Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
Is there literally nothing that you could see coming out of Ukraine that would change your minds?
No. In recent years there was a war in Africa that killed 5 million people, displaced another 2 million and featured industrial scale rape, enslavement and the forced conscription of children. I didn't give a fuck about that and I don't give enough of a fuck about Ukraine to risk a nuclear war with Russia that ends Western civilisation.
Got it, so because Russia has nukes they should just be allowed to invade and war crime whatever countries they want?
I predict this war will end with Russia a basket case, and Ukraine taking up its place in the first rank of nations.
Do you think us nobly staying out of it will help?
So nobly fucking get in there, love, or live forever after with the little Livermores asking What you did in the war, daddy? What's stopping you?
I've just emailed the Ukrainian embassy offering my puny help if they want it.
I can't fight very well, but I can cook. If they want a cook that can feed their fighters near the front line I might be on my way.
If Putin conquers Britain I'll be proud to be one of those whose internet contributions showed unequivocally that they should be amongst those first up against the wall.
No one will give a fuk about your or my ‘internet contributions’, chief.
Whether the world ends up in a good place or a bad place is beyond any of us individually. The only thing we can do is to do the right thing, regardless of who will later judge us.
The right thing is to not kill BILLIONS of people
No one is going to kill billions of people because it would result in their own extinction.
One has to hope. But every year teenage boys in America go on shooting sprees in their schools before killing themselves, and Islamist suicide bombers do likewise. We have to hope Putin is not so inclined.
Putin would not have clambered to the top of the Russian state apparatus without valuing and prioritizing his own survival.
Zelenskys frustrations are understandable but not sure berating western leaders over NATOs refusal to put in a no fly zone is the way to go.
He’s got to be careful to not burn up western goodwill .
I don't think he's in much danger of that. He's been sure to be thankful for all that is done and naturally would ask for more than they would give, but precisely because it is a line they are not going to cross he will be pushing against an open door for pretty much anything else, and their guilt over not crossing that line will mean they won't be petulant at him expressing frustration at their failure.
Is there literally nothing that you could see coming out of Ukraine that would change your minds?
No. In recent years there was a war in Africa that killed 5 million people, displaced another 2 million and featured industrial scale rape, enslavement and the forced conscription of children. I didn't give a fuck about that and I don't give enough of a fuck about Ukraine to risk a nuclear war with Russia that ends Western civilisation.
Bluntly put, as is your wont, but very true. I feel exactly the same
This is all too simplistic. It's not about whether we give enough of a 'fuck' now to rush in and do something - anything - it's about what is the right approach to finally smash Putin and all his works.
This ends Putin no matter what the result. If he wins and goes for the next country the Military won't do it, because they won't be able to for years. Were he to lose, then it is goodbye. There isn't a scenario where he is around for more than 12 months. Sanction will not be lifted with him in place.
It is going to take a lot longer than 12 months unless some kind of miracle happens in the Kremlin and one of the inner core turn around and smash him with an ice pick.
The Russians are unbelievably stoic. And of course they are being lied to every minute. Even if we up the sanctions to the 'we are not buying your gas' level it will take time.
This is what we have to face. We are looking at war or semi-war here in Europe for years. Grinding, terrible, sapping with misery, inflation, energy issues, food supply stuff and so on. Millions of refugees. Relentless misery every night on TV.
I really don't think that so far Johnson has prepared us for what this will take.
We live in the Internet age where everything is a quick click.
If Putin conquers Britain I'll be proud to be one of those whose internet contributions showed unequivocally that they should be amongst those first up against the wall.
No one will give a fuk about your or my ‘internet contributions’, chief.
Whether the world ends up in a good place or a bad place is beyond any of us individually. The only thing we can do is to do the right thing, regardless of who will later judge us.
The right thing is to not kill BILLIONS of people
No one is going to kill billions of people because it would result in their own extinction.
One has to hope. But every year teenage boys in America go on shooting sprees in their schools before killing themselves, and Islamist suicide bombers do likewise. We have to hope Putin is not so inclined.
Putin would not have clambered to the top of the Russian state apparatus without valuing and prioritizing his own survival.
Even if that were true and I doubt it (most leaders get there by taking risks) he has clearly lost it in the last year or two
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
yes , otherwise there is not going to be a world to set a precedent
If Putin conquers Britain I'll be proud to be one of those whose internet contributions showed unequivocally that they should be amongst those first up against the wall.
No one will give a fuk about your or my ‘internet contributions’, chief.
Whether the world ends up in a good place or a bad place is beyond any of us individually. The only thing we can do is to do the right thing, regardless of who will later judge us.
The right thing is to not kill BILLIONS of people
No one is going to kill billions of people because it would result in their own extinction.
One has to hope. But every year teenage boys in America go on shooting sprees in their schools before killing themselves, and Islamist suicide bombers do likewise. We have to hope Putin is not so inclined.
Putin would not have clambered to the top of the Russian state apparatus without valuing and prioritizing his own survival.
Yes, he certainly doesn't seem suicidal.
He is a strange type of gambler. A double-or-quits type. A Martin Gale you might say. What typically happens to these is bankruptcy. As Wiki says 'the strategy is an instantiation of the St. Petersburg paradox'. How appropriate.
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
get one of those wanky agencies to do it like my ex employer did 5 years ago. Get sod all for your money but get fussed all over and get to hear your organisation is so wonderful in a camp two day session
Is there literally nothing that you could see coming out of Ukraine that would change your minds?
No. In recent years there was a war in Africa that killed 5 million people, displaced another 2 million and featured industrial scale rape, enslavement and the forced conscription of children. I didn't give a fuck about that and I don't give enough of a fuck about Ukraine to risk a nuclear war with Russia that ends Western civilisation.
Bluntly put, as is your wont, but very true. I feel exactly the same
This is all too simplistic. It's not about whether we give enough of a 'fuck' now to rush in and do something - anything - it's about what is the right approach to finally smash Putin and all his works.
This ends Putin no matter what the result. If he wins and goes for the next country the Military won't do it, because they won't be able to for years. Were he to lose, then it is goodbye. There isn't a scenario where he is around for more than 12 months. Sanction will not be lifted with him in place.
It is going to take a lot longer than 12 months unless some kind of miracle happens in the Kremlin and one of the inner core turn around and smash him with an ice pick.
The Russians are unbelievably stoic. And of course they are being lied to every minute. Even if we up the sanctions to the 'we are not buying your gas' level it will take time.
This is what we have to face. We are looking at war or semi-war here in Europe for years. Grinding, terrible, sapping with misery, inflation, energy issues, food supply stuff and so on. Millions of refugees. Relentless misery every night on TV.
I really don't think that so far Johnson has prepared us for what this will take.
We live in the Internet age where everything is a quick click.
Not this time.
I love a bit of doom-mongering as much as the next man, but that seems unduly pessimistic
If Putin conquers Britain I'll be proud to be one of those whose internet contributions showed unequivocally that they should be amongst those first up against the wall.
No one will give a fuk about your or my ‘internet contributions’, chief.
Whether the world ends up in a good place or a bad place is beyond any of us individually. The only thing we can do is to do the right thing, regardless of who will later judge us.
Of course, but I’m surer than a sure thing that I’m the best person to judge what I think is right. I’m so sure about it that I don’t even feel the need to batter other people over the head with it.
That's good for you. I feel I am right 80% of the time on a new subject or situation. That rises to 95%+ after I put my view out there and listen to all the counter arguments.
And that's good for you, what with you being you and all.
Personally it's aesthetics more than anything, insofar as I have a choice I'd rather not have a fixed opinion than feel the need to blart it out incessantly here or anywhere else. Of course I'm sure I have as many fixed opinions as the average bear.
