Scrutable

Herainestold wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 27, 2022 2:50 pm

The Graun..

... Western leaders cannot bring themselves to broach these matters, which would seem to reward Putin ...

Ukraine will broach whichever concessions it chooses to with the Russians. Western leaders aren't negotiating with Russia on Ukraine's behalf.

Martin Y wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 28, 2022 4:40 pm

Herainestold wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 27, 2022 2:50 pm

The Graun..

... Western leaders cannot bring themselves to broach these matters, which would seem to reward Putin ...

Ukraine will broach whichever concessions it chooses to with the Russians. Western leaders aren't negotiating with Russia on Ukraine's behalf.

The fundamental flaw in all Putinist arguments, such as the one Herainestold linked, is that they just cannot understand that Ukraine is an independent state, and this limits and poisons their thinking. They analyse this as though the leadership is in the west, and Ukraine is being pushed to fight Russia.

The simple truth of the matter is that Ukraine will fight for Ukraine's reasons; the support provided by the west makes that a much more winnable fight, but even without it, Ukraine would fight. Right now, Ukrainian recruiters are turning people away because they can't accomodate everyone who is willing to fight. People are trying to bribe their way into the army. This isn't because the west wants them to fight, it is because their homeland has been invaded, their culture marked for destruction by a genocidal aggressor.

But the Putinists can't even comprehend the idea of a smaller country having agency and ideas of its own, so they assume it must be coming from Washington and London.

Imrael wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 23, 2022 10:14 am

I remember a lot of similar speculation about Trumps health at certain points. Slightly dark wishful thinking I suspect. (And remember that Hitler in declining health didnt get notably less dangerous)

So far the list has included thyroid cancer, bowel cancer, pancreatic cancer, spinal cord cancer, a brain tumour, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, steroid misuse, psychosis and a personality disorder. With all these ailments, it’s a small wonder that Putin has managed to keep hold of the Presidency of Russia.

Of course, at 69-years-old, things are likely to starting to catch up with the Russian President in some way or another. But the truth is that very few people in the West (or even Russia) know about Putin’s physical or mental state, and the endless speculation only creates more confusion.

To try to rationalise Putin’s actions in Ukraine by blaming it on disease is desperate. Perhaps his barbarism is not due to Parkinson’s or cancer, but simply a result of him being foolhardy and arrogant. Poor decision making does not require a medical diagnosis.

https://unherd.com/thepost/does-vladimi ... -dementia/

Article on Russian views about Ukrainians as a people and nationality.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-lo ... 1651165024

Striking how similar the attitudes are to English stereotypes of Irish people that were around in the 70s and 80s.

Woodchopper wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 29, 2022 5:19 pm

Article on Russian views about Ukrainians as a people and nationality.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-lo ... 1651165024

Striking how similar the attitudes are to English stereotypes of Irish people that were around in the 70s and 80s.

At least we haven't invaded Ireland in the last 100 years or so. Although I wouldn't put it past Johnson, if he thought it could boost his flagging popularity and fix the Northern Ireland problem

Woodchopper wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 29, 2022 5:19 pm

Article on Russian views about Ukrainians as a people and nationality.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-lo ... 1651165024

Striking how similar the attitudes are to English stereotypes of Irish people that were around in the 70s and 80s.

The desire to erase a culture is terrifying. Seems to be working in Tibet and no doubt will in Xinjiang. But the West's strong interest in this one makes me hopeful it won't happen to Ukraine.

Herainestold wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 29, 2022 7:45 pm

Woodchopper wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 29, 2022 5:19 pm

Article on Russian views about Ukrainians as a people and nationality.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-lo ... 1651165024

Striking how similar the attitudes are to English stereotypes of Irish people that were around in the 70s and 80s.

At least we haven't invaded Ireland in the last 100 years or so. Although I wouldn't put it past Johnson, if he thought it could boost his flagging popularity and fix the Northern Ireland problem

This is an extremely poor take.

temptar wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 29, 2022 11:59 pm

This is an extremely poor take.

It's not a great deal better when the Russians deploy it: that they've been threatened by the Europeans for a thousand years (Norman invasion 1000 years ago - check) that the territory in question has historically been part of one country (check again) that we avoid teaching our kids about the terrible famine there under our administration and which we made massively worse (check) and that they use the same language even though it faced suppression after separation (check again). Surely if the British now invade Ireland to free it from EU oppression we will similarly be welcomed as liberators?

Well a strange number of Brexit supporters, etc, etc, etc.

I would recommend taking a look at the trade war which was quite a bit less than 100 years ago before at leasting Ireland in the context of the Ukraine. Britain’s colonial past is not superedifying and the effects are still felt in a lot of parts of the world including in Northern Ireland.

That being said, in the context, only the utterly deluded would see Russia as liberators in this mess. Recommending the Ukrainian population gives up to prevent further loss of life is deeply, deeply cowardly.

Angelina Jolie arrives in Lviv. My initial reaction was disapproval but I reassessed when I realised she was there in her capacity as envoy for UNHCR. With a bit of luck it will also help stop the general public getting bored with the war

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-61286258

f.ck Orban

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Mon May 02, 2022 8:44 am

f.ck Orban

There are many reasons you might say this. Is there something in particular you have said it today? I couldn't find anything with my brief google.

monkey wrote: ↑

Mon May 02, 2022 2:32 pm

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Mon May 02, 2022 8:44 am

f.ck Orban

There are many reasons you might say this. Is there something in particular you have said it today? I couldn't find anything with my brief google.

