The Russian Invasion of the Ukraine.

[Andy_Ross]

Lots of people on twitter with MAGA in their bio seem to think the whole thing is a set up by Biden and the Deep State so that evidence of Biden's links to money laundering and corruption in the Ukraine can be destroyed.

Lots of people on the antivax side seem to think Putin is the hero and has gone in to Ukraine to destroy bio labs set up by Biden and Fauci. It's all part of the secret war on the 'Deep State'

Both groups seem to agree that Trump and Putin are secretly working together on this.

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

I'm saying the choice of war over peace is more nuanced and complicated than this cartoonish zero-sum binary interpretation you're forcing on it. The way you seem to be using the term, it's essentially meaningless, and gives us no additional insight into Putin's thinking or motives here. If he were truly the comic book villain, Zero Sum Man, why hasn't he invaded and occupied Belarus, too? Or Kazakhstan? Or the Baltics, when he had the chance?

Because he doesn't need to?

 

[Andy_Ross]

Swiss President Cassis says on TV it is "very probably" That Switzerland Will follow the EU on Monday in sanctioning Russia and freezing assets.

So, not just Norway giving up neutrality but Switzerland too!

Well done Putin

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Anybody who thinks that the second Cold War has not started is living in fantasy land.
What is surprisisng to me is how much support from the public the Ukranians are getting. The governments of the NATO countries are now under pressure not to let Putin get away with this.

It will be interesting how this cold war goes given Russia is so much more integrated financially and with that oil pipeline than it was during the initial cold war.

 

[theprestige]

Because he doesn't need to?

He's Zero Sum Man, remember? He always needs to invade and conquer. He can't just have a peaceful, mutually-beneficial relationship with neighboring states.

 

[Garrison]

It seems Turkey could be about close the Black Sea to the Russian navy:

Turkey has said it will apply the terms of an international agreement that could see it block access to the Black Sea for the Russian Navy.

Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey has control over the two straits that connect the Black Sea, which sits on Ukraine’s southern coast, to the Mediterranean.

The convention guarantees the free passage of vessels belonging to Black Sea countries - like Russia - in peacetime, but allows Turkey to close the straits to all foreign warships in a time of war or if Turkey itself is threatened.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said earlier: “We have decided that the situation in Ukraine has turned into a war. We will be transparently applying the provisions of Montreaux.”

Turkey, which is a Nato ally but is also dependent on Russia for energy and tourism, had previously called Russia’s attack unacceptable but stopped short of calling the situation a war.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-60542877

 

[dasmiller]

Given that this seems to be going so poorly for Russia on a number of fronts, I have to wonder: did Putin surround himself with yes-men? Of course, he wouldn't tolerate public disagreement, but I always thought he was to smart to get rid of any honest advisors.

I remember stories about Saddam Hussein and how he probably thought he actually had a chemical weapons program, because his top people knew that failure could be fatal so they reported success no matter what the ground truth was.

Has Putin fallen into the same trap?

 

[Andy_Ross]

It seems Turkey could be about close the Black Sea to the Russian navy:



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-60542877

All it needs is a scattering of magnetic or acoustic mines.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Steve Bannon brings on his “International Editor” to say that Greta Thunberg is responsible for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Video in link.

 

[seayakin]

Given that this seems to be going so poorly for Russia on a number of fronts, I have to wonder: did Putin surround himself with yes-men? Of course, he wouldn't tolerate public disagreement, but I always thought he was to smart to get rid of any honest advisors.

I remember stories about Saddam Hussein and how he probably thought he actually had a chemical weapons program, because his top people knew that failure could be fatal so they reported success no matter what the ground truth was.

Has Putin fallen into the same trap?

I think it is quite likely no one has been giving him honest intelligence about the capabilities of the Russian military or the resistance that might have been expected in the Ukraine. I though the same thing as you did but I'm guessing Putin has been shooting his messengers more than listening to them.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Ukrainian shipworker arrested for sabotaging and partially sinking a Russian arms-dealer's luxury yacht in Mallorca.

A Ukrainian was arrested by the Guardia Civil on Saturday for having attempted to sink a luxury yacht that is owned by Alexander Mijeev, CEO of Rosoboronexport, a Russian military weapons company.
He has been working on the seven-million euro yacht, Lady Anastasia, for some ten years. On Saturday, he watched television footage of a Russian cruise missile hitting a block of flats. He took it that this was a cruise missile produced by Mijeev's company. He went to the yacht in Port Adriano, intent on revenge by causing material damage rather than personal.

