The point Nielsen makes is due to the increasing prominence of the Wagner group and other private Russian military groups, there is a decreasing likelihood that the conflict is going to end any time soon.
That is because, from the point of view of a private army, any outcome that ends the conflict is bad for the bottom line. So, a Russian victory is bad, as is a Ukrainian victory, or a negotiated peace outcome. From a private army perspective, the best outcome is a frozen conflict that allows them to keep fighting and keep profiting from the war.
I am sure the US American Weapons manufacturer and sellers ditto for the Europeans are all happy about this scenario. War is a racket some General once said.
The Fighting Quaker, Major General Smedley Butler, saw the L/light about war as a racket.
“I served in all commissioned ranks from second lieutenant to Major General. And during that period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism. I suspected I was just part of the racket all the time. Now I am sure of it.”
Raised by Quaker parents, who defied his upbringing to become a Marine. Fascinating story especially in his later life.
Wrote a booklet "War is a Racket" in which he said-
“In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War….How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle?….The general public shoulders the bill. And what is this bill? …Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds…For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out.”
Yes but that garbage has to be replaced, to keep the inventory up.Thats where the profits come in .Those weapons factories aren't just going to close down, …ok guys, we're winding it all down , Afghanistan's over, get another job you workers.. ,For the employment and the profits to keep rolling on, there needs to be war, to keep the merchandise moving
That stuff is being replaced anyway, or already has been given that a lot of it is generations behind the modern stuff.
On the other hand, it does have to be stored and maintained otherwise. So, it is probably cheaper to give it to the Ukrainians than keep it and maintain it.
Oh, goody. So the racketeers get to sell off the old gear for much more than as sold for scrap. They then get to make, and sell, even more efficient gear to the US military.
Wins all round…….. all for "Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds."
There are Russian oligarchs and mercenary chiefs doing just the same.
And it seems to me there is a ghastly parallel between the US getting rid of its old, to be scrapped weaponry and the Russian prison system using the Wagner group to get rid of human convict scrap……
War IS the crime .Show me the army thats never killed a civilian, conducted
itself along humanitarian lines, nor treated its soldiers as cannon fodder.
Anyone with arguments to prevent this war , anyone urging negotiation,for example recognising Russias pleas for a security architecture that would provide security for all, implementing the Minsk agreements , were shot down as being Chamberlain all over again .
And now we have tens if not 100s of thousands dead, their only shot at life cut short, cities ruined, economies on the ropes.
Was a federated Ukraine with the rebel provinces within Ukrainian borders(as well as all the industry developed during the Soviet times)and neutrality such a bitter pill that 100s of 1000s dead is considered worth it
That could be an argument for keeping the war going. Here Ukraine, have some of our old and left behind military hardware for you to use against Ivanovic and his mates. We don't really want you to win or lose, we just want to give your our old rubbish and then sell you some new stuff to just keep continuing fighting. How many billions did the US grant Ukraine in military aid, and which will the companies be that will make these billions that the US taxpayer provides? And does anyone care.
Given that Wagner is doing a great deal of the heavy lifting a Russian victory would be a boost for Prigozhin's political ambitions.Putin is not going to be around for ever
A growing rift in Moscow’s war effort was on display Friday, as Russian military officials and leaders in a private mercenary group traded barbs over who should get credit for an apparent victory in the small salt-mining town of Soledar.
Kary Love has written an interesting article about the prosecution of Putin for launching a war of aggression against Ukraine, based on the 2011 judgement by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission (KLWCC) against Blair and Bush in 2011 for the invasion of Iraq.
The law of humanity is bending the moral arc of the universe towards justice, no matter how obstructionists like Mr. Putin, and Mr. Bush, try to stop it. On second thought, perhaps these “birds of a feather” ought be “tried together?” Were it so, right could make might, and the rule of law promoted to its rightful place in a world free of war criminals.
I think these are two different situations. The attack on Iraq was clearly an "invasion", whether justified or not, whereas the "invasion" of Ukraine might be seen as a counter-attack against the attacks, Ukranian government forces, on Donetsk and Luhansk. Of course in the latter situation Russia may have its own "agenda", but I don't think that changes the argument.
