These videos of Russians committing serious war crimes against Ukrainian POWs are interesting. (Note I do not add 'allegedly' to this.) What do the Russians hope to gain from such treatment and the release of the videos?
If they are hoping that it will break the will of the Ukrainian people, I fear it will have exactly the opposite effect. Ukrainians will want to fight the evil, and their fighters will be less likely to surrender. It will make countries slightly less likely to support Russia. It will strengthen the support of Ukraine amongst civilised nations.
My takeaway from this (and the Russian Embassy in the UK's tweet yesterday) is that Russia don't care. Godwinning myself, they are like Nazi Germany. They believe they have right on their side, and if they are right, they can do anything.
Which is why they need to lose - however you define 'lose'...
It's an expression of impunity. They're sending a clear message to the West that they think they can do anything and we won't do anything to stop them.
These videos of Russians committing serious war crimes against Ukrainian POWs are interesting. (Note I do not add 'allegedly' to this.) What do the Russians hope to gain from such treatment and the release of the videos?
If they are hoping that it will break the will of the Ukrainian people, I fear it will have exactly the opposite effect. Ukrainians will want to fight the evil, and their fighters will be less likely to surrender. It will make countries slightly less likely to support Russia. It will strengthen the support of Ukraine amongst civilised nations.
My takeaway from this (and the Russian Embassy in the UK's tweet yesterday) is that Russia don't care. Godwinning myself, they are like Nazi Germany. They believe they have right on their side, and if they are right, they can do anything.
Which is why they need to lose - however you define 'lose'...
It's an expression of impunity. They're sending a clear message to the West that they think they can do anything and we won't do anything to stop them.
Or it’s an absolute sadist in a war situation whose understanding of right and wrong has gone out of the window and hasn’t got the brains to not put his personal evil onto social media.
I’m sure if during other wars crazed violent men who did things like Mai Lai, cutting off ears as trophies etc would have filmed it and put it online. Think about Abu Graib which, whilst nowhere near as bad, was idiots putting grim stuff they’ve done on camera.
This has penalties written all over it. And we know how how that ends.
This referee will give Germany a penalty soon enough I fear.
Time to end support for Ukraine
in fairness although England have suffered the weight of the errors they have by no means been all one way. Disappointing referee for a game of this importance. Suspect her nationality might have something to do with it.
Corbyn was going to condemn Russia in the Commons but he allowed Seumus to overrule him.
Such a stupid decision that McDonnell and his spin doctor threw objects across a room in disgust, “he’s lost us the fucking election!”
It was an own goal yes. Not a scrappy one either but an overhead bicycle kick from the edge of the box. I remember being quite pissed off about it at the time. I could feel about half a million votes slipping way. And so unnecessary. It's hard enough to get a fair hearing for the left in this country without that sort of "all pain no gain" mistake.
Corbyn was going to condemn Russia in the Commons but he allowed Seumus to overrule him.
Such a stupid decision that McDonnell and his spin doctor threw objects across a room in disgust, “he’s lost us the fucking election!”
It was an own goal yes. Not a scrappy one either but an overhead bicycle kick from the edge of the box. I remember being quite pissed off about it at the time. I could feel about half a million votes slipping way. And so unnecessary. It's hard enough to get a fair hearing for the left in this country without that sort of "all pain no gain" mistake.
Hardly unnecessary. The left in this country is obsessed with Palestine, hating the West etc
Its what Corbyn has done for forty years before he became leader, so no shock it continued afterwards.
Entirely necessary too as if he hadn't shown his spots then it would have come out another time, better before the election than afterwards.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
These videos of Russians committing serious war crimes against Ukrainian POWs are interesting. (Note I do not add 'allegedly' to this.) What do the Russians hope to gain from such treatment and the release of the videos?
If they are hoping that it will break the will of the Ukrainian people, I fear it will have exactly the opposite effect. Ukrainians will want to fight the evil, and their fighters will be less likely to surrender. It will make countries slightly less likely to support Russia. It will strengthen the support of Ukraine amongst civilised nations.
My takeaway from this (and the Russian Embassy in the UK's tweet yesterday) is that Russia don't care. Godwinning myself, they are like Nazi Germany. They believe they have right on their side, and if they are right, they can do anything.
Which is why they need to lose - however you define 'lose'...
