Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Sky News" channel.

  1.  @bhekinkosincube2157  He can't return to Putin's Russia, but post-Putin Russia is another matter altogether.
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  2. Not just denial, but puerile lies, too.
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  3.  @classone1576  44 of those countries haven't even started fighting. If they had, they'd been in Vladivostok around June.
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  4. "I don't care what's going on in Ukraine" (read: "I don't care what's going on in the world").
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  5. I know a Swedish expat couple that adopted a dumpster baby in Malaysia. She's ten years now, and at the top of her class.
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  6.  @darkmatters6525  It's for the better that Russia doesn't take part in the Qatar World Cup. Russia's constantly shifting goalposts would ruin the game.
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  7.  @jaydon707  Sky News is British, bot.
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  8. She's a candidate for NATO secretary general, so your suggestion is not totally off the mark.
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  9.  @TRIPPLEJAY00  Taiwan wasn't made in the CCP variant of China.
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  10. Indeed, the Africans would do well to study Russia's colonial history. The Russian Empire was heavily into backyard colonialism and proud of it, too. In terms of atrocities committed, the Russians are up there with the worst offenders. Not only that, the colonial age never truly came to an end in a Russia. The Soviet Union kept at it and the Russian Federation is still at it.
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  11. I wish the US would also tap Israel on the shoulder when Israel forgets about the basic norms of human decency in its treatment of the Palestinians (excluding Hamas).
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  12. I have another one. If Ukraine wants to leave Russia's imaginary sphere of influence, let Ukraine join the EU and NATO. Russia should not interfere.
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  13.  @Lady0fIce  The Axis were autocratic regimes. So are China and Russia. North Korea and Iran, ditto.
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  14.  @krasav  Do we need to go over the UNGA voting results again? 143 countries in favour of condemning Russia's invasion, 5 against. That world.
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  15. No, it's called "losing the war".
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  16.  @rodneyagesa1851  Ukraine doesn't need bots. It has won the hearts and minds of the free world.
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  17. I expect Belarus to be slapped with at least a temporary ban on international flights.
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  18.  @DanDan10101  The UN isn't fighting against Israel, dum-dum.
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  19. Sláinte!
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  20.  @IsraelistheJewsland  Your logic is off. I'm an impartial observer. But do explain to me how this would differ from the pogroms perpetrated against the Jews in Russia.
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  21. Russia wasn't cornered to attack Ukraine either, yet it foolishly did so nonetheless. Putin has demonstrated a susceptibility to foolishness, so NATO must prepare.
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  22. A rules based international order sounds perfectly good to me. If countries adhere to it, it builds trust, too.
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  23. Sure thing, but don't forget to mention that he turned Putin into a joke.
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  24.  @actualfacts1055  Oh, it will happen. The Orcs will retreat either voluntarily or involuntarily.
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  25. Russian excuses never convince. Why bother, Ivan.
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  26. The Iranians are Persians, not Arabs.
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  27. I don't think they are many Iraqis in Gaza.
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  28. At any rate, Putin isn't laughing. Crying, more like.
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  29. 1 is easier said than done. The EU is not rolling out the red carpet.
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  30. The Russian Air Force has been been notoriously ineffective over Ukraine. What has changed?
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  31. There's an interesting legal avenue for that. Russia's permanent UNSC membership was never properly ratified. The UN Charter was never amended, it still speaks of the Soviet Union. No mention of Russia.
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  32. +Milan Borizovski Well, the bombing of Metrojet Flight 9268 claimed more Russian lives than these Paris attacks killed French citizens. I don't see Russia sending in ground troops, neither to Syria nor Egypt.
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  33. Yeah, buy into hate-mongering instead.
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  34. *Pu Tin. Regional governor Pu Tin of Ruxia, the northern province of China.
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  35. Hence NATO, Einstein.
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  36.  @slinkey1644  That's right, they shouldn't. Anyhoo, the real instigator is Iran.
    9
  37.  @bigbird6039  There's a world of difference between these Irish and the Dutch in Srebrenica. The Irish are among the most respected UN contigents, together with the Canadians and the Nordics. The Dutch sent conscripts to Srebrenica, with the known results. Not that their commander was any better.
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  38. Maybe our livers aren't big enough. Or if they are, they're tainted by alcohol.
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  39. Yeah, there should be a channel reserved for whataboutists.
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  40.  @ads13924  It's factual, I'm afraid.
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  41. It's standard practice to counter-attack in order to contain a breakthrough and dislodge the enemy before they manage to dig in.
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  42. RT would be in German if hadn't been for the Western Allies.
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  43.  @bigtamis  No more geriatric presidents, please. That includes Trump.
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  44. ​ @wietla  The Ukrainian counter-attack, which, in Pirogozhin's words, caused a whole Russian brigade to flee Bakhmut, pushed back its capture by another hundred years.
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  45. No, the Russians have a long memory, especially where their forebears were killed by the Estonians.
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  46. It's going to be hard on the homeowners. Many won't be able to recuperate their money (Spain had a real estate bubble), so they can't afford anything decent back in the UK. Also, a lot of property coming onto the market is going to depress prices even further. They're screwed, in other words.
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  47. Oh what fun it is to ride on one's much-maligned royalty.
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  48.  @kenw5104  Cameron is not well-remembered in the EU. The best we can hope for is that he offers sage advice to Sunak's umpteenth successor on how not to proceed with the EU.
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  49. The Siegfried Line endured pretty much the same fate as the Maginot Line. Patton described such fixed fortifications as monuments to man's stupidity. Keep on gaming!
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  50. Putin is like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, except that he didn't get rid of the rats first -- he set them free, in fact. Big rats, too. Orcs.
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  51. How?
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  52.  @omaral-falahi5005  Netanyahu keeps forgetting about the hostages, since he's so preoccupied with killing Palestinians. And now he's expanded his repertoire, adding the Lebanese to his victims.
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  53. Spain actually withdrew their offer after realising that their stored Leopard 2A4s were in "close to useless" condition.
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  54.  @davidtrotman5990  Not really. Napoleon just sauntered in.