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
The opposite could happen Frank. In Russia those responsible for this, and those supporting them could become very unpopular. Do you not see all those Russians opposing this, either from the start or at least now as our friends? Those with which we can sign a “never this again” treaty? Much like the French and Germans have. That seems to be working.
I obviously see the world differently than you do. Those of us in our 20s just see messes the over 40s leaving for us we would never have made because our world view is utterly different to yours.
To be blunt, you lot lived in a world that shrank, you can’t handle it, you really can’t, you hate it, you want to turn the clocks back. Those of us younger, the generations after us too, we have no problem with the shrunken world, the global village, we will calmly tidy up your messes and dismantle all your “contraptions” for turning back the clock.
Basically put, your world view is not founded upon anything timeless, it’s actually timing out. That’s what I mean by “the opposite” of your post happening.
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
The opposite could happen Frank. In Russia those responsible for this, and those supporting them could become very unpopular. Do you not see all those Russians opposing this, either from the start or at least now as our friends? Those with which we can sign a “never this again” treaty? Much like the French and Germans have. That seems to be working.
I obviously see the world differently than you do. Those of us in our 20s just see messes the over 40s leaving for us we would never have made because our world view is utterly different to yours.
To be blunt, you lot lived in a world that shrank, you can’t handle it, you really can’t, you hate it, you want to turn the clocks back. Those of us younger, the generations after us too, we have no problem with the shrunken world, the global village, we will calmly tidy up your messes and dismantle all your “contraptions” for turning back the clock.
Basically put, your world view is not founded upon anything timeless, it’s actually timing out. That’s what I mean by “the opposite” of your post happening.
You don't really believe all that nonsense about people in their 20s and the over 40s?
Stupidity will always be with us. It doesn't depend on age.
Is there literally nothing that you could see coming out of Ukraine that would change your minds?
No. In recent years there was a war in Africa that killed 5 million people, displaced another 2 million and featured industrial scale rape, enslavement and the forced conscription of children. I didn't give a fuck about that and I don't give enough of a fuck about Ukraine to risk a nuclear war with Russia that ends Western civilisation.
Bluntly put, as is your wont, but very true. I feel exactly the same
This is all too simplistic. It's not about whether we give enough of a 'fuck' now to rush in and do something - anything - it's about what is the right approach to finally smash Putin and all his works.
This ends Putin no matter what the result. If he wins and goes for the next country the Military won't do it, because they won't be able to for years. Were he to lose, then it is goodbye. There isn't a scenario where he is around for more than 12 months. Sanction will not be lifted with him in place.
It is going to take a lot longer than 12 months unless some kind of miracle happens in the Kremlin and one of the inner core turn around and smash him with an ice pick.
The Russians are unbelievably stoic. And of course they are being lied to every minute. Even if we up the sanctions to the 'we are not buying your gas' level it will take time.
This is what we have to face. We are looking at war or semi-war here in Europe for years. Grinding, terrible, sapping with misery, inflation, energy issues, food supply stuff and so on. Millions of refugees. Relentless misery every night on TV.
I really don't think that so far Johnson has prepared us for what this will take.
We live in the Internet age where everything is a quick click.
Not this time.
So long as Russia is kept in check it can go on for decades. Iran has been a sanctioned pariah state for decades, North Korea too. Burma, Venezuela, Cuba etc. Rogue states, insular and impoverished but dangerous, are a feature of geopolitics. Russia will just be the biggest and most significant, like Britain is now the most significant of the “not in the EU” Western European countries.
I doubt Russia will ever be pro Western again. It will wax and wane with periods of detente under more moderate leaders, then hard line periods when everything reverts back.
Meanwhile China will continue to bully its way to the top, armed with the grievances of the last century. Its leader may be less mad than Russia’s but the fanaticism and internal totalitarianism are still leagues ahead of even this new Russian chapter.
Zelenskys frustrations are understandable but not sure berating western leaders over NATOs refusal to put in a no fly zone is the way to go.
He’s got to be careful to not burn up western goodwill .
I don't think that can or will happen. I know I knock politicians an lot but I would be pretty certain that most of the Western leaders share exactly those same frustrations. They would love to send troops in to help, all the more so having seen how poorly the Russians have performed. But they are also realists and know that the danger is so great from Russia's nuclear threat that they just can't risk it. I doubt reasonable person would not be intensely frustrated and angry at being in that position.
So I reckon they will understand perfectly well why Zelensky is so angry and forgive him any loss of control.
Zelenskys frustrations are understandable but not sure berating western leaders over NATOs refusal to put in a no fly zone is the way to go.
He’s got to be careful to not burn up western goodwill .
I don't think that can or will happen. I know I knock politicians an lot but I would be pretty certain that most of the Western leaders share exactly those same frustrations. They would love to send troops in to help, all the more so having seen how poorly the Russians have performed. But they are also realists and know that the danger is so great from Russia's nuclear threat that they just can't risk it. I doubt reasonable person would not be intensely frustrated and angry at being in that position.
So I reckon they will understand perfectly well why Zelensky is so angry and forgive him any loss of control.
Its good in a way that highlights the refusal more to Putin and people around him who can press the button
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
The opposite could happen Frank. In Russia those responsible for this, and those supporting them could become very unpopular. Do you not see all those Russians opposing this, either from the start or at least now as our friends? Those with which we can sign a “never this again” treaty? Much like the French and Germans have. That seems to be working.
I obviously see the world differently than you do. Those of us in our 20s just see messes the over 40s leaving for us we would never have made because our world view is utterly different to yours.
To be blunt, you lot lived in a world that shrank, you can’t handle it, you really can’t, you hate it, you want to turn the clocks back. Those of us younger, the generations after us too, we have no problem with the shrunken world, the global village, we will calmly tidy up your messes and dismantle all your “contraptions” for turning back the clock.
Basically put, your world view is not founded upon anything timeless, it’s actually timing out. That’s what I mean by “the opposite” of your post happening.
You don't really believe all that nonsense about people in their 20s and the over 40s?
Stupidity will always be with us. It doesn't depend on age.
Every generation thinks the same about the generations before. To be fair, as time goes on the world does generally become more peaceful.
Is there literally nothing that you could see coming out of Ukraine that would change your minds?
No. In recent years there was a war in Africa that killed 5 million people, displaced another 2 million and featured industrial scale rape, enslavement and the forced conscription of children. I didn't give a fuck about that and I don't give enough of a fuck about Ukraine to risk a nuclear war with Russia that ends Western civilisation.
Bluntly put, as is your wont, but very true. I feel exactly the same
This is all too simplistic. It's not about whether we give enough of a 'fuck' now to rush in and do something - anything - it's about what is the right approach to finally smash Putin and all his works.
This ends Putin no matter what the result. If he wins and goes for the next country the Military won't do it, because they won't be able to for years. Were he to lose, then it is goodbye. There isn't a scenario where he is around for more than 12 months. Sanction will not be lifted with him in place.
It is going to take a lot longer than 12 months unless some kind of miracle happens in the Kremlin and one of the inner core turn around and smash him with an ice pick.
The Russians are unbelievably stoic. And of course they are being lied to every minute. Even if we up the sanctions to the 'we are not buying your gas' level it will take time.
This is what we have to face. We are looking at war or semi-war here in Europe for years. Grinding, terrible, sapping with misery, inflation, energy issues, food supply stuff and so on. Millions of refugees. Relentless misery every night on TV.
I really don't think that so far Johnson has prepared us for what this will take.
We live in the Internet age where everything is a quick click.
Not this time.
So long as Russia is kept in check it can go on for decades. Iran has been a sanctioned pariah state for decades, North Korea too. Burma, Venezuela, Cuba etc. Rogue states, insular and impoverished but dangerous, are a feature of geopolitics. Russia will just be the biggest and most significant, like Britain is now the most significant of the “not in the EU” Western European countries.