TBH, I strongly doubt that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is seen as anything but an 'invasion' by the Ukrainian civilian population. Even the most biased reporters can't doubt that there has been appalling misery and brutality inflicted upon the Ukrainian population by the invading Russians.
I think the people of the beleaguered Donbas have been waiting for Russia to come to their aid for 8 years .After the Crimea referendum, and Russia's acceptance of Crimea into Russia , Luhansk and Donetsk were hopeful that Russia would accept them also.They held a referendum, overwhelmingly to be absorbed into the Russian federation, but Putin at that time denied them the request, urging them to stay within Ukrainian borders.They fought off Ukrainian assaults until , as the OSCE recorded in 2022, a massive increase in rockets and shelling from the Western Ukrainians , who'd built up their military presence markedly.
Given the widespread acknowledgement by every government (including pro-Russian ones, like Belarus) that the 'referendums' were anything but impartial (held in a climate of fear, intimidation, open violence, and (it seems almost certain) corruption) – it seems like a poor figleaf to hide behind.
I think these are two different situations. The attack on Iraq was clearly an "invasion", whether justified or not, whereas the "invasion" of Ukraine might be seen as a counter-attack against the attacks, Ukranian government forces, on Donetsk and Luhansk. Of course in the latter situation was because of Russia's own "agenda" to support rebellion within Ukraine by ethnic Russians.
PS Turkey for decades made ethnic Kurdish identity a crime, then allowed it and a political party. But any armed (representative) group was called "terrorist". It is now seeking a 30 mile occupation zone within Syria (in the North areas won off IS by Kurds and in the NE Kurdish populated) and expects NATO to agree, or it will not admit Sweden or Finland into NATO. It is negotiating with Syria and Russia independently of NATO this arrangement within Syria.
Russia's position vis a vis ethnic Russians and ethnic Kurds is what it is.
Russia supported rebels to create the breakaway in Ukraine. So citing suppression of it as cause to invade Ukraine is risible.
Russia is acting to support Syria against rebels there, as it claims the right to offer security assistance to governments who ask for it. And so does Ukraine.
Turkey is asking Russia and Syria to support it in suppressing ethnic Kurds (occupying land in Syria to settle displaced Arab Syrian refugees, including land of Kurds in NE Syria that borders with Kurdish areas in SE Turkey).
Can you imagine the reaction of Russia if Ukraine occupied the Donbass and settled the area with those who were not ethnic Russians.
The fact that Turkey has leverage over NATO – ability to deny Sweden and Finland membership is well known.
And the fact that Turkey Syria and Russia are meeting to discuss future developments in Syria (and this includes Turkey having a 30 mile incursion into Syria).
An excellent point on the unintended consequences using interest rates to combat inflation.
*Interest* on NZ mortgages now up to around $1.3 billion per month (35% higher than pre-COVID). Business loans is the bigger story though – interest cost to businesses are up nearly 90% to around $700 million per month. What is that doing to prices I wonder?!? pic.twitter.com/8wBkCkYuV6
Russia's daytime talk shows have always been incredibly varied, numerous and very popular, from absolute nutters to credible and insightful commentators, sovereignists to internationalists, those strongly critical of the govt and those strongly loyal.Their partisanship along those lines is transparent
This article shows the incredible fieriness and diversity of Russian talk shows.Note that it is August 2021, and no doubt a lot of censorship has taken place since then , in the same way that RT and Sputnik have been taken off the menu for western viewers.
It certainly shows that Putin was not the all powerful dictatorial censor of views at that time
“The real goal with comparing furries to trans people and bringing up stuff like this is, one, to make fun of furries and say, ‘Oh, aren’t they so silly. And oh, by the way, transgender identities are just as silly as this. And we should reject the request of a transgender student to use the restroom that matches their gender identity, in the same way that we should reject a student request to use a litter box.’’
Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...
To challenge the Government’s promotion of co-governance, to share power between Maori and public authorities and agencies, is to invite accusations of racism. An example: this article by Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog headed Luxon’s race baiting hypocrisy at Ratana. The article was triggered by National leader Christopher Luxon, ...
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...
Yesterday the Herald ran an op-ed from Mayor Wayne Brown titled “The case for light rail is lighter than ever” and a few things stood out. However, it’s getting more and more tricky to make a strong economic case for spending up to $29 billion on a single route of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...
In 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...