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  55. Russia can't be seen to respond to allegations that conflict with their version of the truth. We're supposed to come to the conclusion unaided that Sokolov is still alive and kicking.
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  56. Seeing is believing. Having seen it with my own eyes, I'd let the Irish have my back any time.
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  57. +Dan Lough It's more like the British expats are losers. They've seen their pensions effectively cut and they're stuck with property they can't unload.
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  58. Eesti, Eesti, Eesti, kaipaan sinne perkeleesti!
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  59. Wrong video, pal.
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  60.  @lester9448  If the US government were to rescind the plea agreement, it would ruin the whole system of plea bargaining. I highly doubt they'll want to go there.
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  61. What's the engineering challenge? Passenger jets routinely face even colder temperatures while at cruising altitude.
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  62.  @momon4868  Do non-Western countries have a different definition of democracy? Let's hear it.
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  63. Defence in depth. I know, it's a novel concept to a WW1 armchair general like yourself.
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  64.  @meso8848  It pays to watch the video accompanying this comment section.
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  65. Blaming Iran covers it.
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  66. Good luck with that. WTO is hamstrung by your great orange friend in the White House. Disputes won't get resolved, and as always, trade is rife with disputes, big and small.
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  67. Because Hamas is no longer attacking, but the Israeli genocide is still ongoing.
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  68. You'd think strapping a nuke onto an intercontinental ballistic missile would be more effective, but what do I know.
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  69.  @rd123.  Hamas did. Gaza as a whole didn't.
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  70. In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch reigns, but does not rule.
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  71.  @dawert2667  Correct me if I'm wrong, but tourism wasn't much of a thing then.
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  72. Your obvious whataboutism aside, this isn't helping the Gazans nor is it helping Iran. Iran managed to divert attention from the plight of the Gazans to Israel's new shooting war with Iran. This new war is not a land war, so it does practically nothing to relieve the pressure on the Gazans. At best, Israel will divert some aerial assets to bomb targets within Iran, but it's no biggie for an air force like Israel's. Perhaps most importantly, Israel scored some sympathy points, and Israelis are closing ranks, too, feeling even more embattled. And what was previously a pure proxy war is now a direct conflict, where Israel feels justified to strike at targets within Iran -- something it has not done previously. Netanyahu must be mighty pleased with the Ayatollahs -- they prolonged the crisis and silenced some of his critics, keeping him longer in power.
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  73. By releasing the brakes and applying power?
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  74. It is egomaniacally impossible for BoJo to keep a low profile.
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  75. He's finally found one. Brexit.
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  76.  @brandonbrown4819  I think it's a good extrapolation on the 'casualties of war' excuse that the OP is trying.
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  77. The colours must be a Soviet throwback. I can vouch that the Fenno-Russian border has red-green border posts on the Russian side. Seen it with my own eyes, I went skiing there two months ago.
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  78. Then is why is your lot risking life and limb to reach Europe?
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  79. No worries, the EU won't process British applications for renewed membership for some time to come. Unless they're from soon-independent Scots, that is.
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  80.  @hamish1309  It's often forgotten that Napoleon made Russia sue for peace, not once but twice. He himself didn't sue for peace after his infamous invasion of Russia.
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  81. Counter-attack.
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  82. Explain why Russia, if innocent, would come up with coarse lies about a bird strike and non-existent fog.
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  83.  @GavinGas  No fake news. We went over to train the Estonian 'Kodukaitse' in the early nineties. The Red Army was garrisoned nearby, as the buggers wouldn't pull out.
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  84. ​ @moiseshuerta3984  So, Russia got a bit of land in exchange for international isolation and economic meltdown.
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  85. Yeah, Farage wasn't put in charge because he wasn't deemed worthy. MEP yes, MP noooo!
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  86.  @zahidnoori6874  The shipping lane is outside of Yemen's "territorial waters". Incidentally, the Houthis attacked a Russian ship as well.
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  87. Please elaborate, how's Putin springing the trap?
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  88. Luckily, the Russians value their laundry, too.
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  89. Israel's adversaries tend to come off worse. That's just a factual observation, not a moral judgement.
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  90. There's still a speaker's corner in Hyde Park, right?
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  91. I'm sure President Navalny wouldn't have a problem with it, because he'd be the one who extradited Putin. As always, the Russian people would just go with the flow.
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  92.  @anteromano5559  I bet there will be 21 victorious Russias, as many as there are republics in the Russian Federation.
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  93. One would think Brits can walk and chew gum at the same time.
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  94.  @barrybrodin7085  That's a very optimistic view. I would say the jury is still out.
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  95.  @FroddeB  France got rid of their monarchy in a rather drastic fashion a long time ago, but it hasn't hurt tourism. France is consistently the world's top destination for tourists. It appears it's not about who's inside the palaces, but the palaces themselves.
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  96.  @bangcockkonghong3121  Japanese and German companies are much more prominent in the UK car industry.
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  97. The US may want to look a bit further ahead as well. It's abundantly clear that Netanyahu's hard-line policy towards the Palestinians has failed spectacularly. Netanyahu bolstered and played Hamas against Fatah in an effort to undermine the latter's efforts to reach a peaceful resolution, i.e. the two-state solution.
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  98.  @richardsanders4624  Ukraine has the right to defend itself. Moreover, we know what happens when Russia captures Ukrainian soil. In one word, Bucha.
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  99.  @blackwhite6391  Zelenskyy doesn't resort to clownish behaviour in politics. BoJo is the very definition of a political clown.
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  100.  @leepham650  No thanks. In doing so, we'd have to take the people as well, because they'd jump at the chance of living in Finland rather than in Russia. I'm all for being on the receiving end of Russia's brain drain, but these formerly Finnish territories are backward to the extreme.
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  101.  @TheAndropoff  Most of the crews are Filipinos.
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  102. This reminds me of staying at a hotel in Bayswater, London. I had picked it because it had central heating. Only my room was ice cold. When the staff offered to bring up an electric heater, I complained bitterly. Finally, I got a suite with working central heating, but it ran so hot that I had keep a window wide open. I made a mental note never to visit Britain in the wintertime, if I could help it.
