Not for me, I will sell my property and start consuming in a big way until a bomb lands on me.
Ukraine War
- Thread starter robertbanking
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When your my age, you should already be well along that path IMO.
Mohammed Hazabig'un
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Russia should have air superiority and just bomb the Ukrainian war infrastructure into oblivion shouldn't they? Why haven't they done that? Concerned about intervention from NATO etc?
Doesn't add up to me.
Are there any hookers and cocaine involved?
I have no clue what Putin is trying to achieve but I fully believe who will use nukes of pushed.
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No, will you miss them?
Yes.
Dona Ferentes
A little bit OC⚡DC
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Not only the West, plus the Rest. Food insecurity and galloping prices for everything will , and is, causing instability across the world. I don't think many will get in their boats and sail across the Black Sea or White Sea for that matter.
Dona Ferentes
A little bit OC⚡DC
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War is terrible. Sometimes art surmounts it
www.abc.net.au
[Now held by the Russians,] Mr Kozatsky's last messages on Twitter were posted on Friday morning.
"Send them to all journalistic awards and photo contests," he said.
Ukrainian soldier's photos capture life inside besieged Azovstal steel plant
Photographer and Ukranian soldier Dmytro Kozatsky was inside the Azovstal steel plant during the intense battle for Mariupol. These are the pictures he took before being captured by Russian forces.
www.abc.net.au
[Now held by the Russians,] Mr Kozatsky's last messages on Twitter were posted on Friday morning.
He posted a link to his photos, for downloading "while I am in captivity".
"Send them to all journalistic awards and photo contests," he said.
You can blame sanctions for that and not Putin. Sri Lanka and a list of about 100 hundred more countries are at high risk. Ask if they would prefer sanctions or food.
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IMO the biggest problem for Putin will be public support, the general public will be starting to ask, what is the end game. 
This could also start a new world order without the US/Euro/West and the US dollar at the centre. The centre of the new world would be a China, Middle East, Russia, India type of deal. Their manufacturing (and fertility) would surge fuelled by fossil fuels and nuclear power while we continue to stay under replacement level fertility and go broke funding foreign wars, transitioning to renewables and asking dumb questions like "can men have babies" and "what is a women".
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That's Russia's and China's plan.
Greed and decadence is bringing about the demise of the West, telling everyone else how to live, while we sip wine in our air conditioned overpriced houses, while driving our polluting cars because E.V's are too expensive and tell the third world we aren't going to sell coal to you because it pollutes. FFS
We must be the biggest wanker$ in the world. ?
Monkeypox will sort a lot out, I wonder if there will be a new pandemic every year?
Ours will not be the first dominant culture to come and go. History from an investor's perspective:
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Yep I think you are spot on, this is the beginning of the rise of the third world.
But that has to be expected, when people expect more than what they put in, it is the beginning of the end.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
I'm going to pay for the grandkids to learn Mandarin.
It will be interesting to see how we all line up, when we go for invasion compensation, from the Chinese.
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One of the most principled and courageous actions we have seen for a long time. A Russian diplomat resigns over the conduct of the Ukraine war and tells it like it is. I think his full statement deserves recognition.
Hope his family and friends have some cover.
Andrew Roth, Moscow correspondent
Mon 23 May 2022 17.16 BSTLast modified on Mon 23 May 2022 23.02 BS
A veteran Russian diplomat in Geneva has resigned over his country’s invasion of Ukraine in a rare political protest from within the Russian foreign policy establishment.
Boris Bondarev, a counsellor at the Russian permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva, wrote in a public statement: “Never have I been so ashamed of my country.”
Read more
“Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not about diplomacy,” wrote the diplomat, a 20-year veteran of the Russian foreign ministry. “It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred. It serves interests of few, the very few people thus contributing to further isolation and degradation of my country. Russia no longer has allies, and there is no one to blame but its reckless and ill-conceived policy.”
Boris Bondarev said his decision to resign was ‘very simple’. Photograph: Handout/AP
Bondarev is the highest-level diplomat yet to resign publicly from the Russian foreign ministry over the war, which began in February. In a telephone interview with the Guardian, Bondarev confirmed that he had written the statement and submitted his letter of resignation on Monday.
