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Post by scfcbiancorossi on Feb 22, 2022 16:12:15 GMT
Can't think of anything worse than going to one of those "networking" tea parties. Riddled with small talk, affairs, lies, cock measuring and corruption.
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Post by cerebralstokie on Feb 22, 2022 16:15:49 GMT
I think Putin will probably risk an invasion for two reasons. 1. He probably thinks he can get away with it. 2. His sense of history. He is obsessed with the idea of Russia as a Great Power. His hero is Peter the Great who defeated the Swedes in the Great Northern War and sought to bring Russia into the modern world (which was then) Western Europe. The decisive battle was at Poltava in modern Ukraine which would feed his idea of Ukraine being an integral part of Russia. Megalomaniac he may be, but he surrounds himself with advisors who align themselves with his line of thinking. He cracks down on political opponents. If I lived in any of the Baltic States, I would be afraid - very afraid. There is a large Russian speaking population in eastern Latvia for example.
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Post by prestwichpotter on Feb 22, 2022 16:20:51 GMT
I think Putin will probably risk an invasion for two reasons. 1. He probably thinks he can get away with it. 2. His sense of history. He is obsessed with the idea of Russia as a Great Power. His hero is Peter the Great who defeated the Swedes in the Great Northern War and sought to bring Russia into the modern world (which was then) Western Europe. The decisive battle was at Poltava in modern Ukraine which would feed his idea of Ukraine being an integral part of Russia. Megalomaniac he may be, but he surrounds himself with advisors who align themselves with his line of thinking. He cracks down on political opponents. If I lived in any of the Baltic States, I would be afraid - very afraid. There is a large Russian speaking population in eastern Latvia for example. I still remain firmly of the opinion that any troops in Ukraine won’t go beyond the two territories he is claiming should be independent. That’s not to say that won’t mean a battle for the remaining part of those territories and casualties along the way, but unlike Crimea there is very few Russians with an appetite for this conflict, and that brings in an element of risk for Putin…….
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Post by cerebralstokie on Feb 22, 2022 16:29:10 GMT
I think Putin will probably risk an invasion for two reasons. 1. He probably thinks he can get away with it. 2. His sense of history. He is obsessed with the idea of Russia as a Great Power. His hero is Peter the Great who defeated the Swedes in the Great Northern War and sought to bring Russia into the modern world (which was then) Western Europe. The decisive battle was at Poltava in modern Ukraine which would feed his idea of Ukraine being an integral part of Russia. Megalomaniac he may be, but he surrounds himself with advisors who align themselves with his line of thinking. He cracks down on political opponents. If I lived in any of the Baltic States, I would be afraid - very afraid. There is a large Russian speaking population in eastern Latvia for example. I still remain firmly of the opinion that any troops in Ukraine won’t go beyond the two territories he is claiming should be independent. That’s not to say that won’t mean a battle for the remaining part of those territories and casualties along the way, but unlike Crimea there is very few Russians with an appetite for this conflict, and that brings in an element of risk for Putin……. I hope you are right and I am wrong, but I wouldn't put anything past Putin. I do appreciate that if he does invade, casualties will be very heavy and this may deter him.
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Post by partickpotter on Feb 22, 2022 16:33:05 GMT
Someone had a plan to sort this mess out.
Why didn’t people pay attention to the oracle… all we needed to do was to stop the British Government’s aggressive posturing and everything would have been roses.
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Post by mrcoke on Feb 22, 2022 16:50:01 GMT
I think Putin will probably risk an invasion for two reasons. 1. He probably thinks he can get away with it. 2. His sense of history. He is obsessed with the idea of Russia as a Great Power. His hero is Peter the Great who defeated the Swedes in the Great Northern War and sought to bring Russia into the modern world (which was then) Western Europe. The decisive battle was at Poltava in modern Ukraine which would feed his idea of Ukraine being an integral part of Russia. Megalomaniac he may be, but he surrounds himself with advisors who align themselves with his line of thinking. He cracks down on political opponents. If I lived in any of the Baltic States, I would be afraid - very afraid. There is a large Russian speaking population in eastern Latvia for example. I still remain firmly of the opinion that any troops in Ukraine won’t go beyond the two territories he is claiming should be independent. That’s not to say that won’t mean a battle for the remaining part of those territories and casualties along the way, but unlike Crimea there is very few Russians with an appetite for this conflict, and that brings in an element of risk for Putin……. I think Chamberlain thought like you. Unfortunately............... www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/foreign-policy-and-the-road-to-war/occupation-of-the-sudetenland/Cameron and a host of others thought the UK had no appetite for Brexit. Every opinion poll said the Remain would win. The point is you don't know what the people really think till it is tested.
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Post by prestwichpotter on Feb 22, 2022 16:50:03 GMT
Someone had a plan to sort this mess out. Why didn’t people pay attention to the oracle… all we needed to do was to stop the British Government’s aggressive posturing and everything would have been roses. Who should we pay attention to then just out of interest? We've been sleepwalking into this situation since 2014. The mind set of Putin = Bad, West = Good doesn't get us anywhere either in this scenario or others in the future...........