I doubt Russia will ever be pro Western again. It will wax and wane with periods of detente under more moderate leaders, then hard line periods when everything reverts back.
Meanwhile China will continue to bully its way to the top, armed with the grievances of the last century. Its leader may be less mad than Russia’s but the fanaticism and internal totalitarianism are still leagues ahead of even this new Russian chapter.
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Zelenskys frustrations are understandable but not sure berating western leaders over NATOs refusal to put in a no fly zone is the way to go.
He’s got to be careful to not burn up western goodwill .
I don't think that can or will happen. I know I knock politicians an lot but I would be pretty certain that most of the Western leaders share exactly those same frustrations. They would love to send troops in to help, all the more so having seen how poorly the Russians have performed. But they are also realists and know that the danger is so great from Russia's nuclear threat that they just can't risk it. I doubt reasonable person would not be intensely frustrated and angry at being in that position.
So I reckon they will understand perfectly well why Zelensky is so angry and forgive him any loss of control.
I understand your points but his comments could well act to de-motivate his own population and he does need to keep western public opinion onside. The inference that NATO is giving the green light for Russia to attack wasn’t good.
Putin has already defeated the minds of his enemies.
How so?
They believe and fear his threats enough to sacrifice Ukraine for their temporary sanctuary.
So. You are saying Putin's threats are an empty bluff? That he really isn't bonkers enough to risk literally billions dead? That's a heck of a high stakes gamble that your mind is more sound than others.
Seeing that Sky footage of their team under fire, in an effort to think about something else I wonder at the power of bad language, which still apparently needs to be censored in such footage.
Putin has already defeated the minds of his enemies.
How so?
They believe and fear his threats enough to sacrifice Ukraine for their temporary sanctuary.
So. You are saying Putin's threats are an empty bluff? That he really isn't bonkers enough to risk literally billions dead? That's a heck of a high stakes gamble that your mind is more sound than others.
Is there literally nothing that you could see coming out of Ukraine that would change your minds?
No. In recent years there was a war in Africa that killed 5 million people, displaced another 2 million and featured industrial scale rape, enslavement and the forced conscription of children. I didn't give a fuck about that and I don't give enough of a fuck about Ukraine to risk a nuclear war with Russia that ends Western civilisation.
Bluntly put, as is your wont, but very true. I feel exactly the same
This is all too simplistic. It's not about whether we give enough of a 'fuck' now to rush in and do something - anything - it's about what is the right approach to finally smash Putin and all his works.
This ends Putin no matter what the result. If he wins and goes for the next country the Military won't do it, because they won't be able to for years. Were he to lose, then it is goodbye. There isn't a scenario where he is around for more than 12 months. Sanction will not be lifted with him in place.
It is going to take a lot longer than 12 months unless some kind of miracle happens in the Kremlin and one of the inner core turn around and smash him with an ice pick.
The Russians are unbelievably stoic. And of course they are being lied to every minute. Even if we up the sanctions to the 'we are not buying your gas' level it will take time.
This is what we have to face. We are looking at war or semi-war here in Europe for years. Grinding, terrible, sapping with misery, inflation, energy issues, food supply stuff and so on. Millions of refugees. Relentless misery every night on TV.
I really don't think that so far Johnson has prepared us for what this will take.
We live in the Internet age where everything is a quick click.
Not this time.
I love a bit of doom-mongering as much as the next man, but that seems unduly pessimistic
Zelenskys frustrations are understandable but not sure berating western leaders over NATOs refusal to put in a no fly zone is the way to go.
He’s got to be careful to not burn up western goodwill .
I don't think that can or will happen. I know I knock politicians an lot but I would be pretty certain that most of the Western leaders share exactly those same frustrations. They would love to send troops in to help, all the more so having seen how poorly the Russians have performed. But they are also realists and know that the danger is so great from Russia's nuclear threat that they just can't risk it. I doubt reasonable person would not be intensely frustrated and angry at being in that position.
So I reckon they will understand perfectly well why Zelensky is so angry and forgive him any loss of control.
I understand your points but his comments could well act to de-motivate his own population and he does need to keep western public opinion onside. The inference that NATO is giving the green light for Russia to attack wasn’t good.
He's done plenty of thanking the West, trying a bit of shaming I doubt will hurt.
get one of those wanky agencies to do it like my ex employer did 5 years ago. Get sod all for your money but get fussed all over and get to hear your organisation is so wonderful in a camp two day session
The original comment sounded interesting if i could read it.
Putin has already defeated the minds of his enemies.
How so?
They believe and fear his threats enough to sacrifice Ukraine for their temporary sanctuary.
So. You are saying Putin's threats are an empty bluff? That he really isn't bonkers enough to risk literally billions dead? That's a heck of a high stakes gamble that your mind is more sound than others.
He won't end his own existence over Ukraine.
I'm not advising that we march on Moscow.
But he has literally gone all in on his own existence over Ukraine already. That is what the last week was. Fail and he is dead.
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
The opposite could happen Frank. In Russia those responsible for this, and those supporting them could become very unpopular. Do you not see all those Russians opposing this, either from the start or at least now as our friends? Those with which we can sign a “never this again” treaty? Much like the French and Germans have. That seems to be working.
I obviously see the world differently than you do. Those of us in our 20s just see messes the over 40s leaving for us we would never have made because our world view is utterly different to yours.
To be blunt, you lot lived in a world that shrank, you can’t handle it, you really can’t, you hate it, you want to turn the clocks back. Those of us younger, the generations after us too, we have no problem with the shrunken world, the global village, we will calmly tidy up your messes and dismantle all your “contraptions” for turning back the clock.
Basically put, your world view is not founded upon anything timeless, it’s actually timing out. That’s what I mean by “the opposite” of your post happening.
I'm not sure I understand what you are talking about to be honest. I'm 39 btw so not over 40. I'm by no means pessimistic about Russia under different leadership. Why does Putin fear Ukraine so much? Because I think he knows the same sort of democratic pressures could be brought to bear on him as well. I'm an internationalist - albeit pragmatic and I see no reason why liberty, democracy and the rule of law can't be universalised. What's old fashioned about that. But you have to accept there are bad actors in the world. Telling people to 'bury the hatchet' when one has blatantly and unprovoked attacked the other with mass bombing of civilians and ruined towns and cities shows astonishing naivety.
And Germany and France didn't just bury the hatchet. Germany was split in two for four decades and demilitarised with large occupying forces.
Putin is definitely a Greater Russian Nationalist, with all that entails. Like many such belief structures, it is also a resection complex. They are Out To Get Russia.
We (perhaps most people here) think of the world in a hierarchies. These vary according to the subject. When it comes to Greater X Nationalism, it is the military hierarchy that counts. Economics figures as well - as the engine for the military, though.
The conventional hierarchy for military capability is something like
1) USA 2) China 3) Russia 4) France/UK etc
Third in the world? Not bad, surely for Russia. In the Big Boys club.
But, we are seeing Ukraine putting up serious resistance to invasion. If Ukraine had a bit more military capability it would *defeating* Russia.
Part of the Greater X Nationalistic schtick is that all the other little nations in the neighbourhood should cower, subservient to and existing at the Will of the Benevolent Great Nation. The larger powers welcome Greater X to the special table for Big Boys.
Now NATO enters - with it comes enormous military backup.
Suddenly every little country can *challenge* Greater Russia. With NATO backing, Estonia could fight a war with Russia and win.
The new rankings look like
1) USA 2) China 3) France/UK 4)...