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  103.  @piccalillipit9211  Boris must be kicking himself for letting Ursula beat him to it. I bet he had a speech prepared how Brexit made his visit possible.
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  104. No, they went from bad to worse. What's so difficult to understand about that?
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  105. Britain is paying lip service to Gibraltar. Whenever there's a clash of interests with Blighty, Gibraltar will end up losing. It has happened many times over during decolonisation. Why should it be different now?
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  106.  @viakhnine  The bunker grandpa? Pfft.
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  107.  @haroonvlogs5437  Not with a cherry-picking mentality, no.
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  108. There is a bit of terror involved here. The Muscovites in particular seem to think they're not particularly affected by the war in Ukraine. If a bit of mind terror is needed to make them come to the realisation that it's not just a far-off affair, so be it.
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  109. They're in crisis management mode (read: panicky).
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  110.  @itsJPhere  ...and after they voted at gunpoint.
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  111. Pack a a parachute for that BASE jump off the cliff.
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  112. To achieve "growth", Russia is burning through its national wealth fund at an alarming rate. In two years, its liquid assets have nearly halved. Moreover, Russia is cranking out shells, cannons and tanks, which do nothing for the long-term economic growth of the country. Seeing how poorly those arms perform in Ukraine, and how its arms exports were in steep decline even before the war, Russia's arms industry is an unwise investment if there ever was one.
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  113. Buddy, Ukraine isn't out to capture cities like Russia did with its Pyrrhic victory in Bakhmut. Ukraine is aiming to liberate the occupied territories as a whole. At this stage, cutting Russian supply lines is much more important than capturing urban centres. Without supplies, the cities will fall.
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  114.  @Mail2sumit88  It just so happened that the Norwegians had a 787 at their disposal. Airbus A340s have landed on Antartica before.
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  115. And I thought whataboutism was the last refuge of the Putin troll.
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  116. Neutral as in non-committal. If Ireland was capable of defending itself, it would be another matter.
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  117. Going by your logic, Britain could never have set foot outside of Blighty. There was always something amiss. Better surrender that permanent UNSC seat as well, to, say, Germany or India.
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  118.  @carldavies2005  True dat. Putin's launched a special military operation. Prigozhin launched an even more special one.
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  119.  @nicke0b  "Putin could get help" like from its supporters in the UN General Assembly? Let's see, North Korea, Eritrea, Belarus, and Syria. Belarus couldn't even help Russia out in Ukraine, for fear of a popular uprising.
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  120.  @iusefacebookalso  Knowing the Russians, they've mined the front and the back of their lines. In WW2, the Soviets placed their defences not on top of ridges, but against the slope. That way, there would be no retreat.
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  121. The problem is, Putin thinks that war is a splendid idea. And your misplaced pacifism helps him realise his dreams.
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  122.  @jamiealisson8298  Sure, but Russia should mourn the depths to which Putin has sunk the country as well. Without Putin's imperial ambitions, the boy would still be alive.
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  123.  @dilonkumar4960  Was that English? I do recognise the words...
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  124.  @dil2370  Maybe so, but the French have a fine reputation for disposing of royals. Don't waste the opportunity.
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  125. There's more. After turning the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake, Putin managed same with the Mediterranean. Without Tartus, Putin's warships will need to set sail for Murmansk for repair and replenishment.
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  126. I was thinking the same. I would not waste a Storm Shadow on a rusty old T-54.
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  127.  @Lala-kc2fw  Not only that, our (bot?) OP is plain wrong in portraying the West as opposed to a Gaza ceasefire. The opposite is true. Of the UNSC permanent Western members, France was firmly in favour (again), the UK was on the fence (again) and only the US was opposed (again). The non-permanent Western members -- Japan, Malta, Switzerland, South Korean and Switzerland -- all voted for the ceasefire and for a second time, too.
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  128. Actually, bed bugs feel at home even in the cleanest of houses.
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  129. Comical Ali was intensely loyal, too.
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  130. Then explain why there was no love from non-EU participants either.
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  131. The highest elected office Farage has ever held is... Member of the European Parliament. It appears a seat in a non-EU parliament is beyond the realms of possibility.
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  132. That would be me. Joined up voluntarily to get it over with. Or so I thought. Stuck around for 4 years, and I'm still sticking around as a reservist. Hasn't hurt my career. On the contrary, it gave me quite a boost.
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  133.  @Devotee777  The ignoramus is confused. Russia has nuclear missiles in Kaliningrad, right next door to nuke-free Poland and the Baltics states.
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  134. It's deuced weird that other European countries don't have to choose between supporting Ukraine and funding their national health service. Why is only the UK facing such a choice?
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  135. *American-Dutch.
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  136.  @hourbee5535  Assad's Syria used Russian kit, too, to shoot down a Russian maritime patrol aircraft in 2018.
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  137. Those are not mutually exclusive terms.
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  138. And parading is what the Russians do best. They must be heartbroken that it has come to this.
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  139. The rails are easily replaced, but if the reinforced concrete suffered heat damage in the fire -- which it probably did -- the whole bridge span needs replacing.
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  140. Who would that "migrant" be?
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  141. She's consorting with a dubious character all right.
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  142.  @soniamolcho6689  “Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel’s creation,” Avner Cohen, a former Israeli religious affairs official who worked in Gaza for more than two decades, told the Wall Street Journal in 2009.
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  143. It's not AI, so no danger.
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  144. That's a novel conspiracy theory. Is it yours? If so, try using more reality.
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  145. Nice compliment to Labour.
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  146. I sure hope they manage to find that clean coal Trump was referring to.
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  147. +3rk4u It's been also a recipe for success. It's the outer borders that need better checks.
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  148.  @TheAlmightySnobDog  The UK becoming stronger is just wishful thinking. I'm talking about foreseeable developments with a genuinely negative impact.
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  149. They're*
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  150.  @Buppasiri1  Sure, Germans laughed at Trump like the rest of us, but not in this respect. Germany is painfully aware of neglecting itse defence. It's not a laughing matter among the Germans. Let's face it, despite its defence spending, the UK is woefully ill-equipped to wage a Ukraine-style war. In that respect, it's no better than Germany.
