Ukraine
- Thread starter Pegasus
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Switzerland seems to have stepped forward with a 'al things Russian' ban, according to the TV's Cavuto host.
I need to poke about the net and see what else has developed during my late morning nap.
I need to poke about the net and see what else has developed during my late morning nap.
According to Fox News, The Kremlin has sent more than 400 Russian-paid mercenaries into Kyiv with the mission to assassinate
Zelenski.
The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company accused of covertly working with the Russian government, flew in mercenaries from Africa to Kyiv about five weeks ago, The Times of London reported.
Their assignment was to decapitate Zelenskyy’s government and prepare the ground for Moscow to take control in exchange for handsome financial bonuses, according to the newspaper.
When there are no deterrents for bad behavior you get more bad behavior. On a smaller scale look at what's happened when police departments get defunded, or when you allow people to camp out in tents on city streets, do heroin and sh*t on the sidewalk.
I also saw the Neil Oliver clip and trust that he's mostly got it right. The entire political institution is rapidly degenerating and collapsing into what one might call: "the dictatorships of the few". What I liked about his take was he did not offer support to any one side, and bunches all globalist leaders into the same box: Putin, Trudeau, Ardern, Macron... all interchangeable, all vying for heightened powers, whatever the cost.. via the immortal philosophy of "the ends justify the means".
Take Trudeau: one minute he invokes the Emergency Act to quash a peaceful protest in Canada; the next he stands on a podium to eloquently voice his "condemnation" for an authoritative Putin. The word 'hypocrisy' does not seem to figure in his new world order lexicon.
Same goes for Putin. Maybe he judges this to be his long-awaited moment to seek revenge. To show NATO and the West that he's reversed the situation of 20 odd years ago (when Russia was at their mercy) and now holds them by the balls. Who knows.
Take Trudeau: one minute he invokes the Emergency Act to quash a peaceful protest in Canada; the next he stands on a podium to eloquently voice his "condemnation" for an authoritative Putin. The word 'hypocrisy' does not seem to figure in his new world order lexicon.
Same goes for Putin. Maybe he judges this to be his long-awaited moment to seek revenge. To show NATO and the West that he's reversed the situation of 20 odd years ago (when Russia was at their mercy) and now holds them by the balls. Who knows.
The European Union has voted, overwhelmingly, to accept the Ukrainian application for admittance to the E.U.
Nice!
Nice!
True - but when the law is enforced, and those deterrents have some teeth that bite, people stop committing crimes.
If Biden hadn't turned off the Keystone pipeline and fallen in with the greenie weenies on the false assumption that windmills and solar would provide us with all our energy needs, then we would still be energy independent, along with exporting energy. Then the entire EU wouldn't be dependent on Russian oil, and we could put Putin out of business. There's no doubt in my mind that if Trump were still president we would continue to be energy independent and Putin wouldn't be trying to take over Ukraine. Biden's incompetency and lack of leadership has lead to the death of many, and the entire world being in chaos. It could still happen, but I think Biden is going to double down on stupid.
Trump proposed giving Europe more of our oil and gas and the Europeans, particularly Germany, rejected it. It was their choice and it really is their problem.
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They are just escalating the situation. The ones that start the wars are doing this to push the situation into a bad place.
There are those in the world that want WW3
Donated to the ICRC dot ORG today, I decided it was worthwhile.
(International Committee of the Red Cross)
(International Committee of the Red Cross)
Worthy cause. Neutral, non-partisan, with the sole objective of helping and saving lives.
Albeit this clip is 5 days old, a great perspective on Ukraine and on the recent trend of public shaming others for holding (gasp!) different views than the official narrative permits it. Glenn Greenwald goes in for a deep dive. Long - but first 30 minutes are plenty worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46bzpo2fPTw
I listened to Greenwald’s presentation and on the service he made some valid points. However, I found he sadly neglected to mention the Russia/Ukraine involvement in the Budapest Memorandum and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1994. The memorandum included security assurances against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. As a result of other agreements and the memorandum, between 1993 and 1996, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons. At the time, Ukraine held the world’s third largest supply of nuclear weapons, which it agreed to return to Russia in order to get Russia’s agreement to not threaten Ukraine with them in the future. In my opinion, Russia is now in violation of both agreements and to now claim that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO is a threat to Russia is pure BS.
You have a right to express an opposing opinion, but in doing so, you should not avoid presenting significant facts to the contrary.
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I've really liked Greenwald's candor and willingness to call BS wherever he sees it but this omission from him (and many of the talking heads out there) is very disappointing.
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The Ukrainians have also fought well. Indeed, they have achieved tactical successes out of all proportion to their size. They have bought time for their nation to mobilise international support, and they have cost the Russians dearly. And the defenders of Ukraine — soldiers and civilians alike — have demonstrated a profound sense of purpose that has unified their nation, and given the world a stunning example of the importance of defending democracy.
Finally, the past nine days have demonstrated again the importance of the moral elements of war. In particular, leaders matter.
Read more
For Russia, Putin's leadership and his delusional idea that Ukraine was a non-state that could be quickly overrun has resulted in this war. In Ukraine, the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — a former comedian whose potential was underestimated by Western nations just a few weeks ago — is now an exemplar of wartime leadership.
There is a long way to go in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Even if the Russians do manage to capture its major cities, we should expect an urban and rural insurgency to manifest quickly. Ukrainians resisted the Nazis and then the Soviets in the immediate post-war period. They have tasted democracy and decided it is worth fighting for.
In a recent article, US scholar, diplomat and author Eliot Cohen wrote that, "We do not know how this will unfold, but one does sense that history is moving remarkably quickly here. And the outcome may be the end of the road for a brutal dictator, and renewed confidence in free institutions."
This may indeed be the eventual outcome. But sadly, much more blood will be shed and cities destroyed before that is likely to happen.
Mick Ryan is a strategist and recently retired Australian Army major general. He served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and as a strategist on the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. His first book, War Transformed, is about 21st century warfare.
Finally, the past nine days have demonstrated again the importance of the moral elements of war. In particular, leaders matter.
Read more
For Russia, Putin's leadership and his delusional idea that Ukraine was a non-state that could be quickly overrun has resulted in this war. In Ukraine, the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — a former comedian whose potential was underestimated by Western nations just a few weeks ago — is now an exemplar of wartime leadership.
There is a long way to go in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Even if the Russians do manage to capture its major cities, we should expect an urban and rural insurgency to manifest quickly. Ukrainians resisted the Nazis and then the Soviets in the immediate post-war period. They have tasted democracy and decided it is worth fighting for.
In a recent article, US scholar, diplomat and author Eliot Cohen wrote that, "We do not know how this will unfold, but one does sense that history is moving remarkably quickly here. And the outcome may be the end of the road for a brutal dictator, and renewed confidence in free institutions."
This may indeed be the eventual outcome. But sadly, much more blood will be shed and cities destroyed before that is likely to happen.
Mick Ryan is a strategist and recently retired Australian Army major general. He served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and as a strategist on the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. His first book, War Transformed, is about 21st century warfare.
History is unfolding before our very eyes. It is very painful to experience change.
Some Russians are awakening, fleeing their own country. Changes are afoot.
Some Russians are awakening, fleeing their own country. Changes are afoot.
Does anyone think that at any time US forces would ever defend Ukraine because of that agreement? Sadly that agreement meant nothing.
Now if Putin is in violation of that agreement than we are as well as we are not defending their country in any meaningful way so I guess we're both bad guys.
The discussion at hand was not about the U.S defending Ukraine, but rather an opposing position to Greenwald’s position that Russia felt threatened by Ukraine and had felt it had a right to threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine,
