It doesn’t surprise me that Putin has singled out the U.K. over sanctions against his country. Relationships between the two countries has been very poor since the Salisbury attack and Liz Truss had about as much warmth as an iceberg at a meeting with Russia last week. I think Putin is playing a dangerous game and looking for someone to blame. The invasion hasn’t gone according to plan and I bet they weren’t expecting the reaction they got from the west. Putin is dangerous, volatile and without effective mediation, this could end really badly.

Not I follow football at all but in a show of toxic masculinity/group think, Chelsea fans changed Roman Abranovich's name during a - wait for it - silence to remember Ukranian's victims at their match today. Grim

It doesn’t surprise me that Putin has singled out the U.K. over sanctions against his country. Relationships between the two countries has been very poor since the Salisbury attack and Liz Truss had about as much warmth as an iceberg at a meeting with Russia last week. I think Putin is playing a dangerous game and looking for someone to blame. The invasion hasn’t gone according to plan and I bet they weren’t expecting the reaction they got from the west. Putin is dangerous, volatile and without effective mediation, this could end really badly.

 

As loathe as I am to praise anything that the Tories are doing and you can certainly argue that they are not sorting the laundering of dirty money fast enough or taking in Ukranians refugees, Johnson has at least made it very clear that he is very pro Ukraine/amti Russia. The Repuglicans in the USA are very on the fence unbelievably!

It doesn’t surprise me that Putin has singled out the U.K. over sanctions against his country. Relationships between the two countries has been very poor since the Salisbury attack and Liz Truss had about as much warmth as an iceberg at a meeting with Russia last week. I think Putin is playing a dangerous game and looking for someone to blame. The invasion hasn’t gone according to plan and I bet they weren’t expecting the reaction they got from the west. Putin is dangerous, volatile and without effective mediation, this could end really badly.

 

I would imagine Putin will have thought it may end up like Chechnya 20 years ago and will have expected much of this reaction from the west.

I appreciate the heroism of the Ukrainians we have seen, but just as many will want war to leave their lives, no matter who rules them in the end. The current tack for Europe will eventually trend into a condemned but de facto Russian occupation of Ukraine, without much real resistance shown. The morale war is good at the start only, for those who aren't affected, and for those who are, long months of suffering and danger. It is unfortunate that any further action that would helpfully defend Ukraine risks too much.

 

I was thinking more about the reaction of people not in Ukraine. Putin intends to demoralise Ukraine until it gives in, there's no doubt about that. The impact beyond Ukraine will be significant and bring about the exact thing Putin most-feared. Unity against Russia. Russia can't survive long-term with the entire world cutting them off and unless Putin has invented immortality at some stage there will be an internal power-struggle now that the pretence of democracy is ended. Meanwhile in Russia people might blame the West for their worsening lives - but they may well blame Putin who will have to double-down on freedoms. Revolutions of the people are not unusual if they see no way out of the misery. Down the line, maybe, but it's only 30 years since it last happened and that came about almost overnight like a deck of cards. And if Putin started killing his own people those cronies around him might start having second thoughts about how they came to this situation.

 

Lots of ifs and maybes, but nobody knows how things play out while they are happening, but consequences of some kind are always inevitable.

As loathe as I am to praise anything that the Tories are doing and you can certainly argue that they are not sorting the laundering of dirty money fast enough or taking in Ukranians refugees, Johnson has at least made it very clear that he is very pro Ukraine/amti Russia. The Repuglicans in the USA are very on the fence unbelievably!

I was just thinking of how Repuglicans [sic] and Russia's Putinators are extremely similar so is this just silent approval?! Which is super weird to think about as Russia's official POV is that all of the US is an enemy. In a nutshell they all want the same thing - go back to the past and normalise racism, homophobia and fascism again. It's just in the US there's strong liberal opposition that doesn't let this go too far and people there *actually* know what freedom feels like. Russia in this sense is extremely sad because we are taught from a very early age that we are basically nothing but a child-birthing machine created for some mysterious greater good and anything outside of conservative (and in most cases backed by religion) 'norms' cannot even be talked about. I kinda blame a combination of both capitalism and Russia's severe self hatred.

As loathe as I am to praise anything that the Tories are doing and you can certainly argue that they are not sorting the laundering of dirty money fast enough or taking in Ukranians refugees, Johnson has at least made it very clear that he is very pro Ukraine/amti Russia. The Repuglicans in the USA are very on the fence unbelievably!

 

Johnson sways with whatever is fashionable on the day, he has no real beliefs and morals. Words, as I keep saying, are meaningless platitudes unless backed up with action. In this case, the number of oligarchs actually blanked is about 4 with feeble excuses about getting sued. Sued by whom? The EU and the USA have already done it. We left the EU so we could be free to make our own laws. The Tories choose not to pass a law that makes illegal money-laundering from dodgy uncertain sources. Why is that? Cos they fear retribution. From people who have dirt on them, just like the Republicans are supported by dodgy cash donations. And cos they are also busy helping good friends stash dodgy cash. I see the broadside against Liz Truss part annoyance at her being a gobby woman telling the former KGB's what to do, and part a warning that if you carry out the threats expect things to be made public. So in the meantime they have ample time to move funds elsewhere. I mean, the government can change the law so it's not illegal to seize unsourced cash. The hated EU managed it......

Oh not praising the Tory government - suppose the horrifying thing is that the Republicans are either praising Putin or completley downplaying it saying that Trudeau or "wokeness" is worse. At least they are not THAT bad. In the UK, There is a small element on the far right here who are doing the same - notably Neil Oliver on KGB news going on about "don't trust Putin but don't trust Nato either". People liek Laurence Fox, James Delingpole (who writes for Spectator) too taking this approach.