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Post by prestwichpotter on Feb 22, 2022 17:00:16 GMT
I still remain firmly of the opinion that any troops in Ukraine won’t go beyond the two territories he is claiming should be independent. That’s not to say that won’t mean a battle for the remaining part of those territories and casualties along the way, but unlike Crimea there is very few Russians with an appetite for this conflict, and that brings in an element of risk for Putin……. I think Chamberlain thought like you. Unfortunately............... www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/foreign-policy-and-the-road-to-war/occupation-of-the-sudetenland/Cameron and a host of others thought the UK had no appetite for Brexit. Every opinion poll said the Remain would win. The point is you don't know what the people really think till it is tested. Nobody knows, of course. Putin may attempt to carry on into Ukraine and beyond, but as it stands I don't believe that to be the case based on the military and economic situation in Russia and the lack of appetite for a full blown war from his own people who have been known in the past to get behind a war full throttle. Comparisons with Hitler are over egging the situation in my opinion........
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Post by foghornsgleghorn on Feb 22, 2022 17:09:55 GMT
Perhaps he needed the toilet
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Post by thevoid on Feb 22, 2022 17:23:01 GMT
Kosovo v Bosnia/Serbia I can understand but why Russia? Uefa will not allow Russia and Kosovo to meet in European competitions because of "security risks". Russia has not recognised Kosovo as an independent country since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008. From the BBC. There will be nobody left for Russia to play soon! Cheers. Serbia and Russia are on good terms, that explains it
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Post by oggyoggy on Feb 22, 2022 17:38:15 GMT
London Stock Exchange listed Russian oil, gas and mining companies paid Russia £39bn in tax in 2020. Russia’s military budget is £41.7bn a year. Hit those companies and you actually have some sanctions when combined with the rest of the world’s sanctions.
We have basically said to Putin it is fine for him to invade Ukraine. No wonder he has now extended what he classes as the borders of the two “independent” regions in Ukraine. Perhaps he will extend them to London?
The world needs to stand up to this bully now.
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Post by oggyoggy on Feb 22, 2022 17:39:21 GMT
Nobody knows, of course. Putin may attempt to carry on into Ukraine and beyond, but as it stands I don't believe that to be the case based on the military and economic situation in Russia and the lack of appetite for a full blown war from his own people who have been known in the past to get behind a war full throttle. Comparisons with Hitler are over egging the situation in my opinion........ Putin has just extended what he classes as the borders of those regions.
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Post by prestwichpotter on Feb 22, 2022 17:42:51 GMT
Nobody knows, of course. Putin may attempt to carry on into Ukraine and beyond, but as it stands I don't believe that to be the case based on the military and economic situation in Russia and the lack of appetite for a full blown war from his own people who have been known in the past to get behind a war full throttle. Comparisons with Hitler are over egging the situation in my opinion........ Putin has just extended what he classes as the borders of those regions. I'm just saying that I think that talk of a Hitler style surge into Europe isn't on the agenda in my opinion, I think it would be political and economic suicide for Putin in the long term.......
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Post by oggyoggy on Feb 22, 2022 17:48:12 GMT
Putin has just extended what he classes as the borders of those regions. I'm just saying that I think that talk of a Hitler style surge into Europe isn't on the agenda in my opinion, I think it would be political and economic suicide for Putin in the long term....... I agree, comparisons to Hitler are far fetched. But Putin is deranged and dangerous and needs to be stopped.
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Post by hoffgreen on Feb 22, 2022 18:12:09 GMT
I'm just saying that I think that talk of a Hitler style surge into Europe isn't on the agenda in my opinion, I think it would be political and economic suicide for Putin in the long term....... I agree, comparisons to Hitler are far fetched. But Putin is deranged and dangerous and needs to be stopped. Why don't you go over there and stop him then?
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Post by andystokey on Feb 22, 2022 18:57:39 GMT
Ukraine resources: 1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores; 2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves; 2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves); 2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons); 2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves; 3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters). 4th in the world by the total value of natural resources; 7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons) 1st in Europe in terms of arable land area; 3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume); 1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil; 2nd place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports; 3rd largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world; 4th largest producer of potatoes in the world; 5th largest rye producer in the world; 5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons); 8th place in the world in wheat exports; 9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs; Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people. 1st in Europe in ammonia production; Europe's 2nd’s and the world’s 4th largest natural gas pipeline system; 3rd largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants; 3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km); 3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment; 3rd largest iron exporter in the world 4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world; 4th world's largest manufacturer of rocket launchers; surprise, surprise. 4th place in the world in clay exports 4th place in the world in titanium exports 8th place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates; 9th place in the world in exports of defence industry products; 10th largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons). If you don't think this is an issue on principle, there is still a pretty good selfish reason for the world to care. Think that pretty much answers most questions as to why this is all happening Country A wants what they used to have... Especially when you realise that all those rare earth minerals are used in modern battery production and semiconductors.
