Nope.
We are firmly in bed with western powers. We have a stopover for US military. We weren't even neutral in WW2, we willingly helped the Allies out.
BBC had a good podcast on this issue last week
What’s that saying “if one lies with dogs one will get fleas”
It’s hard to have sympathy for Germans and companies from other countries who made a risky bet on Russia assuming they are a normal country despite every indication that it is a criminal state since at least the late 90s
And you know what’s the worst part? They just don’t learn, witness all the cosying up to China which will also end in tears at worst or their products being copied and these companies get turfed out at best.
Lol spot on, we are meant to feel sorry for JP Morgan (hahahaha) over amounts smaller than their employees spend on hookers and coke in a year in their Wall Street casinos 🤣
Lol
it doesn’t matter what you think Ireland is it matters what an invading aggressor thinks
Being neutral and giving up all their nuclear weapons and bombers didn’t prevent Ukraine from being invaded
Being neutral didn’t prevent a whole list of countries being invaded in WW1 or WW2 either
Neutrality needs to be defended with a big stick, look at Swiss who spend 4x than us on military every year despite not having sea access and literally surrounded by friendly NATO and another neutral state
I’m not debating any of that?
I’m just saying the poster that says we aren’t well. https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/role-policies/international-priorities/peace-and-security/neutrality/
Submarines comrade.
Does not matter, there's no guarantee anyway that Putin will not seize everything anyway, even if Russian assets in the west remain untouched. Do the Russian assets seized or are available for seizure come up to the value of the Aircraft Putin seized after the start of the invasion, and all the assets he has seized since?
PC bumpf to please nervous people.
'Non-membership of military alliances' is not the same as being truly neutral.
We said we were neutral to all and sundry in WW2, but it was a phony Neutrality. And please explain why US defence forces have the run of Shannon? How's that neutral?
Any Western assets located in Russia should be written off by now anyway, so who cares. That money is lost.
Seize all the Russian offshore reserves (about $300bn). Seize all the oligarchs assets in the West, including the inner circle of the siloviki. It's all the proceeds of crime anyway.
Give it to Ukraine. It's almost impossible to make a financial or moral argument against this but I'm sure some will try…
I think, as well as Ukraine we need to be getting deeply concerned about whats happening in GEORGIA?
A reply to this ( Paraphrased ) "the Georgian Legion are fighting in Ukraine against Russia. Will they be called back"
The primary argument being made and one Van Der Lein of the EU and few other heads of EU states where the money actually is (mostly Belgium)
is dragging her feet on (US, UK and other G7 on other hand not only want to handover these yesterday but passed laws to do so) is that
“It will undermine faith in EU and harm future investments”
But imho this is a load of shite because:
Secondary and weaker argument that is made is
“the money should be given only for reconstruction”
But there is an obvious counterpoint point to that, the faster Russians are sent back across the border the less is needed on reconstruction
To the first argument, I think the opposite. It will affirm faith in Western institutions - i.e. that we won't do business with anyone, at any price.
(possibly harder to make this argument if you are Swiss, who exist in a moral universe all of their own)
That’s concerning for meat cubes
There was footage there in the last few days of Russians being driven across a field in two Chinese golf buggies near enough to the next tree line. They were dropped off and had to charge the treeline in the last hundred metres on foot. The buggies scampered back to where they came from as quick as they could leaving the soldiers. Then Russian tanks opened fire from a distance on the treeline with Russians and Ukrainians both there.
Meat cubes would be correct.
There's a depressing use of a pallet and a motorbike side-car to increase the troop carrying capacity. Would almost be comical if it wasn't life and death scenario.
It's hard to set a precedent about not doing business with russia when you have the Vatican balls deep in investments there.
No actual proof as yet but when there's smoke with the church there's usually a firestorm behind it.
The Pope's infuriating statement asking Ukraine to sue for peace reinforced the suspicions.
All they could scrape together a single T-34 for the victory and coronation day
I mean having allies doesn't save you. The important thing is having allies who see a benefit to saving you.
Ireland is obviously a strategic location. With a large enough force stationed here and army could struck at transatlantic trade and threaten a very vulnerable UK.
NATO or not, we will be defended if attacked. Not so much for our own good but for the good of those defending us. Equally if we had defense agreements I would not expect aid unless it was politically and or militarily useful for our allies.
Another one bites the dust
Meanwhile in Moscow, previous May Parades..
link ?
Ukraine is also being defended and helped by its allies
However I doubt that’s little consolation to the 35,000 odd dead civilians, probably as many military personnel (which lines up with zelensky claim) thousands of parents whose kids were kidnapped, all the men and women who were raped, and the millions displaced due to hundreds of cities/towns/villages that were completely flattened
If anyone thinks neutrality is some sort of shield in a world where you have countries and actors like Putin and Isis+co who not only don’t care for rules and conventions but literally want to replace the world order with something much much darker
The best bit of that is he's clearly in a pushing stance while "pulling" the vehicle forward.
And had Kyiv fallen in the initial onslaught, that would have been it. It was only because Ukraine withstood the initial attack with an intact government and army, that allies were able to send more help.
I'd love to know where Solovyov learned his English to speak it with such an upper class British accent. Either a fancy tutor or a fancy school I'm guessing.
There it goes, surprised they didn’t up armor the T-34 with a shed
I am not saying neutrality is a shield.
I am saying a defense pact is not a shield being in a strategic location/political situation is a shield. And indeed the only part of it that matters. The UK does not patrol our skies to be nice and would likely want to keep it up even if we had an airforce worth a damn.
Eastern European countries become politically important being in NATO as it becomes a political point to defend them. Ireland, not so much. It would be a nice political stand with the west to join but it would not make Ireland any safer. The same people would still come to our defense for the same reasons.
🤣🤣
Seriously, how far behind are you?
There is NOTHING left in Russia to seize. It was all seized more than 2 years ago. They have hundreds of Billions of lazy Oligarch assets pilfered from impoverished Russians in banks all over the west, whilst they seized the last McDonalds and Airliners 2 years ago. Have you just come out of a 24 month coma before writing this garbage?
The whole criminal asset seizure of Russian state/oligarch assets can be summarised with;
Russia: we will crush the western hegemony and destroy the rules based world order all while spitting on treaties/agreements and international conventions
Also Russia: whaaaaa you can’t do that! but but the rules!
…..
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