Not appropriate for a Godwin.
The Nazis went to enormous lengths to cover up their crimes.
Goebbels would never have been so dumb as to release these videos. He would have had videos of happy Ukrainians, glad to be freed of their hated overlords, living in model camps where conditions were not luxurious but were comfortable.
As for the videos, I don't think it's to scare the Ukrainians, I think it's to try and guilt trip the west. 'You made them fight and now look what's happened!'
Bear in mind,* the Russian government really *is* this stupid. They are third rate drunks, liars, thieves and charlatans who live a live of extraordinary luxury totally divorced from reality, to the extent they don't relate to the world itself any more. They only fear losing their wealth and power, why should they not assume others think the same way?
*No pun intended, for once.
"They are third rate drunks, liars, thieves and charlatans who live a live of extraordinary luxury totally divorced from reality, to the extent they don't relate to the world itself any more".
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
It was not an error of judgement, it was absolutely essential.
If it was an error of judgement why did both Nick Clegg and Tony Blair promise referendums?
Corbyn was going to condemn Russia in the Commons but he allowed Seumus to overrule him.
Such a stupid decision that McDonnell and his spin doctor threw objects across a room in disgust, “he’s lost us the fucking election!”
It was an own goal yes. Not a scrappy one either but an overhead bicycle kick from the edge of the box. I remember being quite pissed off about it at the time. I could feel about half a million votes slipping way. And so unnecessary. It's hard enough to get a fair hearing for the left in this country without that sort of "all pain no gain" mistake.
Hardly unnecessary. The left in this country is obsessed with Palestine, hating the West etc
Its what Corbyn has done for forty years before he became leader, so no shock it continued afterwards.
Entirely necessary too as if he hadn't shown his spots then it would have come out another time, better before the election than afterwards.
When you say left, are you referring to all us non-Conservatives or simply Momentum types?
These videos of Russians committing serious war crimes against Ukrainian POWs are interesting. (Note I do not add 'allegedly' to this.) What do the Russians hope to gain from such treatment and the release of the videos?
If they are hoping that it will break the will of the Ukrainian people, I fear it will have exactly the opposite effect. Ukrainians will want to fight the evil, and their fighters will be less likely to surrender. It will make countries slightly less likely to support Russia. It will strengthen the support of Ukraine amongst civilised nations.
My takeaway from this (and the Russian Embassy in the UK's tweet yesterday) is that Russia don't care. Godwinning myself, they are like Nazi Germany. They believe they have right on their side, and if they are right, they can do anything.
Which is why they need to lose - however you define 'lose'...
Not appropriate for a Godwin.
The Nazis went to enormous lengths to cover up their crimes.
Goebbels would never have been so dumb as to release these videos. He would have had videos of happy Ukrainians, glad to be freed of their hated overlords, living in model camps where conditions were not luxurious but were comfortable.
As for the videos, I don't think it's to scare the Ukrainians, I think it's to try and guilt trip the west. 'You made them fight and now look what's happened!'
Bear in mind,* the Russian government really *is* this stupid. They are third rate drunks, liars, thieves and charlatans who live a live of extraordinary luxury totally divorced from reality, to the extent they don't relate to the world itself any more. They only fear losing their wealth and power, why should they not assume others think the same way?
*No pun intended, for once.
"They are third rate drunks, liars, thieves and charlatans who live a live of extraordinary luxury totally divorced from reality, to the extent they don't relate to the world itself any more".
You mean even worse than the DFE or OFSTED?
Well...possibly it's about even.
No, better not say that. Putin wouldn't like the comparison and I don't want his minions to get lost while admiring the spires of Lichfield Cathedral.
Corbyn was going to condemn Russia in the Commons but he allowed Seumus to overrule him.
Such a stupid decision that McDonnell and his spin doctor threw objects across a room in disgust, “he’s lost us the fucking election!”
It was an own goal yes. Not a scrappy one either but an overhead bicycle kick from the edge of the box. I remember being quite pissed off about it at the time. I could feel about half a million votes slipping way. And so unnecessary. It's hard enough to get a fair hearing for the left in this country without that sort of "all pain no gain" mistake.
Hardly unnecessary. The left in this country is obsessed with Palestine, hating the West etc
Its what Corbyn has done for forty years before he became leader, so no shock it continued afterwards.