He opened a large valve in the engine room and a second in another compartment where the crew lives. He closed the fuel valves and turned off the electricity and told three crewmen to abandon ship. They told him he was crazy. He reminded them that they were Ukrainians and that their homeland was under attack.

They and other workers at Port Adriano tried to stop the water leak, the yacht having partially sunk. When the Guardia Civil arrived, he told them: "The owner of this yacht is a criminal who makes a living selling weapons and which now kill Ukrainians."
He appeared in court on Sunday and the judge released him on charges.

https://www.majorcadailybulletin.co...llorca-for-attempting-sink-russian-yacht.html

 

[theprestige]

Here's hoping this is the tip of a civil disobedience iceberg. I wouldn't mind if the all super-yachts of all the Russian oligarchs suddenly discovered that their berths were violently allergic to them. I'm disappointed this man's fellow Ukrainian crew didn't jump to it and finish the good work.

 

[Frank Newgent]

Given that this seems to be going so poorly for Russia on a number of fronts, I have to wonder: did Putin surround himself with yes-men? Of course, he wouldn't tolerate public disagreement, but I always thought he was to smart to get rid of any honest advisors.

I remember stories about Saddam Hussein and how he probably thought he actually had a chemical weapons program, because his top people knew that failure could be fatal so they reported success no matter what the ground truth was.

Has Putin fallen into the same trap?

The SNAFU Principle is a popular principle in Discordianism. It states that Communication is only possible between equals. In any hierarchy (business, government, military, etc.) people and employees inevitably distort the truth of reports when dealing with their superiors, in order to avoid any punishment for relaying bad news. As a result, the superiors often operate from a distorted view of the situation, sometimes leading to poor results

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNAFU_Principle

 

[Michel H]

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has tweeted today:

Second, we will ban the Kremlin’s media machine in the EU.

The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, and their subsidiaries,
will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war.

We are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.

(https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1497973706831929348)

I think it is sad and tragic that the European Union is now resorting to methods which are typical of totalitarian states. The Nazis were also attempting to jam the BBC during WW2.

What does Mrs. von der Leyen want to hide? Perhaps this?

Moscow has insisted that it is targeting only military infrastructure in an effort to “demilitarize” the country and defend the people of the newly-recognized Donbass republics against aggression from Kiev. Ukraine says the attack was unprovoked.

(https://www.rt.com/russia/550758-truss-russia-nato-conflict-ukraine/).

 

[jimbob]

He's Zero Sum Man, remember? He always needs to invade and conquer. He can't just have a peaceful, mutually-beneficial relationship with neighboring states.

Client states have fitted into that approach since at least the times of the Romans.


And you should have known that.

 

[Steve]

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has tweeted today:

(https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1497973706831929348)

I think it is sad and tragic that the European Union is now resorting to methods which are typical of totalitarian states. The Nazis were also attempting to jam the BBC during WW2.

What does Mrs. von der Leyen want to hide? Perhaps this?

(https://www.rt.com/russia/550758-truss-russia-nato-conflict-ukraine/).

Your location says "Belgium". I assume that is incorrect? Only a Russian would condone the Russian military killing Ukrainian civilians with such bizarre apologetics.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has tweeted today:

(https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1497973706831929348)

I think it is sad and tragic that the European Union is now resorting to methods which are typical of totalitarian states. The Nazis were also attempting to jam the BBC during WW2.

What does Mrs. von der Leyen want to hide? Perhaps this?

(https://www.rt.com/russia/550758-truss-russia-nato-conflict-ukraine/).

That is exactly the kind of thing they are trying to stop.

 

[kookbreaker]

Why does Russia today need to check my browser? I Closed that tab in a hurry.

 

[Michel H]

Your location says "Belgium". I assume that is incorrect? Only a Russian would condone the Russian military killing Ukrainian civilians with such bizarre apologetics.

I am indeed in Belgium.

I live near Brussels, which could by targeted by a nuclear strike on European institutions, if Putin and his advisors become too exasperated by the various economic sanctions and absurd persecutions of Russia.

If Mrs von der Leyen wants to do something useful, I would suggest she tries to convince clown-president Zelensky to accept that Crimea and the two breakout republics of Donbass are Russian. This would be a good start, I think.

 

[Michel H]

That is exactly the kind of thing they are trying to stop.

What are they trying to stop?