I assume the reports that Orban has said that Hungary would veto any EU call to boycott Russian oil/gas.
The link I've seen is from the Express, so I'll spare you a link.

Gfamily wrote: ↑

Mon May 02, 2022 2:56 pm

monkey wrote: ↑

Mon May 02, 2022 2:32 pm

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Mon May 02, 2022 8:44 am

f.ck Orban

There are many reasons you might say this. Is there something in particular you have said it today? I couldn't find anything with my brief google.

I assume the reports that Orban has said that Hungary would veto any EU call to boycott Russian oil/gas.
The link I've seen is from the Express, so I'll spare you a link.

Ta. I found a story with more specific search terms (non express clicky). It still seems that the story is not getting much coverage though, which I find a bit odd to be honest.

I think it was always obvious that that would happen, since his re-election.

Odd that the EU didn't see it coming a mile off and come up with some alternative plan.

monkey wrote: ↑

Mon May 02, 2022 3:15 pm

Ta. I found a story with more specific search terms (non express clicky). It still seems that the story is not getting much coverage though, which I find a bit odd to be honest.

You'd almost think the right wing press didn't want people to know that Brussels cannot in fact tell member states what to do.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., noted on the Senate floor last week the roughly 5,000 javelin missiles that the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine amount to one-third of the U.S. stockpiles. The U.S. has also sent more than 1,400 stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, which represents a quarter of its stockpiles.

“This is a wake-up call, and not just about our ability to support the current fight,” said McConnell. “Ukraine’s expenditure rate of critical munitions should cause us to question whether our own wartime requirements for weapons systems and munitions are sufficient.”
“This would be less of a problem if we had a robust defense industrial base to quickly refill our armories,” he added. “But defense manufacturers have admitted that the production lines for some critical components have dried up and it could be years before they could replace weapons we’ve sent to Ukraine.”

https://www.defensenews.com/industry/20 ... munitions/

I know Russia jumped the shark a while back…but accusing Israel of supporting Nazis is quite the take.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... -row-grows

Russia has accused Israel of supporting the “neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv as it escalates a diplomatic row with one of the few close US allies that decided not to join in sanctions against the Kremlin or send lethal military aid to Ukraine.

The dispute over remarks by Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who said in an interview that Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” and that the “most rabid antisemites tend to be Jews”, has threatened to unsettle Israel’s careful position over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Pope says that Nato was 'barking at Russia's door' and that this may have caused the war, and that he is unsure whether other countries should supply weapons to Ukraine.
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia ... xNoHxJPQFs

I hear this is causing consternation in Poland where they adhere strongly to Catholic Church and the pope but loathe the Russians.

Allo V Psycho wrote: ↑

Wed May 04, 2022 9:33 am

The Pope says that Nato was 'barking at Russia's door' and that this may have caused the war, and that he is unsure whether other countries should supply weapons to Ukraine.
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia ... xNoHxJPQFs

I hear this is causing consternation in Poland where they adhere strongly to Catholic Church and the pope but loathe the Russians.

Before taking his opinion into consideration on military matters, I need to know how many divisions he has.

headshot wrote: ↑

Tue May 03, 2022 9:06 pm

I know Russia jumped the shark a while back…but accusing Israel of supporting Nazis is quite the take.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... -row-grows

Russia has accused Israel of supporting the “neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv as it escalates a diplomatic row with one of the few close US allies that decided not to join in sanctions against the Kremlin or send lethal military aid to Ukraine.

The dispute over remarks by Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who said in an interview that Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” and that the “most rabid antisemites tend to be Jews”, has threatened to unsettle Israel’s careful position over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Could be another example of getting high on their own supply - the Soviet Union was extremely antisemitic and pushed a whole bunch of antisemitic b.llsh.t in their foreign policy, including pushing the disgraceful General Assembly Resolution 3379, which was thankfully revoked with the fall of the Soviet Union.

As an example of how endemic it was in Soviet propaganda and academia, Mahmoud Abbas wrote his dissertation at Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow in the early eighties, and as well as radically understating the scope of the holocaust, he also accuses Zionist leadership of conspiring to cause it, an idea derived in no small part from the postwar writings of Adolf Eichmann.

EACLucifer wrote: ↑

Wed May 04, 2022 11:50 am

Allo V Psycho wrote: ↑

Wed May 04, 2022 9:33 am

The Pope says that Nato was 'barking at Russia's door' and that this may have caused the war, and that he is unsure whether other countries should supply weapons to Ukraine.
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia ... xNoHxJPQFs

I hear this is causing consternation in Poland where they adhere strongly to Catholic Church and the pope but loathe the Russians.

Before taking his opinion into consideration on military matters, I need to know how many divisions he has.

Given that the Catholic Church rejects the Arian heresy, none.

Lukashenko just gave an interview calling for the war to end and saying he supports negotiations.

Evidently he does not think it is going to plan, and is concerned about his own position.

lol, lmao, etc.

Interesting account of Russian attitudes about the war in Ukraine: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/05/03 ... hing-human

Woodchopper wrote: ↑

Thu May 05, 2022 8:57 pm

Interesting account of Russian attitudes about the war in Ukraine: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/05/03 ... hing-human

Interesting, depressing, but not that surprising.