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  151.  @TheDonMan97  That's been the mantra for years, but there's little to show for it.
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  152.  @haroonvlogs5437  First and foremost, Cameron squandered an opportunity. Like-minded EU members approached Cameron to propose a joint bid for agricultural reform, but the good man dismissed them. Cameron wasn't out for reform, but more exclusive privileges. Predictably, after Brexit, the UK found little sympathy in these countries. On the plus side, if the UK were to reapply, exlusive privileges are no longer an issue. The EU will make sure they're not on the agenda.
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  153. Wouldn't that be Brits as well? On the continent, we take care of our sick and elderly, and we don't pretend it's either-or support Ukraine.
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  154. To be honest, Russia was misunderstood the essence of scorched earth tactics many times over. More often than not, they destroy cities they're attacking -- not retreating from -- so as to deny themselves their use. Mariopul and Bakhmut are cases in point.
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  155. "Special recruitment operation" has proven a rare success for Russia.
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  156.  @kleopatra6234  Well, assuming the USA is still a functioning democracy, the answer to your question is that the US electorate let "Obiden" into the White House. I heard that the loser, whatshisname with the orange complexion, disputed the outcome of the election to the best of his abilities, but failed miserably at it, time and again.
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  157.  @EatMyShortsAU  Russia can't. The intensity of Russian shelling has already dropped to a quarter of what it was previously.
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  158.  @GoreTexTillEndEx  ..dodgy livers, too. I hope the new logistics chief of the Russian army has increased the vodka rations, or the reservists won't be able to function at all.
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  159. That's what war reparations are for. Russia will cry and pay, but pay nonetheless.
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  160. Well, mostly for historical reasons, the UK is in the UNSC as a permanent member. India's spinelessness will impede its bid for a permanent seat.
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  161.  @prathit7541  Oh, we will see all right. The UNSC doesn't need another permanent member that looks the other way when the UN Charter is brazenly broken. And although India was decolonised, the colonial mindset still seems to linger in India.
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  162. Who isn't.
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  163.  @Mail2sumit88  I know about aircraft engineering. That's what I was specifically referring to. The A350 is largely made of carbon composites, even more so than the 787. Airbus customers forced Airbus to go above and beyond in reducing weight.
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  164.  @kap1526  I was active in the industry. Try to add to the discussion.
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  165. Lebanon and the Hezbollah -- a state within a state -- are two different things.
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  166. Silly. Israel took a neutral stance in the Ukraine conflict, supposedly so it could play mediator.
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  167. Who knows if Little England ends up joining the US, just to play the blame game once more.
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  168. It's a start.
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  169. UN peacekeepers in Lebanon haven't kept the Israelis at bay. I speak from personal experience.
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  170.  @YossiCohen10421  It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. Incidentally, Napoleon's height was the same as Zelenskyy's.
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  171.  @Lemingtona-x5g  Zelenskyy's jets are happily letting loose Storm Shadows and SCALPs on Crimea. Explain that.
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  172.  @karlmckinnell2635  They all are on a business jet.
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  173. "Fight back"? What "back"?
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  174.  @testingmysoup5678  Shells can't crack open a dam of this size, or we're talking about a resurrected Schwerer Gustav.
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  175. Interestingly, the Iranians pray to the same Abrahamic god. The shared deity has a dilemma on his hands.
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  176.  @Muirton66  As it happens, Bibi is on trial in Israel as we speak, and if he manages to steer clear of jail in Israel, he'll have to answer to the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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  177. Russia doesn't have anything but.
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  178. Cameron could've easily found allies in reforming the EU, but he gave them the cold shoulder. To say he squandered all remaining goodwill within the EU is an understatement. The consensus among the EU-27 was that Cameron was out for more unique privileges, not reform. No wonder that in the subsequent Brexit negotiations, the UK faced a unified front that didn't falter once. Hubris before the fall.
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  179.  @tormentorxl2732  It was an AIM-9X that killed it. The AA missile exploded all right, but its destructive effect is based on a rapidly expanding ring of rods that cuts through the target. So it must've cut a huge chunk out of the balloon, deflating it instantly.
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  180. It's the usual tin foil hat crowd. Relatively few in number, but all the more noisy.
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  181.  a 2345193  What's sefdom?
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  182. That's Trump's modus operandi. Don't project.
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  183. William Pitt the Younger was younger still.
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  184. The majority aren't after handouts. They prefer to live and work illegally in the UK. Make that harder and the influx will dwindle.
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  185.  @norsie45  Not quite. Actually, many Palestinians descend from the ancient Israelites, who became known as the Samaritans. They were forcibly converted to Christianity and later, Islam. Many Palestinians also have Jewish and Crusader blood.
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  186.  @s0ycapitan  "Most people" expect Putin to have two choices: 1) withdraw his troops; 2) cry and withdraw his troops.
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  187.  @UTBLADES  Don't be pedantic. That was the case before Oct 7, too.
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  188. ...a conspiracy theory?
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  189. Anyhoo, the science doesn't matter as long as the Chinese authorities keep lying through their teeth about the real Covid-19 situation in China.
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  190.  @davidnoelfranks1124  Europe is home to the top democracies, buddy.
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  191. Imagine how it will be when the Chinese launch their first spy satellite. Wait a minute... they already did, almost 50 years ago.
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  192. The sooner the GOP drops Trump, the sooner the healing can begin.
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  193. Good on her, but too bad there's a royal succession. I would like the sound of 'Republic of Denmark'.
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  194. Never speak ill of the dead. Berlusconi really puts that saying to the test.
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  195. The Conservatives need to deliver Brexit or the party is history. It will ruin the next PM's career, but hey, Boris wants it. A perfect patsy, in other words.
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  196. Worked wonders for Trump.
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  197. The Israelis aren't so keen on your Jesus. Just to be sure, they're going to ask the Messiah if it's his first visit to Israel.