“The decision was very simple,” said Bondarev. “When you see that your country is doing the worst things and being a civil servant you’re somehow related to that, it’s your decision just to terminate your connection with the government. We all must be responsible. And I don’t want to have any responsibility for what I don’t approve of.”
Bondarev published the statement on his Facebook and LinkedIn accounts and also sent copies to diplomats and media outlets. He said he had walked into work on Monday, submitted his resignation, and walked out.
“The decision was made on February 24. But it took some time to gather some resolve to make it,” he said.
Hillel Neuer, the executive director of the Geneva-based human rights organisation UN Watch, called Bondarev a “hero”.
“We are now calling on all other Russian diplomats at the United Nations – and worldwide – to follow his moral example and resign,” he said.
Neuer also called for Bondarev to be allowed to speak at this week’s Davos forum, a gathering of the world’s political and business elite at a mountain resort in Switzerland.
Bondarev’s statement was also confirmed by the Russian media outlet Kommersant, which said that it “also knows the names of several other diplomats who resigned from the Russian foreign ministry after the start of the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, but almost none of them have made public statements about this”.
Bondarev, a counsellor on arms control at the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva, said that other Russian diplomats have similar feelings about the war but are unlikely to speak out.
“There are people who think the way that I think and see the situation for what it is,” he said. “But I don’t know whether some of them will follow my example. I don’t think that there will be many.”
He said he had not had any response yet from the foreign ministry after delivering his letter of resignation on Monday.
“I don’t know what the [Russian] reaction will be,” he said. “I don’t know what I am going to do either. No plans.”
Asked whether he had asked for asylum outside Russia, he said: “I think that if someone offers to help in this difficult situation, I think it would be very gratefully accepted.”
As to returning to Russia, he said that “would not be a very good idea right now”.
In his public statement, Bondarev took aim at top officials such as Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov, calling the Russian foreign minister “a good illustration of the degradation of the system”.
“The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine, and in fact against the entire western world, is not only a crime against the Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society in our country,” he wrote.
Read more
“Those who conceived this war want only one thing – to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity,” he said. “To achieve that they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes. Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have already died just for this.”
Bondarev is a career diplomat who has worked for the foreign ministry since 2002. He has served as an adviser on nuclear non-proliferation for nearly a decade, first in Moscow and then at Russia’s permanent mission to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva.
During that time, he said, he had stayed on as a diplomat even as relations deteriorated with the west because he felt there was “some room for diplomacy, some room to go back to normal somehow”.
“But now after February 24, we just jumped into an abyss and there can be no going back to normal, no going back to anywhere,” he continued. “Today of course we can see that there can be no negotiations, it’s just all-out war.”
www.theguardian.com
Hope his family and friends have some cover.
Warmongering, lies and hatred’: Russian diplomat in Geneva resigns over Ukraine invasion
Boris Bondarev issues public statement saying: ‘Never have I been so ashamed of my country’Andrew Roth, Moscow correspondent
Mon 23 May 2022 17.16 BSTLast modified on Mon 23 May 2022 23.02 BS
A veteran Russian diplomat in Geneva has resigned over his country’s invasion of Ukraine in a rare political protest from within the Russian foreign policy establishment.
Boris Bondarev, a counsellor at the Russian permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva, wrote in a public statement: “Never have I been so ashamed of my country.”
Read more
“Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not about diplomacy,” wrote the diplomat, a 20-year veteran of the Russian foreign ministry. “It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred. It serves interests of few, the very few people thus contributing to further isolation and degradation of my country. Russia no longer has allies, and there is no one to blame but its reckless and ill-conceived policy.”
Boris Bondarev said his decision to resign was ‘very simple’. Photograph: Handout/AP
Bondarev is the highest-level diplomat yet to resign publicly from the Russian foreign ministry over the war, which began in February. In a telephone interview with the Guardian, Bondarev confirmed that he had written the statement and submitted his letter of resignation on Monday.
“The decision was very simple,” said Bondarev. “When you see that your country is doing the worst things and being a civil servant you’re somehow related to that, it’s your decision just to terminate your connection with the government. We all must be responsible. And I don’t want to have any responsibility for what I don’t approve of.”
