War!

zagubov

wotsthat wrote: »

America isn't prepared for an energy war - driving a 4 litre car is still seen, bizarrely, as being part of the American way of life. They're p**ssing away their best weapon at a rate of knots.

At the US equivalent of center parcs, people keep their cars by their cabins (and drive everywhere instead of cycling) and leave the engines running overnight. Madness. :eek:

globalds

vivatifosi wrote: »

I just went back and followed it too. The strange thing was the advert before it. It was for dance music where a gun was fired in time to the beat of it. It was strangely rhythmic and good, yet totally repugnant all at the same time.

You don't use adblock ??

vivatifosi

globalds wrote: »

You don't use adblock ??

I used to, but have had browser compatibility issues with it. I do have an ad blocker, but it doesn't block the vids in front of the vids that you call up on YouTube.

mayonnaise

dryhat wrote: »

The uprising in Ukraine was sponsored and supported by America to destabilise the country and provide the final piece of the NATO jigsaw along Russian borders. The people now in power are neo-nazi thugs fully supported by the west.

The hypocrisy of the west talking about freedom and self-determination only when it suits is astonishing.

No wonder the people of Crimea voted to disassociate themselves from them and to join what they consider their country.

There was this anchorwoman resigning live from Russia Today the other day, because she couldn't stomach regurgitating any more pro-Russian propaganda.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/russia-today-anchor-liz-wahl-resigns-on-air-ukraine

Dryhat still swallows it, hook line and sinker. :rotfl:

Jim_B_3

Last week, I was chatting to some people I was working with from a number of ex Soviet states; Estonia, Poland, Lithuania.

To us, hearing a politician talk seriously about "fascists" and "neo-nazis" is laughable; these are terms from previous eras and most people would struggle to describe them in terms other than cartoonish caricatures. In Russia, I was told, these terms are much more meaningful and it's a large part of Russian cultural ethos that they won the war against the fascists and neo-nazis and must be vigilant against their return (just what kind of government they have at the moment, and where it's all going, seems to be another issue).

Needless to say, the Poles and Estonians and Lithuanians I was working with are somewhat twitchy about Russia's new foreign policy.

vivatifosi

Not surprised Jim B. When I visited Estonia (haven't been to the other Baltics), I was surprised a) how many people spoke Russian still and b) how widely Nazi and Communist memorabilia is available on market stalls. I'm sure that there's an argument that it is there to sell to tourists, but it was still unsettling.

On a different matter, TV news reporting that Russian military currently conducting exercises on the eastern boundary of Ukraine.

MFW_ASAP

Jim_B wrote: »

They had their nationality and citizenship changed in such a short time that someone who was away for a fortnight could find they left their house in Ukraine and came back to their house in Russia. The fact that many of the people in Crimea wanted it is irrelevant; laws and constitutions exist to ensure that everyone in society is protected, especially from the tyranny of the majority. Breaking the law because it's popular to do so doesn't make it right.

Which is exactly what happened in 1954 when Khrushchev decided to give away the Crimea after it being part of Russia since 1783. No one had any say in that transfer to Ukraine, but at least a large proportion of the Crimea had a say in it returning to Russia.

This will probably be mirrored in Scotland if they decide to break away from us. In 60 years hence, they will vote to come back because their economy is in ruins and their pensions are non-existent.

Jim_B_3

MFW_ASAP wrote: »

Which is exactly what happened in 1954 when Khrushchev decided to give away the Crimea after it being part of Russia since 1783. No one had any say in that transfer to Ukraine, but at least a large proportion of the Crimea had a say in it returning to Russia.

At the time, transferring Crimea to Ukraine made no difference as the whole lot was part of the Soviet empire. Ukraine and Russia were separate countries in name but not fact. Now, they are very separate countries and it makes a big difference.

zagubov

Jim_B wrote: »

At the time, transferring Crimea to Ukraine made no difference as the whole lot was part of the Soviet empire. Ukraine and Russia were separate countries in name but not fact. Now, they are very separate countries and it makes a big difference.

There was a pretence that the Ukraine was nominally "independent" then (it had its own seat at the UN) but you're right, it was very much integrated into the Soviet Union.

MFW_ASAP

Looks like the idea of transferring to other countries is catching:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-26716281



"Some residents in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk have launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign to join the UK, because the city was founded by an industrialist from Wales, it appears."