I think you're being very naive about just how much Russia will use its sportspeople for propoganda. It's doesn't matter how nice or decent the individuals are. You're enabling the regime by allowing them to play. Moreover, as said above, you're telling people in countries affected by this (not just Ukraine) that they should play nice with the people attacking them.
Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion
- Thread starter Wednesday at Stoke
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I think you're being very naive about just how much Russia will use its sportspeople for propoganda. It's doesn't matter how nice or decent the individuals are. You're enabling the regime by allowing them to play. Moreover, as said above, you're telling people in countries affected by this (not just Ukraine) that they should play nice with the people attacking them.
This. Feck those Russians. All of them. If they want to participate in civilized society then behave in a civilized manner.
every single Russian should feel the repercussions of their stupid invasion of Ukraine.,
Wondering how accurate the total amounts Russians have of each group. Destroyed counts should be fairly accurate as a big % of it is visually confirmed.
Replace Russia with USA/Israel and Ukraine with Iraq/Palestine and you have the classic terrorist rhetoric. But since it's Russia it's perfectly reasonable to have this for of thinking.
As bad as it looks, this wheather condition favors the defenders. It's extremly hard to move forward in that snow. And when the melting begins, armor will be useless for a couple of weeks. Ukraine needs to hold until their offensive starts. Then russian pressure should ease considerably in Bakhmut when they have to move troops to defend Ukraine's offensive.
Yeah, their footage is nearly on the same level as Kraken's. Both units provide the best footage of this war so far. This video shows sadly, that the russians managed to capture the trench Ukranians were defending in their first video, posted a week ago.
Those shots at 7:40, 7:55 and 10:10.....directly into the trench....carnage. It's good that they didn't show the aftermath.
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Yet all the Russians in the NHL are free to continue playing.
So what? Wimbledon is Wimbledon - who cares whether because of winning it a player's ranking wouldn't be affected?
As I said, it doesn't necessarily make it right. Dropping ranking points in a grand slam has major affects on overall rankings though and affects players. There were a few players last year who spoke out about it and how the dropped points meant they missed invites to other tournaments.
My main point is that Wimbledon went against the ATP last year and the other grand slams & other major tournaments did not. The decision should be coming from the ATP and it should apply to all tournaments, not just one. It shouldn't be the tournaments who make this decision.
Yes, it is perfectly reasonable since we are against Russia, against Putin, and agaist dictatorships. We support Ukraine in this war.
If you insist in whataboutism for Iraq/Palestine, isn't it more reasonable for you to ask Iran or Turkey or Pakistan, why they did not boycott the Olympics? It is not reasonable for England and USA to boycott themselves, right?
fecking Ovechkin, the cnut, still has Putin in his ig profile pic and yet NHL celebrates that pos almost every week
They are not playing under the Russian flag, or Russia as a country. They are residents of USA/Canada, have visas, live and work there, pay their taxes in USA/Canada, and NHL is a private, closed enterprise.
So, what you are asking is to cancel their visas and work permits? And practically expel them from USA/Canada?
This is very different from banning Russian athletes from the international competitions we are discussing here.
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There is a difference between war and genocide. I wouldn't have actually been mad if the illegal war in Iraq had had consequences for those nations taking part in it, although I think unfortunately it was one of those things that once they'd started you might be better for everybody to finish, which is different to the Russians in Ukraine where the best thing that could happen for both sides would be for the Russians to leave immediately since they haven't overthrown the Ukrainian government.
But regardless, the Americans and British weren't in the dock in The Hague for the forced deportation and indoctrination of children. They weren't systematically attacking civilian infrastructure, including where they knew hundreds of women and children were sheltering, they didn't openly massacre hundreds of civilians in the street like in Bucha. They didn't plan to use concentration camps to subdue the population once they'd taken the capital.
I absolutely think some or all of the western powers in Iraq and Afghanistan must have committed war crimes, and shamefully some of them were even state sanctioned ones such as the torture in "dark sites" or whatever they called them, but the scale is totally incomparable. I'm sure war crimes happen in all wars but they're not supposed to be an integral part of the State's strategy.
It really is April Fool's day...
‘Absurdity to a new level’ as Russia takes charge of UN security council
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...as-russia-takes-charge-of-un-security-council
‘Absurdity to a new level’ as Russia takes charge of UN security council
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...as-russia-takes-charge-of-un-security-council
My point is there isn't a big red button that he can press. Others have to take decision along a chain of command. Those people know that escalation is not in anybody's best interests - the end game is that nobody can win. Mutually Assured Destruction is real and its probably the reason we had relative peace since WW2.
It's a broken organisation.
It becomes clearer each day, that the russian winter offensive is more or less over. Their losses in soldiers have been halved and in armor even less than half over the last few weeks average.
And the best thing is, they gained absolutely nothing from it. They wanted to capture the eastern towns before Ukraine's offensive to have a strong front line and all they have achieved are a few streets and villages here and there. A certain someone won't be happy with those results. If I were Gerasimov, I wouldn't open my windows.
And the best thing is, they gained absolutely nothing from it. They wanted to capture the eastern towns before Ukraine's offensive to have a strong front line and all they have achieved are a few streets and villages here and there. A certain someone won't be happy with those results. If I were Gerasimov, I wouldn't open my windows.
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Well in fairness it sounds like Bakhmut at least is still in a difficult spot so I don't think you could be confident it's absolutely nothing, but compared to the number of men and amount of money and equipment that must have been thrown at it, it's a true embarrassment.
Of course, the situation is still difficult in many regions, not just Bakhmut. But their offensive along the whole front has eased considerably looking at their daily losses. Their goal was to capture at least the Donbas towns Bakhmut and Avdiivka, straighten the front and get in better positions to receive Ukraine's coming offensive. In that goal, they failed miserably so far. I'm curious how long Putin will allow Gerasimov to fail on the battlefield. Especially because the only ones who are gaining some ground right now are again Wagners in southern Bakhmut.
Every time I watch videos from their tv shows it cracks me up, it's like watching stuff from some parallel universe. One day they nuke everyone, another day they liberate their "brotherly" neighbours. Sometimes it's so ridiculous even they are like "Grand plans. Good luck!" 
Personally, I disagree.
Having dialogue and offering opportunities/ avenues for compromise with people you don’t agree with is important. Especially given we’re moving closer and closer to another Cold War (if we’re not in one already).
At the very least, France can say they’ve tried. If China’s views don’t change, little has been lost.
I think what's more important than who controlls Bakhmut and Avdiivka is how much of their reserves the Ukrainians have used to defend these places, that could be the key to how succesfull their comming offensive will be.
Russias winter offensive have been a massive failure when it comes to conquering land but if they have forced Ukraine to use a large part of their reserves this winter it will not have been a complete failure. The comming months will be extremly important and will decide how the rest of this war plays out.
The real question I have about Macron is: Why is he so eager to give Putin an off-ramp right now instead of waiting to see how things would unfold in Russia should Ukraine gain more land and perhaps retake Crimea in the upcoming offensive?
Honestly, what is the worst that can happen if Russia loses most if not all remnants of their occupation in Ukraine? I don't see why a French president would be concerned about possible scenarios following that context.
Anyway, it's also stupid to ask for China to change their minds when they are currently issueing threats to the EU after Ursula von der Leyen's recent speech.
There are other ways. As i said, triage is possible. Also. As i said there is not only elite sports there are kids and teenagers that they are just starting and there would not be propaganda on those
And i understand what you mean. But nobody wins means that if you dont win, losing the war and most likely the presidency and even you life (or other people their position of power and their life), you might not want that the other wins and give them a huge feck you. But again is me, and my opinion. Not what it has to happen
Oh sudenly now sport is important for propaganda. Thought sport didnt matter
So feck people because others were assholes. feck mobilized russians that dont want to be drafted. feck russian NGOs, feck reporters and politicians that are in prison criticizing putin. After all they are russian and they have to pay.Very sensitive
Or injured I think? Incapacitated.
Dead and wounded. This number is actually a bit lower than according to UK/USA intelligence, they say it's 200k-220k.
Macron is seeking attention and gain popularity to be seen as the facilitator and the instrument of solving the conflict in any way possible and he just looked like a moron so far
Lost for words that the Russian public think this is OK.
Mind boggling number of wasted lives. Its like civil genocide.
I would think (or at least hope) that they wouldn't be okay if they knew those numbers but this is obviously a very sensitive information that is being kept secret. According to them there is like 1k dead Ukrainians for 1 dead Russian.
I would think if they knew the cost they might redouble their support tbh. Heroic deaths fighting the forces of evil in a new Great Patriotic War, etc. Just depends on how tight the Kremlin's grip on the public consciousness is. I'd be willing to bet it's quite high.
Also, I think most recruits are ethnic minorities from unheard of towns in the depths of the Russian wastes. Don't think the nip of death has really been felt in the great population centres yet.
Overall I think Russia could lose a million more and still keep it up.
What about????
I absolutely despise this type of video/reporting or whatever you want to call it. The loud music, the thumbs up, the whole feel of the video makes me cringe and also very sad.
I get it's a modern world, I get that social media is used in ways that many don't even know, or understand. But this type of propaganda is just sick. People are dying in these films, but they are dying to a soundtrack and in a video designed to gain support and to boost morale. I just find it all disturbing that people's lives and a war where war crimes and atrocities are being carried out every single minute of the day are being used in something that looks like a cross between an MTV video and an advert for the latest Call Of Duty.
I just think when things so serious and important are reduced in such a way that it's so sad that we have become as desensitized to genocide as we are with school shootings.
That says a lot about us as a species.
I get what you're saying and I find them a bit weird and repellent as well but...it's war propaganda. What sort of content are you expecting? It's hardly going to be a nuanced intellectual debate about the history of Russo-Ukrainian relations accompanied by a delicate evaluation of the Russian national psyche. It's meant to be easy to understand good Vs evil Marvel comic book stuff.
They are a bit cringey, but there is also a propaganda value to these in the social media era. ISIS were the first to invest in digital with their drone videos, the public burning of the Jordanian pilot etc. To many Ukrainians, there must be a certain satisfaction about the spectacle of killing enemy invaders.
Except you can't simply "replace Russia" since each situation is completely different and therefore not interchangeably comparable.