kirku

Yes it is - I may have already linked to it previously! 🤣🤣

I can link you to a very good thread that makes exactly this point It's also why the Russian economy is reliant on destructive resource gathering and produces very little - because they can't give power to clever people...

Ahh, sweet sweet communism...

I found this thread informative and interesting, concerning Finland's approach to potential invasion. Spoiler: they're not so concerned about the Swedes...

The Russians have a very well developed ability to ignore yawning maws of evidence in order to portray black as white (but they'll settle for grey)

Pravda published this about Poland, yesterday I believe:

Agree with much of this. Re:objective, I'm not sure they even know what they are at this point. If what we're currently seeing is their attempt at mass civilian casualties, it's bad, really bad, but still some way off what would be required. Domestically, all I've seen is a strengthening of their awful Z campaign and a hardening of "this is all the West's fault". Escalate to de-escalate is Putin all over, so let's see how this pans out. Very mixed messages coming out of Russia today, contrasting what his negotiators have said versus what Putin himself is rambling on about: "The Russian people will always be able to distinguish true patriots from traitors and simply spit them out.... I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country."

The Russian military thought they could take Kyiv (and Ukraine) within days. I wouldn't be surprised if they still believe they can take the cities. From a purely military standpoint, it's an utterly humiliating failure. Edit: I've just read that a 4th Russian Major General has been KIA and Putin has fired a further 8.

In short, they're trying to terrify the local population into submission because they can't currently achieve a military victory (in terms of full occupation of major cities). These are the same tactics they used in Chechnya and Syria - with the key difference that neither of those wars involved an opposing military of any significant strength and without the intelligence and logistic support (at least widespread) of first rate powers

Re: compromise/agreement I absolutely agree that there needs to be some way to de-escalate this. I just cannot conceive of what that might entail given what the two sides want.

Completely agree. Here's a quote on this which illustrates it perfectly: Consider sizes of countries where Putin waged his wars in chronological order: 1. Chechnya, 1999 - 1 million 2. Georgia, 2009 - 4 million 3. Syria, 2015 - 17 million 4. Ukraine, 2022 - 44 million He's scaling up and quickly. Each time he chooses a bigger prey. So far it worked.

The EU without a military and NATO, a defensive alliance, which Ukraine talked of aspirations to join? The idea that Putin intended a maximalist invasion of Ukraine, calling its very existence a historical aberration and pledging to fully "denazify" and "demilitarise" the country with the intention of "protecting" Crimea is....not a view that will be shared by many.

This invasion has nothing to do with "protecting Crimea" - there was no realistic chance that Ukraine (or anyone else) was going to seize it back from Russia.

https://uscnpm.org/2022/03/12/hu-wei-russia-ukraine-war-china-choice/?fbclid=IwAR1BgkpS-KodLTLanBh-O0lbjNJspY4fuqVzd3X7ohOEbhA6bjEg2w0KnFo Very interesting article on Chinese interests by a top Chinese academic - did the rounds yesterday TLDR: China has much to gain from helping to stop this war and very little to gain from standing aside as it continues or escalates

I wanted to include Nadine Dorries but was advised it'd be against the Geneva Convention

Punishment for Putin's war crimes: he has to live in his bunker with Diane Abbott and Liz Truss. It is live streamed 24 hours a day and titled Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Can we just give them Liz Truss instead?

*Some* younger Russian businessmen are westernised and want to open trade. It's far from a broad church. The Kremlin has obviously completely doubled down on any form of dissent and has vigorously promoted their Z propaganda. A majority of Russians support the war - with the caveat that they don't really understand what is happening.

I totally agree that there has to be some kind of "off ramp" but I can't personally envisage one that will be palatable for the two sides. Especially not after the sheer number of atrocities that the Russians have committed in the last week. How can Russia not be humiliated by any kind of vaguely (to Ukraine) acceptable agreement? Given the public goals of the invasion have ranged from "denazification", demilitarisation, establishment of novorussiya, to governmental overthrow and the Soviet Union 2.0

It's hard to imagine Ukranians accepting any kind of negotiated settlement that would also allow Putin to save face domestically. I don't see how those two opposing forces can be joined together. The war has only hardened and enforced Ukrainian identity, as they tend to do. It's a far more united country now than it was in 2014. On another matter, I've seen a lot of commentary about how once Putin goes (or is pushed) that things will magically become better. I was guilty of this kind of thinking at the start of the invasion. But it's not a view that's based on anything but blind hope.

Whoever it is, it's absolutely disgraceful and a so called "community club with values" should stick to those values.

It's an act of absolutely staggering cowardice and hypocrisy. Webber should never talk about values again.

I put this on the main board but it's kind of relevant here as well. Truly appalling decision by the club.

I believe he also said this (or something extremely similar): "We have no plans to attack any other countries. In fact, we haven't attacked Ukraine"