Inflation is showing little sign of slowing down, posing a problem for freshly minted PM Chris Hipkins. According to that old campaigner Richard Prebble, Hipkins should call a snap election. If he waits till October, he risks being swept away. The dilemma for the new leader is that fighting an election ...
Buzz from the Beehive A great deal has happened since January 19. Among other things, a new Prime Minister and deputy have been sworn in and our leaders (past, present and aspiring) have delivered speeches at Ratana. Newshub reported that politicians of all stripes had descended upon Rātana for the ...
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...
New Zealand has another Prime Minister who does not have a basic grasp of the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi. THOMAS CRANMER writes: It is simply astonishing that New Zealand’s next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, is unable to give even a brief explanation of the three articles ...
A statue of a semi-naked Nick Smith puts the misogyny debate into perspective. GRAHAM ADAMS writes … In the wake of Ardern’s abrupt resignation, the mainstream media are determined to convince us she was hounded from office mainly because she is a woman and had to fall on her sword ...
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An editorial in the NZ Herald last week, titled “Nimbyism goes bananas as housing intensifies“, introduced Herald readers to a couple of acronyms that go along with the now-familiar NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard): “bananas” (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) “cave” dwellers (citizens against virtually everything). The editorial ...
Back in the dark autumn of 2020, when the prospect of Covid was freaking the country out, Finance Minister Grant Robertson set himself and Treasury a series of questions about what a post-Covid economy might look like. Those were fearful days, and the questions in part reflected a series ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet another day has passed without Ministers of the Crown posting something to show they are still working for us on the Beehive website. Nothing new has been posted since January 17. Perhaps the ministers are all engaged in the bemusing annual excursion ...
Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already indicated he intends making the tax system “fairer”. That points to the route a government facing an election could take to tilt the odds towards winning in its favour, given Labour’s support in the last months of the Ardern era had been ...
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Labour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...
Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...
The first of Kiwirail’s big network shutdowns to fix the foundations on our tracks is now well underway with the Southern Line closed between Otahuhu and Newmarket. This is following on from the network wide Christmas/New Year shutdown, during which Kiwirail say that nearly 1,300 people working across 69 different ...
This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...
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Dr Bryce Edwards writes: The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...
The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central towards the ...
Following the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern last week, her replacement, Chis Hipkins, has said: Over the coming week, Cabinet will be making decisions on reining in some programs and projects that aren’t essential right now That messaging is similar to what Jacinda Ardern said late last year and as ...
Much of what will mark the early days of Chris Hipkins’ Prime Ministership would have happened anyway. By December, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister were making it clear the summer break and early days of this year were going to be spent on a reset of government policy. ...
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with an election coming up and all that. So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I'm no fan of Elon Musk. You don't want to know why, but I'll ...
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Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ...
Get ready for a major political reset once Chris Hipkins is sworn in as Prime Minister this week. Labour’s new leader is likely to push the Government to the right economically, and do his best to jettison the damaging perceptions that Labour has become “too woke” on social issues. Overall, ...
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Because our hard-working Ministers of the Crown are engaged in Labour Party caucus stuff in Napier, no doubt jockeying to ensure they keep their jobs or get a better one, Point of Order was not surprised to find no fresh news on the Beehive website this ...
By the end of 2019, Jacinda Ardern was a political superstar heading towards an election defeat. She was an icon, internationally beloved, on track to be an ex-prime minister before the age of forty. It was the year of the Christchurch terror attack when Ardern’s response to the atrocity saw ...
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. ...
Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. So, although Ardern has named an ...
I warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...
Earlier this week Point of Order carried a post by Geoffrey Miller on how Japan under a new security blueprint is doubling its defence spending. The plans see Japan buying up advanced weaponry – including long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US – and spending more on ...
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Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...
The resignation of Jacinda Ardern has already made more global headlines than you might expect for that of the PM of a small commonwealth nation like say Sierra Leone (population 6.5 million) or Singapore (population 5.5 million). But international observers might not be too surprised by Ardern’s announcement that ...
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Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation announcement today has left a lot of us with a lot of complicated feelings. In my case, while I've been highly critical of Ardern's government, I'm still sorry to see her go. We've had far too many terrible things happen during her term as Prime Minister ...
