All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[thwhtGuardian]

This isn't altruism, dude. It's self-interest and self-protection. And now you're, again, talking like NATO is only the USA.

You are much more trusting than I am, I cannot imagine any blood shed over Albania or Romania. Germany, France, UK yeah, boots on the ground we owe them money and they owe us money so its all in our best interests. And maybe the nordic countries because with out them Atlantic trade could be threatened...but other than that? No way.

[babyblob]

This isn't altruism, dude. It's self-interest and self-protection. And now you're, again, talking like NATO is only the USA.

Nato is not just the USA. But other then these sanctions on Russia that will have no effect of Putin or his lackeys none of the other Nato nations are going to do anything but go on camera and give strong words that sound good on a sound bite but do not do anything. The Ukraine member of their government that said they were on their own is 100 percent right.

England, France, Germany. None of them are going to put troops on the ground and fight Russian forces in Ukraine.

We can talk all day about what Nato should do and shouldnt do. But that wont change what they are going to do. And that is not a whole heck of a lot.

[Tendrin]

You are much more trusting than I am, I cannot imagine any blood shed over Albania or Romania. Germany, France, UK yeah, boots on the ground we owe them money and they owe us money so its all in our best interests. And maybe the nordic countries because with out them Atlantic trade could be threatened...but other than that? No way.

I sincerely think you're underestimating the consequences of the scenario you're envisioning and why it wouldn't be acceptable to the European powers in your desire to the be the most cynical.

[Tendrin]

Nato is not just the USA. But other then these sanctions on Russia that will have no effect of Putin or his lackeys none of the other Nato nations are going to do anything but go on camera and give strong words that sound good on a sound bite but do not do anything. The Ukraine member of their government that said they were on their own is 100 percent right.

England, France, Germany. None of them are going to put troops on the ground and fight Russian forces in Ukraine.

We can talk all day about what Nato should do and shouldnt do. But that wont change what they are going to do. And that is not a whole heck of a lot.

Fortunately, we're only talking about a speculative scenario. No way we're going to intervene militarily in the Ukraine.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

And to think some Republicans consider Putin to be the ultimate example of a Christian Leader and that his Russia a Christian Nation.

Then again, these same people don't consider the Pope to be Christian.

Who is more Christian? The Pope or Putin? Trick question.

If it hurts Biden in the polls, then the answer is Putin. Not a trick question at all.

[Tami]

Angry Putin calls on Ukrainian army to overthrow government

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the Ukrainian army to overthrow its leadership whom he labelled as a “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have has lodged itself in Kyiv and taken hostage the entire Ukrainian people.”

Addressing the Ukrainian military in a televised address, a visibly angry Putin urged the military to “take power in your own hands”.

It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.

Putin further repeated his claim that the Ukrainian leadership had been engaged in “genocide” in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

We are fighting with nationalist groups that are directly responsible for the genocide of the Donbas and the bloodshed of peaceful civilians in the two republics.

In the address, Putin further accused the Ukrainian “neo-Nazi” leadership of acting like terrorists, by ‘cowering behind civilians’.

Putin has really gone off the deep end.

[thwhtGuardian]

I sincerely think you're underestimating the consequences of the scenario you're envisioning and why it wouldn't be acceptable to the European powers in your desire to the be the most cynical.

The politicians of the world are welcome to prove me wrong, I'd love them too frankly...but I doubt they will. Sadly, we're pretty likely to find out either way in the not-too-distant future. Russia's been pressing the boundaries just testing what the world will accept and each time we did nothing...and we're not going to do anything this time either so he's just going to look for more.

[Tami]

‘Pure Orwell’: how Russian state media spins invasion as liberation

Turn on Russian state television on Friday afternoon and you will see little sign that the country’s missiles are pounding the Ukrainian capital.

Instead, the full force of the state propaganda machine has been mobilised to portray Moscow’s invasion as a defensive campaign to “liberate” Ukraine, focusing much of its coverage on the alleged protection of the Donbas, supposedly under attack by Kyiv.

“Our situation is very concerning. The enemy is attacking our positions, entering civilian houses,” said Leonid Pasechnik, the leader of the self-proclaimed republic in Luhansk, to the Rossiya-24 channel.