(all the NATO countries) x) Estonia x+1) Russia
Ha ha - Estonia, win? you say. But we have seen with Ukraine - a country next door to Russia, next to the railways they rely on for logistics - Russia struggles. As they get further away their ability falls. and it has been getting *less* comparatively for years.
There is good reason to think that the army in and around Ukraine is *all* the real army they have. The mass conscripts are a desperate gamble....
Estonia would get the full NATO thing behind them - the Americans and others will send an endless, endless supply of weapons and men.
NATO reduces Russia to nothingness.... 72nd on the list or something.
How much the Russian leadership sees this, is up for debate. But their addiction to compulsive compulsive claims of wonder weapons that tip the military balance their way is rather telling, if you look at it in this light.
Suddenly Russia is surrounded with potential winners, not potential victims. That is not being Greater Russia. That is being Little Russia.
When you add in the American interest in missile defence, that would take away the big, last difference - nuclear blackmail. As a Greater Russian sees it, a world where Poland has a missile defence system that means that Russian nuke might not get through, is a world where
Russia is inferior to Poland or any other NATO country.
Is this the root cause of what we are seeing? Putin lashing out at being turned into an ordinary country.
Vilain : Respect is everything. Without respect, we are just people. Common, shitty people.
Putin might rather *die* than just be President of a common, "shitty" (as he sees it) country.
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
Just wanted to clarify the tweet below so it doesn't read as an end-of-war prediction. (Sadly it's not). My resources comment was about existing inventory/supplies in Ukraine. More can and will be supplied, but is a logistical nightmare.
Is there literally nothing that you could see coming out of Ukraine that would change your minds?
No. In recent years there was a war in Africa that killed 5 million people, displaced another 2 million and featured industrial scale rape, enslavement and the forced conscription of children. I didn't give a fuck about that and I don't give enough of a fuck about Ukraine to risk a nuclear war with Russia that ends Western civilisation.
Got it, so because Russia has nukes they should just be allowed to invade and war crime whatever countries they want?
I predict this war will end with Russia a basket case, and Ukraine taking up its place in the first rank of nations.
Do you think us nobly staying out of it will help?
So nobly fucking get in there, love, or live forever after with the little Livermores asking What you did in the war, daddy? What's stopping you?
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
Sounds simply too good to be true, though one can always hope. If it is true, how could Putin ever have thought to win? Even had resistance crumbled more a couple of weeks of lower level fighting would have led to the same resource problem.
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
If they were planning a one week operation, which by all accounts they were, I could see them only having prepared for 2ish weeks of operations. They've already run out of long range guided missiles, hence the sharply increased RuAF losses today. However for most troops on the ground it'll be an academic difference; they're not getting any supplies as it is, so a reduction in efforts to send supplies makes no difference.
I've just realised the best help we can send to Ukraine, now. We've trained their soldiers. Good. Send them live intelligence. Good. Sent them weapons. Good.
Now we need to send the chaps who steal farm machinery and cars out in the countryside. They'll have that Big Convoy on eBay faster than you can click your fingers.
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Well they can hardly tell everyone to unite around the war effort, as they'll put you in jail for calling it a war.
Oh, what a lovely Special Military Operation!
Special Military Operation and Peace Special Military Operation (what is it good for?)
Star Special Military Operations Special Military Operation Games Casualties of Special Military Operation Special Military Operation Horse Special Military Operation of the Worlds
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
The opposite could happen Frank. In Russia those responsible for this, and those supporting them could become very unpopular. Do you not see all those Russians opposing this, either from the start or at least now as our friends? Those with which we can sign a “never this again” treaty? Much like the French and Germans have. That seems to be working.
I obviously see the world differently than you do. Those of us in our 20s just see messes the over 40s leaving for us we would never have made because our world view is utterly different to yours.
To be blunt, you lot lived in a world that shrank, you can’t handle it, you really can’t, you hate it, you want to turn the clocks back. Those of us younger, the generations after us too, we have no problem with the shrunken world, the global village, we will calmly tidy up your messes and dismantle all your “contraptions” for turning back the clock.
Basically put, your world view is not founded upon anything timeless, it’s actually timing out. That’s what I mean by “the opposite” of your post happening.
I'm not sure I understand what you are talking about to be honest. I'm 39 btw so not over 40. I'm by no means pessimistic about Russia under different leadership. Why does Putin fear Ukraine so much? Because I think he knows the same sort of democratic pressures could be brought to bear on him as well. I'm an internationalist - albeit pragmatic and I see no reason why liberty, democracy and the rule of law can't be universalised. What's old fashioned about that. But you have to accept there are bad actors in the world. Telling people to 'bury the hatchet' when one has blatantly and unprovoked attacked the other with mass bombing of civilians and ruined towns and cities shows astonishing naivety.
And Germany and France didn't just bury the hatchet. Germany was split in two for four decades and demilitarised with large occupying forces.
Too be exact, the people who thought War Was Good, War Was God, got defeated twice. The last of them killed, then hunted down. Their belief system was extirpated. Their spiritual home erased from the map (go find East Prussia). The country rebuilt to revile them.
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
Sounds simply too good to be true, though one can always hope. If it is true, how could Putin ever have thought to win? Even had resistance crumbled more a couple of weeks of lower level fighting would have led to the same resource problem.
But they could probably resupply locally (and presumably from Belorussia) if organized resistance had crumbled, and if their equipment had been basically working. Food, fuel and ammunition would all have been available.
It is probably too good to be true, but even a flicker of optimism is nice to have.
I've just realised the best help we can send to Ukraine, now. We've trained their soldiers. Good. Send them live intelligence. Good. Sent them weapons. Good.
Now we need to send the chaps who steal farm machinery and cars out in the countryside. They'll have that Big Convoy on eBay faster than you can click your fingers.
We could send Clarkson, Hammond and May to do a special converting Russian military vehicles into something more useful like a caravan
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
Not implausible given their “plan” assumed operations would be complete by the 6th - which is Sunday…
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Well they can hardly tell everyone to unite around the war effort, as they'll put you in jail for calling it a war.
Oh, what a lovely Special Military Operation!
Special Military Operation and Peace Special Military Operation (what is it good for?)
Star Special Military Operations Special Military Operation Games Casualties of Special Military Operation Special Military Operation Horse Special Military Operation of the Worlds
Not to mention the Cold Special Military Operation
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Zelenskys frustrations are understandable but not sure berating western leaders over NATOs refusal to put in a no fly zone is the way to go.
He’s got to be careful to not burn up western goodwill .
I don't think that can or will happen. I know I knock politicians an lot but I would be pretty certain that most of the Western leaders share exactly those same frustrations. They would love to send troops in to help, all the more so having seen how poorly the Russians have performed. But they are also realists and know that the danger is so great from Russia's nuclear threat that they just can't risk it. I doubt reasonable person would not be intensely frustrated and angry at being in that position.
So I reckon they will understand perfectly well why Zelensky is so angry and forgive him any loss of control.
Yes. Z is NOT calling up Johnson, or Biden, or any other prime minister or president to thank then for what they've done . . . but rather to lobby and urge and cajole and . . . wait for it . . . shame the West into doing much, much more . . .
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
The opposite could happen Frank. In Russia those responsible for this, and those supporting them could become very unpopular. Do you not see all those Russians opposing this, either from the start or at least now as our friends? Those with which we can sign a “never this again” treaty? Much like the French and Germans have. That seems to be working.
I obviously see the world differently than you do. Those of us in our 20s just see messes the over 40s leaving for us we would never have made because our world view is utterly different to yours.
To be blunt, you lot lived in a world that shrank, you can’t handle it, you really can’t, you hate it, you want to turn the clocks back. Those of us younger, the generations after us too, we have no problem with the shrunken world, the global village, we will calmly tidy up your messes and dismantle all your “contraptions” for turning back the clock.
