Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion

Well said mate.

Always a balanced and well articulated post from you.
I don't agree. Some posters have been digging for awhile now, and they usually pop up on this side of the forum with their anti western takes whenever they see a chance. It doesn't offer much to the topic other than derailing the discussion into petty colonial arguments.
 
I don't agree. Or rather: @WI_Red may have meant his post literally, but most times a post is called off-topic or an unwelcome distraction in this thread, it's really because of the opinion expressed. Cause after all, there are really loads of side conversations happening that do not at all discuss what is happening in the war right now.

I mean, we have dozens of posts now about Zelensky's activities in entertainment, which have no bearing on current events; but no-one asked for those to stop. Yet we can't have posts that try to contextualize how the 'western' audience (regular people, not politicians) obsess over the situation?

To be clear: I don't agree with everything that's being said, but I find myself obsessing over this war as well, and I find those context discussions quite interesting, also when I think the argument provided is rubbish. And certainly much more interesting than the feelgood stuff about Zelensky (as much as I enjoy those) or the fifteenth post in four pages pointing out that there is a Russia army convoy underway to Kyiv.

(Great post by @dumbo btw. I mean the one ending with the matchday thread comment.)

On a related note, I think the treatment of @Mciahel Goodman (and a few others with related points) in this thread has been rather distasteful. I guess he has to be able to accept more grief cause he is a mod (and maybe because of his positions); cause if this would have been another poster in another thread, I would hope there would have been some warnings for the constant ad hominem he's getting.

Good post. Whataboutism is a real thing, but it's in danger of losing its meaning when people throw it around for every situation where someone is looking for some context.
 
I don't agree. Or rather: @WI_Red may have meant his post literally, but most times a post is called off-topic or an unwelcome distraction in this thread, it's really because of the opinion expressed. Cause after all, there are really loads of side conversations happening that do not at all discuss what is happening in the war right now.

I mean, we have dozens of posts now about Zelensky's activities in entertainment, which have no bearing on current events; but no-one asked for those to stop. Yet we can't have posts that try to contextualize how the 'western' audience (regular people and the media, not politicians) obsesses over the situation?

To be clear: I don't agree with everything that's being said, but I find myself obsessing over this war as well, and I find those context discussions quite interesting, also when I think the argument provided is rubbish. And certainly much more interesting than the feelgood stuff about Zelensky (as much as I enjoy those) or the fifteenth post in four pages pointing out that there is a Russia army convoy underway to Kyiv.

(Great post by @dumbo btw. I mean the one ending with the matchday thread comment.)

On a related note, I think the treatment of @Mciahel Goodman (and a few others with related points) in this thread has been rather distasteful. I guess he has to be able to accept more grief cause he is a mod (and maybe because of his positions); cause if this would have been another poster in another thread, I would hope there would have been some warnings for the constant ad hominem he's getting.

I did mean it literally (minus the sarcasm). I am constantly refreshing this thread to get updates as it has done a better job than any news site I have found at aggregating info in almost real time. The way this amazing collection of people from all corners of the globe have expressed their thoughts and fears and hopes is awesome.

I also think the discussion of the Wests hypocrisy is a valid and important discussion to have, for people on both sides of that belief. What I was getting at is that I think this thread, not the forum but the thread, is not the place for that. Emotions are running high. People are scared. The more we can keep this particular thread on course the better it can serve as an outlet for those emotions. Just my 2 cents.
 
I did mean it literally (minus the sarcasm). I am constantly refreshing this thread to get updates as it has done a better job than any news site I have found at aggregating info in almost real time. The way this amazing collection of people from all corners of the globe have expressed their thoughts and fears and hopes is awesome.

I also think the discussion of the Wests hypocrisy is a valid and important discussion to have, for people on both sides of that belief. What I was getting at is that I think this thread, not the forum but the thread, is not the place for that. Emotions are running high. People are scared. The more we can keep this particular thread on course the better it can serve as an outlet for those emotions. Just my 2 cents.
Personally, I agree this thread has been great for updates. However it's a thread on a discussion forum, it's not BBC news, it's not twitter, and people should be allowed to discuss freely along with the updates.

Nothing has been that off-topic. If you start talking about today's football games or what you're having for tea then people might have a point. Talking about previous wars the west have been in (however right or wrong your opinion) is fair game imo.
 
I did mean it literally (minus the sarcasm). I am constantly refreshing this thread to get updates as it has done a better job than any news site I have found at aggregating info in almost real time. The way this amazing collection of people from all corners of the globe have expressed their thoughts and fears and hopes is awesome.