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  198.  @LeifurHakonarson  If a material self-ignites under certain conditions, you'd think there's chemistry involved, right? Because that's what DU does. When a DU shell penetrates the crew compartment of a tank, it's briefly turned into a furnace by burning dust. Tungsten relies solely on pressure and spalling.
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  199. Should your refugees stay as far away as possible from Europe's welfare states?
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  200. @Randy Not really. I've serviced both.
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  201.  @tony16991  That's just your coping mechanism kicking in. We don't charge Ukraine for the Orc removal instruments we send them.
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  202.  @thereita1052  Independence movements wax and wane, but they never disappear altogether. Europe's borders are the result of distinct yet similar regions banding together to stand firm against their not-so-similar and formerly-not-so-friendly neighbours. There's no such need any longer, so the glue that's holding these regions together is losing its strength. Anyway, small is beautiful. Europe is rife with small countries that get top marks in governance, democracy, absence of corruption, etc.
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  203. It's because the earth became flat overnight, OK?
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  204. What's more relevant is what the world would do. Just like after the Tiananmen Square Massacre, there would be economic consequences for China. This time, however, the consequences would be far more profound given China's vastly increased international trade. Since "Made in China" would be off-putting to many consumers, China would lose manufacturing to other countries, like India and Vietnam. Also, in a political sense, the Belt and Road Initiative would be a victim -- every elected politician would think twice about giving China a foothold, if not out of principle, then for fear of a voter backlash.
    3
  205.  @cryptocsguy9282  Exactly. And the USSR had its own Vietnam War in Afghanistan. Then its successor state, Russia, emulated the War in Afganistan in Syria. Those copycats... Hint: whataboutism works both ways.
    3
  206. Russian apathy has enabled Putin. How will that suddenly change?
    3
  207. Britain already is. Do the Houthis, who're Iran's proxy, ring a bell?
    3
  208. Let me get this straight. Thanks to their superior intelligence, Russian troops haven been driven back on all fronts?
    3
  209. ​ @bluenose007  Many a true word is spoken with electrodes to the scrotum. Slightly irrelevant, but Hale and Pace had it all figured out.
    3
  210. *Kyiv. The problem is, Pootie-Poot's bargaining position is weak. Giving up would spell political suicide.
    3
  211. They could go old skool on Priggie and have him and his bodyguards suffer simultaneous heart attacks. It worked well on Putin's ex-boss, Anatoly Sobchak, and his two bodyguards.
    3
  212.  @harrietharlow9929  There's a reason for term limits. There's ample reason for age limits, too.
    3
  213. Try transmitting to Putin.
    3
  214. Russia is demilitarizing itself. As a case in point, it's down to one parade tank, and parades is what it does best.
    3
  215.  @jjefferyworboys8138  Nos paenitet (OK, not Roman, but I rarely get to show off my classical education).
    3
  216. It could be worse. This summer, a walrus took a wrong turn and ended up in the Finnish Gulf. The beast succumbed to malnutrition.
    3
  217.  @garmbryhewwert7059  Inexperienced? So far, Ukraine has put its own artillery -- limited in numbers as it may be -- to good use. Ukraine is claiming that its artillery has accounted for more Russian losses than the much-hyped Javelin. It has no reason to downplay the effectiveness of the Javelin.
    3
  218.  @dandun30  Russia needs to reveal the evidence of that, because no one else has seen any.
    3
  219.  @Daniel-gc9ws  The A10 was designed and built to knock out Russian tanks rolling westward. Now the opportunity presents itself, and they can't be used?
    3
  220.  @yakov95000  A court would have to convict them of a crime -- not merely charge them -- in order for them to be deemed criminals. Innocent till proven guilty, eh?
    3
  221.  @AlexP-mi2bc  In fact, Russia's battle-hardened veterans, if they weren't invalided out with missing limbs, are turning soft and mushy --- six feet under.
    3
  222.  @mo85710  Russian political apathy has paved the way for Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine. The Russians should've realised who they were dealing with ever since the Second Chechen War, but they squeezed their eyes shut.
    3
  223. ​ @TruForcedL  Putin still has his private paramilitary force, the 340,000-strong Rosgvardiya, to draw from. Only these "national guardsmen" didn't fare so well in Ukraine when faced with Ukraine's real national guard last year. I suppose clubbing unarmed protestors is right up Rosgvardiya's street, but fighting off opponents who shoot back, not so much.
    3
  224.  @MrThartofwar  He should pay a visit to the administrative centre of the Kherson Oblast, which is supposedly part of Russia, too. Just how Russian, Putler should find out by himself. Next stop, The Hague.
    3
  225. Wake up to the dangers of right-wing extremism?
    3
  226. Peace, man ;-)
    2
  227. +Hannah Dyson It's more terrifying still that BoJo is Britain's top diplomat. He still thinks he can score points with populist standpoints.
    2
  228. Big Bob The Russians are more willing to sacrifice their citizens, yes, but don't discount ineptitude.
    2
  229. +My Lord To put it in terms that Donald Rumsfeld would approve of, the insurance industry prefers known unknowns. Unknown unknowns are too risky for their liking.
    2
  230. Under Trump, we all suffer intolerably and wish we would die.
    2
  231. But he's got a glass jaw.
    2
  232. Time to pay the piper.
    2
  233. +sam raynes The colonial era is well and truly over. Gibraltar is special in many ways, but it's a colonial relic all the same. Anyhow, Britain has to choose between pursuing the interests of 30,000 Britons in Gibraltar vs. the 300,000 British expats in Spain. Speaking of which, in my decade-long experience, sympathies for the Gibraltarians run low among the expats, who're not only far more numerous, but also much more vulnerable in the event of a hard Brexit. Also, it always struck me as odd that my better assimilated British diving buddies, with whom I often went to dive off Gibraltar, spoke Spanish with the Gibraltarians. They prefer it to English. No, Gibraltar needs to come to terms with its destiny, which isn't as part of Great Britain. Independence is a non-starter, so autonomy it must be.
    2
  234. +Josue Rodriguez ...and Ceuta and Melilla belong to Morocco. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
    2
  235. +Josue Rodriguez Don't try to get off on technicalities. It's no different from what Britain is trying with regard to Gibraltar, only the details vary. Both Spain and Britain should just get on with decolonisation. France, too.