Basically put, your world view is not founded upon anything timeless, it’s actually timing out. That’s what I mean by “the opposite” of your post happening.
I'm not sure I understand what you are talking about to be honest. I'm 39 btw so not over 40. I'm by no means pessimistic about Russia under different leadership. Why does Putin fear Ukraine so much? Because I think he knows the same sort of democratic pressures could be brought to bear on him as well. I'm an internationalist - albeit pragmatic and I see no reason why liberty, democracy and the rule of law can't be universalised. What's old fashioned about that. But you have to accept there are bad actors in the world. Telling people to 'bury the hatchet' when one has blatantly and unprovoked attacked the other with mass bombing of civilians and ruined towns and cities shows astonishing naivety.
And Germany and France didn't just bury the hatchet. Germany was split in two for four decades and demilitarised with large occupying forces.
Too be exact, the people who thought War Was Good, War Was God, got defeated twice. The last of them killed, then hunted down. Their belief system was extirpated. Their spiritual home erased from the map (go find East Prussia). The country rebuilt to revile them.
Germanophobia.
“In the 1950s, as two very old men, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle, moved to reinvent their respective countries, they examined how their vaunted traditions had been undermined by their own elites. Germany had been devastated by Nazism, which, in Adenauer’s view, had been forced on the country by Prussian aristocrats and militarists. In France, according to de Gaulle, the elites weakened the country, before voting to overthrow the Republic in the aftermath of military defeat. But, unlike today, the post-war anti-elite backlash did not cause countries to turn inward. On the contrary, de Gaulle believed that France’s deep historical wounds could be healed only through engagement with Germany.
Today, the far-right National Front’s Marine Le Pen. Her slogan – “on est chez nous” (we are at home) – underscores her focus on enclosing France in a national cocoon that resists “wild globalization.” But Le Pen was not alone in promoting this vision. One of the candidates who finished fourth, the far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon, also built his candidacy on simplistic economic populism. For example, like Le Pen, he promised a radical reduction in the retirement age, without explaining how to finance it. And both appealed to Germanophobia, focusing on the European debt crisis and Germany’s insistence on austerity. Le Pen accuses Macron of aspiring to be Vice-Chancellor of Europe, under German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while proudly declaring herself to be the “anti-Merkel.” Mélenchon claims that Germany is motivated by radical individualism, neoliberalism, and the economic interests of an aging population.”
There is a fascinating heat map of the disunited republic of France in here, based on West East split, North South split voting in 2017s first round.
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
Just wanted to clarify the tweet below so it doesn't read as an end-of-war prediction. (Sadly it's not). My resources comment was about existing inventory/supplies in Ukraine. More can and will be supplied, but is a logistical nightmare.
"Property of Russian elites could be handed to Ukrainian refugees, says Raab Deputy PM defends response to invasion after criticism the government has acted too slowly over sanctions"
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
I'm not 100% sure that "collapse" is the right word, but if their ammunition, fuel, etc., are not being resupplied at the rate they are being expended, then it's going to be very hard for them to progress the war.
Certainly, I think the likelihood of Russia overruning the whole of the Ukraine, up to and including Lviv is diminishing, especially if the West continues their supply efforts.
But the situation in the South and the East remains desperate for the Ukrainians.
Putin is definitely a Greater Russian Nationalist, with all that entails. Like many such belief structures, it is also a resection complex. They are Out To Get Russia.
We (perhaps most people here) think of the world in a hierarchies. These vary according to the subject. When it comes to Greater X Nationalism, it is the military hierarchy that counts. Economics figures as well - as the engine for the military, though.
The conventional hierarchy for military capability is something like
1) USA 2) China 3) Russia 4) France/UK etc
Third in the world? Not bad, surely for Russia. In the Big Boys club.
But, we are seeing Ukraine putting up serious resistance to invasion. If Ukraine had a bit more military capability it would *defeating* Russia.
Part of the Greater X Nationalistic schtick is that all the other little nations in the neighbourhood should cower, subservient to and existing at the Will of the Benevolent Great Nation. The larger powers welcome Greater X to the special table for Big Boys.
Now NATO enters - with it comes enormous military backup.
Suddenly every little country can *challenge* Greater Russia. With NATO backing, Estonia could fight a war with Russia and win.
The new rankings look like
1) USA 2) China 3) France/UK 4)...
(all the NATO countries) x) Estonia x+1) Russia
Ha ha - Estonia, win? you say. But we have seen with Ukraine - a country next door to Russia, next to the railways they rely on for logistics - Russia struggles. As they get further away their ability falls. and it has been getting *less* comparatively for years.
There is good reason to think that the army in and around Ukraine is *all* the real army they have. The mass conscripts are a desperate gamble....
Estonia would get the full NATO thing behind them - the Americans and others will send an endless, endless supply of weapons and men.
NATO reduces Russia to nothingness.... 72nd on the list or something.
How much the Russian leadership sees this, is up for debate. But their addiction to compulsive compulsive claims of wonder weapons that tip the military balance their way is rather telling, if you look at it in this light.
Suddenly Russia is surrounded with potential winners, not potential victims. That is not being Greater Russia. That is being Little Russia.
When you add in the American interest in missile defence, that would take away the big, last difference - nuclear blackmail. As a Greater Russian sees it, a world where Poland has a missile defence system that means that Russian nuke might not get through, is a world where
Russia is inferior to Poland or any other NATO country.
Is this the root cause of what we are seeing? Putin lashing out at being turned into an ordinary country.
Vilain : Respect is everything. Without respect, we are just people. Common, shitty people.
Putin might rather *die* than just be President of a common, "shitty" (as he sees it) country.
But surely the main reason we might think he runs an ordinary, shitty, snivelling military of hungry and pissed conscripts is because this war of his has exposed them to the world?
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Putin is definitely a Greater Russian Nationalist, with all that entails. Like many such belief structures, it is also a resection complex. They are Out To Get Russia.
We (perhaps most people here) think of the world in a hierarchies. These vary according to the subject. When it comes to Greater X Nationalism, it is the military hierarchy that counts. Economics figures as well - as the engine for the military, though.
The conventional hierarchy for military capability is something like
1) USA 2) China 3) Russia 4) France/UK etc
Third in the world? Not bad, surely for Russia. In the Big Boys club.
But, we are seeing Ukraine putting up serious resistance to invasion. If Ukraine had a bit more military capability it would *defeating* Russia.
Part of the Greater X Nationalistic schtick is that all the other little nations in the neighbourhood should cower, subservient to and existing at the Will of the Benevolent Great Nation. The larger powers welcome Greater X to the special table for Big Boys.
Now NATO enters - with it comes enormous military backup.
Suddenly every little country can *challenge* Greater Russia. With NATO backing, Estonia could fight a war with Russia and win.
The new rankings look like
1) USA 2) China 3) France/UK 4)...
(all the NATO countries) x) Estonia x+1) Russia
Ha ha - Estonia, win? you say. But we have seen with Ukraine - a country next door to Russia, next to the railways they rely on for logistics - Russia struggles. As they get further away their ability falls. and it has been getting *less* comparatively for years.
There is good reason to think that the army in and around Ukraine is *all* the real army they have. The mass conscripts are a desperate gamble....
Estonia would get the full NATO thing behind them - the Americans and others will send an endless, endless supply of weapons and men.
NATO reduces Russia to nothingness.... 72nd on the list or something.
How much the Russian leadership sees this, is up for debate. But their addiction to compulsive compulsive claims of wonder weapons that tip the military balance their way is rather telling, if you look at it in this light.
Suddenly Russia is surrounded with potential winners, not potential victims. That is not being Greater Russia. That is being Little Russia.
