Maquisard manqué

I’m with you on this. If you’re not in the trenches, I don’t think you have the same right to shed basic respect for humanity. When you’re half way round the world looking at this through twitter scopes, not personally implicated in this, I feel we actually have a responsibility not to drop decent values. That does presuppose the existence or possession of said values, which isn’t evident or granted of course.

The DPRK artillery stock is also a good one to start running down, it you think about the risk it poses to Seoul… I wish for a way to do the same that didn’t require firing the ordinance at Ukrainians.

Haha, thanks for this! Laughing into my coffee…

I agree with the sentiment but It’s surely for internal and NATO consumption rather than Russian troops’.

That’s very true and speaks to the challenge of a game - which needs to have balance and challenge. In RL, a close run thing would be something to avoid! You’d stack the deck in your favour in any way possible and ruthlessly exploit your advantage.

Good point. Russians can do logistics properly, it’s just whether the incentives are there for them to do so.

The 3rd video shows the aftermath and the car occupants getting out - or trying to. They are all in camouflage fatigues and boots as far as I can tell. Possibly some unseen and left in the car though.

What do you mean? It’s perfect parade-ground parallel parking.

Apologies if this has already been posted. More barbaric terror for The Hague to consider. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61249158

Sir, I raise you Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace.

Erm, subtle as in leaving obvious breadcrumbs leading back to Moscow? Like with Litvinenko, Salisbury etc etc?

Not that I can pretend to see sense in anything the Russian govt are doing but why seize territory that, in the taking, you turn into a depopulated wasteland? With their recon by BTG and attack by indiscriminate arty approach, the best they can now do is create a desolation and call it peace/victory. Guess they wouldn’t be the first though. That quote is quite long in the tooth…

Hehe, that’s one way to say a lot without saying anything! Out of likes…

Sorry, is that an American talking about people taking sides in Africa and maybe cosying up to warlords? Heavens! I suppose you’re right. No American administration would stoop to that! Have you heard of the Cold War? Edit: and yet the point about Putin playing the angle each time he can is true, and stooping as low as he can in terms of cruelty. He remains however small and not anything like the Soviets in terms of actual reach or ability. You do him too much credit…

@kraze This. You’re right that were Russia a functioning democracy acting in the interests of its population, then a lot would be better in the world, not least everything mattering in Ukraine right now. But Russia is nowhere near important or powerful enough to be the cause of the hugely varied local and global forces driving international migration.

I’m not sure I follow. Are you saying that if EU counties stopped buying Russian fuels then there would be no issue with world food prices? Or that it would clear up quicker because the war would be over sooner? If so, that’s a bit of a stretch, to put it mildly. Neither Ukrainian exports nor Russian will recover quickly from this. Russia’s (larger) exports are also likely to remain embargoed - until Putin goes too. So there’s no way the rest of the world/consumers of Russian wheat, fuel & materials is aligned with Ukraine’s plight. They will want to buy from Russia again/already asap and are angry with the US & friends for making their lives harder. Sure, the same countries don’t think much of Russia for its wanton and egregious aggression, but they are as self interested as the rest. Only the US and EU pretend to be anything other than self interested.

I don’t like the tone (or dismissiveness over implications for the global south) but at the same time, I can see why he’s pissed: DE and FR are dragging their heels in support to Ukraine compared to others. The EU and NATO looks like a cosy and exclusive club: good to be in but not overly trustworthy if you’re not in. Migration is another thread (potentially) but it’s not another sphere in which the EU, or any rich country, has covered itself in glory. The irony is that at the moment, the US, UK and EU look selfishly focussed on their back yard and only interested in Ukraine. Everyone else in the G20 or UN general assembly now looks on the massive efforts being made in Ukraine as selfishness: as unsatisfactory as it might be to Ukraine, it’s more than has been done for any other crisis.

Re the very low number of Moskva sailors pulled out of the drink, would it have had its full complement after the damage and while under tow (if it was)? I Guess “full complement” is also unlikely on any given day for the Russian military, given what we’ve seen in the thread already. I just can’t think you’d keep the whole crew on if there was a significant chance of it sinking. Damage Control and extra teams on the same duty, yes, but otherwise I’d assume you’d get as many others off the ship as possible. But then, I’m a land lubber - and someone who gives more than a fig for human life. The latter not being something one could rationally accuse the Russian high command of.

Interesting approach to trolling the thread. Demanding work on the game like a spoilt brat…

Re US arms shipments, it’s good to see heavy stuff making the bill of materials but the reaper drones thing seems very far fetched. If anything needs extensive training and infrastructure it’s aircraft, even drones. I guess the only way it works in the short term is US pilots flying from the base in Nebraska (or wherever). Otherwise this sounds like speculation by the companies themselves: sure, we can provide expensive weapon systems… at US tax payer cost.

But that’s a minimum requirement for any decent conspiracy theory. Can’t be quickly proven wrong, even if it makes no sense at all, so it wriggles in to the mind through pre-existing doubts, preconceptions and biases.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61083402 Sadly this is partly why Boris is making such an effort is I engage with Ukraine over the war. Without it (and the browny points he accrues from it) he would be out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61071243 Pretty harrowing. I know it’s not new allegations but for the BBC to put it up i take it as verified and credible.

Come on guys, it’s a special military operation, not a war! Let alone ww3…

Good comic and a good rejoinder. I’m feeling uncomfortable! Just to be clear, I said the above about the fellowship conscious that the Rohirim and Gondorians did almost all the fighting!