Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

Just nipped up to the shop and while driving past the airport saw some more American Heavy Metal which had just landed…

Driving back again 20 minutes later I chose not to photograph the heavily armoured crates being unloaded, especially since this time the airport perimeter was being patrolled by armed guards….

Activity seems to have increased in the last few days with the frequency of military transporters increasing…

I caught this glorious C-17 departure the other day from the garden….

Video doesn’t do it any justice…

https://bsky.app/profile/andydoconnor.bsky.social/post/3lushc4itlc2z

just one instance of illegal treatment of prisoners, Abu Ghraib, and the resultant public reaction:- Can you show me any such reaction in Russia for the countless cases of Putins ill treatment of prisoners?

there was significant public outrage and protest—both in the U.S. and internationally—over the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq War.

🔥 Public Reaction in the U.S.

• 2004 Photo Leak: When graphic images of abuse surfaced—including hooded detainees, forced nudity, and physical torture—there was immediate backlash. The photos were published by CBS News and others, sparking widespread condemnation.
• Protests and Vigils: Human rights groups like Amnesty International and the Center for Constitutional Rights organized protests, vigils, and awareness campaigns across major cities.
• Congressional Hearings: The scandal led to multiple investigations, including hearings in the U.S. Senate and House, where activists and lawmakers demanded accountability.
• Media and Cultural Response: Documentaries, films, and art installations (like Fernando Botero’s paintings) helped sustain public discourse and criticism of U.S. military conduct.

🌍 Global Outcry

• International Condemnation: Organizations such as the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, and the UN denounced the abuses as violations of the Geneva Conventions.
• Legal Action: In 2024, a U.S. jury awarded $42 million in damages to three Iraqi men tortured at Abu Ghraib, marking a landmark civil case against the contractor CACI3.

🧭 Legacy and Accountability

• Military Trials: Eleven U.S. soldiers were convicted in military courts; however, critics argued that higher-ranking officials escaped accountability.
• Ongoing Advocacy: Survivors and rights groups continue to push for broader justice and recognition of systemic failures.

The Abu Ghraib scandal became a symbol of the darker side of the “War on Terror,” and protests played a key role in demanding transparency and reform.

They too busy killing each other

CNN reporting on gruesome videos Russians recorded of abusing their own fellow soldiers

I know where you're coming from. I can think of plenty who I wouldn't shed a tear for. Part of me was gutted when that sniper's bullet went a centimetre wide of its mark. But then the rational part of me felt relief, because none of us know what road that even might have led the US (and by extension the West) down. Tit-for-tat assassinations? Opened the gates for unbridled right wing extremism and conspiracy theorists? Introduction of extreme law enforcement powers/ anti-democratic measures? Isolationist policies playing into the hands of nativist right wingers around the world? Undermining of the legitimacy of any subsequent victories by Democrats?

The quick solution has its appeal, but I'd much prefer the hard work to be put in at citizen and ground root level to see the likes of Trump voted back to the abyss they came from.

And you're right, the real 'steal' here, across the globe regardless of political ideology, is the growing gulf between the super rich, the rich, the squeezed middle and the poor. It suits them perfectly to distract from the colossal concentration in the hands of a few of wealth, land, technology and basics such as housing.

And despite protestations to the contrary from the likes of Wallace and Daly, that includes Russia and China just as much as it does "the West".

You definitely said them invading Ukraine in 2014 to gain territory and again in 2022 was just like business (McDonalds) doing an "M & A" deal and said that just because Russia already has loads of land and natural resources didn't mean the leadership would not want more (in Ukraine).

It's very similar IMO to Donald Trump's comments early in the war about how "savvy" Putin was sending in the troops.

You said it during course of a load of posts last year where you blamed Ukraine at least equally for the war, and were trying to claim Russia's actions were not so out of the ordinary, because of existence of some other irredentist movements in countries around Europe (e.g. Romania - which hasn't invaded or bombed Moldova…).

Similar to above you were doing a (possibly fake!) high minded pacifist thing. War (and weapons making) is an awful racket, ripping off ordinary people. That is true, but it only takes 1 aggressor to make war and the unlucky ones without any swords can still die on them etc.

Here is a reply I made to you back then, it's over a year ago anyway so can't expect you to remember I suppose.

From a security perspective it's safer to be full of sh1t than full of Russians/Russian speakers.

Anyway Russia had to cancel a parade of floating explody things for their own "secutiry reasons"-

A parade of ships meant to be the highlight of Russia’s Navy Day honouring the country’s sailors was cancelled for “security reasons” the Kremlin said Sunday. Russian authorities provided no details of the threat that prompted the cancellation, which came after an overnight Ukrainian drone attack. 

Russian navy parade cancelled due to 'security reasons'

Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, Mr Trump said: "I'm going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today.

"There's no reason in waiting, we just don't see any progress being made."

Not a colonial expansion. No siree. Just read your maps from the 1200s and let us murder and pillage in peace.

Six foot by two

They are very worried in Poland, verging on paranoia almost.

My wife's grandmother was a polish refugee who, as an infant, fled with her mother from the Polish city of Lwów (the Ukrainian city of Lviv today) during WW2. Today she has a suitcase packed and is once more ready to flee.

My wife and daughter were coming back from Wrocław a fortnight ago when there was major disruption at the airport. Turns out the IT system had gone down due to a hack. This sort of disruption is happening all the time. No prizes for guessing who the perpetrators are.

Poland is arming themselves to the teeth. They've learned the harsh lessons of the past.

Passing down the Irish sea too. Then oil spill last year from ship to ship transfer along the wicklow and wexford coast. Then recently the Russian schooner illegally without notice dropping anchor and landing people at Clogherhead, Louth.

The captain of the schooner actually said they travel with the transponders off to avoid attention and they berth then illegally without notice as it takes the authorities (ours) by surprise and they have no plan in waiting so just let them go again. Pirates on the seas with diplomatic immunity that local authorities don't want to be the one's involved in an international incident so they let them go. And the pirates take full advantage of this cowardice by our authorities.

Nice soundtrack

TitBit:-

TASS. In Moscow, the CEO of Aeroflot fell out of a window.

Isn't it brutal all the same that the FSB can turn up to a business leader on the instruction of Putin and order them at gunpoint to throw themselves out a window. And then the practice becomes normalised. As one group is filming another doing the same in Syria now. And most likely the motivation is we let your family live if you do so.

I see the superyacht of Oleg Tinkov of Russian online bank Tinkoff has docked in Greenock, Scotland.

And Donald Trump has sent Navalny supporter and former Perm resident Leon Melekhin who was seeking asylum in the US from the Putin regime, back to Putin Russia to face torture, imprisonment and death.

The infection of Putin brutality and death has spread and been accepted rather than defeated by various governments especially more so since 2022.