Entirely necessary too as if he hadn't shown his spots then it would have come out another time, better before the election than afterwards.
When you say left, are you referring to all us non-Conservatives or simply Momentum types?
The far left, Momentum/Socialist Worker etc types.
The Irish President's wife has just taken a pro Kremlin position and said Ukraine should agree to a ceasefire with Russia. It has been published on the Irish President's website, contrary to the neutrality of the office
Serbian MP for the ruling SNS (Right wing | Serbian Conservatives), Vladimir Djukanovic: "Everything seems to me that Serbia will be forced to begin the denazification of the Balkans.“
The Irish President's wife has just taken a pro Kremlin position and said Ukraine should agree to a ceasefire with Russia. It has been published on the Irish President's website, contrary to the neutrality of the office
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
The Irish President's wife has just taken a pro Kremlin position and said Ukraine should agree to a ceasefire with Russia. It has been published on the Irish President's website, contrary to the neutrality of the office
The Irish President's wife has just taken a pro Kremlin position and said Ukraine should agree to a ceasefire with Russia. It has been published on the Irish President's website, contrary to the neutrality of the office
The Ukraine conflict, like the vaccines debacle, is another thank f**k that Brexit has happened event.
The way some French, Germans and Irish politicians are willing to screw over the Ukrainians, and Eastern Europeans, is to quote our next Prime Minister a disgrace.
If there's a lesson from this conflict it should be that any notions of EU unified defence is a terrible, terrible idea and that NATO is far better than the EU. The Eastern Europeans are better working with us in NATO than Germany etc in the EU.
Serbian MP for the ruling SNS (Right wing | Serbian Conservatives), Vladimir Djukanovic: "Everything seems to me that Serbia will be forced to begin the denazification of the Balkans.“
There was an article yesterday (Times or NYT?) that says Putin now sees this as almost a world war. Existential combat: Russia v The West
Expanding the war to the Balkans would fit that thesis
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
Corbyn was going to condemn Russia in the Commons but he allowed Seumus to overrule him.
Such a stupid decision that McDonnell and his spin doctor threw objects across a room in disgust, “he’s lost us the fucking election!”
It was an own goal yes. Not a scrappy one either but an overhead bicycle kick from the edge of the box. I remember being quite pissed off about it at the time. I could feel about half a million votes slipping way. And so unnecessary. It's hard enough to get a fair hearing for the left in this country without that sort of "all pain no gain" mistake.
Hardly unnecessary. The left in this country is obsessed with Palestine, hating the West etc
Its what Corbyn has done for forty years before he became leader, so no shock it continued afterwards.
Entirely necessary too as if he hadn't shown his spots then it would have come out another time, better before the election than afterwards.
The left has made some good calls on foreign policy matters over the years because they aren't befuddled by a jingoistic superiority complex. But this wasn't one of them.
The greatest energy arbitrage of all times: US Gulf coast ➡️ NW Europe. 200mUSD gain or more per trip… which is basically the price of the ship. Insane!
Serbian MP for the ruling SNS (Right wing | Serbian Conservatives), Vladimir Djukanovic: "Everything seems to me that Serbia will be forced to begin the denazification of the Balkans.“
There was an article yesterday (Times or NYT?) that says Putin now sees this as almost a world war. Existential combat: Russia v The West
Expanding the war to the Balkans would fit that thesis
I seem to remember some other war going global down there in the past….
I noticed that Bosnia isn’t a NATO country so wonder if they are going to try it on to test whether NATO will help a non-NATO country directly?
Would be wise for the EU and US to shift as many troops down there asap to try and deter Serbian stupidity.
Corbyn was going to condemn Russia in the Commons but he allowed Seumus to overrule him.
Such a stupid decision that McDonnell and his spin doctor threw objects across a room in disgust, “he’s lost us the fucking election!”
It was an own goal yes. Not a scrappy one either but an overhead bicycle kick from the edge of the box. I remember being quite pissed off about it at the time. I could feel about half a million votes slipping way. And so unnecessary. It's hard enough to get a fair hearing for the left in this country without that sort of "all pain no gain" mistake.
Hardly unnecessary. The left in this country is obsessed with Palestine, hating the West etc
Its what Corbyn has done for forty years before he became leader, so no shock it continued afterwards.
Entirely necessary too as if he hadn't shown his spots then it would have come out another time, better before the election than afterwards.
The left has made some good calls on foreign policy matters over the years because they aren't befuddled by a jingoistic superiority complex. But this wasn't one of them.
No, they're befuddled by a jingoistic inferiority complex. They take the opposing side in any conflict right or wrong.
They've got no clear mind or rationality, they're just reflexively anti-everything western.
Serbian MP for the ruling SNS (Right wing | Serbian Conservatives), Vladimir Djukanovic: "Everything seems to me that Serbia will be forced to begin the denazification of the Balkans.“
There was an article yesterday (Times or NYT?) that says Putin now sees this as almost a world war. Existential combat: Russia v The West
Expanding the war to the Balkans would fit that thesis
Maybe the torture video wasn't meant for Ukrainian consumption. But further afield?
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
It was not an error of judgement, it was absolutely essential.
If it was an error of judgement why did both Nick Clegg and Tony Blair promise referendums?
They all promised it. None of them meant it. In every case it was to gain or keep votes.
Serbian MP for the ruling SNS (Right wing | Serbian Conservatives), Vladimir Djukanovic: "Everything seems to me that Serbia will be forced to begin the denazification of the Balkans.“
Serbian MP for the ruling SNS (Right wing | Serbian Conservatives), Vladimir Djukanovic: "Everything seems to me that Serbia will be forced to begin the denazification of the Balkans.“
There was an article yesterday (Times or NYT?) that says Putin now sees this as almost a world war. Existential combat: Russia v The West
Expanding the war to the Balkans would fit that thesis
Tomorrow will be an interesting day in the Balkans. I’d guess if this does kick off like some on Twitter think then that ends Serbia’s accession talks to the EU.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
It was not an error of judgement, it was absolutely essential.
If it was an error of judgement why did both Nick Clegg and Tony Blair promise referendums?
They all promised it. None of them meant it. In every case it was to gain or keep votes.
That was the error of judgement. The smart judgement would have been to have held it sooner.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
It was not an error of judgement, it was absolutely essential.
If it was an error of judgement why did both Nick Clegg and Tony Blair promise referendums?
They all promised it. None of them meant it. In every case it was to gain or keep votes.
That was the error of judgement. The smart judgement would have been to have held it sooner.
Yep, but I guess it is human nature to avoid it and hope it goes away.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
It was not an error of judgement, it was absolutely essential.
If it was an error of judgement why did both Nick Clegg and Tony Blair promise referendums?
They all promised it. None of them meant it. In every case it was to gain or keep votes.
That was the error of judgement. The smart judgement would have been to have held it sooner.
Yep, but I guess it is human nature to avoid it and hope it goes away.
You see the same mistake being made today with the IndyRef2 being denied.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
The Leave Campaign admitted they used lies and software profiling to ensure a win, so we left on false premises. How is that good for the country?
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
Blame Clegg for Cameron not being allowed to when he would have won it - prevented by the Coalition Agreement. Probably up to about 2013, hold the Referendum and we are still in the EU.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
The Leave Campaign admitted they used lies and software profiling to ensure a win, so we left on false premises. How is that good for the country?
Serbian MP for the ruling SNS (Right wing | Serbian Conservatives), Vladimir Djukanovic: "Everything seems to me that Serbia will be forced to begin the denazification of the Balkans.“
What is it with these right-wing conservatives??
It is a polite way to say "Fascist". Unfortunately Serbia still has plenty of these.
I read that thread last night and the gist seemed to be that it was her kids that would have okayed this. They're their father's wee boys and girl alright.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
I'd argue we reacted very well to the initial Salisbury event: we gathered evidence, saw where it led, and convinced loads of countries to put sanctions on Russia. You could argue those sanctions could (and should) have been stronger, but there are allegations that Russia has been topping people around the world in similar manners: and we were the only major country to complain about it. And we had to take the rest of the civilised world with us.
It's a shame that Corbyn and many Labour figures at the time were so (ahem) hesitant to apportion blame.
Who were the many? And "hesitant" doesn't begin to explain Corbyn's Soviet- loving treason.