 

The mainstream right are using this as an excuse to destroy Green Agenda, saying the UK must frack and get its own fuel.Plus Farage (Putin's groupie until now) wants a referendum on Net Zero. But it's like the environmental issues aren't just going to disappear overnight. Possibly will post more about this in the environment thread though.

Oh not praising the Tory government - suppose the horrifying thing is that the Republicans are either praising Putin or completley downplaying it saying that Trudeau or "wokeness" is worse. At least they are not THAT bad. In the UK, There is a small element on the far right here who are doing the same - notably Neil Oliver on KGB news going on about "don't trust Putin but don't trust Nato either". People liek Laurence Fox, James Delingpole (who writes for Spectator) too taking this approach.

 

The mainstream right are using this as an excuse to destroy Green Agenda, saying the UK must frack and get its own fuel.Plus Farage (Putin's groupie until now) wants a referendum on Net Zero. But it's like the environmental issues aren't just going to disappear overnight. Possibly will post more about this in the environment thread though.

 

Having more energy investment into renewables is just as effective at leaving Russian influence - they don't have a leg to stand on.

Rachel Johnson, famous simply because she is de Pfeffel's sister, used her radio show to argue against accepting Ukrainian refugees because too many of the women would become widows (as a result of their husband being killed by Russians) and would, therefore, be a burden on the state. Clearly being a clueless, heartless monster runs in the family.

What does their gender have to do with being a "burden on the state" - plus previously people have complained vast majority of refugees have been male previously. Mind you Rachel Johnson did previosly write an article in defence of Ghislaine Maxwell...

Disgusting. A burden on the state? What do you do again - live off taxpayers money while doing f*** all, isn't it?

For those wondering how the Irish are reacting to the invasion on Ukraine:

 

On Friday, a priest was caught throwing red paint over the Russian Embassy in Dublin (he's now being summoned to court).

 

Then today, a truck that is used for delivering candles and Holy Communion to churches across the island was driven through the gates of the Embassy, destroying part of the wall in the process.

The government has announced with pride that the UK is the first country in the world to introduce a visa scheme for Ukrainian refugees. Funnily enough, they have overlooked the fact that the rest of Europe decided not to introduce additional red tape for people desperately fleeing a war zone.

Ukrainians get three years visa free access with work rights and access to public funds automatically across the entire EU

 

 

The UK has allowed them to apply for fruit picking visas

People talked about the USA and UK being weaker than what they thought, in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars - and that was across the world, and with them achieving air supremacy in a matter of hours. Tgis invasion has really showed up the fact that Russian conventional military might is really not what we thought. (Although I have always maintained that the UK is stronger conventionally, but with a far smaller active force.)

 

2 million refugees now, and the UK gives out 50 fruit-picking visas :/

Not much can be expected from a force pretty much only motivated by either greed and self preservation. The part that’s feeling guilt is already putting down the arms.

Edited March 9, 20223 yr by Bdelita

Rachel Johnson, famous simply because she is de Pfeffel's sister, used her radio show to argue against accepting Ukrainian refugees because too many of the women would become widows (as a result of their husband being killed by Russians) and would, therefore, be a burden on the state. Clearly being a clueless, heartless monster runs in the family.

 

Back in the good ol days of WW2 we didn't as a nation or the Tories as a party moan about Polish refugees coming here. We declared war on Germany and took 'em in. It's why the Polish wanted to come here before the far right hijacked moaning about immigrants as the cause of all our woes for the Brexit Russian-supported propaganda referendum. It's why they can't back down now on immigrants. They made their bed and are forced to lie in it while largely exagerrating about practically supporting Ukraine except by waving the flag a lot (as usual).

 

Plus side, all those Tory "let's close down the biased hated BBC" from a few weeks ago suddenly praising the organisation now journalists are risking their lives to get the non-biased news from Ukraine and Russia out and the realisation that actually much of the world respects the job they do and turn to them for a reasoned, largely-factual view. As I said earlier for Johnson - and it applies to the Tories in control generally - they have no principles, they flip-flop in the wind trying to appear as if they care about something by and large. But they don't care enough to do the right thing even if it's in their own self-interest.

Yeh they are political cameleons as I’ve always said that’s unfort why they are the most successful political party in Britain. The tensions between the changes are being seen already with the libertarian and red wall MPs opposed to each other on principle. It can’t and won’t last.

 

I think it will come back to bite them though with the pandemic, brexit and now the European war - they haven’t read the room right regarding partygate and now bringing in Ukrainian refugees. Hope people see their contrarian views and punish them at the election. That’s how Labour did so well in 1945 people realised they created the pre war world and the war was a result of that!

10000 people a day are arriving in Berlin. More people arrive PER TRAIN from the far side of Poland than the UK has issued visas too to date. The f***ing Ukrainian ambassador couldn’t even get one for his wife ffs.

 

Only the UK is bragging about their response. The EU just threw open the doors, said „ah f*** it we will sort the paperwork later“, and offered a place to anyone fleeing Ukraine. I hope that we turn around and do the same to anyone fleeing Russia. Implement a brain drain. Good people shouldn’t be left to rot, we should be able to get them and their families out

 

 

 

 

Now the savages masquerading as a saviour have bombed a maternity hospital. It’s becoming tougher to justify an anti-no fly zone stance when they continue to enact war crimes and a borderline genocide against Ukrainians.