    2
  236. +Dev Light If Amurica is anything to go by, then the French death toll would be much, much higher.
    2
  237.  @dylanvogler2165  Would there be a practical difference, even if he declared himself tsar?
    2
  238. That would be NATO minus USA and Canada. I don't see a standing NATO army anywhere.
    2
  239. The only Lebanese territory that Israel occupies is the Shebaa Farms. Is that the point of contention here?
    2
  240. Xinnie the Pooh is laughing at his balding poodle.
    2
  241.  @TEMPLAR969  Give them a chance and they will. Israel certainly isn't giving them a chance. Nor is the US, by giving Israel a carte blanche.
    2
  242. Read some. There's more to a newspaper than the funny pages.
    2
  243.  @valdismoseley6935  If camouflaged properly, the Russians will have a hard time locating the M-777s. And Excalibur rounds will foil Russian counter-battery radar, making it impossible to deduce from where they were fired. Ukraine is bringing in supplies by the truckload, so why not towed howitzers?
    2
  244.  @23merlino  There's a distinct possibility that the EU will get Britain back in bits and pieces first. Northern Ireland as part of a unified Ireland and Scotland as an independent country. Anyhoo, it's none of the EU's beeswax. Similar separatist developments are afoot within the EU. Borders aren't carved in stone.
    2
  245. Finland has been stalling to let Sweden catch up. Now they finally have.
    2
  246. In 1944, after very careful deliberation, Hitler came to the same realisation in his bunker.
    2
  247. So, Russia's defence ministry must've lied when they admitted their naval HQ had been struck.
    2
  248. With Farage's ingrained victim mentality, he would be sorely disappointed if he weren't victimised, for reals or suppositiously.
    2
  249. Has Prigozhin magically transformed into a John Rambo, a veritable one man army? Because the rest of his army won't make it to Belarus.
    2
  250.  @armchairdude8524  Yeah, it begs the question how much Putin had to pay for Xi's visit. No free lunches for Putin the Pariah.
    2
  251. A Himars rocket doesn't have the range. Moscow is too far away.
    2
  252.  @firestarter8202  The number of shipwrecks littering the bottom of the Baltic Sea suggests otherwise. It's not called the world's largest underwater museum for nothing.
    2
  253.  @starcraftleonov6487  Interestingly, the 50+ years old grandpas (and grandmas) can speak Finnish. Estonia had a window on the West through Finnish TV broadcasts, which they could receive. It goes a long way to explain why Estonia hit the ground running when they threw off the Soviet yoke.
    2
  254. ​ @MLVL312  What a crock. France makes more money from tourism than the UK, and the French gave their royals the chop a long time ago.
    2
  255. Waste of time. Defenestration await Prigozhin.
    2
  256. Don't crack a window.
    2
  257. I once read about a WW2 pilot who was ordered up to shoot down an escaped barrage balloon. He did his very best, but couldn't close in. They later figured out it was the planet Venus.
    2
  258. No sweat. Lithuania has an LNG terminal in Klaipeda.
    2
  259.  @jadler457  Some do, some don't. Goes for Israelis as well.
    2
  260. The toothless bear is gagging on Ukrainian sunflower seeds.
    2
  261. Germany lost WW1, but was soon back with a vengence. History provides interesting lessons.
    2
  262. Russia's been training really hard for the turret-toss event at the Military World Games.
    2
  263. I'm sure they have carefully checked the auxiliary power unit before attempting this sort of thing. Hot refuelling is not advised -- that is, if they had to refuel.
    2
  264. That's nice. After two vetoed UNSC draft resolutions, the US develops remorse.
    2
  265. It's not either-or. Israel needs specialist stuff, Ukraine needs a bit of everything.
    2
  266. I see it quite differently. Netanyahu was supposed to keep Israel safe. Something went terribly amiss here. The Israeli electorate won't be well pleased.
    2
  267.  @soreeyez  IFF is optional in Soviet Russia, it appears.
    2
  268.  @bempowered138  It's no secret that Israel gave Hamas a big boost. Netnyahu even openly advocated support for Hamas in a effort to undermine the more moderate Fatah, which was making gains in the peace talks at Israel's expense, Netanyahu felt. Israel created a monster in more ways than one.
    2
  269. I don't see a problem. Russia has failed to establish air superiority over Ukraine and Ukraine's air force regularly operates both MiG-29s and Su-25s from its airbases.
    2
  270.  @mohammedmustapha-e2w  A counter-offence is when Prigozhin calls Putin a liar after being called a traitor by Putin.
    2
  271. They're working on it in Russia. The question is, will it be better or worse? With an apathetic population, I fear the worst.
    2
  272.  @anoldpotentin2446  Micronesia will beat Tanzania to the punch.
    2
  273. Don't make too much of the Queen's acceptance. If the government would ask her to sign a law that replaces the Union Jack with her bloomers, she wouldn't think twice before putting pen to paper. After all, a constitutional sovereign reigns but does not rule.
    2
  274. There's no honour among thieves. And Prigozhin is a twice-convicted one.
    2
  275. They were not so speechless after the Taliban reconquered Afghanistan, but if they still want to play the hypocrisy card as eagerly as before, they'll keep very mum about that one, too.
    2
  276. Does that include the Russian defence ministry?
    2
  277. It's only fitting that the UK version of Trump has a John Bolton, too.
    2
  278. Right, like hiding in ground clutter. Or using terrain features to hide, like staying behind hills, mountain ridges and whatnot. Radar technology 101.
    2
  279. It's too bad Shakespeare isn't around to write a play about him. Actors would refer to it as "The Russian Play".
    2
  280. How is that related? Oh wait, Iran's proxies wars.
    2
  281.  @crusaderlatin732  It's all in your imagination.
    2
  282. ​@Chris Viking Don't flatter yourselves unduly. Ukraine wants to set a precedent with the Chally 2s. With the Leo 2s, it wants to roll the invaders back.