To be fair, Corbyn said he wanted to examine the evidence before commenting. He was given a briefing by MI5, said he was convinced, and supported sanctions against Russia in retaliation. One can argue that the case was obvious and he shouldn't have needed convincing, but there's something to be said for a judicious approach, as history is littered with "obvious" cases which proved to be otherwise. Politically it's dangerous, though, as these days you're expected to have an instant view on anything, and caution is taken as hostility (or even, as Mex would have it, treason).
He wanted to delay and obfuscate. Just as he did in February. He's so convinced that *we* are the bad guys, he finds it almost impossible to blame others.
And need I remind you of your 'poke' comment at the beginning of this?
On this topic, I'd highly recommend Fiona Hill's book, Mr Putin Operative in the Kremlin. Hill is regarded as a leading expert on Putin, she was an advisor to Trump. It paints an excellent portrait of Putin. It suggests that he lives in a different reality to what we know and tries to paint a picture of what this reality might be. Having read it you can see that there were western policy errors in the 2000s, all these things that we didn't pay much attention to at the time (Kosovo, Georgia etc) along with NATO expansion made Putin basically think that the US and UK were planning to overthrow him, and everything else was just deception. That is a bit of a crude and simplified summary but there is a lot in it. There is also quite a bit on the history of Ukraine from the Russian point of view and which I wasn't aware of; ie prior to 2014 the government briefly removed Russian from the list of official languages; the claim that Russia is intervening to protect minority rights clearly has some historic basis to it.
One conclusion of the book is that, once he has started something, Putin will keep fighting until he either wins or is removed; he can't lose. The book was written around 2015. I think this is behind the idea we keep hearing from various western sources that Putin needs an 'off ramp'. You can also see another problem, which is that he has started this Eurasian nationalism thing and is obviously struggling to control it. Insightful comments on Dugin, who is dismissed as a pseudo intellectual and basically a tool.
What happens if and when Putin goes is an interesting question. One thing about the book is that it definetly gives Putin a lot of agency. Hill clearly regards him as being the mastermind behind the operation, and it talks of him in terms of being a CEO of Russia Inc, with all patronage going through him.
I don't quite know what the answer is to the current situation in Ukraine after reading the book, but definetly there are no simple ones when it comes to dealing with Russia.
In other news: I've just watched the Formula W race from Hungary. Jamie Chadwick's seven-win streak has ended, when she could only make her way up to second from fifth on the grid. This after winning the first two seasons.
Yet she could not find a drive in another formula this year, so she had to return to Formula W. You can either see this as a failure of Formula W (not being able to feed good drivers up into other formula) or inherent sexism in motor racing and the sponsorships.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
Well that's an interesting interpretation of history.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
Well that's an interesting interpretation of history.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
Blame Clegg for Cameron not being allowed to when he would have won it - prevented by the Coalition Agreement. Probably up to about 2013, hold the Referendum and we are still in the EU.
There is lots of blame to go around. Including myself in a teensy weensy way.
I still vacillate over whether Brexit was right or wrong. But I've zero doubt it could have been handled better. Johnson is largely responsible for that, and for much of the mistrust there is between the EU and us.
Haven't watched women's football for years and I'm certainly struck by how much it's improved.
Used to watch it a lot, did you?
Very much not. But I did used to catch a bit now and again and it was a case of "oh dear".
Germany equalize as I type! Oh god it can't be a 1-1 draw then pens, can it?
You did not used to "catch a bit now and again". No one did.
There are no right on credentials that you won't try to say you have, are there.
I get it but no need to lie; you are amongst friends on PB.
Women’s football has been on tv for years so it’s quite possible to have seen the odd bit here and there. Women’s fa cup final for a long time, and recent international tournaments. I agree with @kinabalu on this - it is hugely better than it was. Full time professional players dose that. See also rugby union in the nineties.
🇷🇸The Kosovo army plans to attack the northern part of Serbia at midnight - Vučić.
“I think that we have never been in a more difficult situation than today. Why did I say this? The Pristina regime is trying, presenting itself as a victim, to use the moods in the world,”
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
Well that's an interesting interpretation of history.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
Well that's an interesting interpretation of history.
Where interesting means accurate.
I suspect you idea of "accurate" is a country mile away from mine!
