Having witnessed the result of Saddam's use of chemical weapons on his own people, I find it difficult to justify why he should have continued to live.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
I was reading that to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine would start world War Three but I'm wondering if it's started already anyway.
If Putin has any fear of engaging NATO, that is what is holding back invasion of the Baltics. If we choose to engage Russia by putting an NFZ we remove that.
We need to be prepared, but as bad as invading Ukraine is it’s not as bad as invading a NATO country.
Just wanted to remind people to be wary of charity messages and making donations.
Criminals have been trying to take advantage of the crisis since it started so as always don’t respond to emails you weren’t expecting, open files or click on links.
Id advise to use only well known charities that you reach out to, not the other way around. And use mechanisms you are familiar with to show your support.
Just heard on the BBC that Russia is stopping shelling around one of the cities to allow civilians out. How on earth does that ever fit with Putin's narrative in the minds of the Russian people?
This is a real worry.
In Syria, Russia agreed to civilian evacuation corridors and then, after the ceasefire ended, pulverised entire cities on the basis that anyone left behind *must* be a combatant given the opportunity for civilians to escape.
Having witnessed the result of Saddam's use of chemical weapons on his own people, I find it difficult to justify why he should have continued to live.
It does make me wonder if we should have acted bolder and decisively against such people. Take Syria for example. All 'birds of a feather'!
But who acts as the police? Who decides which leaders are good and which are bad? Where do you draw the lines? Couldn't this then been seen as 'anyone not agreeing with western philosophy' is wrong and should be deposed?
I can't see an easy solution - it seems to be up to the population of each country to decide its own fate - but I struggle with how that's possible in light of violence, military might and control of media. I haven't a clue what i would be believing now had I been born and lived my life in Russia.
You mentioned the line yourself @steveTu - those dictators who would mass poison their subjects. Understand what you meant, but sometimes basic human rights must be the line and not geopolitics.
But you then have to have belief in your own people eh? I trust what I see and read to a degree - because I think I'm free and have access to different views. But you have heard the official Russian line here. If you were in Russia what would you believe now? Who is the bad guy - so in the minds of the Russians who believe that their leaders are are right, don't you think they feel justified in their country's actions? They are doing as you suggest and ridding Ukraine of an oppressive regime. Scary eh? The mirror image of what is occurring.
We see this and ignore it at our peril. Trump nearly stole an election by claiming an election was stolen from him. People still believe he was/is right. That man should be banned from US politics. Putin lies - where's the difference between Putin and Trump?
This is the thing that's frustrated me about the apathy to Johnson's propensity to lie. He lies about parties, he lies about investments, he lies about Brexit, he lies about jobs yet 35% of the country still trust him. There can be no doubt that, were we in Russia's position, he'd be the one laughably telling the world that we'd only lost 500 troops when videos and photos circulating show comfortably more dead bodies than that. Yet all those same people who still trust *our* liar think the Russian people must be stupid. Nonsensical, hypocritical and, frankly, racist.
I won't hijack the thread but you make a very, very valid point. Our 'leader' hides in fridges, Putin hides in the Urals. The Ukrainian MPs, to a man and woman I believe, all refused passage out and stayed to protect their country. Of the 650 MPs here, how many do you think would stay to fight?
It's so much more difficult for Russians to access contrary information in Russia. It's a doddle here. In 5 minutes, I can access BBC, Telegraph, Guardian, Fox, Al Jazeera and RT's takes on any given issue (and millions more opinions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram etc) yet the majority of this country picks up The Sun (proven, time and time again to lie) or The Telegraph (with hugely compromised integrity on account of its ownership) and swear blind by anything they read. Yet, again, it's those "stupid Russians, how did they let it get to this?". Post-Brexit, that's what the world's news already says about us...
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When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
We need to be prepared, but as bad as invading Ukraine is it’s not as bad as invading a NATO country.
Id advise to use only well known charities that you reach out to, not the other way around. And use mechanisms you are familiar with to show your support.
In Syria, Russia agreed to civilian evacuation corridors and then, after the ceasefire ended, pulverised entire cities on the basis that anyone left behind *must* be a combatant given the opportunity for civilians to escape.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/14/asma-al-assad-syria-risks-british-citizenship-loss-possible-terror-charges
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
I won't hijack the thread but you make a very, very valid point. Our 'leader' hides in fridges, Putin hides in the Urals. The Ukrainian MPs, to a man and woman I believe, all refused passage out and stayed to protect their country. Of the 650 MPs here, how many do you think would stay to fight?
It's so much more difficult for Russians to access contrary information in Russia. It's a doddle here. In 5 minutes, I can access BBC, Telegraph, Guardian, Fox, Al Jazeera and RT's takes on any given issue (and millions more opinions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram etc) yet the majority of this country picks up The Sun (proven, time and time again to lie) or The Telegraph (with hugely compromised integrity on account of its ownership) and swear blind by anything they read. Yet, again, it's those "stupid Russians, how did they let it get to this?". Post-Brexit, that's what the world's news already says about us...