The decision by Jacinda Ardern to end her term as Prime Minister on February 7 has come as a stunning surprise. It turns the task of a centre-left government winning re-election this year from difficult to nigh on impossible. No-one else among the Labour caucus has Ardern’s ability to explain ...
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Buzz from the Beehive We drew another blank, when we checked the Beehive website this morning for ministerial announcements, pronouncements or denouncements. Nothing has been posted since January 16, when Damien O’Connor announced he was travelling to Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change ...
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The Herald this morning reports on the rich's efforts to buy this year's election. And you'll never guess who their chosen vehicle is: The National Party may start election year with a $2.3 million war chest raised from 24 big donors in 2022, while Labour has declared just $150,000 ...
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Christopher Luxon’s National Party are the odds-on favourites to win the general election this year. They have been consistently ahead of Labour in the polls in recent months, and have a firm coalition partner in Act, which is often polling about 10 per cent. Betting agencies can’t take bets on ...
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The extreme right-wing conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxer who was outed in Nicky Hagar’s “Dirty Politics”, Cameron “Whaleoil” Slater, has resurrected himself and is now promoting a campaign for his sometime-associate, Simon Lusk, to disrupt National’s candidate selection for the Tukituki electorate. ...
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The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Members of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have today written to Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Khamenei to condemn the ongoing violence and killing of women’s rights and democracy protesters, and to call on him to intervene immediately. ...
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The new prime minister enjoyed what he described as a “constructive” meeting with senior members of the business community in Auckland this morning. The hour-long, closed doors discussion was Chris Hipkins’ first engagement since being elected leader of the Labour Party and, therefore, prime minister. Speaking to media after the ...
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CPAG has long thought that Working for Families (WFF) needed to be renamed to put children at its centre, not work. In a letter to the editor today (26 January) Chris Brown of Tauranga came up with a title that accurately reflected the reality of low ...
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*This story was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission* Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks to media after meeting with business leaders in Tāmaki Makaurau this morning. Hipkins says Auckland is incredibly important to the New Zealand economy, and our gateway to the world. He says his meeting with business ...
Do people who live in regions of lower seismic activity in Aotearoa New Zealand think about and prepare well for earthquakes in their regions? A research project funded by Toka Tū Ake EQC will provide a better understanding about what influences ...
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Here is an excellent video from military analyst Anders Puck Nielsen looking at the increasing privatisation of the Russian military effort in Ukraine and the ongoing implications for the war in Ukraine.
The point Nielsen makes is due to the increasing prominence of the Wagner group and other private Russian military groups, there is a decreasing likelihood that the conflict is going to end any time soon.
That is because, from the point of view of a private army, any outcome that ends the conflict is bad for the bottom line. So, a Russian victory is bad, as is a Ukrainian victory, or a negotiated peace outcome. From a private army perspective, the best outcome is a frozen conflict that allows them to keep fighting and keep profiting from the war.
I am sure the US American Weapons manufacturer and sellers ditto for the Europeans are all happy about this scenario. War is a racket some General once said.
The Fighting Quaker, Major General Smedley Butler, saw the L/light about war as a racket.
“I served in all commissioned ranks from second lieutenant to Major General. And during that period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism. I suspected I was just part of the racket all the time. Now I am sure of it.”
https://americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/major-general-smedley-butler/
Raised by Quaker parents, who defied his upbringing to become a Marine. Fascinating story especially in his later life.
Wrote a booklet "War is a Racket" in which he said-
“In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War….How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle?….The general public shoulders the bill. And what is this bill? …Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds…For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out.”
Probably a difference in this conflict is that a lot of stuff going to Ukraine is actually old US stuff that was likely going to be scrapped anyway.
For instance, the Bradley fighting vehicles just announced, and the M777 howitzers.
So, there might not be as bigger income stream for the military industry from this conflict as it appears.
Yes but that garbage has to be replaced, to keep the inventory up.Thats where the profits come in .Those weapons factories aren't just going to close down, …ok guys, we're winding it all down , Afghanistan's over, get another job you workers.. ,For the employment and the profits to keep rolling on, there needs to be war, to keep the merchandise moving
That stuff is being replaced anyway, or already has been given that a lot of it is generations behind the modern stuff.
On the other hand, it does have to be stored and maintained otherwise. So, it is probably cheaper to give it to the Ukrainians than keep it and maintain it.
Oh, goody. So the racketeers get to sell off the old gear for much more than as sold for scrap. They then get to make, and sell, even more efficient gear to the US military.
Wins all round…….. all for "Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds."
There are Russian oligarchs and mercenary chiefs doing just the same.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60947877
And it seems to me there is a ghastly parallel between the US getting rid of its old, to be scrapped weaponry and the Russian prison system using the Wagner group to get rid of human convict scrap……
War IS the crime .Show me the army thats never killed a civilian, conducted
itself along humanitarian lines, nor treated its soldiers as cannon fodder.
Anyone with arguments to prevent this war , anyone urging negotiation,for example recognising Russias pleas for a security architecture that would provide security for all, implementing the Minsk agreements , were shot down as being Chamberlain all over again .
And now we have tens if not 100s of thousands dead, their only shot at life cut short, cities ruined, economies on the ropes.
Was a federated Ukraine with the rebel provinces within Ukrainian borders(as well as all the industry developed during the Soviet times)and neutrality such a bitter pill that 100s of 1000s dead is considered worth it
Will the outcome of this war be so much better?
By the way Mac, I agree, this use of prisoners is ugly, I think Ukraine led the way in the early stages
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-army-russia-prisoners-jail-b2024985.html
That could be an argument for keeping the war going. Here Ukraine, have some of our old and left behind military hardware for you to use against Ivanovic and his mates. We don't really want you to win or lose, we just want to give your our old rubbish and then sell you some new stuff to just keep continuing fighting. How many billions did the US grant Ukraine in military aid, and which will the companies be that will make these billions that the US taxpayer provides? And does anyone care.
Hunde, wollt Ihr ewig leben?
I dunno.
Given that Wagner is doing a great deal of the heavy lifting a Russian victory would be a boost for Prigozhin's political ambitions.Putin is not going to be around for ever
And would Putin's ego allow a private army do his dirty work for him?
So far thats exactly whats happened in Soledar
Prigozhin claims Soledar was entirely taken by Wagner
For what its worth and quite possibly not much , western intelligence services say, under anonymity(of course)
"there's a realistic possibility that Wagner personnel now make up a quarter or more of Russian combatants"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/10/head-of-wagner-group-says-his-troops-have-taken-control-of-soledar
NYTimes
Poots' progagandists riffing on whether Ukrainians fighting to defend their country should be re-educated or eliminated sounds a bit genocidy.
Kary Love has written an interesting article about the prosecution of Putin for launching a war of aggression against Ukraine, based on the 2011 judgement by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission (KLWCC) against Blair and Bush in 2011 for the invasion of Iraq.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/13/george-w-bushs-putin-problem-or-putins-bush-problem/
I think these are two different situations. The attack on Iraq was clearly an "invasion", whether justified or not, whereas the "invasion" of Ukraine might be seen as a counter-attack against the attacks, Ukranian government forces, on Donetsk and Luhansk. Of course in the latter situation Russia may have its own "agenda", but I don't think that changes the argument.
Then there's the Right to protect doctrine which the US used in Serbia
TBH, I strongly doubt that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is seen as anything but an 'invasion' by the Ukrainian civilian population. Even the most biased reporters can't doubt that there has been appalling misery and brutality inflicted upon the Ukrainian population by the invading Russians.
I think the people of the beleaguered Donbas have been waiting for Russia to come to their aid for 8 years .After the Crimea referendum, and Russia's acceptance of Crimea into Russia , Luhansk and Donetsk were hopeful that Russia would accept them also.They held a referendum, overwhelmingly to be absorbed into the Russian federation, but Putin at that time denied them the request, urging them to stay within Ukrainian borders.They fought off Ukrainian assaults until , as the OSCE recorded in 2022, a massive increase in rockets and shelling from the Western Ukrainians , who'd built up their military presence markedly.
Given the widespread acknowledgement by every government (including pro-Russian ones, like Belarus) that the 'referendums' were anything but impartial (held in a climate of fear, intimidation, open violence, and (it seems almost certain) corruption) – it seems like a poor figleaf to hide behind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Donbas_status_referendums
TBH, I strongly doubt that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is seen as anything but an 'invasion' by the Ukrainian civilian population.
Obviously. Ukranian civilians would see it that way, wouldn't they.
Equally obviously, Russian apologists would see it the other way.
Equally obviously, Russian apologists would see it the other way.
You are probably right.
I'll fix it for you
PS Turkey for decades made ethnic Kurdish identity a crime, then allowed it and a political party. But any armed (representative) group was called "terrorist". It is now seeking a 30 mile occupation zone within Syria (in the North areas won off IS by Kurds and in the NE Kurdish populated) and expects NATO to agree, or it will not admit Sweden or Finland into NATO. It is negotiating with Syria and Russia independently of NATO this arrangement within Syria.
Russia's position vis a vis ethnic Russians and ethnic Kurds is what it is.
I'll fix it for you
Bollocks. You've not "fixed" anything. Merely attempted to make my comment fit your own demented frame of mind.
Incidentally, in case you haven’t noticed, Syria is not a member of NATO, so why would it concern itself with whatever Turkey demands of NATO?
Read this again.
This being the 30 mile incursion.
As for the insult
If you have no countering argument the adjustment stands unchallenged.
and expects NATO to agree, or it will not admit Sweden or Finland in NATO
Your words.
PS: Everybody knows that the Russians are supporting the rebels. It's hardly news, and nor is it an "argument".
I suppose all of this is not obvious to you.
Russia supported rebels to create the breakaway in Ukraine. So citing suppression of it as cause to invade Ukraine is risible.
Russia is acting to support Syria against rebels there, as it claims the right to offer security assistance to governments who ask for it. And so does Ukraine.
Turkey is asking Russia and Syria to support it in suppressing ethnic Kurds (occupying land in Syria to settle displaced Arab Syrian refugees, including land of Kurds in NE Syria that borders with Kurdish areas in SE Turkey).
Can you imagine the reaction of Russia if Ukraine occupied the Donbass and settled the area with those who were not ethnic Russians.
Russia supported rebels to create the breakaway in Ukraine.
That's what I said. The separatists sought greater autonomy, and when a war started as a result, the Russians helped them out.
The fact that Turkey has leverage over NATO – ability to deny Sweden and Finland membership is well known.
And the fact that Turkey Syria and Russia are meeting to discuss future developments in Syria (and this includes Turkey having a 30 mile incursion into Syria).
The market responds, in its usual predictable way, with steep price rises. Long live the free markets aka BAU!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/482383/co2-gas-prices-skyrocket-by-600-percent-amid-shutdown
An excellent point on the unintended consequences using interest rates to combat inflation.
It's the intended consequence… makes money dissapear.
Russia's daytime talk shows have always been incredibly varied, numerous and very popular, from absolute nutters to credible and insightful commentators, sovereignists to internationalists, those strongly critical of the govt and those strongly loyal.Their partisanship along those lines is transparent
This article shows the incredible fieriness and diversity of Russian talk shows.Note that it is August 2021, and no doubt a lot of censorship has taken place since then , in the same way that RT and Sputnik have been taken off the menu for western viewers.
It certainly shows that Putin was not the all powerful dictatorial censor of views at that time
https://mondediplo.com/2021/08/07russia
Giving weight to one particular talk show participant, as if he's representative of Russians is like giving weight to the odious Hannity.
Imagine taking him seriously!!
After the Twitter revelations imagine taking any talk back host (or any social media comments!) seriously!
See: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/twitter-files-expose-how-demsmedia-defied-twitter-facts-spread-russian-bot-hoax
Yes That that was pretty eye opening!!
I'd buy the audio book if Matt Berry narrated.
Pure evil, gets a free hand.
The link mentioned in the video
https://www.gofundme.com/f/clubs-lobby-group-now-trying-to-send-me-to-jail
And some wonder why increasing numbers of women are fucked off.
Just wait till they start putting litter boxes in toilets for people who identify as CATS!
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/02/14/silly-school-litter-box-rumors-front-a-darker-agenda/
“The real goal with comparing furries to trans people and bringing up stuff like this is, one, to make fun of furries and say, ‘Oh, aren’t they so silly. And oh, by the way, transgender identities are just as silly as this. And we should reject the request of a transgender student to use the restroom that matches their gender identity, in the same way that we should reject a student request to use a litter box.’’
Well I identify as a cat! But I've taught myself to use the toilet.