themselves. Also, it is unfair that people are mean to me with their words as it hurts my feelings" (paraphrase)
When you think about it, that really is exactly what Putin is also saying.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
Like RT, let him post rubbish and rely on the good sense of the audience to see through the fatuous and pathetic lies. It’s a sign of desperation and weakness, not strength or confidence.
If Putin has come to the end of the road he might try to take the rest of us with him.
Russian state TV: “Our submarines alone can launch more than 500 nuclear warheads, which guarantees the destruction of the US and NATO for good measure. The principle is: why do we need the world if Russia won’t be in it?” https://twitter.com/ilya_shepelin/status/1498022807627829250
Hell's bells.
Someone needs to stop this madman. And fast.
Moscow has had far more crazed nutcases than Putin over the decades and none of them launched nuclear weapons. They know full well Russia would be leveled if it happened. And they know that Russia will indeed "be in the world" if they don't. This is all an attempt to get others to back down. I.e. a bluff.
His behaviour at the moment is eerily reminiscent of that of Brezhnev in his last years. Crazy foreign ventures. Threats of nuclear annihilation. Trying to sustain over-ambitious military spending at the expense of his country. Rampaging fraud and corruption in the government. The FSB extremely powerful.
Brezhnev, of course, had dementia, complicated by cardiovascular problems and alcoholism.
There may be more to these rumours about Putin's health.
There could be, but I still don't really understand what's going on with him. He clearly is genuinely changed in some ways and embarked on a mad project to take Kiyiv, for instance, or to refer continually to 1940's history.
Yet I wonder what other elements might be performance here, particularly now when he's terrifying the world. Could it be some very strange mixture of elaborately planned theatre and genuine danger and illness, I wonder. We have to take him to a considerable degree at his word when he's making these kinds of threats, ofcourse.
The rounded face could be either Botox or steroids..
Nah, he has always looked like that.
He really hasn't. He has a new football-shaped face
Young Putin was quite cheekboney
Mrs P thinks he looks like he's got Parkinson's.
Better hope his finger isn't hovering over the nuclear launch then.....
Interesting about the Parkinson's - I posted the pother day, that a neurologist I knew thought the same thing.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Well the RAF couldn't enforce that on their own. Do not assume, however, that a de facto no fly could not come into effect in the west of Ukraine at some point. NATO have kitted for it, lets put it that way.
Do you think the Ukraine Air force are flying out of Romania/Poland?
Would explain their remarkable resilience.
Yes, that's got me puzzled. How the f*ck do you hide an airforce, even a small one like Ukraine's?
I do not know. I'd think unlikely but there is some unpublicised & unclear stuff occurring around the Western borders of Ukraine.
How many Ukrainian combat aircraft have you seen flying in the last 48 hours or so? From what I can see, not a lot. Drones are easier to keep mobile & can launch from any number of sites and there is a working theory that the Russian air defence systems are not tremendously effective against them.
One thing I'd not discount is that the aircraft might at some point do an Iraq and get offside.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
What would you recommend NATO doing if an RAF fighter was shot down over Ukraine?
Add more airforces to shoot down Russian planes.
And when more are shot down? Russia is not Iraq. They have S-400s, actual high technology.
Keep on enforcing the no fly zone. We can afford to keep going far longer than they can. Putin needs a quick war. If they can't use aerial support for their troops then they will get bogged down for years. Russia's economy can't afford a war that long. And they need the Western components to make their advanced weaponry.
At which point Putin launches his nukes and it's Game Over... for us all.
Exactly. It’s totally insane and not,going to happen.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Wow. Just, wow.
You actually believe that free nations are not allowed to seek out alliances if they want. You actually buy into the idea that expansion 25 years ago of former USSR areas was wrong. You actually think this is Ukraine's fault for trying to choose its own path.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
@PJohnson has not said anything libellous, or horribly racist, or grotesquely violent towards another poster. He (she?) has not doxxed anyone or broken any other crucial rule
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
One doesn't need fake news. One or two on here even have Ukrainian relatives. It must be difficult to have to see his shit even if one tries not to read it as one scrolls through.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Quisling, cowardly, bollocks. Thank God we didn’t see the world in those terms in 1949 when NATO was founded, or whenever it has expanded.
