The Russians are on their way...why am I not shocked.

[denislawsbackheel]

Humbling how so many ordinary people interviewed speak remarkably good English.

 

[Chancy Termites]

Can someone explain this in lehmans terms to me please

This is a fucking brilliant post.

 

[scall11]

Putin has been slowing re-igniting the cold war for ages. Russia is back in Soviet times and this action is no surprise.

Big test for Europe. Do they defend a country who wants to join Europe, or let Russia bully their way into stopping democracy in Ukraine?

I think I know who will win ..

 

[mindmyp's_n_q's]

Can someone explain this in lehmans terms to me please

This is a fucking brilliant post.

Are you thinking what I am thinking?

[bigimg]http://i.cdn.turner.com/pga/cs/sites/rydercup/2010/usa/team/images/lehman_480x288_1.jpg[/bigimg]

 

[Gelsons Dad]

Can someone explain this in lehmans terms to me please

This is a fucking brilliant post.

Are you thinking what I am thinking?

[bigimg]http://i.cdn.turner.com/pga/cs/sites/rydercup/2010/usa/team/images/lehman_480x288_1.jpg[/bigimg]

If you think like this it really is quite a post!

 

[Chancy Termites]

This is a fucking brilliant post.

Are you thinking what I am thinking?

[bigimg]http://i.cdn.turner.com/pga/cs/sites/rydercup/2010/usa/team/images/lehman_480x288_1.jpg[/bigimg]

If you think like this it really is quite a post!

Funny how the IMF turned up in Ukraine several days before the Russians did.

 

[adrian99]

Have no fear we are sending over our secret weapon.

William Hague.

That'll teach 'em :-)

It is high time that little pipsqueak Hague and the rest of the UK government realised Britain is a bankrupt little island that has no place getting involved in an event that has nothing to do with us. Next he will be guaranteeing Ukraine's borders, that worked well last time and we can do as little to help Ukraine right now as we could to defend Poland's borders in 1939. Who cares about Ukraine, it is irreverent to us, who was even aware of what was happening there a few months or weeks ago? What happens next is to is up to the Ukrainians and Russians to decide, the west should stay well clear.

I'm glad you weren't around in 1938.

Appalling isolationist view.

Learn the lessons of history, 12 months after guaranteeing Poland borders the whole of Europe was under German occupation, we really showed them who was boss. Britain today is a lightweight on the international stage, only our 'leaders' still believe we are relevant. This has nothing to do with us, we and the rest of the world should let the Ukrainians and Russians sort this out themselves.

 

[Ducado]

It is high time that little pipsqueak Hague and the rest of the UK government realised Britain is a bankrupt little island that has no place getting involved in an event that has nothing to do with us. Next he will be guaranteeing Ukraine's borders, that worked well last time and we can do as little to help Ukraine right now as we could to defend Poland's borders in 1939. Who cares about Ukraine, it is irreverent to us, who was even aware of what was happening there a few months or weeks ago? What happens next is to is up to the Ukrainians and Russians to decide, the west should stay well clear.

I'm glad you weren't around in 1938.

Appalling isolationist view.

Learn the lessons of history, 12 months after guaranteeing Poland borders the whole of Europe was under German occupation, we really showed them who was boss. Britain today is a lightweight on the international stage, only our 'leaders' still believe we are relevant. This has nothing to do with us, we and the rest of the world should let the Ukrainians and Russians sort this out themselves.

We are not bankrupt for one!

Ukraine is not irrelevant to us or to the world at large, your another one with little understanding about what is going on here and the history of that region

 

[scotty123]

It is high time that little pipsqueak Hague and the rest of the UK government realised Britain is a bankrupt little island that has no place getting involved in an event that has nothing to do with us. Next he will be guaranteeing Ukraine's borders, that worked well last time and we can do as little to help Ukraine right now as we could to defend Poland's borders in 1939. Who cares about Ukraine, it is irreverent to us, who was even aware of what was happening there a few months or weeks ago? What happens next is to is up to the Ukrainians and Russians to decide, the west should stay well clear.

I'm glad you weren't around in 1938.

Appalling isolationist view.

Learn the lessons of history, 12 months after guaranteeing Poland borders the whole of Europe was under German occupation, we really showed them who was boss. Britain today is a lightweight on the international stage, only our 'leaders' still believe we are relevant. This has nothing to do with us, we and the rest of the world should let the Ukrainians and Russians sort this out themselves.

I wouldn't say we were a 'lightweight' we have enough nukes to blow Russia off the map, mind Russia has enough to blow the planet apart

 

[RandomJ]

Thing is as a leader of a country nuclear war isn't even scary. They all have massive modern fallout shelters which they can take their families and have years and years of food and water whereas like always us plebs get the shitty end of the stick.

 

[mindmyp's_n_q's]

Thing is as a leader of a country nuclear war isn't even scary. They all have massive modern fallout shelters which they can take their families and have years and years of food and water whereas like always us plebs get the shitty end of the stick.

Yeah that's what they all think. Why live in this lap of luxury with the plebs when me and my family can live with no one in a post nuclear hell.

North Korea are the biggest (can't predict their leaders actions) nuclear nut jobs on the planet and they seem to manage to not launch nukes at everyone. Even if they do have to threaten to do this to their southern neighbours every time that they run out of money.

 

[Blueband Brother]

Thing is as a leader of a country nuclear war isn't even scary. They all have massive modern fallout shelters which they can take their families and have years and years of food and water whereas like always us plebs get the shitty end of the stick.

Yeah that's what they all think. Why live in this lap of luxury with the plebs when me and my family can live with no one in a post nuclear hell.

North Korea are the biggest (can't predict their leaders actions) nuclear nut jobs on the planet and they seem to manage to not launch nukes at everyone. Even if they do have to threaten to do this to their southern neighbours every time that they run out of money.

Are you sure? the last time I checked there is only one country that has lost the plot, like a nervous little girl with a gun and pulled the trigger on its nuclear weapons on innocent civilians. Murica,

Anyways this war thing is far fetched. I think this political back and forth and mind games will go on for a wee while until everybody gets bored and goes home for tea.

 

[mindmyp's_n_q's]

Thing is as a leader of a country nuclear war isn't even scary. They all have massive modern fallout shelters which they can take their families and have years and years of food and water whereas like always us plebs get the shitty end of the stick.

Yeah that's what they all think. Why live in this lap of luxury with the plebs when me and my family can live with no one in a post nuclear hell.

North Korea are the biggest (can't predict their leaders actions) nuclear nut jobs on the planet and they seem to manage to not launch nukes at everyone. Even if they do have to threaten to do this to their southern neighbours every time that they run out of money.

Are you sure? the last time I checked there is only one country that has lost the plot, like a nervous little girl with a gun and pulled the trigger on its nuclear weapons on innocent civilians. Murica,

Anyways this war thing is far fetched. I think this political back and forth and mind games will go on for a wee while until everybody gets bored and goes home for tea.

That was just the logical answer to an insane question.

 

[adrian99]

Have no fear we are sending over our secret weapon.

William Hague.

That'll teach 'em :-)

It is high time that little pipsqueak Hague and the rest of the UK government realised Britain is a bankrupt little island that has no place getting involved in an event that has nothing to do with us. Next he will be guaranteeing Ukraine's borders, that worked well last time and we can do as little to help Ukraine right now as we could to defend Poland's borders in 1939. Who cares about Ukraine, it is irreverent to us, who was even aware of what was happening there a few months or weeks ago? What happens next is to is up to the Ukrainians and Russians to decide, the west should stay well clear.

True, I mean who cares about Czech in 1938, or Poland, or Austria-Hungary, or the Russian Empire.

we can do as little to help Ukraine right now as we could to defend Poland's borders in 1939

Yeah, we had no response to that APART FROM LITERALLY STARTING A WORLD WAR BETWEEN ALL THE SUPERPOWERS.

I think it is you that needs the history lessons. In September 1939 of the superpowers only France and Britain stood against Germany as a direct result of the guarantee of Poland's borders. The USSR signed a non aggression pact with Germany and took half of Poland after her defeat, the US didn't get involved until Dec 1941.We were very lucky Hitler went into Russia in 41 and that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. As it stood at the end of 1940 our meddling in a border conflict between Poland and Germany over a German city Danzig was a colossal fuck up that led to the whole of Europe being under German occupation.

With a national debt of £1.25 trillion and an economy struggling out of recession we are in no position to start playing games with Russia, we can't afford the economic sanctions. I have no time for the Russians but its their sphere of influence and there is nothing we can do to alter this.

It is high time the British government acted in the nations interest not in other nations interests and there is notghing of benefit in Ukraine for Britain.

 

[Blueband Brother]

Yeah that's what they all think. Why live in this lap of luxury with the plebs when me and my family can live with no one in a post nuclear hell.

