Ukraine (1 Viewer)

[bob fitz]

A little surprised that nobody has made any comment (that I've seen) on the recent events in Ukraine

 

[KitaYama]

Wait....Is the war started?.......Yes, Yahoo says it is.
It seems that I'm too obsessed with my job & PC that the war has started more than 34h ago and I didn't know.

 

[Cronk]

Market is down given the uncertainty with the war, so I bought some more stock. Either things get resolved eventually and my stock goes up or everything turns nuclear and I will beyond caring. I know that is seeming very cynical and uncaring. I do recognize the pain and suffering of those having their homes bombed and obliterated let alone the injury and death, but what can I do as an individual - stand outside the Russian Embassy with a placard?

 

[Jon]

Putin is the new Hitler and a danger to the world, not just his neighbours.

 

[bob fitz]

Putin is the new Hitler and a danger to the world, not just his neighbours.

The same thought crossed my mind. Lets hope that we're both wrong.

 

[Jon]

He has already threatened nuclear war if anyone intervenes. That should worry everybody. Even if you are not a member of NATO, a nuclear war will devastate every single country on the planet.

 

[KitaYama]

He has already threatened nuclear war if anyone intervenes. That should worry everybody. Even if you are not a member of NATO, a nuclear war will devastate every single country on the planet.

I don't think he has the guts to push the button.

 

[bob fitz]

He has already threatened nuclear war if anyone intervenes. That should worry everybody. Even if you are not a member of NATO, a nuclear war will devastate every single country on the planet.

I haven't heard a threat that was as explicit as that, but I did hear one that could be interpreted in that way.

 

[bob fitz]

I don't think he has the guts to push the button.

I'm more concerned with his sanity than his guts.

 

[Minty]

He has surrounded himself with yes men and from his KGB days was horrified to see the break up of the old USSR.
He has passed legislation to enable him to still stay on as leader against the constitutional rules he was originally elected under.

There are no media outlets of any significance in Russia that aren't under complete state control.
He has become a very dangerous megalomanic.

 

[Jon]

I haven't heard a threat that was as explicit as that, but I did hear one that could be interpreted in that way.

He said this:

I would now like to say something very important for those who may be tempted to interfere in these developments from the outside. No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.

I think most agree what he means.

But any use of nuclear weapons also means the instant destruction of Russia too.

 

[Jon]

There are no media outlets of any significance in Russia that aren't under complete state control.

There are fines of $59,000 for any Russian media outlet who is not using information about the war from official Russian sources.

 

[Jon]

What you might find interesting is the propaganda spread via the Russian newspapers.

Russian Newspapers : Russia News : русские газеты

List of top Russian newspapers and news sites featuring sports, business, jobs, education, health, travel, and politics

www.w3newspapers.com

 

[KitaYama]

He has surrounded himself with yes men

Putin and his spy chief

 

[Steve R.]

A little surprised that nobody has made any comment (that I've seen) on the recent events in Ukraine

Same here. I have been waiting. Now that the flood-gate has been opened: ----->

A few quick points. Putin is the obvious "bad' guy. He did not have to start a war. Nevertheless, there is "blood" on Biden's hands which is being overlooked. As I have expressed in the thread "Biden's Anticipated Foreign Policy", Biden has been provoking the situation by refusing to consider Putin's point-of-view. Essentially "forcing" Putin to take action to maintain his credibility.

Biden has also proposed meaningless "sanctions". Russia will still be able to sell its oil for $$$$$$. Meaningless sanctions will allow Putin to perceive that his actions, though deplorable, will not be challenged. Biden has also refused to rescind his "war" on domestic oil and gas production. This of course is another (indirect) benefit to Russia. But going beyond that, Biden has been begging other oil producers to bail him out of the hole that he has dug himself into. So far, it appears that this demand has fallen on deaf ears. But there is, regretfully, more that should cause us great concern. That is Iran, also an oil producer. U.S. imports rare Iranian oil in March despite sanctions - EIA data. This makes a mockery of the supposed sanctions that the US has on Iran. Should the US begin buying Iranian oil, the US will be facilitating Iran's capability to develop a nuclear weapon.

The oil and gas issues discussed above, also need to be considered within the context of the Obama administration. Biden is Obama 2.0. The Obama administration was pro-Iranian. As one example, the Obama administration gave Iran back, the money that was "frozen" in US accounts as a sanction thereby undoing that sanction. It can therefore be speculated that the Biden administration will continue with the pro-Iranian policies implemented by the Obama administration.

 

[Minty]

@Steve R. Whilst some of those points are possibly valid, I fail to see how they have had much influence in "forcing" Putin's hand at invading another country. Externally (from a non-US perspective) Biden seems to have had very little to do with Putin.

Historically Trump appears to have courted Putin despite/because of their shared Meglomainia? Similarly with Kim Jong-un.
Didn't Trump get impeached over some Ukraine related incident?
Maybe they all dress up like Blofeld at the weekends and stroke a cat at "Bonkers World Leaders" gatherings.

Worryingly at least one of them really does sound like he might push the big red button.

 

[NauticalGent]

Question for this group: If Putin had armed Ireland (for the UK members) or Mexico or Canada (USA) with weapons AFTER putting in "their boy" aka puppet as a leader and was enticing it to join the equivalent of NATO (not sure if the Warsaw Pact is still a thing) - how would you want your government to respond?

 

[Steve R.]

Historically Trump appears to have courted Putin despite/because of their shared Meglomainia? Similarly with Kim Jong-un.
Didn't Trump get impeached over some Ukraine related incident?

Trump was the "victim" of a political hit-job by the Democrats, which goes beyond the scope of this thread. Within the context of this thread, note that the "sanctions" being imposed by the Biden administration are meaningless. Done as a publicity stunt. That can be interpreted (manipulated by partisans) that Biden is really a "lap-dog" for Putin; essentially the same "loaded partisan" charge tossed at Trump.

VP Harris says sanctions would absolutely deter Putin, despite saying he made up his mind on invading Ukraine

Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday said she believes sanctions on Russia would absolutely deter President Vladimir Putin, despite saying that he has already made up his mind on a potential invasion.

www.foxnews.com

Biden says 'no-one expected sanctions to prevent anything from happening,' despite prior White House claims

President Biden on Thursday said that "no-one expected" sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its incursions into Ukraine to "prevent anything from happening" -- an apparent contradiction from prior White House messaging that emphasized the value of deterrence.

www.foxnews.com

 

[KitaYama]

the "sanctions" being imposed by the Biden administration are meaningless.

what do you expect him to do? Attack Russia and start a nuclear war?
What kind of action would satisfy you?

 

[Jon]

Question for this group: If Putin had armed Ireland (for the UK members) or Mexico or Canada (USA) with weapons AFTER putting in "their boy" aka puppet as a leader and was enticing it to join the equivalent of NATO (not sure if the Warsaw Pact is still a thing) - how would you want your government to respond?

By invading? Certainly not.

Besides that, who says that the democratically elected Ukrainian leader is a puppet of the West, apart from Putin?

And aside from the above, NATO members are not imperialists. Russia is. Russia wants to rebuild their empire, and have already invaded many countries. Having an aggressive neighbour like Russia is much more dangerous than a defensive alliance like NATO, who want peace and the respect for a countries sovereignty.