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Post by felonious on Feb 22, 2022 19:16:40 GMT
Guy will sort it out.
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Feb 22, 2022 19:23:57 GMT
I’ve not watched the video as I already know he’s an unelected bureaucrat knob head
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Feb 22, 2022 19:24:14 GMT
Somebody needs to give him a sock in a book and everything will be fine...
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Post by oggyoggy on Feb 22, 2022 19:27:56 GMT
I agree, comparisons to Hitler are far fetched. But Putin is deranged and dangerous and needs to be stopped. Why don't you go over there and stop him then? Erm, I’m not James Bond or Superman. I’m not sure I am the best hope of stopping him. But thanks for putting your faith in me.
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Post by Boothen on Feb 22, 2022 19:29:11 GMT
Do you think Biden actually held off until 22:22 22/2/22 Moscow Time to start his press conference?
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Post by salopstick on Feb 22, 2022 21:06:55 GMT
Every sporting body should ban Russian “teams” from International sport.
Ban the Russians from everything.
If their leader wants to act the cunt make the country pariahs
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Feb 22, 2022 21:11:53 GMT
Every sporting body should ban Russian “teams” from International sport. Ban the Russians from everything. If their leader wants to act the cunt make the country pariahs It shouldn’t even be a debate should it?
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Post by prestwichpotter on Feb 22, 2022 21:35:25 GMT
Having looked at the sanctions proposed by the EU, the UK and America I’m tempted to say “Is that it?”
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Post by OldStokie on Feb 22, 2022 21:35:29 GMT
But not unexpected. This is where Putin gets his free licence to do what he's doing. There are more like them in the US. This is why the ultimate sanctions against Russia won't happen. Paradoxically, their sycophantic behaviour may save us from WW3 insomuch their appeasement will work... temporarily. Ukraine is a small price to pay to stop it. I wonder what DEFCON level we're at? I'd think somewhere between 3 and 2. It will definitely be 2 if they invade all Ukraine. And then, in the not too distant future, we'll go through it again in the South China Sea. Goodbye Taiwan as a separate country from China. Johnson doesn't give a toss. He's on a downward spiral and there's nothing in it for him because he's helpless to do anything. The banks and offshore funds own him just like they own that lot in the video. Biden will be soiling his pants. His decision to accept Trump's plans to withdraw from Afghanistan was a bad move. He was signalling to the world that the US is tired of propping up the rest of the world. Putin knows that. He can read the Yanks better than the Yanks can. It's all very Orwellian. OS.
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Post by dirtclod on Feb 22, 2022 23:37:05 GMT
Logistics. Russians can go 48-72 hrs full tilt ammo/fuel. (And there's not much that can stop them except for thousands of aircraft, which Ukraine is a mite short of) Then it's Komaz Trucks to the rescue, excellent trucks, although total truck-availability is questionable. The pause can sometimes last up to 48 hrs. for fuel and ammo, depending upon road-congestion due to World of Twist concerts or drunk Vale fans in the area.
Then and only then can they progress further on their World Tour. I think ... Luhansk & Donetsk have been adopted. And hopefully stops there.
I don't know why the US felt the need to put more troops in bad neighborhoods again, but it's not something I would have done. I guess Vladimir is back off the Christmas Card list again.
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Post by partickpotter on Feb 23, 2022 4:04:43 GMT
Look like there may be a vacancy coming up for spy chief in Russia.
Job requirement… speak plainly (and say the right thing).
Let’s hope he gets to pack his warm clothes for his trip east.
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Post by scfcbiancorossi on Feb 23, 2022 7:40:23 GMT
Look like there may be a vacancy coming up for spy chief in Russia. Job requirement… speak plainly (and say the right thing). Let’s hope he gets to pack his warm clothes for his trip east. Saw this. Putin really is a nutjob. How anyone could watch this and think otherwise is beyond me.
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Post by partickpotter on Feb 23, 2022 7:54:01 GMT
Look like there may be a vacancy coming up for spy chief in Russia. Job requirement… speak plainly (and say the right thing). Let’s hope he gets to pack his warm clothes for his trip east. Saw this. Putin really is a nutjob. How anyone could watch this and think otherwise is beyond me. I think he’s been watching too many Bond films. The only thing that’s missing from that video is a white cat sat in his lap.
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Post by foster on Feb 23, 2022 8:01:17 GMT
Saw this. Putin really is a nutjob. How anyone could watch this and think otherwise is beyond me. I think he’s been watching too many Bond films. The only thing that’s missing from that video is a white cat sat in his lap. You could quite as easily substitute that Spy chief for Boris. Putin may be a cock but I prefer his direct and 'take no shit' style to the pathetic bunch of whiny fannies we have as 'leaders'.
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