The Russian state news mostly follows Vladimir Putin’s narrative on the war, which he laid out in his address to the nation early on Thursday morning when he announced a limited “special military operation” to “demilitarise” Ukraine and protect citizens in the Donbas from what he claimed was a Ukrainian “genocide”.

Throughout Friday morning, a Russian assault on the Ukrainian capital was often simply denied.

“Kyiv, as a city where civilians live, hasn’t been bombed by anyone. There hasn’t been any terror there or instructions to cause such terror,” said the Channel One pundit Artyom Sheinin on Friday, contradicting the myriad of reports that have shown the opposite.

As it becomes harder for state media to ignore the full-scale invasion into Ukrainian territory, some channels have started to frame Russian soldiers as eagerly anticipated liberators.

“The people in the city Kharkiv only have one issue with the Russian army: ‘What took you so long?’” said Olga Skabeyeva, one of the country’s most prominent state television hosts.

Oh boy.....

[Zelena]

One other wrinkle is that Europe's increasing shift to renewable energy means that they'll eventually be less reliant on Russian energy, which means Putin's aware his leverage will diminish.

Except the biomass and hydraulic, renewable energies tend to be intermittent and still rely on fossil fuel energies… The Texas has a lot of wind turbines but relies also heavily on thermal power plants.

Seeing so many Eastern countries joining NATO or EU has fueled Putin’s paranoia…

[JB]

I just saw a clip of Hillary Clinton on Morning Joe calling on the government to launch cyber attacks against Russia.

“I think we could also be attacking a lot of the government institutions and again, the oligarchs and their way of life through cyber attacks.” She also said we should be “beaming in accurate information into the homes of Russians”.
Please don’t listen to her, Biden. A direct attack will prompt a direct response.

[JB]

Angry Putin calls on Ukrainian army to overthrow government

Putin has really gone off the deep end.

Unbelievable.
And the Ukrainian government has lifted the civilian gun ban and now there are teenage boys taking up arms to defend Ukraine. This all feels like a fever dream.

[achilles]

I just saw a clip of Hillary Clinton on Morning Joe calling on the government to launch cyber attacks against Russia.

“I think we could also be attacking a lot of the government institutions and again, the oligarchs and their way of life through cyber attacks.” She also said we should be “beaming in accurate information into the homes of Russians”.
Please don’t listen to her, Biden. A direct attack will prompt a direct response.

We have been under cyber attack from the Russians for how many decades now? And you're worried that they might respond if we attack them in kind? They already are without our doing anything.

[JackDaw]

Nato is not just the USA. But other then these sanctions on Russia that will have no effect of Putin or his lackeys none of the other Nato nations are going to do anything but go on camera and give strong words that sound good on a sound bite but do not do anything. The Ukraine member of their government that said they were on their own is 100 percent right.

England, France, Germany. None of them are going to put troops on the ground and fight Russian forces in Ukraine.

We can talk all day about what Nato should do and shouldnt do. But that wont change what they are going to do. And that is not a whole heck of a lot.

Except if you’re French, German, Italian, British and the Russians venture even further afield than the Ukraine you might well do the calculation that fighting Russia is inevitable and given that, far better to fight them in somebody else’s country, rather than waiting for them to invade your own.

Certainly if Russia invaded a NATO country then not fighting them asap would seem to be short sighted if you’re Western European or British. It’s a terrifying prospect all round.

[Mister Mets]

Except the biomass and hydraulic, renewable energies tend to be intermittent and still rely on fossil fuel energies… The Texas has a lot of wind turbines but relies also heavily on thermal power plants.

Seeing so many Eastern countries joining NATO or EU has fueled Putin’s paranoia…

"Eventually" doesn't mean tomorrow. But the share of energy from renewable sources has increased from 9.6% in 2004 to 19.7% in 2019.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/...25%20by%202030.

[shooshoomanjoe]

We have been under cyber attack from the Russians for how many decades now? And you're worried that they might respond if we attack them in kind? They already are without our doing anything.

I was about to say, cyberwarfare from Russia to the US has been going on for awhile. Why isn't the US fighting back?