Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Sergeant Wilson]

14 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

The Russians will probably pancake something tonight

Putin has thanked Clyde for diverting the world's attention while he fires of a few thermobaric salvos.

[Loonytoons]

Unless I missed something, I don't think he did.
Personally, I'm speaking about living in this country. I know other places are obviously different.

"For all the problems, I think the planet we are leaving our children is considerably better than the one our parents left my generation in the 60s."

Direct quote.
Pretty sure it was meant to mean the human world but the planet, no chance.
Personally speaking, yup far better.
I asked my auld man, who was waxing lyrical about his youth in the 50's, if life was better then. No chance was his answer.

Linking the above to the war at the moment, my boys actually asked what the likelihood of being conscripted was. That was a question I never had to ask my auld man.

[Andre Bo]

7 minutes ago, Loonytoons said:

"For all the problems, I think the planet we are leaving our children is considerably better than the one our parents left my generation in the 60s."

Direct quote.
Pretty sure it was meant to mean the human world but the planet, no chance.
Personally speaking, yup far better.
I asked my auld man, who was waxing lyrical about his youth in the 50's, if life was better then. No chance was his answer.

Linking the above to the war at the moment, my boys actually asked what the likelihood of being conscripted was. That was a question I never had to ask my auld man.

It is a very broad question but there is not much doubt Hitler set humanity back dramatically, and what Putin is doing right now has made life in the short term worse. I would be surprised if anyone could find a serious historian who would characterise human history as a matter of basic progress. That doesn't really confirm or deny anyone's thesis, instead it complicates it.

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

2 minutes ago, Andre Bo said:

It is a very broad question but there is not much doubt Hitler set humanity back dramatically, and what Putin is doing right now has made life in the short term worse. I would be surprised if anyone could find a serious historian who would characterise human history as a matter of basic progress. That doesn't really confirm or deny anyone's thesis, instead it complicates it.

Hugo Boss definitely made an impact style wise to the Reich, Putin has set back style one hundred years.

[Tony Ferrino]

Saw some vids of folk using polystyrene to make petrol bombs earlier. I have loads after getting a new washing machine. 
How can I send it? It’s bulky but won’t weigh a lot.

[SweeperDee]

Saw some vids of folk using polystyrene to make petrol bombs earlier. I have loads after getting a new washing machine. 
How can I send it? It’s bulky but won’t weigh a lot.

Enduring fact about polystyrene for me is that it’s one half of the ingredient list for Napalm, the other being petrol. Fucking wild.

[Patrick Noubissie]

I think most people would accept that there is a lot of progress to point to globally. Here and in many similar countries, I really don’t see how society is in better shape than in the few decades before it. 

That is obviously a truly tiny sample of time in the big scheme of things but people should challenge barriers to progress where they see it. It hasn’t really been said here tbf but usually the point about how good we all have it is used to dismiss some pretty legitimate bigger arguments.

4 hours ago, oaksoft said:

Same goes for finding where rental accommodation is available. That doesn't of course make finding a job and a place to live easy but it gives you a wider net to cast into.

I’d disagree with a few of your points but this is maybe the perfect example of where convenience of information but less actual opportunity doesn’t make make things better.

I’ve looked at rental property recently and the situation is genuinely fucking grim. Is your contention that listing aggregators make for a healthier marketplace that helps renters find good opportunities; or that modern technology makes it easier to move somewhere with better housing? The first is just not true on any level and the second is pretty depressing by itself.

I’d rather have to pop down to a letting agent but be able to find some okay options there than pick up my phone and have it confirmed in 30 seconds that I’m getting shagged up the arse.

Edited March 2, 2022 by Patrick Noubissie

[Arabdownunder]

True reflection of advances in human progress is that it took about a year for the coronavirus thread to become a binfire.  This looks like it'll be unreadable within a month.

[Fullerene]

4 hours ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

Aye, it's a thing of the past.

Nostalgia is not as good as it use to be.

[Theroadlesstravelled]

Clearly the Tories are absolute crooks. Anyone that voted Tory and or for Brexit is very stupid.

[HeartsOfficialMoaner]

7 hours ago, Detective Jimmy McNulty said:

This is the thing, once the decision was made to invade, the optimal outcome for minimising loss of life was a swift Russian victory/Ukrainian capitulation. Sounds terrible, but it's the reality of the situation.

Of course the resistance is brave and understandable, but if you're at the stage of emptying prisons, getting grannies to make molotov cocktails and inviting every wingnut on the planet to join your foreign legion, then maybe it's time to sit down and have a think about the best way to get out of this.