When you add in the American interest in missile defence, that would take away the big, last difference - nuclear blackmail. As a Greater Russian sees it, a world where Poland has a missile defence system that means that Russian nuke might not get through, is a world where
Russia is inferior to Poland or any other NATO country.
Is this the root cause of what we are seeing? Putin lashing out at being turned into an ordinary country.
Vilain : Respect is everything. Without respect, we are just people. Common, shitty people.
Putin might rather *die* than just be President of a common, "shitty" (as he sees it) country.
But surely the main reason we might think he runs an ordinary, shitty, snivelling military of hungry and pissed conscripts is because this war of his has exposed them to the world?
Indeed - his problem is that the thought process of Greater X Nationalism is fucked. Fundamentally.
All you are doing in Greater X Nationalism, is baring your bottom at the world, paint it blue and howl.
Putin's actions have reduced the ranking of his country in the Big Powers stakes. And will do so every day until he stops this insanity,
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Putin is definitely a Greater Russian Nationalist, with all that entails. Like many such belief structures, it is also a resection complex. They are Out To Get Russia.
We (perhaps most people here) think of the world in a hierarchies. These vary according to the subject. When it comes to Greater X Nationalism, it is the military hierarchy that counts. Economics figures as well - as the engine for the military, though.
The conventional hierarchy for military capability is something like
1) USA 2) China 3) Russia 4) France/UK etc
Third in the world? Not bad, surely for Russia. In the Big Boys club.
But, we are seeing Ukraine putting up serious resistance to invasion. If Ukraine had a bit more military capability it would *defeating* Russia.
Part of the Greater X Nationalistic schtick is that all the other little nations in the neighbourhood should cower, subservient to and existing at the Will of the Benevolent Great Nation. The larger powers welcome Greater X to the special table for Big Boys.
Now NATO enters - with it comes enormous military backup.
Suddenly every little country can *challenge* Greater Russia. With NATO backing, Estonia could fight a war with Russia and win.
The new rankings look like
1) USA 2) China 3) France/UK 4)...
(all the NATO countries) x) Estonia x+1) Russia
Ha ha - Estonia, win? you say. But we have seen with Ukraine - a country next door to Russia, next to the railways they rely on for logistics - Russia struggles. As they get further away their ability falls. and it has been getting *less* comparatively for years.
There is good reason to think that the army in and around Ukraine is *all* the real army they have. The mass conscripts are a desperate gamble....
Estonia would get the full NATO thing behind them - the Americans and others will send an endless, endless supply of weapons and men.
NATO reduces Russia to nothingness.... 72nd on the list or something.
How much the Russian leadership sees this, is up for debate. But their addiction to compulsive compulsive claims of wonder weapons that tip the military balance their way is rather telling, if you look at it in this light.
Suddenly Russia is surrounded with potential winners, not potential victims. That is not being Greater Russia. That is being Little Russia.
When you add in the American interest in missile defence, that would take away the big, last difference - nuclear blackmail. As a Greater Russian sees it, a world where Poland has a missile defence system that means that Russian nuke might not get through, is a world where
Russia is inferior to Poland or any other NATO country.
Is this the root cause of what we are seeing? Putin lashing out at being turned into an ordinary country.
Vilain : Respect is everything. Without respect, we are just people. Common, shitty people.
Putin might rather *die* than just be President of a common, "shitty" (as he sees it) country.
Russia's armed forces looks weak and ineffective compared those in the rest of Europe. Their army is poorly trained. Their vehicles badly maintained and prone to breakdowns. Their supply lines are chaotic. And their ability to turn this around is hampered by sanctions.
Would anyone doubt Poland's ability - with their F16s and other NATO kit - to kick Russia's ass?
I'm sure there are reasons people can find to mock how I've worded it, but this is what I've sent to tell Ukraine that I'll help if they think I can.
I imagine you're earning a good wedge over here? The best thing to do might be to put in the hours and donate a significant portion of your salary and help the donation campaigns. Not flashy but unless you've got the language skills you'll be a liability over there.
"A judge has frozen UK bank accounts operated by a British businessman amid allegations they are linked to one of Russia's most controversial oligarchs.
Accounts linked to Graham Bonham-Carter, second cousin of actress Helena, and part of the extended famous family, were put on hold on Friday. National Crime Agency investigators believe the accounts were being used to help Oleg Deripaska avoid sanctions. It is alleged Mr Bonham-Carter manages property on behalf of the oligarch. Granting the order, Westminster Magistrates Court has given the National Crime Agency six months to investigate the accounts, in one of the first public court moves against an oligarch since the Ukraine crisis began. Mr Bonham-Carter's lawyers have been contacted for comment. There is no suggestion anyone else in the Bonham-Carter family is being investigated by the NCA."
Zelenskys frustrations are understandable but not sure berating western leaders over NATOs refusal to put in a no fly zone is the way to go.
He’s got to be careful to not burn up western goodwill .
I don't think that can or will happen. I know I knock politicians an lot but I would be pretty certain that most of the Western leaders share exactly those same frustrations. They would love to send troops in to help, all the more so having seen how poorly the Russians have performed. But they are also realists and know that the danger is so great from Russia's nuclear threat that they just can't risk it. I doubt reasonable person would not be intensely frustrated and angry at being in that position.
So I reckon they will understand perfectly well why Zelensky is so angry and forgive him any loss of control.
Yes. Z is NOT calling up Johnson, or Biden, or any other prime minister or president to thank then for what they've done . . . but rather to lobby and urge and cajole and . . . wait for it . . . shame the West into doing much, much more . . .
Are you sure? I thought Z was calling Johnson for advice.
Zelenskys frustrations are understandable but not sure berating western leaders over NATOs refusal to put in a no fly zone is the way to go.
He’s got to be careful to not burn up western goodwill .
I don't think that can or will happen. I know I knock politicians an lot but I would be pretty certain that most of the Western leaders share exactly those same frustrations. They would love to send troops in to help, all the more so having seen how poorly the Russians have performed. But they are also realists and know that the danger is so great from Russia's nuclear threat that they just can't risk it. I doubt reasonable person would not be intensely frustrated and angry at being in that position.
So I reckon they will understand perfectly well why Zelensky is so angry and forgive him any loss of control.
Yes. Z is NOT calling up Johnson, or Biden, or any other prime minister or president to thank then for what they've done . . . but rather to lobby and urge and cajole and . . . wait for it . . . shame the West into doing much, much more . . .
Are you sure? I thought Z was calling Johnson for advice.
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Well they can hardly tell everyone to unite around the war effort, as they'll put you in jail for calling it a war.
Oh, what a lovely Special Military Operation!
Special Military Operation and Peace Special Military Operation (what is it good for?)
Star Special Military Operations Special Military Operation Games Casualties of Special Military Operation Special Military Operation Horse Special Military Operation of the Worlds
Not to mention the Cold Special Military Operation
The Special Military Operation to end all Special Military Operations had a certain doom laden ring to it.
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Putin is definitely a Greater Russian Nationalist, with all that entails. Like many such belief structures, it is also a resection complex. They are Out To Get Russia.
We (perhaps most people here) think of the world in a hierarchies. These vary according to the subject. When it comes to Greater X Nationalism, it is the military hierarchy that counts. Economics figures as well - as the engine for the military, though.
The conventional hierarchy for military capability is something like
1) USA 2) China 3) Russia 4) France/UK etc
Third in the world? Not bad, surely for Russia. In the Big Boys club.
But, we are seeing Ukraine putting up serious resistance to invasion. If Ukraine had a bit more military capability it would *defeating* Russia.
Part of the Greater X Nationalistic schtick is that all the other little nations in the neighbourhood should cower, subservient to and existing at the Will of the Benevolent Great Nation. The larger powers welcome Greater X to the special table for Big Boys.