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was right to tell his party to "stop banging on about Europe" but wrong to have the referendum on a simple In or Out basis. 'Out' should have been forced to define what that meant, if they had the result would have been different.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
Well that's an interesting interpretation of history.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
Well that's an interesting interpretation of history.
Where interesting means accurate.
I suspect you idea of "accurate" is a country mile away from mine!
Do you think if Blair hadn't lied and gone back on his pledge of holding a referendum then things would have played out the same?
Haven't watched women's football for years and I'm certainly struck by how much it's improved.
Used to watch it a lot, did you?
Very much not. But I did used to catch a bit now and again and it was a case of "oh dear".
Germany equalize as I type! Oh god it can't be a 1-1 draw then pens, can it?
You did not used to "catch a bit now and again". No one did.
There are no right on credentials that you won't try to say you have, are there.
I get it but no need to lie; you are amongst friends on PB.
Women’s football has been on tv for years so it’s quite possible to have seen the odd bit here and there. Women’s fa cup final for a long time, and recent international tournaments. I agree with @kinabalu on this - it is hugely better than it was. Full time professional players dose that. See also rugby union in the nineties.
🇷🇸The Kosovo army plans to attack the northern part of Serbia at midnight - Vučić.
“I think that we have never been in a more difficult situation than today. Why did I say this? The Pristina regime is trying, presenting itself as a victim, to use the moods in the world,”
There are reports of gunfire at multiple border crossings. Sirens going off all over Kosovo. If true, that's just bloody great. Good job we've a PM on the ball, and his FS with nowt else much on.
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
I believe that was what I said in my post? (The one that started with "he was forced to...")
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
It was not an error of judgement, it was absolutely essential.
If it was an error of judgement why did both Nick Clegg and Tony Blair promise referendums?
They all promised it. None of them meant it. In every case it was to gain or keep votes.
That was the error of judgement. The smart judgement would have been to have held it sooner.
Yep, but I guess it is human nature to avoid it and hope it goes away.
You see the same mistake being made today with the IndyRef2 being denied.
The EU referendum was 41 years after the 1975 referendum, not just 7 years after. Even the second Quebec referendum was a full 15 years after the first in 1980
Just a view: either Cameron or Miliband would be better than Truss or Sunak.
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
Cameron was the one who gave them the referendum in the first place. A monumental error of judgement and damage to this country purely to try to resolve internal Tory party discipline.
He was forced to by the party. If he had not, he would have been chucked and someone who would have granted a referendum would have taken over. They would have campaigned for leave, and leave would have won by a neven greater margin.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
I absolutely do not get this. Cameron gave a referendum and the decision of the British people was to leave? How the hell can that possibly be a mistake? It is respecting the wishes of the majority of this country. Those who say that he should not have granted it wanted to defy that democratic wish for some greater good. And they still do. It is truly shameful.
You miss my point. Holding the referendum was the *correct* thing to do. He was forced into it by his party, because if he did not agree, he would have been out.
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
I do not blame Cameron at all. He did the right thing. Brown and Blair didn't. Had they, they might well have won. The anger at the false promises and the lies by the Euro fanatics probably made the difference.
I believe that was what I said in my post? (The one that started with "he was forced to...")
Indeed. I was agreeing with the point you made. Sorry if it was not clear.
Comments
The Conservative Party have not served us well since 2015. Their EU obsession has utterly harmed the country.
I’m sure if during other wars crazed violent men who did things like Mai Lai, cutting off ears as trophies etc would have filmed it and put it online. Think about Abu Graib which, whilst nowhere near as bad, was idiots putting grim stuff they’ve done on camera.
Its what Corbyn has done for forty years before he became leader, so no shock it continued afterwards.
Entirely necessary too as if he hadn't shown his spots then it would have come out another time, better before the election than afterwards.
You mean even worse than the DFE or OFSTED?
If it was an error of judgement why did both Nick Clegg and Tony Blair promise referendums?
No, better not say that. Putin wouldn't like the comparison and I don't want his minions to get lost while admiring the spires of Lichfield Cathedral.
https://www.politico.eu/article/irish-president-wife-sabina-higgins-russia-ukraine-peace-letter/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=Twitter
All we need.
We needed a referendum. You could argue that it was held too late: if it had been held five or ten years earlier, we would still be in the EU. And perhaps the Euro...
So perhaps, just perhaps, things did not end as badly as they could?
It's a credible case for Scottish Independence, tbh.
The way some French, Germans and Irish politicians are willing to screw over the Ukrainians, and Eastern Europeans, is to quote our next Prime Minister a disgrace.
If there's a lesson from this conflict it should be that any notions of EU unified defence is a terrible, terrible idea and that NATO is far better than the EU. The Eastern Europeans are better working with us in NATO than Germany etc in the EU.
Expanding the war to the Balkans would fit that thesis
I noticed that Bosnia isn’t a NATO country so wonder if they are going to try it on to test whether NATO will help a non-NATO country directly?
Would be wise for the EU and US to shift as many troops down there asap to try and deter Serbian stupidity.
They've got no clear mind or rationality, they're just reflexively anti-everything western.
But further afield?
You might as well blame Blair and Brown for not holding a referendum earlier, than Cameron for holding it when it was too late.
How the Hell can you possibly not understand that?
Germany deserve the equaliser to be fair.
Great finish though
Ivana Trump buried on her ex-husband's golf course so he can avoid paying tax on it.
https://mobile.twitter.com/EBHarrington/status/1553533320469905409
"There will be no essential loss of sovereignty"
It is therefore fitting that we left the same way
Germany equalize as I type! Oh god it can't be a 1-1 draw then pens, can it?
This doesn't look good, please. Inform rest of former yugo followers.
It looks like Serbia is trying to annex Kosovo.
https://twitter.com/AnonOpsSE/status/1553796916948963335
Hill is regarded as a leading expert on Putin, she was an advisor to Trump.
It paints an excellent portrait of Putin.
It suggests that he lives in a different reality to what we know and tries to paint a picture of what this reality might be.
Having read it you can see that there were western policy errors in the 2000s, all these things that we didn't pay much attention to at the time (Kosovo, Georgia etc) along with NATO expansion made Putin basically think that the US and UK were planning to overthrow him, and everything else was just deception.
That is a bit of a crude and simplified summary but there is a lot in it.
There is also quite a bit on the history of Ukraine from the Russian point of view and which I wasn't aware of; ie prior to 2014 the government briefly removed Russian from the list of official languages; the claim that Russia is intervening to protect minority rights clearly has some historic basis to it.
One conclusion of the book is that, once he has started something, Putin will keep fighting until he either wins or is removed; he can't lose.
The book was written around 2015. I think this is behind the idea we keep hearing from various western sources that Putin needs an 'off ramp'.
You can also see another problem, which is that he has started this Eurasian nationalism thing and is obviously struggling to control it.
Insightful comments on Dugin, who is dismissed as a pseudo intellectual and basically a tool.
What happens if and when Putin goes is an interesting question.
One thing about the book is that it definetly gives Putin a lot of agency. Hill clearly regards him as being the mastermind behind the operation, and it talks of him in terms of being a CEO of Russia Inc, with all patronage going through him.
I don't quite know what the answer is to the current situation in Ukraine after reading the book, but definetly there are no simple ones when it comes to dealing with Russia.
Yet she could not find a drive in another formula this year, so she had to return to Formula W. You can either see this as a failure of Formula W (not being able to feed good drivers up into other formula) or inherent sexism in motor racing and the sponsorships.
Also, one to watch: Juju Noda. I like her style.
https://twitter.com/danbardak/status/1553797977453494274?s=21&t=MAu52WMgs7STblU_-XGioA
There are no right on credentials that you won't try to say you have, are there.
I get it but no need to lie; you are amongst friends on PB.
Fake news?
I still vacillate over whether Brexit was right or wrong. But I've zero doubt it could have been handled better. Johnson is largely responsible for that, and for much of the mistrust there is between the EU and us.
🇷🇸The Kosovo army plans to attack the northern part of Serbia at midnight - Vučić.
“I think that we have never been in a more difficult situation than today. Why did I say this? The Pristina regime is trying, presenting itself as a victim, to use the moods in the world,”
https://twitter.com/TpyxaNews/status/1553797090400247809?s=20&t=7rkIwDqJfo7amIaU8g6waA
A casus belli for Serbia to hit back
But not with the Tories in Government, they've had their chance.
Sirens going off all over Kosovo.
If true, that's just bloody great. Good job we've a PM on the ball, and his FS with nowt else much on.