Bondarev published the statement on his Facebook and LinkedIn accounts and also sent copies to diplomats and media outlets. He said he had walked into work on Monday, submitted his resignation, and walked out.
“The decision was made on February 24. But it took some time to gather some resolve to make it,” he said.
Hillel Neuer, the executive director of the Geneva-based human rights organisation UN Watch, called Bondarev a “hero”.
“We are now calling on all other Russian diplomats at the United Nations – and worldwide – to follow his moral example and resign,” he said.
Neuer also called for Bondarev to be allowed to speak at this week’s Davos forum, a gathering of the world’s political and business elite at a mountain resort in Switzerland.
Bondarev’s statement was also confirmed by the Russian media outlet Kommersant, which said that it “also knows the names of several other diplomats who resigned from the Russian foreign ministry after the start of the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, but almost none of them have made public statements about this”.
Bondarev, a counsellor on arms control at the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva, said that other Russian diplomats have similar feelings about the war but are unlikely to speak out.
“There are people who think the way that I think and see the situation for what it is,” he said. “But I don’t know whether some of them will follow my example. I don’t think that there will be many.”
He said he had not had any response yet from the foreign ministry after delivering his letter of resignation on Monday.
“I don’t know what the [Russian] reaction will be,” he said. “I don’t know what I am going to do either. No plans.”
Asked whether he had asked for asylum outside Russia, he said: “I think that if someone offers to help in this difficult situation, I think it would be very gratefully accepted.”
As to returning to Russia, he said that “would not be a very good idea right now”.
In his public statement, Bondarev took aim at top officials such as Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov, calling the Russian foreign minister “a good illustration of the degradation of the system”.
“The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine, and in fact against the entire western world, is not only a crime against the Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society in our country,” he wrote.
Read more
“Those who conceived this war want only one thing – to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity,” he said. “To achieve that they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes. Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have already died just for this.”
Bondarev is a career diplomat who has worked for the foreign ministry since 2002. He has served as an adviser on nuclear non-proliferation for nearly a decade, first in Moscow and then at Russia’s permanent mission to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva.
During that time, he said, he had stayed on as a diplomat even as relations deteriorated with the west because he felt there was “some room for diplomacy, some room to go back to normal somehow”.
“But now after February 24, we just jumped into an abyss and there can be no going back to normal, no going back to anywhere,” he continued. “Today of course we can see that there can be no negotiations, it’s just all-out war.”
‘Warmongering, lies and hatred’: Russian diplomat in Geneva resigns over Ukraine invasion
Boris Bondarev issues public statement saying: ‘Never have I been so ashamed of my country’
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Good story on Putin and how he achieved power.
www.abc.net.au
Tyrant, war criminal, megalomaniac: Vladimir Putin has many names in the West. In Russia, there's only one that matters
Three months into his war, Vladimir Putin has learned the best way to protect power is to hang onto to it — at any price.
www.abc.net.au
Craton
Mostly passive, contrarian.
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One thing that has puzzled me is the silence from Georgia. I mean, they've had a couple of occupied territories under Russian control since 2008 so one would think they'd be sympathetic and on the same page.
A little history first. Russia went into Georgia then Ukraine after NATO's Bucharest Summit April 2008 where:
Along with their 30 year independence the two countries have more than that in common.
Both have a large majority that are pro-EU and pro-NATO so one would think that Georgia would be in support of Ukraine as much as possible.
Maybe Georgia feels it is too small to have any impact and doesn't want to be shelled into oblivion. However the Georgian government, the Georgian Dream, seems to have taken a few leaves out of Putin's rule book to further it's own agenda.
So what really gives?
Here's a look-see into what I feel should be taken as a matter of urgency.
A little history first. Russia went into Georgia then Ukraine after NATO's Bucharest Summit April 2008 where:
Along with their 30 year independence the two countries have more than that in common.
Both have a large majority that are pro-EU and pro-NATO so one would think that Georgia would be in support of Ukraine as much as possible.
Maybe Georgia feels it is too small to have any impact and doesn't want to be shelled into oblivion. However the Georgian government, the Georgian Dream, seems to have taken a few leaves out of Putin's rule book to further it's own agenda.