I also think the discussion of the Wests hypocrisy is a valid and important discussion to have, for people on both sides of that belief. What I was getting at is that I think this thread, not the forum but the thread, is not the place for that. Emotions are running high. People are scared. The more we can keep this particular thread on course the better it can serve as an outlet for those emotions. Just my 2 cents.

That's correct. Small deviations in the central topic tend to rapidly spiral out of control resulting in multi-page derailments, especially when a topic is emotionally charged. Starting a new thread is a good solution to where the topic can still be discussed while leaving the main thread for people who want it focused exclusively on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
 
Exactly what the EU needs right now, another member state that doesn't contribute to the coffers... :wenger:

Ukraine is already contributing. It has been sending us workers for years. They work in EU countries, they are part of our societies, and they pay taxes.

The country being "poor" is no reason to deny them membership.
 
Personally, I agree this thread has been great for updates. However it's a thread on a discussion forum, it's not BBC news, it's not twitter, and people should be allowed to discuss freely along with the updates.

Nothing has been that off-topic. If you start talking about today's football games or what you're having for tea then people might have a point. Talking about previous wars the west have been in (however right or wrong your opinion) is fair game imo.
Not when it is a disingenuous attempt to further a topic outside the scope of a fast-moving thread regarding a serious situation unfolding in real-time.
 
I did mean it literally (minus the sarcasm). I am constantly refreshing this thread to get updates as it has done a better job than any news site I have found at aggregating info in almost real time. The way this amazing collection of people from all corners of the globe have expressed their thoughts and fears and hopes is awesome.

I also think the discussion of the Wests hypocrisy is a valid and important discussion to have, for people on both sides of that belief. What I was getting at is that I think this thread, not the forum but the thread, is not the place for that. Emotions are running high. People are scared. The more we can keep this particular thread on course the better it can serve as an outlet for those emotions. Just my 2 cents.
Yeah, I can see that, and I have also been amazed at all the news people have been able to bring together here.

Maybe we would ideally have needed two threads: one for the current events, and one for background and context. Well, OK, and a third one just on Zelensky. ;)

(Thanks, btw, @lefty_jakobz and @nimic. :) )
 
I think it’s just completely impractical. So many contracts (in particular global interbank contracts, funding and liquidity arrangements, etc.) all are generally USD denominated. In theory a country like China could untangle itself from that, but it would take a very long time but also would equally damage their economy significantly that it doesn’t make any sense at all.

Just like Germany wants to do "costly and impractical" thing to move away from Russian Gas.

Sometimes "practicality" comes at a high price.

As we witnessed, the thing that brought Russia down is not military, nor surgical striker or stealth bomber, but SWIFT
 

I think it's more of a reminder that good leaders are not guaranteed. The chance of a nuclear conflict will always be there whenever extremely sinister people gain power in states that have nuclear weapons and invade another country. Because now the question arises is: how far are we willing to intervene or support the country that is invaded?

I would not want to be in government making these extremely high-stakes decisions.
 


The spineless Senator Flip Flop is just pissed he's not getting any attention and is desperate to stay relevant. The replies are brilliant and point out his desperation and hypocrisy. The replies are also a welcome and humerous break from all the nuclear weapons chat which is obviously dominating most news cycles and social media platforms at the moment.

On a slightly different point, I must say this thread has been outstanding for keeping me updated during breaks from work. The speed of the posting new events and also the quality of much of the discussion has been top notch for the most part. Although I am surprised, disgusted and also disturbed at having to say Marco Rubio has been one of the best accounts for updates and even his opinion Tweets have been excellent too. Ugh... Now I definitely need a bath.
 
I think it's more of a reminder that good leaders are not guaranteed. The chance of a nuclear conflict will always be there whenever extremely sinister people gain power in states that have nuclear weapons and invade another country. Because now the question arises is: how far are we willing to intervene or support the country that is invaded?

I would not want to be in government making these extremely high-stakes decisions.

I agree, and I also get the sense that western leaders have correctly identified Putin's instability and feel that they can get him out of there by simply sanctioning him, which will make him respond with another miscalculation that will eventually result in him getting toppled from within. The resolve of the international anti-Putin coalition that has emerged over the past 72-96 hours is pretty remarkable. Countries seem to correctly see the existential thread a world with an unchecked dictator with nukes will bring.
 


The spineless Senator Flip Flop is just pissed he's not getting any attention and is desperate to stay relevant. The replies are brilliant and point out his desperation and hypocrisy. The replies are also a welcome and humerous break from all the nuclear weapons chat which is obviously dominating most news cycles and social media platforms at the moment.

On a slightly different point, I must say this thread has been outstanding for keeping me updated during breaks from work. The speed of the posting new events and also the quality of much of the discussion has been top notch for the most part. Although I am surprised, disgusted and also disturbed at having to say Marco Rubio has been one of the best accounts for updates and even his opinion Tweets have been excellent too. Ugh... Now I definitely need a bath.


"He holds the Bible high, he sets it down, and then he lies" - Lyin' Ted
 


The spineless Senator Flip Flop is just pissed he's not getting any attention and is desperate to stay relevant. The replies are brilliant and point out his desperation and hypocrisy. The replies are also a welcome and humerous break from all the nuclear weapons chat which is obviously dominating most news cycles and social media platforms at the moment.

On a slightly different point, I must say this thread has been outstanding for keeping me updated during breaks from work. The speed of the posting new events and also the quality of much of the discussion has been top notch for the most part. Although I am surprised, disgusted and also disturbed at having to say Marco Rubio has been one of the best accounts for updates and even his opinion Tweets have been excellent too. Ugh... Now I definitely need a bath.

These replies are hilarious :lol:
 
These replies are hilarious :lol:




Definitely my favourite :lol:

Zelensky has become such an inspiration. Talk about someone stepping up when needed. After suffering years of Boris (and Trump) it's refreshing to see a leader actually lead and not just lie or cowardly deflect everything thrown at them.
 


The spineless Senator Flip Flop is just pissed he's not getting any attention and is desperate to stay relevant. The replies are brilliant and point out his desperation and hypocrisy. The replies are also a welcome and humerous break from all the nuclear weapons chat which is obviously dominating most news cycles and social media platforms at the moment.

On a slightly different point, I must say this thread has been outstanding for keeping me updated during breaks from work. The speed of the posting new events and also the quality of much of the discussion has been top notch for the most part. Although I am surprised, disgusted and also disturbed at having to say Marco Rubio has been one of the best accounts for updates and even his opinion Tweets have been excellent too. Ugh... Now I definitely need a bath.


This place was great during the US elections too. Far more up to date and accurate than any news service
 


In the early days of the Russian buildup of troops on the Ukrainian border, I made this point on Twitter by posting about the documentary 'Winter On Fire'. One of the Russian Anon accounts countered my post with the 'Ukraine On Fire' documentary. Worth noting that more often than not, these Russian Anon account on Twitter are manned by the GRU, FSB, or KGB intel orgs.

I did suffer through the Russian propaganda documentary, as well. Maybe it's worth noting that both documentaries were made public at the same time a year and a half ago. The Russian version didn't address the overwhelm distaste of Russian governing impositions on Ukraine. When I pointed this out to the Russian Anon, they basically agreed but said the western regions were mostly pro-Russia. My point is, it is now obvious that the Russian intel agencies had been standing on thin ice of rhetoric over realities.
 
If the Belarusians are as clueless as the Russians it'll probably just end up shot out the sky.

Yes, I can't imagine them being any more battle hardened than the bumbling Russians. Its also a bit odd that Lukashenko would allow this to happen hours before he is facilitating a negotiation at the border. Just goes to show how seriously he and Putin are taking that.
 
If Russia is getting help from another country why can't someone like France feck up the Belurussian military? So long as they don't hit Russians

I think they are aligned in some sort of security pact with Putin, so it would probably be viewed as an attack on Putin's vassal state, especially now that there are thousands of Russian troops there.
 
If Russia is getting help from another country why can't someone like France feck up the Belurussian military? So long as they don't hit Russians

Mostly because Euro nations are trying their best to contain the fighting to Ukraine, who are actually doing a pretty good job. Also, France and Germany had been strong trade partners with Russia. All of that appears to be changing, though.
 
Obviously it would be ridiculous idea for many reasons, but sometimes I wish military planes showed up on FlightRadar24 - it would be awesome to see the reinforcements over the skies in real time :lol:
 
Obviously it would be ridiculous idea for many reasons, but sometimes I wish military planes showed up on FlightRadar24 - it would be awesome to see the reinforcements over the skies in real time :lol:
True, I have heard US military planes over Iceland today. It happens often though.
 
True, I have heard US military planes over Iceland today. It happens often though.

Would just be interesting to track them. Call me a nerd, but whenever an airliner flies over and I'm outside, I always pull my phone out and check out where it's going.