Not understanding how the past participle works and forgetting prepositions is a feature of the "discussion" here.
At least out of this, Macron will have his impression changed from a dictator to a peace bringing leader.
I wonder have they a scenario for Trudeau to save face.
The Putin admin's approach is a bit bizarre, considering the demographic issues it faces. Surely, the better policy would be to open the country up more, make it more attractive for its own people to live in and more attractive for others to move to. His 'helicopter parenting' approach to governance is choking the life out of the place.
Some Russians must be asking: Why does Putin hate our country and us so much that he would hold it and us back from realizing our full potential? Others must have copped on to the fact that that this great Russian 'patriot' and 'guardian' is in fact, neither.
I understand the difficulties around organizing resistance within Russia, but there must be Russians, either having spent time in the West, or just through exposure to the Internet, that are looking at their current government and seeing an anachronistic relic of politics past. Democracy would have been a huge jump into the unknown for the Russian psyche decades ago, but now, especially for the young, Internet-connected generation, perhaps it seems less exotic and more attainable. Another thing the Internet will have shown young Russians is that ordinary Russians are liked and admired in many respects by many people around the world and that they would be welcomed into the Democratic fold in a heartbeat.
Putin has called an unscheduled full meeting of the Security Council of Russia for today. An exceptional event.
Perhaps the soldiers will be home in time for tea? Here’s hoping.
I must confess I didn't know what the Security Council was but Google informs me it's the top military brass.
That's worrying, very much so.
Wow, looks like just Putin got the summit he's always wanted (just have to threaten to invade another country). Russia might come out of all of this with more than they went in with. Could mark the beginning of a new North Korean style escalation for concessions model.
I think you're making the mistake a lot of us, including myself, do. Which is looking at Russia from the privileged perspective of our Western, democratic lives.
Putin is a dictator with unlimited powers. He controls all media and forms of expression. It's not so easy to even get the information to make a contrary analysis to the bilge being pumped out at ordinary Russians and then, even if you do, you would want to be extremely brave or foolhardy to act on it. Look at what they have done to Navalny in plain sight. They make examples of dissidents.
I'm pretty sure if I lived in Russia I would keep my head down and never utter a peep outside of my own four walls.
He wants a buffer state that is an autocracy like Russia,you see
Nothing at all to do with being invaded by a physical nato army
He has a God given right to power you see
Imagine letting the minions have a say in who governs,like the US and the west has since before the USSR existed
Like that would be such a nuisance
I get what you're saying but the Russians you have met are wealthy enough for foreign holidays, so they belong to the set of people that have done well for themselves under Putin's leadership. Of course they would be less cricitical; for some, his survival may be crucial to their own.
When you've a man pretending to be a madman in power somewhere, you still talk to him
He's lost already because when he backs down,he's still got a Ukrainian democracy next door and a more united Nato than ever before
The invasion that never was now looks to have been stopped - a media circus over nothing
Yes, it's easy to call for others to stand up from thousands of miles away in a very diff cultural environment. let's say you've accounted for the lack of domestic resistance, that still leaves the fact that Putin's strategy is just plain wrong for Russia given the demographic problems it faces.
it more than fits what's happening on here...
How has it been stopped?
Russian troops only several kms from the Ukrainian border
And when you have doctors "falling" out of hospital windows after criticising the government response to a pandemic. We in the West underestimate the depth and breadth of control the Russian oligarchy has over day-to-day lives.
We take it for granted that if we had a bitch about Varadkar on Twitter or made jokes about Mary-Lou in the pub, that nobody would care. In Russia, there's a very real risk of being disappeared for expressing a political opinion, every in very casual forums.
By threatening London oligarchs
Summit he's always wanted? Not sure what the reference is to, but Putin has always spoken to world leaders. As a poster above has said, even if a conflict is avoided, he has come out of this facing a NATO more United than ever, a Ukraine more determined and powerful than before. All this has done is show the world that Putin and his minions are bigger dicks than we ever thought.
Ah the good old undeniable satellite images.
Russia now claiming that Ukraine has opened fire on one of its border posts and destroyed it. I'm finding it hard to see the deescalation that is meant to be happening.
Oh yes, completely wrong.
In trying to play the hard man, he's actually exposing Russia to further decline. Not that he and his KGB buddies care, as they've already looted everything that isn't nailed down.
Things are more subtle than that. The fear of invasion could be psychological inertia "Duck and cover the Russians/Americans are coming" Also Russia still has the memory of the Nazi invasion. These things don't hinge on logic alone. The war mentality can be much more visceral and primal than logic. This is why a buffer state would help. It would reduce the paranoia and tension. Besides, nuclear war is not the only option.
The flag looks nice and clean though 😂
Yes. Understood re: domestic resistance/opposition.
Maybe I expressed it badly, but put yourself in Putin's platform shoes for a second: Russia's demographics are fooked. While this is true for many countries, including Western countries, in Russia the situation is worse and is being exacerbated by the shocking abortion rates (which I didn't know about until this thread, TBH). What strategies do you implement to address this problem (besides stealing Ukraine, like)?
There's some poor farmer who has lost his shed extremely perplexed right now I would imagine.
You just know that the geolocation data will land in a few hours showing that the shed isn't even near the border.
You tried this 'buffer state' nonsense before.
The Ukrainians, like all sovereign nations, have a right to self determination and to form whatever alliances they choose in their own interests. I wonder what response they would give you if you tried out this BS on them. I suspect it would consist of two very short words.
Real stink of MH17 off that video. We've got a damaged building, but no video evidence of any incoming fire.
Also, to my very untrained eye that damage looks more like something exploded inside the building, like a small grenade, rather than a shell lobbed from several KM away struck it from the side. I would expect more wreckage spread out opposite the direction the shell came from, as opposed to look like something tried to burst out from inside the building.
Like I say though, I'm very fvcking far from a ballistics expert 😂
That was my exact thought on the damage, though I won't claim to be an expert.
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/e050b53be62f0ae2404c620976170938.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wa.vanillicon.com/v2/a08d55691d6f78a042612a7aa18ff3ab.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/e406667f1106b31a9de61e5105cdb60f.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wc.vanillicon.com/v2/c50f1c871638bccbbf9aa952593dd0cd.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w2.vanillicon.com/v2/282101dc2976956f9dfc87f7a2ef2413.svg)