Yesterday, multiple Russian state media published an extremely shocking, even for Kremlin standards, essay: it presumed "Putin solved the Ukrainian question for ever" - i.e. it presumed Russia took over Ukraine and essentially annexed it into a forever-new--old-union. But...
..this essay was apparently written for a scenario where Russian armed forces had taken over Kyiv and subjugated the country...Which didn't actually happen. So, what did state news agency do? They deleted the article, as if the plan had never been published in the first place.
Ok, one can assume this was just an editorial mistake that was caught early, and the essay did not reflect the State view..EXCEPT.. this same essay was carried on other state-run channels too, like @SputnikInt
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Quisling, cowardly, bollocks. Thank God we didn’t see the world in those terms in 1949 when NATO was founded, or whenever it has expanded.
HYUFD is a supporter of right wing autocracy. It is no surprise he is a traitor to Western values.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Wow. Just, wow.
You actually believe that free nations are not allowed to seek out alliances if they want. You actually buy into the idea that expansion 25 years ago of former USSR areas was wrong. You actually think this is Ukraine's fault for trying to choose its own path.
The laser like precision of Putin's actions to expose the irredeemably moronic is quite something.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Quisling, cowardly, bollocks. Thank God we didn’t see the world in those terms in 1949 when NATO was founded, or whenever it has expanded.
Rubbish. There is nothing quisling about opposing expanding NATO from what began as a defensive organisation to defend western Europe in 1949, which was absolutely right from a UK perspective, to what in Russian eyes has become an aggressive organisation expanding right to the borders of Russia.
If Putin has come to the end of the road he might try to take the rest of us with him.
Russian state TV: “Our submarines alone can launch more than 500 nuclear warheads, which guarantees the destruction of the US and NATO for good measure. The principle is: why do we need the world if Russia won’t be in it?” https://twitter.com/ilya_shepelin/status/1498022807627829250
Hell's bells.
Someone needs to stop this madman. And fast.
Moscow has had far more crazed nutcases than Putin over the decades and none of them launched nuclear weapons. They know full well Russia would be leveled if it happened. And they know that Russia will indeed "be in the world" if they don't. This is all an attempt to get others to back down. I.e. a bluff.
His behaviour at the moment is eerily reminiscent of that of Brezhnev in his last years. Crazy foreign ventures. Threats of nuclear annihilation. Trying to sustain over-ambitious military spending at the expense of his country. Rampaging fraud and corruption in the government. The FSB extremely powerful.
Brezhnev, of course, had dementia, complicated by cardiovascular problems and alcoholism.
There may be more to these rumours about Putin's health.
There could be, but I still don't really understand what's going on with him. He clearly is genuinely changed in some ways and embarked on a mad project to take Kiyiv, for instance, or to refer continually to 1940's history.
Yet I wonder what other elements might be performance here, particularly now when he's terrifying the world. Could it be some very strange mixture of elaborately planned theatre and genuine danger and illness, I wonder. We have to take him to a considerable degree at his word when he's making these kinds of threats, ofcourse.
The rounded face could be either Botox or steroids..
Nah, he has always looked like that.
He really hasn't. He has a new football-shaped face
Young Putin was quite cheekboney
Mrs P thinks he looks like he's got Parkinson's.
I just watched his video from earlier today, and he's definitely blinking and twitching in a slightly new way. Something's up.
2002
2022
20 years older, but he has always looked like that.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
I know I don't post much so I won't be missed but I'm quitting this forum for a while because of my anxiety levels. This is in no small part due to idiots like you who insist on trying to talk the world into nuclear war. Before I go let me repeat the minute a British jet comes into contact with a Russian one it's game over. If you want to see the Ukrainian flag fluttering over an irradiated wasteland then that's your affair but I sincerely hope no one in a position of power listens to you.
Good riddance to muppets like you that think we must just let Putin do whatever he wants because he would willingly have every city in Russia wiped out in nuclear attacks. You are the people who would argue for battered wives submitting to their abusers to stop them getting hurt.
As someone who has suffered from domestic abuse go fuck yourself.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
WHY and HOW THE FUCK have YOU become a CORBYN parrot in a fortnight?
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
@PJohnson has not said anything libellous, or horribly racist, or grotesquely violent towards another poster. He (she?) has not doxxed anyone or broken any other crucial rule
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
One doesn't need fake news. One or two on here even have Ukrainian relatives. It must be difficult to have to see his shit even if one tries not to read it as one scrolls through.
PJohnson is perfectly welcome to spew his emasculating brown tongued prostrates to the flabby chested doped up midget in Moscow. And we are perfectly welcome to point out what a pathetically subservient loser it makes him.
This video is an excellent reminder that it is possible to spend much of your career pretending to play the piano with your penis, then inspirationally lead a nation's military resistance against invasion.
This is the first time I am glad Corbyn is not the PM, it is good we now have a Labour leader who will stand up for our defences and for NATO, a proud Labour achievement.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
You're on the wrong side.
If I am on the side that wants to avoid WW3 and nuclear war unlike some of the hotheads on here, then proudly so!
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Wow. Just, wow.
You actually believe that free nations are not allowed to seek out alliances if they want. You actually buy into the idea that expansion 25 years ago of former USSR areas was wrong. You actually think this is Ukraine's fault for trying to choose its own path.
HYUFD is not saying anything outrageous
I believe Putin's behaviour towards Ukraine is evil. Satanic. And it risks the peace of the world
But does that mean the West got everything right post 1989 and the Fall of Communism? Of course not. From Iraq to Afghanistan we made terrible errors. And one of those errors might have been an over-hasty expansion of NATO, humiliating a great power - Russia - which was already lying, blooded, in the dust of history
And Russia, thanks to a cruel geography, has always had a sincere fear of being surrounded/denied ice free ports etc
This is not saying Versailles excuses the Holocaust. It is saying we made mistakes and we are not blame-free when it comes to the rise of mad-dog Putin and his weird worldview.
And yet, all that said, we have to deal with Putin as he is now, and he is a lunatic threat that must be put in a box, by any means necessary, up to assassination, I would say
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
@PJohnson has not said anything libellous, or horribly racist, or grotesquely violent towards another poster. He (she?) has not doxxed anyone or broken any other crucial rule
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
I would normally agree with this. But a couple of people, notably @rcs1000 have tried to interrogate PJohnson on his / her views, but they just ignore them and carry on posting short, increasingly pro Putin, provocations. There have been many today (30 or 40?), and it is starting to get annoying, from my perspective at least.
Half the cabinet’s seats now at risk, reveals new poll
An election today would result in the Tories losing 164 seats, a survey suggests, and only 9 per cent of us believe PM ‘tells the truth’
Don't be too disappointed if VI runs back to Cons. after the events of the last week. A benefit of incumbency under the circumstances.
But, as HYUFD points out, it’s an out of date poll out of line with other polls. It’s meaningless at the moment. I cannot see why anyone would get excited about it.
BoZo and crew have had 3 goes at a policy for refugees and have still fucked it up.
The EU meanwhile is done and dusted
Most EU countries do not require Ukrainians to have a visa (and haven't done for some time), and we can go to Ukraine without one. The home office has to simply waive the visa requirement. No fucking around. Ukrainians are obviously refugees. Their country has been invaded.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
You're on the wrong side.
If I am on the side that wants to avoid WW3 and nuclear war unlike some of the hotheads on here, then proudly so!
I you were Thatcher's son she'd put you up for adoption.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
WHY and HOW THE FUCK have YOU become a CORBYN parrot in a fortnight?
There is a difference between traditional Tory realpolitik from Disraeli on and being a Corbynite.
Unfortunately some on here believe unless we are becoming full on neocons and sending fighter jets into Ukraine to bomb the Russian army, which will in turn lead to war with Russia, which will potentially go nuclear, we are all Corbynite.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
@PJohnson has not said anything libellous, or horribly racist, or grotesquely violent towards another poster. He (she?) has not doxxed anyone or broken any other crucial rule
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
I would normally agree with this. But a couple of people, notably @rcs1000 have tried to interrogate PJohnson on his / her views, but they just ignore them and carry on posting short, increasingly pro Putin, provocations. There have been many today (30 or 40?), and it is starting to get annoying, from my perspective at least.
So scroll past and do not engage. That's the point
We should not ban people for opinions we find irritatingly stupid or childishly repetitive, and tediously immune to any debate. There would not be a Scot Nat left on the site, for a start
I always think being a Putin Sock Puppet must be a soul destroying job. At least being part of a Bangladeshi click farm you don't have to actually engage with other posters or part of the elite Israeli cybersecurity teams really very exciting challenging work.
Imagine what it must be like to think you are going back yet again for another 12hr shift having to stick to the script on some obscure Western forum where everybody immediately strikes down your lies.
I don't know how many people have seen the new Apple+ show, Severance, but I imagine it is like that.
Maybe a PB poster could enlighten us more. Do you have social media poster of the month award? What do you win if you are?
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Of course right-wing conservative HYUFD would support his right-wing conservative hero Putin!
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
His ego and future with options
as a leader or as a fugitive or as a prisoner or as a corpse
In the latest attempts by Russian trolls we have zerohedge @zerohedge · 3m Former White House Physician Says Biden Is Not Cognitively Fit To Deal With Russia Crisis
Well exceedingly few are us are fit to deal with international crises from birth, so I don’t really think that’s much of a problem.
A member of the Belarusian military speaks to the Belarusian troops.
There's something going on with Lukashenko too. He seems to have been critical to the arranging the meeting today, and his form of words for the threat was quite odd.
"We have to be very careful, because nuclear war could be the end of everything." That could be interpreted as a direct threat to Putin and the regime, prophesying its end, as much as anything else, and for a hardman his face looked terrified.
I found this encouraging:
Protesters in Minsk have encircled the building of the General Staff of the Defence Ministry of Belarus and are chanting "Glory to Ukraine!" https://t.co/caj03prp7N
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
@PJohnson has not said anything libellous, or horribly racist, or grotesquely violent towards another poster. He (she?) has not doxxed anyone or broken any other crucial rule
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
One doesn't need fake news. One or two on here even have Ukrainian relatives. It must be difficult to have to see his shit even if one tries not to read it as one scrolls through.
PJohnson is perfectly welcome to spew his emasculating brown tongued prostrates to the flabby chested doped up midget in Moscow. And we are perfectly welcome to point out what a pathetically subservient loser it makes him.
The joy of it is that if he/she really is being paid to post this shit, it’s not working. PB might be populated by a collection of weird, obsessive, politics and gambling fixated weirdos, but we know bullshit when we see it. And to be honest some othe posters have been a lot ruder and more antogonitstic tonight. I think people are stressed, but let’s try not to take it out on each other. “Why can’t we all just get along...”
If Putin has come to the end of the road he might try to take the rest of us with him.
Russian state TV: “Our submarines alone can launch more than 500 nuclear warheads, which guarantees the destruction of the US and NATO for good measure. The principle is: why do we need the world if Russia won’t be in it?” https://twitter.com/ilya_shepelin/status/1498022807627829250
Hell's bells.
Someone needs to stop this madman. And fast.
Moscow has had far more crazed nutcases than Putin over the decades and none of them launched nuclear weapons. They know full well Russia would be leveled if it happened. And they know that Russia will indeed "be in the world" if they don't. This is all an attempt to get others to back down. I.e. a bluff.
His behaviour at the moment is eerily reminiscent of that of Brezhnev in his last years. Crazy foreign ventures. Threats of nuclear annihilation. Trying to sustain over-ambitious military spending at the expense of his country. Rampaging fraud and corruption in the government. The FSB extremely powerful.
Brezhnev, of course, had dementia, complicated by cardiovascular problems and alcoholism.
There may be more to these rumours about Putin's health.
There could be, but I still don't really understand what's going on with him. He clearly is genuinely changed in some ways and embarked on a mad project to take Kiyiv, for instance, or to refer continually to 1940's history.
Yet I wonder what other elements might be performance here, particularly now when he's terrifying the world. Could it be some very strange mixture of elaborately planned theatre and genuine danger and illness, I wonder. We have to take him to a considerable degree at his word when he's making these kinds of threats, ofcourse.
The rounded face could be either Botox or steroids..
Nah, he has always looked like that.
He really hasn't. He has a new football-shaped face
Young Putin was quite cheekboney
Mrs P thinks he looks like he's got Parkinson's.
Yes, his face shape has changed in a way similar to my uncle's, who had a variant of Parkinson's.
BREAKING: Chechnya's Kadyrov says he will impose sanctions, including freezing Boris Johnson's assets in Chechen banks and stating 'there is no English tea', according to Russian media.
An optimistic but I feel plausible scenario is demoralisation and mutiny spreads in the Russian armed forces and in the police, middle ranking officers join in and the senior staff find a way to remove Putin.
Meanwhile Kharkiv and Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands. Russian stockmarket looks to melt down on Monday. Putin is really in danger of the whole thing backfiring. An intervention by a major Western power - say the RAF enforcing a no-fly zone - could really make the difference between a Russian Ukraine and the end of Putin.
Our policy makers should think about how Putin murdered British citizens on British soil and how now is their chance to ensure appropriate consequences.
Putin is waiting for the right moment to attack Kiev and is doing well in the south of ukraine
If Putin has come to the end of the road he might try to take the rest of us with him.
Russian state TV: “Our submarines alone can launch more than 500 nuclear warheads, which guarantees the destruction of the US and NATO for good measure. The principle is: why do we need the world if Russia won’t be in it?” https://twitter.com/ilya_shepelin/status/1498022807627829250
Hell's bells.
Someone needs to stop this madman. And fast.
Moscow has had far more crazed nutcases than Putin over the decades and none of them launched nuclear weapons. They know full well Russia would be leveled if it happened. And they know that Russia will indeed "be in the world" if they don't. This is all an attempt to get others to back down. I.e. a bluff.
His behaviour at the moment is eerily reminiscent of that of Brezhnev in his last years. Crazy foreign ventures. Threats of nuclear annihilation. Trying to sustain over-ambitious military spending at the expense of his country. Rampaging fraud and corruption in the government. The FSB extremely powerful.
Brezhnev, of course, had dementia, complicated by cardiovascular problems and alcoholism.
There may be more to these rumours about Putin's health.
There could be, but I still don't really understand what's going on with him. He clearly is genuinely changed in some ways and embarked on a mad project to take Kiyiv, for instance, or to refer continually to 1940's history.
Yet I wonder what other elements might be performance here, particularly now when he's terrifying the world. Could it be some very strange mixture of elaborately planned theatre and genuine danger and illness, I wonder. We have to take him to a considerable degree at his word when he's making these kinds of threats, ofcourse.
The rounded face could be either Botox or steroids..
Nah, he has always looked like that.
He really hasn't. He has a new football-shaped face
Young Putin was quite cheekboney
Mrs P thinks he looks like he's got Parkinson's.
I just watched his video from earlier today, and he's definitely blinking and twitching in a slightly new way. Something's up.
2002
2022
20 years older, but he has always looked like that.
But I've not seen him twitching and blinking fast like that before. It wasn't so much the face but the movements, which also look suppressed by something, I would say. As a medical man you might find the video of interest - I would be interested to hear what you think, too.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
@PJohnson has not said anything libellous, or horribly racist, or grotesquely violent towards another poster. He (she?) has not doxxed anyone or broken any other crucial rule
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
Agree strongly. It's a bit like when Plato went off the rails. I didn't like what she posted, but (usually) it didn't break the rules and through her I found QAnon stuff before most of the world did which was an education.
Do some people really think that the difference between Putin deciding to destroy the world or not is really going to come down to the technicalities of NATO membership?
Had Ukraine not tried to join NATO Putin would likely not have invaded it in the first place.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
Wow. Just, wow.
You actually believe that free nations are not allowed to seek out alliances if they want. You actually buy into the idea that expansion 25 years ago of former USSR areas was wrong. You actually think this is Ukraine's fault for trying to choose its own path.
HYUFD is not saying anything outrageous
I believe Putin's behaviour towards Ukraine is evil. Satanic. And it risks the peace of the world
But does that mean the West got everything right post 1989 and the Fall of Communism? Of course not. From Iraq to Afghanistan we made terrible errors. And one of those errors might have been an over-hasty expansion of NATO, humiliating a great power - Russia - which was already lying, blooded, in the dust of history
And Russia, thanks to a cruel geography, has always had a sincere fear of being surrounded/denied ice free ports etc
This is not saying Versailles excuses the Holocaust. It is saying we made mistakes and we are not blame-free when it comes to the rise of mad-dog Putin and his weird worldview.
And yet, all that said, we have to deal with Putin as he is now, and he is a lunatic threat that must be put in a box, by any means necessary, up to assassination, I would say
It is clear from the behaviour of Putin that all the refusal to expand NATO beyond East Germany would've achieved would be to allow him to rebuild both the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, by coercion and actual force.
We've now been under more-or-less continuous threat of dying a horrible death from these people for 70 years now. Putin is evil and so is Russia.
In the latest attempts by Russian trolls we have zerohedge @zerohedge · 3m Former White House Physician Says Biden Is Not Cognitively Fit To Deal With Russia Crisis
This is not news. He's a GOP congressman, prominent Trumpist, (also with a dubious back history involving copious amounts of alcohol).
Believe me, this is not Russian trolls. This is what's actually happening within the modern Republican party.
Someone, somewhere needs to find a way to stop escalating this. Is there anyone with a cool head?
Wouldn't look for one on PB to be honest. Most here are crying havoc and letting slip the dogs of war. Virtual dogs mind, I don't think anyone's joined the legion. But they are doing their bit by getting jolly cross and socking it to that PJohnson character in no uncertain terms.
Lol mate I'm just trying to be realistic but my views don't seem to be welcome
You are shilling for a fascist.
I really am concerned that this poster is a malign influence on the site but then that is a matter for others
@PJohnson has not said anything libellous, or horribly racist, or grotesquely violent towards another poster. He (she?) has not doxxed anyone or broken any other crucial rule
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
It is also quite revealing just how illogical and incoherent the argument is. The Russians just simply don't seem to have agreed a defensible line. So now it's become just surrender to save lives.
Putin has doubled down. He is going to Grozny Ukraine into submission. Hideous. Many thousands will die
Which is why Ukraine should think about surrendering now and enter negotiations...many lives will be saved
Wouldn't a halt to invasion save even more lives?
If you would otherwise claim that because of its concerns Russia shouldn't halt its attacks you are saying there are situations it is ok to kill others. Apparently, self defence is not one of them.
You're not even trying.
I definitely think that the Russians should surrender.
Comments
A member of the Belarusian military speaks to the Belarusian troops.
I hope he reconsiders.
Why don't you advise Russians to surrender so they don't get killed? 🤔
Most people are worried sick by the Ukraine crisis and the next GE is 2 years away
As I said this morning in 24 I could vote for one of three parties but right now there are far more important issues
They indicate for each one. Yuck.
The drive from Ullapool to Durness was the best in the Kingdom before, cough spit, some idiot invented the NC500.
Ah, but that was when it was good news for the Conservatives.
We see this on all manner of topics, but I find the pretence that there is something weak or untoward in strong emotional expression if one is not willing to literally or figuratively storm a barricade somewhere, in this case Ukraine, to be far from showing level headed pragmatism, rather it is a standard debating technique to imply the views expressed are somehow not legitimate ro undermined by lack of conviction. You want higher taxes but aren't voluntarily paying more? You support Sindy but aren't even living there? You support free markets but aren't going to just disband the NHS?
Are people getting carried away at times? Of course, we're all human here (probably). Do people need to dial it down a notch? Perhaps. Does people sticking to making comments on an online blog rather than joining the legion undermine any points they have made as a result?
Of course it bloody doesn't.
Like I say, emotionally I’d love to intervene. Logically I know we can’t directly, but I’m glad to see the west push the limits (though silently a bit worried we might find the limit).
What are they thinking? What about people struggling to get elderly parents here, or Ukrainians who can’t come stay with sister or brother here?/1 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine-and-ukrainian-nationals-in-ukraine-and-the-uk https://twitter.com/YvetteCooperMP/status/1498051799416066048/photo/1
Shameful of Govt to refuse to even help other relatives in a terrible European war like this.
Home Office must immediately extend this to wider family members and then they must set out a broader sanctuary route so UK also does its bit to help other Ukrainians too/2
Let him speak. That is the point of PB. It is actually interesting to hear a quasi-pro-Putin opinion, when we are all so united against Russia. You need the contrary argument to avoid bubblethink
"We have to be very careful, because nuclear war could be the end of everything." That could be interpreted as a direct threat to Putin and the regime, prophesying its end, as much as anything else, and for a hardman his face looked terrified.
I appreciate PBs policy of inclusivity, but do we really need this offensive propaganda?
..this essay was apparently written for a scenario where Russian armed forces had taken over Kyiv and subjugated the country...Which didn't actually happen. So, what did state news agency do? They deleted the article, as if the plan had never been published in the first place.
