Ukraine

[french frank]

Just been watching one of my old VHS tapes: "Five Steps to Tyranny" - a BBC documentary looking at how blind obedience can take root in individuals and whole communities, leading to dictatorships and ordinary people prepared to do terrible things to other ordinary people. Very instructive.

I'd never seen that. Watched the first 33 minutes and will come back to it as that was enough to take in for one sitting on a Sunday morning. It made me reassess my own reactions and instincts …

[richardfinegold]

What increasingly worries me is that I'm not convinced that Putin has much in the way of strategy/plan/ambition now. I get the feeling his original idea hasn't worked out as he intended or expected and he is just lashing out in all directions - partly because he can and possibly also from some sort of dog in manger attitude - if Russia/Putin can't have Ukraine then he'll destroy it physically so that neither can anyone else. Is he even fully rational currently?

The financial cost of the War has been estimated to cost Russia anywhere from $500 Million to $5 billion per day. How much longer can he keep this up?

[eighthobstruction]

The financial cost of the War has been estimated to cost Russia anywhere from $500 Million to $5 billion per day. How much longer can he keep this up?

....in the financial sense -quite a long time - Russian soldiers paid a pittance- ammunition/shells,/rockets manufactured and stockpiled -vehicles ready - fuel easily sourced [if not slow to get distributed to front] etc etc....Sanctions slow to act in most cases , no matter what headlines say. Since Putin cares more about territorial heritage than bread in Russian w/c bellies, and has his fingers on their throats, not much to worry about....I think his worries [if he has any] are more long term. I completely agree with ooo. Putin himself is said to have $300 billion stashed away.
Putin has [though it is not completely resolved] almost if not completely created a coastal corridor linking Crimea with Donbass region which makes it directly linked to Russia itself..........I unfortunately see this going on for another month at least....Russia creeping forward - with 'successes [like the strike near to Poland today] surprises every few days....horrific basic genocides ever few day....mind boggling atrocites ever few days. Fantastic Ukr courage every day.

....I think with the size of Ukraine border - aircraft/drone/ long range missiles infiltration is actually quite easy for Russia to take out targets other than Kyiv and larger cities which is where one would think most of their GTA defences are grouped. Once they are homed in on Ukr supply lines 'stuff' getting through could dry up.

....That is depending on the Russian hierarchy doing something about Putin....


'

[ChandlersFord]

The financial cost of the War has been estimated to cost Russia anywhere from $500 Million to $5 billion per day. How much longer can he keep this up?

For me, this recalls the comment Putin made on the pointlessness of imposing sanctions on North Korea - since North Korea’s government is indifferent to the suffering of its people.

I’d imagine Putin is only slightly less indifferent to the suffering of his people. And reducing Ukraine to rubble will make a point to the rest of the world.

[Bryn]

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/13/putin-tied-boris-johnson-up-in-his-own-trousers?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16472116927211&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2022%2Fmar%2F13%2Fputin-tied-boris-johnson-up-in-his-own-trousers

[Bryn]

[Serial_Apologist]

[RichardB]

What would Priti Patel have to do in order for the clown to sack her?????

[teamsaint]

What would Priti Patel have to do in order for the clown to sack her?????

a bit of a fumble with a junior colleague in the corridor during lockdown?

[Serial_Apologist]

a bit of a fumble with a junior colleague in the corridor during lockdown?

Nah - the junior colleague would be the one sacked.

[eighthobstruction]

....I'd like to start a petition with the aim of stopping Oligarchs eating British hard cheeses....a pleasure we know to be inclined to moreishness to the extent of coveting....

[Serial_Apologist]

....I'd like to start a petition with the aim of stopping Oligarchs eating British hard cheeses....a pleasure we know to be inclined to moreishness to the extent of coveting....

... And towards even more constipatedness.

[oddoneout]

What would Priti Patel have to do in order for the clown to sack her?????

I think the answer to that is there isn't anything, not least because her boss gets away with everything as well, so naturally she follows his example. As with Sir Gavin the Grate it does make one wonder what they have on the PM that they are protected to such an extent.
I'm not sure even death would result in action - the DWP doesn't seem to suffer repercussions on that front - at least not from an in-house direction, but possibly if international opinion became impossible to ignore.

[Bryn]

It takes a lot to make me link to the Slipped Disc site but:

https://slippedisc.com/2022/03/renow...-be-shut-down/

I don't think I have any of his recordings but will check and burn any I find.

[gradus]

Does anyone know of a list of Russian musicians who have spoken in support of the war against Ukraine, or conversely, those who have spoken out against it?