Now NATO enters - with it comes enormous military backup.
Suddenly every little country can *challenge* Greater Russia. With NATO backing, Estonia could fight a war with Russia and win.
The new rankings look like
1) USA 2) China 3) France/UK 4)...
(all the NATO countries) x) Estonia x+1) Russia
Ha ha - Estonia, win? you say. But we have seen with Ukraine - a country next door to Russia, next to the railways they rely on for logistics - Russia struggles. As they get further away their ability falls. and it has been getting *less* comparatively for years.
There is good reason to think that the army in and around Ukraine is *all* the real army they have. The mass conscripts are a desperate gamble....
Estonia would get the full NATO thing behind them - the Americans and others will send an endless, endless supply of weapons and men.
NATO reduces Russia to nothingness.... 72nd on the list or something.
How much the Russian leadership sees this, is up for debate. But their addiction to compulsive compulsive claims of wonder weapons that tip the military balance their way is rather telling, if you look at it in this light.
Suddenly Russia is surrounded with potential winners, not potential victims. That is not being Greater Russia. That is being Little Russia.
When you add in the American interest in missile defence, that would take away the big, last difference - nuclear blackmail. As a Greater Russian sees it, a world where Poland has a missile defence system that means that Russian nuke might not get through, is a world where
Russia is inferior to Poland or any other NATO country.
Is this the root cause of what we are seeing? Putin lashing out at being turned into an ordinary country.
Vilain : Respect is everything. Without respect, we are just people. Common, shitty people.
Putin might rather *die* than just be President of a common, "shitty" (as he sees it) country.
Russia's armed forces looks weak and ineffective compared those in the rest of Europe. Their army is poorly trained. Their vehicles badly maintained and prone to breakdowns. Their supply lines are chaotic. And their ability to turn this around is hampered by sanctions.
Would anyone doubt Poland's ability - with their F16s and other NATO kit - to kick Russia's ass?
On home turf? I think it would be 60/40 to Poland - if they were next to Russia. With the whole railway-for-logistics dependency, I wonder what force the Russians could *get* to Poland.
I'm sure there are reasons people can find to mock how I've worded it, but this is what I've sent to tell Ukraine that I'll help if they think I can.
I imagine you're earning a good wedge over here? The best thing to do might be to put in the hours and donate a significant portion of your salary and help the donation campaigns. Not flashy but unless you've got the language skills you'll be a liability over there.
I've just been made redundant; my payoff has got got me in the black for the first time I can remember. My landlord has sold my house and I have to move out by the end of the month.
I can feed freedom fighters. I hope I can do it fearlessly.
Reuters: Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their full-scale invasion of the country, according to an unnamed U.S. defense official. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Well they can hardly tell everyone to unite around the war effort, as they'll put you in jail for calling it a war.
Oh, what a lovely Special Military Operation!
Special Military Operation and Peace Special Military Operation (what is it good for?)
Star Special Military Operations Special Military Operation Games Casualties of Special Military Operation Special Military Operation Horse Special Military Operation of the Worlds
Who can forget Jack Hawkins in The Cruel Sea, holding back tears of exhaustion and defeat, and spitting out in his gravelly voice
"It's the whole bloody Special Military Operation."
Einstein thought the only way to avoid nuclear war was by a world government- At some point we need to bring Russia back - We cannot always"win" or always be angelic or plucky (the UK is more vulnerable than most in a nuclear war precisely because we like to win and be the goodie) . There has to be compromise and negotiation and a bit of swallowing pride
It's not just about swallowing pride - it's a matter of setting a precedent in which aggression pays. Then we will be in an even more dangerous world. Of course it's really Putin who ought to swallow his pride but since he won't we'll have to instead I presume you're saying.
The opposite could happen Frank. In Russia those responsible for this, and those supporting them could become very unpopular. Do you not see all those Russians opposing this, either from the start or at least now as our friends? Those with which we can sign a “never this again” treaty? Much like the French and Germans have. That seems to be working.
I obviously see the world differently than you do. Those of us in our 20s just see messes the over 40s leaving for us we would never have made because our world view is utterly different to yours.
To be blunt, you lot lived in a world that shrank, you can’t handle it, you really can’t, you hate it, you want to turn the clocks back. Those of us younger, the generations after us too, we have no problem with the shrunken world, the global village, we will calmly tidy up your messes and dismantle all your “contraptions” for turning back the clock.
Basically put, your world view is not founded upon anything timeless, it’s actually timing out. That’s what I mean by “the opposite” of your post happening.
You don't really believe all that nonsense about people in their 20s and the over 40s?
Stupidity will always be with us. It doesn't depend on age.
Well yes I do believe the older generations know what globalisation has done, so hate the ravaged country they are living in. Politics that promises to turn back time appeals to them.
The younger generations don’t see it the same, and I’m certain never will.
Two different views of the same thing? Of course! the first erecting contraptions based on its view, those with the second, ripping them down.
I actually thought you would see it as good news, I don’t know where you got word stupid from. The younger generation in Russia removing Putin’s world view, and then shaking hands with us. What’s stupid about that? What’s stupid about saying, those in this country with the same “turn back time” view as Putin are equally as doomed?
Comments
I can't fight very well, but I can cook. If they want a cook that can feed their fighters near the front line I might be on my way.
The Russians are unbelievably stoic. And of course they are being lied to every minute. Even if we up the sanctions to the 'we are not buying your gas' level it will take time.
This is what we have to face. We are looking at war or semi-war here in Europe for years. Grinding, terrible, sapping with misery, inflation, energy issues, food supply stuff and so on. Millions of refugees. Relentless misery every night on TV.
I really don't think that so far Johnson has prepared us for what this will take.
We live in the Internet age where everything is a quick click.
Not this time.
Battle lines have strange alliances.
As the largest city captured by the Russians it might give a pointer to what an occupation of half the country might look like.
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1499879763120431107
Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesperson, "urged everybody to unite around the president" – the very need to say this tells us something...
https://twitter.com/Ben_H_Noble/status/1499829099224838145
It was a good metaphor though. And of course I knew you were referring to the organisation not the website.
Personally it's aesthetics more than anything, insofar as I have a choice I'd rather not have a fixed opinion than feel the need to blart it out incessantly here or anywhere else. Of course I'm sure I have as many fixed opinions as the average bear.
I obviously see the world differently than you do. Those of us in our 20s just see messes the over 40s leaving for us we would never have made because our world view is utterly different to yours.
To be blunt, you lot lived in a world that shrank, you can’t handle it, you really can’t, you hate it, you want to turn the clocks back. Those of us younger, the generations after us too, we have no problem with the shrunken world, the global village, we will calmly tidy up your messes and dismantle all your “contraptions” for turning back the clock.
Basically put, your world view is not founded upon anything timeless, it’s actually timing out. That’s what I mean by “the opposite” of your post happening.
Stupidity will always be with us. It doesn't depend on age.
I doubt Russia will ever be pro Western again. It will wax and wane with periods of detente under more moderate leaders, then hard line periods when everything reverts back.
Meanwhile China will continue to bully its way to the top, armed with the grievances of the last century. Its leader may be less mad than Russia’s but the fanaticism and internal totalitarianism are still leagues ahead of even this new Russian chapter.
So I reckon they will understand perfectly well why Zelensky is so angry and forgive him any loss of control.
But anyway, Putin is a boomer. Not Gen X.
Stalin died on March 5th
Alexander II was murdered on March 13th by the “People’s Will” movement
Iván the Terrible died on March 28th March
Paul I was killed March 24th by his officers
Generally speaking, March is a bad month for Russian leaders
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1499889846470557701
That's a heck of a high stakes gamble that your mind is more sound than others.