    2
  283. You'd think Russia was enough on its plate with Ukraine. Forcing NATO to enter the war would spell utter disaster for Russia.
    2
  284. I hope the military industrial complex remembered Putin with a gift basket. After all, he's the sole reason they're raking it in. Not only is Putin their greatest salesman, but also, Russia exited the international arms market, leaving the others to divide the spoils. The unselfishness of the man is truly exemplary.
    2
  285.  @fiorini_mochachino  Give it a rest, bot. Don't hide behind foreign handles.
    2
  286. Delish.
    2
  287.  @lg2058  Reading between the lines is not your forte.
    2
  288.  @tanjt  He's just parroting Trump, I guess. Populists are opportunistic by nature.
    2
  289.  @maxmango4305  Russia did bomb their own people, and very literally at that. In the First Chechen War alone, Russia's military killed an estimated 100,000 civilians, 35,000 of whom were ethnic Russians. Killing their own has never bothered Russia.
    2
  290. Lol. On Russian TV, Putin literally called it an "armed mutiny".
    2
  291.  @anissah161  To each their own. Conspiracy theorists in particular.
    2
  292. Berlusconi's politicking predated that of Trump. Hence, Trump is the Berlusconi of Murica.
    2
  293. They love them more than life itself, literally.
    2
  294.  @kym1160  Please tell me that shape-shifting, blood-drinking Reptilians prevented Farage from taking his rightful seat in the House of Commons.
    2
  295. I've heard about your square states, but spare states are new to me.
    2
  296. But the UK rejoining the EU is not what the union needs right now. Come back in a decade or so.
    2
  297. Give us your deeper than deep analysis then. Don't be shy now.
    2
  298. So do their hostages, I'm afraid.
    2
  299.  @ScottishScot  I was stationed in Lebanon when the Hannibal *Directive came about. The excitement level went up a notch.
    2
  300.  @technosamurai9825  That would be the Hezbollah. Try to get your facts straight. Official Lebanon is very uncomfortable with this flare-up of violence on their southern border.
    2
  301. Syria is in the midst of a civil war. The Assad regime's sovereignty over Syria has been questionable ever since he started barrel-bombing his own people.
    2
  302.  @shsh-he5qg  NATO can't stop Putin from withdrawing from Ukraine. Use the power, Putin!
    2
  303. Right. Please remind Putler that he can end this war overnight. He just needs to call his Orc backs.
    2
  304.  @MattHaller-l4w  Let's call a spade a spade. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been going nowhere for years on end. Hamas isn't helping, but neither is Netanyahu's crowd. Anyhoo, Bibi is on the way out. Hopefully his successors will realise a different approach is called for.
    2
  305. Might of been common knowledge.
    2
  306.  @1ndragunawan  Nonetheless, recent estimates put support for Hamas in Gaza at 58%. However, that figure may have dropped since Hamas foolishly plunged the territory into all-out war.
    2
  307.  @dp5559  They're commies all right when it comes to monopolizing power.
    2
  308. @Козырь Who did indeed. Perhaps we should ask the OSCE.
    2
  309. And win he will, when the Orcs withdraw with their tails firmly tucked between their legs. 'Status quo ante bellum, Ukrainian defensive victory", the Wikipedia entry on the Russo-Ukrainian War will summarise.
    2
  310. ​ @dramareynes9319  Duh, I already gave it away. Russia will withdraw. The question is, will Putin still be among the living. It does look bleak for him.
    2
  311.  @FN-hg2el  Palestine worked out quite well for the UK -- and the world, didn't it?
    2
  312. Polish defence procurement is a bit of a mess, to be honest. They kicked us out and then pulled us back in it. We adjusted our price upward, too.
    2
  313.  @rd123.  Britain never owned Palestine. Britain had a League of Nations mandate to administer the territory till it was ready for self-administration. Arabs held land rights, as did Jewish inhabitants. The nascent UN's partition plan heavily favoured the Jews, which expectedly angered the Arab inhabitants. It was a major screw-up on the UN's part -- a blunder with long-term repercussions. It's about time historic wrongs are set right, or the conflict will last another 75 years.
    2
  314. We're watching the dying embers.
    2
  315. It's a well-known fact that the Brexiteers thought Brexit would amount to nirvana. Now that it ended in tears there's a similar mistaken belief among the Remoaners that the EU will have the UK back in a jiffy. Not so. Britain needs its forty days (years?) in the desert.
    2
  316.  @phildavies6020  ...and for good measure, being spritzed with Novichok on the way down.
    2
  317. Muslims sure have hang-ups about nakedness. It appears that Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise not because they ate from the forbidden tree, but because eating from the forbidden tree somehow made their fig leaves drop off and that was the ultimate no-no.
    2
  318.  @RaRa-eu9mw  The bots certainly have been hyperactive of late. There must be a recruitment drive at the troll factory. Post lots or "volunteer" for Ukraine.
    2
  319.  @davidnoelfranks1124  Turret-popping is not a desirable feature in a tank.
    2
  320. Maybe she was prettier.
    2
  321. No, it's because of the price of tea in China.
    2
  322. False equivalence. Cyanide, which is extreme poisonous, is made up of carbon and nitrogen. Carbon is even more abundant than oxygen.
    2
  323. ​ @bradrichards8122  I wouldn't count too much on the Phalanx when the Houthis launch ballistic missiles, like they've done many times over by now. When (or if) it manages to destroy an incoming missile, the range will be such that the ship is likely to be showered by burning fuel and debris. The Phalanx, like CIWS in general, is a weapon of last resort. It's dangerous to friend and foe.
    2
  324.  @anne-louiseluccarini4530 The French do a very stylish version of 'rude'.
    2
  325.  @IamElChapo  News flash. Israeli scientist readily admit that the Jews and the Palestinians share a very clear common ancestry. A great many Palestinians can trace their ancestry back to Jews, Samaritans and Christians. In fact, Palestinian Jews, Samaritans and Christians exist to this very day. Religions change, genetics not so much.