Yep, it's terrible but less terrible than the present terrible. 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

4 hours ago, Tony Ferrino said:

Saw some vids of folk using polystyrene to make petrol bombs earlier. I have loads after getting a new washing machine. 
How can I send it? It’s bulky but won’t weigh a lot.

You could try throwing it.

[Alex_14]

[Donathan]

So basically NATO is stuck between a rock and a hard place now?

 

Enforcing a NFZ would be tantamount to declaring war on Russia, likely leading to nuclear weapons being fired at western targets and hundreds of millions of us would die.

 

Not enforcing a NFZ would be tantamount to giving Putin a free pass to either annexe Ukraine or to overthrow their government and install a pro-Russian puppet, and the he just moves on to the next target (Moldova?) and before you know it we have a full blown Soviet Union again.

 

The current fudge from western powers is to arm Ukraine to better defend itself whilst choking the Russian economy with the biggest package of economic sanctions in living memory in the hope that it will ramp up internal pressure on Putin to either pull back, or resign. There’s a danger in there that if Putin thinks he’s losing this war then he might say f**k it and nuke everyone anyway.

 

I really fail to see what the way out is here. 

[Sergeant Wilson]

4 minutes ago, Donathan said:

So basically NATO is stuck between a rock and a hard place now?

 

Enforcing a NFZ would be tantamount to declaring war on Russia, likely leading to nuclear weapons being fired at western targets and hundreds of millions of us would die.

 

Not enforcing a NFZ would be tantamount to giving Putin a free pass to either annexe Ukraine or to overthrow their government and install a pro-Russian puppet, and the he just moves on to the next target (Moldova?) and before you know it we have a full blown Soviet Union again.

 

The current fudge from western powers is to arm Ukraine to better defend itself whilst choking the Russian economy with the biggest package of economic sanctions in living memory in the hope that it will ramp up internal pressure on Putin to either pull back, or resign. There’s a danger in there that if Putin thinks he’s losing this war then he might say f**k it and nuke everyone anyway.

 

I really fail to see what the way out is here. 

Well you shouldn't have taken the Head of Negotiation job.

[Billy Jean King]

Thermobaric bombs? Naw, like all bombs they're fuckin' barbaric.

This ^^^. It's akin to the phrase "war crimes", every war is a crime despite the Geneva convention. All this shite that killing folk in the name of war is all perfectly legal and above board as long as it's done by the rules is abhorrent. And all that is before we think of it from a moral standpoint. All war is by its very nature criminal.

[Granny Danger]

10 minutes ago, Donathan said:

So basically NATO is stuck between a rock and a hard place now?

 

Enforcing a NFZ would be tantamount to declaring war on Russia, likely leading to nuclear weapons being fired at western targets and hundreds of millions of us would die.

 

Not enforcing a NFZ would be tantamount to giving Putin a free pass to either annexe Ukraine or to overthrow their government and install a pro-Russian puppet, and the he just moves on to the next target (Moldova?) and before you know it we have a full blown Soviet Union again.

 

The current fudge from western powers is to arm Ukraine to better defend itself whilst choking the Russian economy with the biggest package of economic sanctions in living memory in the hope that it will ramp up internal pressure on Putin to either pull back, or resign. There’s a danger in there that if Putin thinks he’s losing this war then he might say f**k it and nuke everyone anyway.

 

I really fail to see what the way out is here. 

Putin may have the support of key personnel in Russia but I’m not sure if that would extend to a nuclear strike unless it was retaliatory.

[Fullerene]

I struggle to see how Putin can end up with anything that the rest of the world will simply accept.

Russia is now a pariah state.

I wonder if the Russians themselves will decide to get rid of Putin.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

Clearly the Tories are absolute crooks. Anyone that voted Tory and or for Brexit is very stupid.

Or invested. Let's not forget that some are actually benefiting from fucking this country (and the rest of the planet) - at least in the short term.

[williemillersmoustache]

This is a great photo from BBC News. 

And just in case things get dramatically worse and the Forth Valley WI end up smashing up ceiling tiles outside the Thistle Centre to support AR BRAIV LADZ, this is entirely the wrong technique for launching your petrol bomb. 

You must keep the neck of the bottle pointed to the sky when throwing (straight arm technique) or you will pour the contents down your back and set fire to your arse, like this brave chap is doing.

Thank you.

Edited March 2, 2022 by williemillersmoustache