Ok, one can assume this was just an editorial mistake that was caught early, and the essay did not reflect the State view..EXCEPT.. this same essay was carried on other state-run channels too, like @SputnikInt
https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1498025819054264328?s=21
If you would otherwise claim that because of its concerns Russia shouldn't halt its attacks you are saying there are situations it is ok to kill others. Apparently, self defence is not one of them.
You're not even trying.
NATO should not have tried to absorb the old nations of the USSR
When you think about it, that really is exactly what Putin is also saying.
How many Ukrainian combat aircraft have you seen flying in the last 48 hours or so? From what I can see, not a lot. Drones are easier to keep mobile & can launch from any number of sites and there is a working theory that the Russian air defence systems are not tremendously effective against them.
One thing I'd not discount is that the aircraft might at some point do an Iraq and get offside.
You actually believe that free nations are not allowed to seek out alliances if they want. You actually buy into the idea that expansion 25 years ago of former USSR areas was wrong. You actually think this is Ukraine's fault for trying to choose its own path.
The poll to which I refer.
Half the cabinet’s seats now at risk, reveals new poll
An election today would result in the Tories losing 164 seats, a survey suggests, and only 9 per cent of us believe PM ‘tells the truth’
https://www.gbnews.uk/news/boris-johnson-receives-emotional-standing-ovation-from-ukrainian-cathedral-in-mayfair-for-his-russia-speech-watch/235942
The EU meanwhile is done and dusted
It was always asking for trouble
2022
20 years older, but he has always looked like that.
It is also just an excellent video of penis-piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_UWafVKjLw&t=107s
I believe Putin's behaviour towards Ukraine is evil. Satanic. And it risks the peace of the world
But does that mean the West got everything right post 1989 and the Fall of Communism? Of course not. From Iraq to Afghanistan we made terrible errors. And one of those errors might have been an over-hasty expansion of NATO, humiliating a great power - Russia - which was already lying, blooded, in the dust of history
And Russia, thanks to a cruel geography, has always had a sincere fear of being surrounded/denied ice free ports etc
This is not saying Versailles excuses the Holocaust. It is saying we made mistakes and we are not blame-free when it comes to the rise of mad-dog Putin and his weird worldview.
And yet, all that said, we have to deal with Putin as he is now, and he is a lunatic threat that must be put in a box, by any means necessary, up to assassination, I would say
The election will be May 2024. You can take that to the bank.
That man has balls.
There is a difference between traditional Tory realpolitik from Disraeli on and being a Corbynite.
Unfortunately some on here believe unless we are becoming full on neocons and sending fighter jets into Ukraine to bomb the Russian army, which will in turn lead to war with Russia, which will potentially go nuclear, we are all Corbynite.
Unlike you, I live in the real world!!
We should not ban people for opinions we find irritatingly stupid or childishly repetitive, and tediously immune to any debate. There would not be a Scot Nat left on the site, for a start
Imagine what it must be like to think you are going back yet again for another 12hr shift having to stick to the script on some obscure Western forum where everybody immediately strikes down your lies.
I don't know how many people have seen the new Apple+ show, Severance, but I imagine it is like that.
Maybe a PB poster could enlighten us more. Do you have social media poster of the month award? What do you win if you are?
as a leader
or
as a fugitive
or
as a prisoner
or
as a corpse
Protesters in Minsk have encircled the building of the General Staff of the Defence Ministry of Belarus and are chanting "Glory to Ukraine!" https://t.co/caj03prp7N
https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1497940480578969604?t=GlM3Kp7uA1JbR9UySHl5Iw&s=19
And Lukashenko knows how many of his people support the Belarus government in exile. Even more than Putin, he is at risk of a Ceaucescu moment.
And to be honest some othe posters have been a lot ruder and more antogonitstic tonight. I think people are stressed, but let’s try not to take it out on each other.
“Why can’t we all just get along...”
BREAKING: Chechnya's Kadyrov says he will impose sanctions, including freezing Boris Johnson's assets in Chechen banks and stating 'there is no English tea', according to Russian media.
We've now been under more-or-less continuous threat of dying a horrible death from these people for 70 years now. Putin is evil and so is Russia.
Believe me, this is not Russian trolls. This is what's actually happening within the modern Republican party.
The Russians just simply don't seem to have agreed a defensible line.
So now it's become just surrender to save lives.
Classic PB advice, very frequently applicable.