North Korea are the biggest (can't predict their leaders actions) nuclear nut jobs on the planet and they seem to manage to not launch nukes at everyone. Even if they do have to threaten to do this to their southern neighbours every time that they run out of money.

Are you sure? the last time I checked there is only one country that has lost the plot, like a nervous little girl with a gun and pulled the trigger on its nuclear weapons on innocent civilians. Murica,

Anyways this war thing is far fetched. I think this political back and forth and mind games will go on for a wee while until everybody gets bored and goes home for tea.

That was just the logical answer to an insane question.

Any nation with nuclear weapons is a nut job but then again, like in this current farce, possession serves as a deterrent or obstacle for military action which is a good thing. So as I said, they will explore all the diplomatic options, talk, talk, everybody goes to sleep, good night.

 

[m7mcfc]

lets hope nothing happens.

 

[dazdon]

We are not bankrupt for one!

Ukraine is not irrelevant to us or to the world at large, your another one with little understanding about what is going on here and the history of that region

When is your best guesstimate as to when the yankee doodle dandies are going to intervene?

 

[GazC]

I've been working today with Russia Today on in the background (channel 512 on Sky) and it's interesting just how different the picture is painted from Russia.

Now, before anybody tries to give me the 101 on propaganda; I'm fully aware the truth is somewhere between CNN and RT and nothing is black & white when it comes to this potential conflict, but it's quite remarkable that the following issues aren't being reported in western media:

Ukrainian troops are refusing to mobilise or are defecting,

Jail for dual citizenship - targetting ethnic Russians in Crimea and the East.

The prevelance of right-right extremists in the new Ukrainian government and their calls for terrorist attacks on Russian soil.

Calls from new government in Ukraine to reinstate nuclear arsenal

Law cancelled allowing Russian status of official second lanaguage

To me, at least, a lot of the rhetoric from Russia is as a result of the antagonism of some elements of the new government in Kiev. It's one thing to seek protection from the West from Russian aggression, it's totally another to plant a few punches on the nose of the Russian bear and then run behind NATO & the US for cover.

I've seen a number of people, both here and in comments sections of news items, refer that Russia is little more than seeking to annex the Ukraine to reap the rewards of the gas pipes that supply the EU. That's nonsense; Russia want to supply a commodity to a rival for the sake of a higher margin whilst at the same time likely to, at best, end in economic sanctions which will see the pipe turned off or at worst, war, which will see the pipes destroyed? If Russia wanted to cut Ukraine out of the supply line, surely they'd go through Belarus, which is staunchly in Russia's corner?

The only thing I can take from the events of the last couple of weeks is that Ukraine and Russia and the picture both sides of the media paints of the other are both correct to some extent. Russia, which how it gets away with still portraying itself as a democracy is a mystery to me, and it's rationale that majority language/ethnicity should allow the republic to dictate it's own rule - an attitude it conveniently ignores in Dagestan, Chechnya & Tatarstan amongst others - is laughable and then the new government in Ukraine, which the BBC and others are painting as a victory for democracy despite not being elected and having an unsavoury ultra nationalist element at it's core. The UN should undo the crimes of the Soviets, kick both Ukrainians and Russian's out of the Crimea and invite the, still significant, Crimean Tatar diaspora back to the region to run their own state.

I'm just about old enough to remember the back patting that went on after the dissolution of the USSR (bar Armenia/Azerbaijan & Kyrgyzstan) but that's biting everybody on the arse now. It's one thing having these borders when they were republics in the USSR but to use, for the most part, the same borders for independent states is madness. From the recent trouble to Georgia and now Ukraine, this is all caused because borders were used to create states from the ethnic situation in the 1920s and didn't take into account the Soviet engineered population migrations and exportations.

Something that's only been a footnote in the media so far is that China back Russia's stance. This is particularly significant considering Chinese state farms 'own' 3 million hectares of farmland in Eastern Ukraine. A convenient coincidence for Moscow, but it's something that will undoubtedly dictate NATO's response to any Russian course of action.

The only out I can see now is allowing Crimea & the South & East of the country to have a referendum to decide it's future political entity. If not, it'll likely be a shooting war and it's a matter of who's involved.

 

[scotty123]

Ukranian soldiers have marched down a road with flags to a Ukranian army base near Belbek Sevastopol, the Russians fired warning shots at them
It looked nasty

 

[scall11]

Ukranian soldiers have marched down a road with flags to a Ukranian army base near Belbek Sevastopol, the Russians fired warning shots at them
It looked nasty

It wasn't that bad! A few shots in the sir, then they marched closer and both sides calmed down.