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Russia Launches Military Action in Ukraine

maplenpg said:
I have to thank you for your posts, because we're not hearing this in the UK. I've just checked the major news channels and..zero. Also about the EU no fly zone (thanks Dimi). The UK has refused to implement a no fly zone (as have the US as I understand it). There was an emotional encounter about our lack of action at this morning's press conference (see tweet). Our government are weak and feeble and increasingly unable to justify themselves at the min.
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It really is a shame. Wanna bet they'd find their strengh if Putin would be knocking at our doors?
 
I hate to say it but Britney Griner is seriously screwed. There's no way I can see that the US is going to capitulate to the surely ridiculous demands Russia is going to have concerning her release.
 
RodeoSchro said:
I hate to say it but Britney Griner is seriously screwed. There's no way I can see that the US is going to capitulate to the surely ridiculous demands Russia is going to have concerning her release.
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www.cnn.com

New York Times: Brittney Griner, two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA all-star, arrested in Russia on drug charges | CNN

Brittney Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time Women's National Basketball Association All-Star with the Phoenix Mercury basketball team, has been arrested in Russia after customs officials detected cannabis oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow, The New York Times reported.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com
She was arrested weeks ago, it's just making headlines now. We don't know the basic facts, even cnn did not include dates. I will agree she's screwed for now. Detaining a 2x US Olympic Gold Medalist is a feather in Putin's cap, and now a bargaining chip I guess.

"'The customs inspection of the hand luggage being carried by the US citizen confirmed the presence of vapes with specifically smelling liquid, and an expert determined that the liquid was cannabis oil (hash oil), which is a narcotic substance,'" the customs service said in the statement.
 
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barnswallow said:
Telling how the 'west' bends to Russia, all while leveling punishing sanctions. With British humor.
Welcome to Londongrad, Where Kleptocrats Wash Their Money Clean [NYTimes; 3.11.22]
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The Russia report was huge over here and Russian influence has been warned about for years. In 2020 Johnson wanted to put his good friend and close Putin ally in the House of Lords. ALL of our top security services warned against it, yet Johnson overruled them all and put them in anyway. We've been terrible at implementing the sanction that most of Europe has implemented as they involve Johnson's friends. The fact he gave them notice so they could move their assets out of the country speaks volumes. This is an interesting read: https://bylinetimes.com/2022/03/08/...JuHxQ47IAFYG1wud0s0i79966n5arlJXj3mOEQmw91rPo
 
GemInEye said:
What do you all think what would be happening if Trump was still in office?
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Dread to think. He was completely corrupt, so he'd have been sure to be in Putin's pocket. I reckon he'd still be saying the dumbass stuff that he's saying, but that isn't getting the exposure so much now. How has the US reacted to the Biden's handling of it?

EDIT to add: I think Trump never did halves, we'd either have him calling for Ukraine to surrender, or he'd be starting WW3. Over here Biden has been represented well in the press.
 
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maplenpg said:
Dread to think. He was completely corrupt, so he'd have been sure to be in Putin's pocket. I reckon he'd still be saying the dumbass stuff that he's saying, but that isn't getting the exposure so much now. How has the US reacted to the Biden's handling of it?

EDIT to add: I think Trump never did halves, we'd either have him calling for Ukraine to surrender, or he'd be starting WW3. Over here Biden has been represented well in the press.
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I think Biden is handling it pretty well, but where I live most of the people are red-neck Trump supporters so they are bitching a lot. I think they are more worried about gas prices than the people of Ukraine, which shows what type of people they are.

I feel like we should do more, but I realize our hands are tied at this point.
 
GemInEye said:
I think Biden is handling it pretty well, but where I live most of the people are red-neck Trump supporters so they are bitching a lot. I think they are more worried about gas prices than the people of Ukraine, which shows what type of people they are.

I feel like we should do more, but I realize our hands are tied at this point.
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Its a tough one right now, that being said Putin is untrustworthy and we can not abandon Ukraine. The fiscal sanctions are biting hard and the people of Russia dont want this.
I do feel that Putin has made a massive error and will realise it but he is just like Trump and wont back down
 
GemInEye said:
What do you all think what would be happening if Trump was still in office?
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Not a damn thing. Less, even. TFG loves Putin; he loves dictators; and he's a weak man's idea of what a strong man is. He'd have been praising Putin even more and if Russia crossed a NATO line, TFG would say, "Well, who cares? I hate NATO and we shouldn't be in it anyway".
 
To me, the bottom line is this: if the Ukraine can't defeat Russia pretty much on its own then Russia will face absolutely no consequences (that matter to them) whatsoever. I'm not sure what unused economic sanctions remain but it's obvious that while the sanctions Biden has put in place hurt, they don't hurt enough to get Putin out of the Ukraine.

I don't know why Ukrainian pilots can't get to Poland and fly the MiGs back on their own. If they could do that, it would be a giant help. President Biden is doing all he can to avert WWIII and it's abundantly clear that Putin could not care less if there is a WWIII.
 
RodeoSchro said:
To me, the bottom line is this: if the Ukraine can't defeat Russia pretty much on its own then Russia will face absolutely no consequences (that matter to them) whatsoever. I'm not sure what unused economic sanctions remain but it's obvious that while the sanctions Biden has put in place hurt, they don't hurt enough to get Putin out of the Ukraine.

I don't know why Ukrainian pilots can't get to Poland and fly the MiGs back on their own. If they could do that, it would be a giant help. President Biden is doing all he can to avert WWIII and it's abundantly clear that Putin could not care less if there is a WWIII.
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Russia dropped bombs 12 miles away from Poland's border, that's really risky. The best thing that could happen is someone in Putin's camp kills him.
 
GemInEye said:
Russia dropped bombs 12 miles away from Poland's border, that's really risky. The best thing that could happen is someone in Putin's camp kills him.
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He doesn’t care about what his people think or the rest of the world. I am unsure how we get rid of him without ww3 though


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I've seen a few posts about Russia's/Putin's motivation in invading Ukraine. And, comments about the difficulty for the average 'westerner' to understand this motivation, which is infused with a history most of us know nothing about. Also, I've seen posts explaining the average Russian's experience of this war. By the way, in Russia, what's happening in Ukraine must only be referred to as a 'special operation' (never 'war', 'invasion', etc.) or risk a 15 year prison sentence.

Today, I listened to a NYTimes report telling of a father and son and their wildly different experiences of the invasion. The son has a successful business in Ukraine, where he lives. The father is in Russia, somewhere. The son cannot convince the father that the Russians are bombing/attacking Ukraine (I realize I don't know enough war terms: shelling vs bombing vs missile attacks vs on-and-on). >> How Russians See the War in Ukraine [The Daily; 3.14.22]

We've heard that there are some anti-war demonstrations in Russian cities. The participants get picked up and spirited away. That news misled me into thinking that most Russians had a negative view of the invasion, only muted by fears of repression. Today, I'm reading about a 'religiously-infused ethnonationalism' (the author in the link refers to it as 'nationalism', not 'ethnonationalism', but elsewhere I've seen this second word used and it makes sense). The average Russian's view may be support for Putin, a view grounded in the circumstances when Putin came to power and the relative prosperity of his 20-some years as autocrat. >> Putin's Attack on Ukraine Is a Religious War [2.24.22] Does this author have the right interpretation? I don't know. This one also explains how the US may have stirred the pot by recognizing an independent orthodox church in Ukraine.

We've heard the Russian talking point about Ukraine: run by thugs and Nazis! ... Even while we know the Ukrainian leader is Jewish and a former comedian. Impossible to make sense of this? Today, I saw an explanation for what the Russians mean when they refer to Nazis. >> How to defeat Putin? This one gives more history and why Putin may be in an untenable position with regard to withdrawing from Ukraine.

Another long post from me... I don't know if I'd look at these links myself, if I were in your shoes. But, I'm inspired to post them because... I found them interesting and on the off-chance that you might, too, here they are.

Finally, what about the so-called 'EurAsian' alliance that is forming between Russia and China? What are their goals? It seems Russia has an expansionist, semi-religious belief in ruling the world. Is there a shared aim? That question drifts ominously in the background, with visible flotsam and jetsam.
 
I watched that interview with the son last night, it was either on CNN or MSNBC, it was very interesting.

Of COURSE the US will get the blame, we always do.
 
Question, would it have been better for the Ukraine to surrender, albeit temporarily, giving time for these sanctions to really impact Russias growth and saving the billions it'll take to rebuild?

FYI, I've hated Putin since the moment he had the nerve to endorse Bush. Sommofabesh.

Anyway, massive destruction disturbs me in a strange way. Id rather prevent it, hence I wonder if a different path would have yeilded desired results even though it would, maybe, take a much longer time to get there.
 
SilverT7 said:
My (very small) village in Spain just welcomed three families.
One day we’ll have to have a discussion about why we’re not as generous with other refugees. But for now, fourteen people, half of them children, are safe…
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Thankyou


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Two of the families are staying in social housing (the building we see in the video, behind the swings). The other one in someone's second home. My village has 250 inhabitants. It we can help, (almost) anyone can: not helping is a choice.
Sorry about the quality of the video, I had to compress it a lot and didn´t really know how to do it. Also, sorry it's mostly in Spanish.
View attachment Video (2) (1).mov
 
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