A fair point so use GNI* instead then and up spending to around 1.5% of GNI*.
Over the last few days here there has been talk/rumours of a coup in the Kremlin. Whenever it's mentioned, it's always assumed that people with cop on and decency and "good guys" are behind it. What if that assumption is wrong? What if those behind it are that supposed 2nd in command fella that's allegedly more of a nutjob? What if it's the "really" bad guys in Russia that are staging the coup as they aren't happy how the special operation is going?
The only problem there is that snake of an FSB agent in charge probably has them on a list if they don't kill him. I'd take my chances with the one who was still alive after the op.
I'm sure this príck he's leaving in charge would fancy the job for good.
Certainly there is no immediate or imminent threat of physical invasion such as Ukraine are having to deal with that is correct. But as Russia's cyber attack on the HSE the cost of which according to HSE chief Paul Reid could top 100 million euro shows we do face very real threats. There was of course also that little "friendly" visit from the Russian navy recently as well.
I will agree with you certainly that our current defense forces are not fit for purpose as it currently stands and need a major overhaul not just increased spending although that is needed also.
You of course have your opinion but I do not see increasing our spending back up to the kind of levels we saw in the early 1980's as a waste at all. On the contrary I see our current refusal to have a legitimate national defense force as utterly selfish on our part as a country. We refuse to properly fund and organise a legitimate defense force and expect others to pay their own money instead to cover us as well. That is incredibly selfish. I would also say as part of the EU and that is where our long term future lies we have obligations and duties to fulfill as well as benefits to gain from that membership. Playing our part in the security of the EU is very much part of the duties to be a member pulling their weight rather then being the current free loader we are when it comes to defense refusing to spend money on a legitimate defense force.
Bashing the Catholic Church has been popular for a long time now, tarring every religious with the same brush. I was educated by the CBS, and I know very well what went on....as did my classmates. And I call any religious who took advantage and abused ( literally) the position they held by their proper names, pedophiles', rapists and criminals, same as their civilian counterparts. But that does not mean that every priest, brother, nun etc. was a criminal, something that is overlooked in the rush to give a blanket condemnation of the Church.
I heard that they are looking for a team of outside independent witnesses to supervise the whole thing......are you free for the next few weeks by any chance? Guaranteed front line seat in the Kremlin for the May parade ( and all the vodka you can drink)😊
I'd say they've probably being told that. I die, ye die. I live, ye live.
Here you go (maybe) https://twitter.com/AggregateOsint/status/1522205157907435522?s=20&t=ILgkPxeEtHtB2O2aNMBFQQ
TBH as long as there are Russian boots in Ukraine territory the chances are this will kick off again at a later stage. Russia need to be dealt with now and that includes pushing them out of the territories that were attacked and occupied since 2014.
Agreed 100%. the only surefire guaranteed way to stop the violence and war, is to stop Putin, and not only to stop him, but to do so in such a manner that no matter how much a warmonger his replacement will be, he / she will be completely unable to attack any other Country, let alone Ukraine.
Someone in Russia doesn't want to sign up to go to Ukraine
Nah, its "I die, ye die. I live, ye still die"
Yes.
That won't be good enough. Just having them outside Ukraine will not stop them trying again in the future. I don't know what will short of a complete and total overhaul of the Russian system
Unfortunately not much anyone can really do ,once the Russians are removed from all of Ukraine ,the Ukrainians will have to heavily invest in various defense capabilities , Russia Will always be a threat to ukraine and other countries in the region , plenty of people out there think putin in the man and are happy to cosy up to him if it means he helps keep those in power in their own countries
As noted before, some contemporary commentators excitedly welcomed Stalin after Lenin's death, assuming him to be a more moderate figure...
They would never do it anyway. Any doctor knows that they cannot harm a patient on purpose at least. To do so would destroy trust that the entire profession depends on. Doesn't matter if it's Hitler, Stalin or Putin. Medical care has to be clinical, evidence driven and independent of politics.
We have to maintain some civility even in the face of evil.
One major question has been on my mind for this entire conflict. Can we have a NATO/Russia conflict without the use of nuclear arms?
How would they go about that? Because it seems inevitable to me that it will develop into that conflict eventually.
The Horde have about 2 million anti street march goons to round them up with, so it's unsurprising, but yes, there are also lots who support Putrid.
I don't see an escalation to a nuclear war as inevitable unless such a war would turn disastrously against one or the other side. Russia does not have the manpower anymore for the type of all-out cross Europe assault that we would have seen in the 60s to 80s, when tactical nukes were seen as the only option of stopping Warsaw Pact forces from overrunning West Germany.
Even if Russia's current army was at peak operational efficiency, which it clearly isn't, any full-scale NATO war would be a lot more balanced than any "hot" Cold War battles would have been. And with the front lines as far east as they are now, NATO would have a lot more time to organize the transfer of equipment from depots in the US to Europe via Sealift.
Speaking of sealift, the Atlantic would likely be the closest thing to a traditional WW3 scenario, with NATO trying to get resupply convoys past Russian submarines and surface action groups. A lot of NATO navies, including the Royal Navy, the Marine Nationale or the Bundesmarine, are still designed around convoy escorts at their heart, so NATO might have a slight advantage here. Then again, the submarine fleet is probably the best-equipped and trained part of the Russian navy, so they'll be putting up quite a fight as well.
Apart from Putin completely going berserk, the only reason I could see for any such conflict to turn nuclear would be in case of a major ground incursion into Russia that seriously threatens Moscow, and I don't think NATO would go that far.
It's a deeply disturbing feeling to agree with this guy on something.
I may need therapy after this.
TBH if (and when) that happens they will be a busted flush militarily going forward. Yes they have nukes but once you use those your fecked (along with the rest of us). All Putins folly has done is expose Russia as not even being a regional power anymore, in reality they ceased to be a global power when the USSR split up.
This conflict will cause a change at the top in Russia. Obviously as others have said that could put someone worse in but all that will achieve is prolonging the sanctions against Russia. Without a proper "contrition" from the Russians they can't be allowed back into the Western sphere of influence.
As some have speculated this could be the beginning of the 2nd Cold War.
Not hard when the yanker in charge is singing from Putrids hymn sheet.
My concerns for a possible direct conflict come from the possibility of a rocket landing in Poland or the Baltics, or a defense of transnistria by the Romanians. I'm seeing the war in Ukraine last for a decade too, there's just so many risks for escalation over that kind of time period with constant NATO resupplies etc. Not toention the possibility of Ukraine pushing the Russians out of Crimea and possibly into Russian territory, armed and resupplied with superior weapons. Trying to cool the conflict will be a lot harder than starting it.
He sounds a bit too Russian to me.
Nuclear weapons are the answer. That's the Genie Putrid uncorked.
I think it's entirely possible so long all actions are confined to Ukrainian territory or the Black Sea.
The medical profession as a whole are not going to see all their patients lose trust if Putrid is expunged. You have heard of Harold Shipman? Besides, it's a monopoly and trust isn't make or break.
Yes there is field east of Kharkiv one of the reasons the Ukrainian offense is particularly telling on the amount of ground there are taking. Here is the video from Speak the Truth showing them in action 15mins in. The Russians infantry will experience some of there own medicine.
Some more news on the Howitzers
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