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

[Tami]

Reports are coming in that Zelensky is agreeing to talk with Russia. Conflicting reports on where - one website is saying they'll be meeting in the Belarusian city of Gomel. But CNN is saying otherwise.

Zelensky agrees to talk with Russia, but rejects Belarus as the meeting place
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news...2740b6231ec5cd



Apparently Zelenskiy named Warsaw, Bratislava, Istanbul, Budapest or Baku as alternative venues.

I understand the desire to end this quickly through negotiations, but Putin won't end it until Ukraine agrees not to join NATO and agrees to demilitarize. Both of which would leave it open to future attacks and give Putin a win, which would only make him more likely to do it again if not to Ukraine then to other countries.

[Zelena]

I understand the desire to end this quickly through negotiations, but Putin won't end it until Ukraine agrees not to join NATO and agrees to demilitarize. Both of which would leave it open to future attacks and give Putin a win, which would only make him more likely to do it again if not to Ukraine then to other countries.

I don’t think Zelensky will find acceptable Putin’s conditions at the moment: more his country resists, more he will be backed by Western countries…

And by attacking Ukraine, Putin proved the value of being a member of NATO… not only to Ukraine but also to other Eastern countries.

I don’t think the end of this is near…

[JackDaw]

According to breaking news on BBC, Putin is putting Russian nuclear deterrent on red alert because of NATO aggression. (Lol)

If some of his senior comrades aren’t thinking about sending for the men in white coats to escort him to a mental institution, I’d be surprised.

[JB]

It looks like they've agreed to a meeting place:

https://www.ft.com/content/475838e4-...reType=nongift

Thanks for the update. Hopefully this at least stops the Russian attack for now.

[Mister Mets]

I'm glad we at least agree on the others, but yes the Israel case is special for a few reasons. Firstly the West is responsible for rewriting the map of the Middle East and creating Israel as we know it (well, minus the land they've stolen in the decades since). We are the big brother who provides weapons, intelligence, support, nuclear capability (that again they went on to help an Apartheid South Africa, the clearest thing to a successor to the Nazis the world has seen, become too), and the general understanding that if all we've given them is not enough we'll step in to fight anyone who truly threatens them. If they're condemned in the UN we'll block it. All the while they exploit and subjugate a minority population and then declare themselves a Democracy and a holy land and viciously attack anyone who dares condemn them, including (perhaps especially) Israelis and non-Israeli Jews.

They do these things like CCP and Russia and North Korea do, because they can. If we stopped enabling their worst behavior and let them stand on their own they might have to change their ways. It would probably be the best thing for them, and definitely for the Palestinians. The only real special thing about the situation is the amount of pushback you get for pointing out the obvious. Again, most of the other bad actors we agree on. Some of us just add Israel (and in many cases, our own country) to that list.

When you say we agree on the bad actors, who is we? Is it the two of us? Is it Americans? Is it decent, informed people?

Because I'm not sure there's a wider agreement on the bad actors. When the UN tries to pass a resolution against Israel, and the countries against Israel include Russia and China, it seems that joining the resolution excuses the actions of Russia and China while casting blame upon Israel.

[The Darknight Detective]

According to breaking news on BBC, Putin is putting Russian nuclear deterrent on red alert because of NATO aggression. (Lol)

If some of his senior comrades aren’t thinking about sending for the men in white coats to escort him to a mental institution, I’d be surprised.

In my almost 57 years on this planet, this is the first time I'm actually worried about Russia.

[Tami]

In my almost 57 years on this planet, this is the first time I'm actually worried about Russia.

You're a year youner than I am. .

[The Darknight Detective]

You're a year youner than I am. .

So I'm the kid Yay!

[AnakinFlair]

Saw a video on Twitter this morning. Apparently the Russians are running out of gas for their armored vehicles. The video I saw was a Ukrainian man stopping next to a tank, asking the troops if they wanted a ride back to Russia.

Also hearing that civilians are putting sugar into gas cans, because Russians are scrounging for gas for their vehicles.

Here is a link to that video on Twitter.

[Tami]

Romney on CNN and it's nice to hear Republican talk sense about the Ukraine situation and Putin.

Romney: "This is one of the greatest demonstrations of good versus evil we've seen during our lifetimes, and the demonstration of courage -- look at Vladimir Putin. Here he is behind this huge table in this big white room. It looks like a mausoleum... contrast that with Zelensky"

Twitter of Link

[Malvolio]

Saw a video on Twitter this morning. Apparently the Russians are running out of gas for their armored vehicles. The video I saw was a Ukrainian man stopping next to a tank, asking the troops if they wanted a ride back to Russia.

Also hearing that civilians are putting sugar into gas cans, because Russians are scrounging for gas for their vehicles.

Here is a link to that video on Twitter.

The old sugar in the gas can prank. Works every time.

[BeastieRunner]

Wasn't Trump's first impeachment over withholding aid to Ukraine?

[Kirby101]

Wasn't Trump's first impeachment over withholding aid to Ukraine?

Yes it was. He wanted the Ukraine Pres to lie about Biden.

[Jack Dracula]

Saw a video on Twitter this morning. Apparently the Russians are running out of gas for their armored vehicles. The video I saw was a Ukrainian man stopping next to a tank, asking the troops if they wanted a ride back to Russia.

Also hearing that civilians are putting sugar into gas cans, because Russians are scrounging for gas for their vehicles.

Here is a link to that video on Twitter.

I want to believe this is the case all over the field of battle, but I have a feeling these are outliers. The Russians had enough foresight to set up field hospitals before the invasion, I have a hard time imagining they didn't provide fuel for their tanks.
if it is happening semi-frequently, it may be due to self-sabotage on the part of their part. Sort of "Oops, we forgot to fill up so now we can't fight."

[CaptainEurope]

Ursula von der Leyen announced an EU-wide ban on Russian propaganda outlets RT and Sputnik.

It's weird... when Ursula got the job, I wondered how being a medical doctor, a mother of 7 and a former minister of defense would qualify her for the job, yet here we are with a war in the middle of a pandemic.