It isn't impossible.
I'm not advising that we march on Moscow.
Do I win something? PB misery award?
I have out-gloomed @leon !!!
Oh, and I forgot to mention the new variant of covid sweeping through as we run out of wheat.
https://twitter.com/YesVicken/status/1499880469034328069?s=20&t=LhI73HiyYdfqDbuiyN8AMQ
That is what the last week was. Fail and he is dead.
Special Military Operation (what is it good for?)
And Germany and France didn't just bury the hatchet. Germany was split in two for four decades and demilitarised with large occupying forces.
Putin is definitely a Greater Russian Nationalist, with all that entails. Like many such belief structures, it is also a resection complex. They are Out To Get Russia.
We (perhaps most people here) think of the world in a hierarchies. These vary according to the subject. When it comes to Greater X Nationalism, it is the military hierarchy that counts. Economics figures as well - as the engine for the military, though.
The conventional hierarchy for military capability is something like
1) USA
2) China
3) Russia
4) France/UK
etc
Third in the world? Not bad, surely for Russia. In the Big Boys club.
But, we are seeing Ukraine putting up serious resistance to invasion. If Ukraine had a bit more military capability it would *defeating* Russia.
Part of the Greater X Nationalistic schtick is that all the other little nations in the neighbourhood should cower, subservient to and existing at the Will of the Benevolent Great Nation. The larger powers welcome Greater X to the special table for Big Boys.
Now NATO enters - with it comes enormous military backup.
Suddenly every little country can *challenge* Greater Russia. With NATO backing, Estonia could fight a war with Russia and win.
The new rankings look like
1) USA
2) China
3) France/UK
4)...
(all the NATO countries)
x) Estonia
x+1) Russia
Ha ha - Estonia, win? you say. But we have seen with Ukraine - a country next door to Russia, next to the railways they rely on for logistics - Russia struggles. As they get further away their ability falls. and it has been getting *less* comparatively for years.
There is good reason to think that the army in and around Ukraine is *all* the real army they have. The mass conscripts are a desperate gamble....
Estonia would get the full NATO thing behind them - the Americans and others will send an endless, endless supply of weapons and men.
NATO reduces Russia to nothingness.... 72nd on the list or something.
How much the Russian leadership sees this, is up for debate. But their addiction to compulsive compulsive claims of wonder weapons that tip the military balance their way is rather telling, if you look at it in this light.
Suddenly Russia is surrounded with potential winners, not potential victims. That is not being Greater Russia. That is being Little Russia.
When you add in the American interest in missile defence, that would take away the big, last difference - nuclear blackmail. As a Greater Russian sees it, a world where Poland has a missile defence system that means that Russian nuke might not get through, is a world where
Russia is inferior to Poland or any other NATO country.
Is this the root cause of what we are seeing? Putin lashing out at being turned into an ordinary country.
Vilain : Respect is everything. Without respect, we are just people. Common, shitty people.
Putin might rather *die* than just be President of a common, "shitty" (as he sees it) country.
NEXTA@nexta_tv · 5h⚡️ Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev says that #Russia has resources left for the war until Sunday, after which they will collapse.
Also next week, Russia is facing sanctions, the scale of which “we have not seen before”, and they will also affect Putin
Cases
Deaths
https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1499872184382234636?s=20&t=_jXBtFd1-MJEvafeNDY4rA
Now we need to send the chaps who steal farm machinery and cars out in the countryside. They'll have that Big Convoy on eBay faster than you can click your fingers.
Special Military Operation Games
Casualties of Special Military Operation
Special Military Operation Horse
Special Military Operation of the Worlds
Angry minds.
Try to chill folks. I know it isn't easy, but anger never helps.
It is probably too good to be true, but even a flicker of optimism is nice to have.
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟨🟨⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
The Special Military Operation of Jenkins’ Ear
“In the 1950s, as two very old men, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle, moved to reinvent their respective countries, they examined how their vaunted traditions had been undermined by their own elites.
Germany had been devastated by Nazism, which, in Adenauer’s view, had been forced on the country by Prussian aristocrats and militarists. In France, according to de Gaulle, the elites weakened the country, before voting to overthrow the Republic in the aftermath of military defeat.
But, unlike today, the post-war anti-elite backlash did not cause countries to turn inward. On the contrary, de Gaulle believed that France’s deep historical wounds could be healed only through engagement with Germany.
Today, the far-right National Front’s Marine Le Pen. Her slogan – “on est chez nous” (we are at home) – underscores her focus on enclosing France in a national cocoon that resists “wild globalization.”
But Le Pen was not alone in promoting this vision. One of the candidates who finished fourth, the far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon, also built his candidacy on simplistic economic populism. For example, like Le Pen, he promised a radical reduction in the retirement age, without explaining how to finance it.
And both appealed to Germanophobia, focusing on the European debt crisis and Germany’s insistence on austerity. Le Pen accuses Macron of aspiring to be Vice-Chancellor of Europe, under German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while proudly declaring herself to be the “anti-Merkel.” Mélenchon claims that Germany is motivated by radical individualism, neoliberalism, and the economic interests of an aging population.”
There is a fascinating heat map of the disunited republic of France in here, based on West East split, North South split voting in 2017s first round.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/04/this-is-what-the-french-election-means-for-germany-and-europe/
Deputy PM defends response to invasion after criticism the government has acted too slowly over sanctions"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/04/property-of-russian-elites-could-be-handed-to-ukrainian-refugees-says-raab
Certainly, I think the likelihood of Russia overruning the whole of the Ukraine, up to and including Lviv is diminishing, especially if the West continues their supply efforts.
But the situation in the South and the East remains desperate for the Ukrainians.
Good God y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, say it again
All you are doing in Greater X Nationalism, is baring your bottom at the world, paint it blue and howl.
Putin's actions have reduced the ranking of his country in the Big Powers stakes. And will do so every day until he stops this insanity,
And I can't see Dionne Warwick playing Moscow any time soon.
Would anyone doubt Poland's ability - with their F16s and other NATO kit - to kick Russia's ass?
Matthew Luxmoore
@mjluxmoore
Massive pro-Ukraine rally tonight in Tbilisi, Georgia - a country invaded by Russia in 2008
https://twitter.com/mjluxmoore/status/1499817776692744192
Accounts linked to Graham Bonham-Carter, second cousin of actress Helena, and part of the extended famous family, were put on hold on Friday. National Crime Agency investigators believe the accounts were being used to help Oleg Deripaska avoid sanctions. It is alleged Mr Bonham-Carter manages property on behalf of the oligarch. Granting the order, Westminster Magistrates Court has given the National Crime Agency six months to investigate the accounts, in one of the first public court moves against an oligarch since the Ukraine crisis began. Mr Bonham-Carter's lawyers have been contacted for comment. There is no suggestion anyone else in the Bonham-Carter family is being investigated by the NCA."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60623026
Would that have to be in Westminster Hall?
At the risk of sounding a bit like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Charles_Beresford, after the Battle Of Dogger Bank - would it be unfair on the Russians to send everyone or just half?
I can feed freedom fighters. I hope I can do it fearlessly.
"It's the whole bloody Special Military Operation."
But I will do whatever they ask.
@_RichardHall
·
1h
I don’t want to hear anyone talking about the license fee for at least a decade.
The younger generations don’t see it the same, and I’m certain never will.
Two different views of the same thing? Of course! the first erecting contraptions based on its view, those with the second, ripping them down.
I actually thought you would see it as good news, I don’t know where you got word stupid from. The younger generation in Russia removing Putin’s world view, and then shaking hands with us. What’s stupid about that? What’s stupid about saying, those in this country with the same “turn back time” view as Putin are equally as doomed?