So what really gives?
Here's a look-see into what I feel should be taken as a matter of urgency.
Putin Is Failing in Ukraine, But Winning in Georgia
From The Bulwark article and reads in part:
Dona Ferentes
A little bit OC⚡DC
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When Russia invaded, the west hung out Ukraine to dry.
Over 3 months later and with zero military intervention they are now ensuring that Ukraine does not have the means to attack Russia.
Better yet, any arms supplied are conditional on Ukraine not using them across the Russian border.
So while Russia has open skies over Ukraine, and rains down on civilians and civilian infrastructure, Ukraine is fighting with an arm tied behind its back.
Without Zelenskyy at the helm, and proving himself more capable than every western leader combined, it's very likely that Ukraine would have capitulated to the Russians months ago. His ability to rally Ukrainians and convince them that this is a fight they must win, is now being thwarted by the international toadies that have paid him lip service and now are angling for a negotiated settlement. I hope Zelenskyy tells the west where they can stick their negotiated outcome ideas, and that the limited armaments being supplied will be enough for its troops to work miracles against Russia's superior military strength.
The other festering wound that the west won't heal relates to ensuring Ukraine's many agricultural products can be exported. The calorific value of those exports is estimated to feed 400 to 500 million people, and much of this goes to poorer nations around the world. Another thread picks up the issue of food security, and the bottom line here is we really don't care. It's not at all hard to demine the seas to Odessa's port and get convoy support for commercial vessels to transport grain crops etc out. But just as the west won't help Ukraine with ground forces or sophisticated armaments, it won't do anything to resolve this food security issue.
History will look back at how pathetic we have been. They will draw easy comparisons with how everyone knew what Germany was up to prior to the outbreak of WWII, and just let it happen. It goes to show how cowardly we act. No problem with a "war on terror" that has no boundaries and is ok because the good guys are doing the right thing. But as soon as the "enemy" has teeth, we hide behind the victim and hope our words, plus a few toys, are enough.
There was a YouTube upload I watched a few days back (wish I could find it again) featuring some frontline troops in the Donbas region who were pleading for modern weaponry to fight back the Russians. I found this instead, as it sums up how Ukrainians feel about the idea of a negotiated settlement:
Over 3 months later and with zero military intervention they are now ensuring that Ukraine does not have the means to attack Russia.
Better yet, any arms supplied are conditional on Ukraine not using them across the Russian border.
So while Russia has open skies over Ukraine, and rains down on civilians and civilian infrastructure, Ukraine is fighting with an arm tied behind its back.
Without Zelenskyy at the helm, and proving himself more capable than every western leader combined, it's very likely that Ukraine would have capitulated to the Russians months ago. His ability to rally Ukrainians and convince them that this is a fight they must win, is now being thwarted by the international toadies that have paid him lip service and now are angling for a negotiated settlement. I hope Zelenskyy tells the west where they can stick their negotiated outcome ideas, and that the limited armaments being supplied will be enough for its troops to work miracles against Russia's superior military strength.
The other festering wound that the west won't heal relates to ensuring Ukraine's many agricultural products can be exported. The calorific value of those exports is estimated to feed 400 to 500 million people, and much of this goes to poorer nations around the world. Another thread picks up the issue of food security, and the bottom line here is we really don't care. It's not at all hard to demine the seas to Odessa's port and get convoy support for commercial vessels to transport grain crops etc out. But just as the west won't help Ukraine with ground forces or sophisticated armaments, it won't do anything to resolve this food security issue.
History will look back at how pathetic we have been. They will draw easy comparisons with how everyone knew what Germany was up to prior to the outbreak of WWII, and just let it happen. It goes to show how cowardly we act. No problem with a "war on terror" that has no boundaries and is ok because the good guys are doing the right thing. But as soon as the "enemy" has teeth, we hide behind the victim and hope our words, plus a few toys, are enough.
There was a YouTube upload I watched a few days back (wish I could find it again) featuring some frontline troops in the Donbas region who were pleading for modern weaponry to fight back the Russians. I found this instead, as it sums up how Ukrainians feel about the idea of a negotiated settlement:
