Russia - threadbanned users in OP

A few months ago 3 scumbags were crushed to death while driving a stolen car after colliding with a lorry. There was minimal public sympathy for them and even less when their friends and family celebrated them being criminal vermin at the funeral. An aunt (or other relative) of one of the deceased took issue with all the negative public opinion and went on Joe Duffy complaining. She went on big spiels about how her nephew was a lovely lad and everyone is wrong and only God can judge etc. Whenever Duffy would ask her about his extensive criminal record, his violent history, the crime he was in the process of committing as he died she'd respond with "Oh I don't know", "So they say but we just don't know" and "I never heard or saw that myself".

I'm reminded of this by the posters here who come out with "Who knows what's really going on", "All sides are biased" and "I don't understand...." whenever Russia's crimes are mentioned, but the same posters are simultaneously firm in their convictions and are able post novels about how it's all Ukraine and NATOs fault.

I am sorry Wibbs. You are absolutely right. I was frustrated by the poster because his claims were so outlandish.

I had a debate with a member of my extended family today. He reckoned it was all propaganda from the West to consolidate some form of New World Order. My patience is at a low ebb… I am in no form for fools tonight

Absolutely. The way you put is strikingly wrong-headed. The Russian footbal team are 'innocent' yet FIFA should have kicked them to the kerb the day after the invasion. Russian employees of Russian banks are probably mostly 'innocent' but if they lose their jobs over this that is Putin's fault. The Russian Oligarchs are not innocent and affecting their lifetyle and that of their family members is more than legitimate and they well and truly are fair game as are all Russian entities in the west connected to the Putin regime.

Why you care more about these pampered kids than Putin does is beyond me. He can stop all this in an instant. You really shouldn't be white knighting and blaming the sanction bringers, blame Putin. He has literal blood on his hands, while those imposing ar calling for sanctions do not.

I am very disappointed in Pakistan. By financing Russia, they are sustaining a war that results in the deaths of countless innocent lives.

Any chance Putin might fall down a stairs or something else unfortunate like that? Surely there's some discussions in the shadows happening in the Kremlin or are the top brass utterly loyal to him no matter what?

True. He's held back a lot of the army so far. I heard on the radio today that only small groups are being send into the city's. Some are special forces. The bulk of the army is held in reserve. Russia also has a considerable amount of army back in Russia. There army is huge. They spend more money on the military compared to the economy.

You just quoted a Russian propaganda site by the way. It was announced from the Canadian minister of natural resources, he is prohibiting the future import of Russian oil or any associated products. It's part of the wider package (below)

SANCTIONS

•  Canada has sanctioned 58 people and entities connected to Russia, including key political leaders, oligarchs and their families, as well as the paramilitary organization known as the Wagner Group and several major Russian banks.
•  Also on the list are members of the Russian Security Council, including key cabinet ministers close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
•  Other sanctions target members of the Russian State Duma who voted to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two separatist regions of Ukraine that have suffered eight years of war fuelled by Russian weapons and troops.
•  A ban on Canadians from engaging in transactions and activities in the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
•  A prohibition on anyone dealing directly or indirectly in Russia's sovereign debt in a bid to prevent that country from raising debt to cover spending costs.
•  Measures prior to this week's actions had already targeted more than 440 individuals and entities, and have aligned with similar measures taken by allies such as the European Union and Britain. The sanctions freeze assets and prohibit the conduct of financial transactions with any entity on the list. They also impose a ban on travel to Canada to any individual on the list.

MILITARY

•  Canada will send up to 460 additional troops to join the approximately 800 already deployed in Europe as part of NATO.
•  On the ground, Canada will send a battery of artillery guns and an electronic warfare group. The battle group in Latvia already includes up to 540 Canadian personnel, vehicles and equipment.
•  In the air, the military will send a CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft to serve under NATO command. On the water, a second frigate with a maritime helicopter will join NATO's Standing Naval Forces.
•  About 3,400 Canadian Armed Forces personnel have also been authorized to deploy to Europe should NATO require the assistance.
•  The federal government has offered up to $10 million in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Included in that is $7.8 million worth of lethal weapons and ammunition.

OTHER ACTIONS

•  Canada is cancelling existing export permits for Russia, worth an estimated $700 million in trade.
•  Canada has provided Ukraine up to $620 million in loans to help the country counter Russian efforts to destabilize the Ukrainian economy.
•  At the start of February, Global Affairs Canada advised Canadians to avoid all travel to Ukraine. More recently, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly urged any Canadians in Ukraine to leave immediately.
•  The federal government has also closed its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Think it should be you ashamed of themselves to be honest.

Hmmmm interesting...can you cite some specific posts to illustrate:

I had a look and honestly, I think this is likely to be a far better appraisal of the situation and motivations: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/28/world-war-iii-already-there-00012340

Whilst this is good unfortunately for ordinary citizens more Chechen psychos have arrived...they have been positioned north of Kiev.

And the child soldiers of Belarus are about to enter the war too.

Your article doesn't really contain any revelation. I already said there was a verbal agreement which wasn't put into writing. The secret documents mentioned in your article don't seem to have much corroboration, but since they were declassified, maybe there is a PDF you can link to?

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/archived-secret-documents-prove-that-nato-promised-not-to-expand

Reading a bit more on it, the assurance made to Gorbachev wasn't really about not moving into Eastern Europe. It was about not moving defensive structures into eastern Germany after reunification, which is an agreement Gorby claims was observed. He went on to say that he felt NATO expansion into eastern Europe later on violated the spirit of that agreement, but never was expanding into these countries specifically discussed at the time.

Strange, I don't think I blamed the "sanction bringers" for anything. I didn't even mention them. Nor did I mention Putin. I mentioned that punishing children to somehow get at their parents it morally unsound in my opinion. I don't think that is consistent with western values, not mine anyway. I am not sure that it is the child's responsibility for being pampered or not either or how it is relevant. Two wrongs do not make a right as they say. As far as I know nobody has expelled Putin's or abramovich's children and I can see why. How would they go about it even, from a legal perspective? I don't see how they could.