    2
  326. To the max? Set your silly president straight.
    2
  327.  @mikethespike7579  The Turks were disappointed with the performance of the S-400 against low-flying, low-observable targets. That's the Storm Shadow in a nutshell. When it shoots up to strike down hard, it's too late. Maybe a well-placed Pantsir can score a lucky hit with its cannon. The Russians are better at overselling than engineering their AA systems.
    2
  328. Ironically, Farage held a seat in parliament in this very same Brussels. It would appear London has taken his democracy away from him.
    2
  329. The Commonwealth is a sport and culture club. They can vote about the next venue for the Commonwealth Games, that's about it.
    2
  330. I once overheard an American tourist helpfully suggest to a salesperson at Heathrow airport that all prices should be in dollars, not pounds. Much easier that way, she argued.
    2
  331.  @patriciabutler8248  So EU members forfeit their own parliament? What's Whitehall then, a mere illusion? Rather, independent Scotland will lose their middleman in dealing with -- and being part of -- the EU.
    2
  332. The benefits offered to asylum seekers in the UK aren't all that grand compared to continental Europe. But your tolerance of illegals who've been denied asylum or never bothered to apply is rather grand in comparison.
    2
  333.  @alxnd_r6345  Cough-cough, state-sponsored doping on a massive scale in Russia.
    2
  334. *Soared? Big diff.
    2
  335.  @junesilvermanb2979  Yeah, a life sentence is wasted on Putin if he's got a short life expectancy. Still, we need to get him to The Hague ASAP.
    2
  336.  @tabularasa7775  Nuh-uh, the Estonians aren't known for braggadocio. That's more your dept.
    2
  337.  @kevindurand3237  That would be 1939-1940.
    2
  338. No, but as a signatory, it's the UK's duty to raise awareness that China is breaking the joint declaration. It follows that China can't be trusted to honour international agreements. It just got harder for China to negotiate international agreements, as the other side will seek additional guarantees that China will keep their side of the bargain.
    2
  339. The Jerries should've paired Charles with a peacock. He would've met his intellectual match, too.
    2
  340. The title of this video would also work without the 'ceasefire', simply: 'Russia has no credibility.'
    2
  341. It's a separate conflict. Iran can multitask.
    2
  342. So why is Russia taking it out on Ukraine then?
    2
  343. The Jews may have a thing or two to say about that.
    2
  344.  @Kitiwake  Elbonia.
    2
  345. I thought Abrahamic religions were monotheistic.
    2
  346. Russia's naval base in Tartus is rather "key". Its naval operations in the Mediterranean are seriously curtailed without a port there for repair and replenishment.
    2
  347. It's Brexiteers wondering where the cake went. In their defence, they didn't eat it.
    2
  348. I can't imagine anyone but yourself upvoting that comment.
    2
  349. So, where has Israel struck in Iran? I must've missed that.
    2
  350. The British Empire has had it hard recently.
    2
  351. Pay but no say, in other words. Brilliant.
    2
  352. The Sea of Azov is 39,000 km². NATO's new lake, the Baltic Sea, is 377,000 km².
    2
  353. I don't know where to begin...
    2
  354.  @marshallmintz7564  I wouldn't count on it. I bet a great many of the Russians who have fled abroad were supportive of Putin till they heard Putin needed their military support, too.
    2
  355. How to teach Iran to keep off its neighbours' soil?
    2
  356.  @decus9544  That's debatable. I saw first-hand how dire the economic situation was in Russia after the collapse of the USSR.
    2
  357. Re. his locker room talk, we don't have to use the line "put up or shut up" on Trump.
    1
  358. Duh, it's inwardly unrestricted.
    1
  359. +Charlie The Nordic countries opened their borders to one another already in the late fifties, Einstein.
    1
  360. For starters, Ireland has a smaller population than Scotland. In fact, a dozen or so EU members have a population size that's lower or similar to that of Scotland.
    1
  361. meandmymouth Clearly, Sturgeon thinks Scotland is more at odds with the UK than it is with the EU. As an independent country and EU member, nothing prevents Scotland from allying itself with likeminded members in pursuit of common interests. If she feels the Scots don't share the same interests as the rest of the UK, it all makes perfect sense.
    1
  362. How's that going to work for the British expats, who're stuck with real estate in Spain?
    1
  363. Well, Trump could copy Putin and Medvedev and their hilarious presidential switcheroo and make it 20 years in charge. That's de facto president-for-life!
    1
  364. +Nik G All that may be true, but the UK can't remain in limbo for long. Investors eschew uncertainty. They may not pull out in droves, but British businesses will find it harder to raise money. Competitiveness will suffer and growth opportunities can't be seized. British indecisiveness won't exactly be a blessing for the EU as a whole either, but as in any game, there are always winners. German and French language courses anyone?
    1
  365. Nik G To be perfectly honest, similar political fault lines exist all over Europe. Globalisation and immigration put pressures on our traditional way of life. Populists across the continent see their chance. But judging from how poorly Brexit is unfolding, perhaps we can soon thank the Brits for a valuable lesson.
    1
  366. +densek510 Obviously most deaths of Russian servicemen can't stand the light of day.
    1
  367. Then who should be hanged for the treasonous act of leaving the EU?
    1
  368. caller347 Not quite but world opinion clobbered them. Now it's Russia that's in the midst of a PR disaster.
    1
  369. Big Bob Russia isn't all bad. By and large they share our aspirations, but putting them into effect is always a question of two steps forward and one back. Or vice versa.
    1
  370. After Trump's defeat, the knives come out in the Republican Party. I predict a break-up.
    1
  371. NaZReD He collapsed as a result of the blow, so what's the diff?
    1
  372. How about passing out guns to the competitors, biathlon-style? To make it even more interesting, they could use Yanks for targets.
    1
  373. 3rk4u I don't know, Romania and Albania enjoy a healthy trade balance with the rest of the EU. Extra border checks would impede such trade. Since it's a two-way street, British exports would suffer, too. Don't blame us for your creaky NHS.
    1
  374. It all reminds one of Farage, doesn't it, only the joke is on the UK now.
    1
  375. +roblex63 Perhaps, but it remains to be seen how far the Germans will go in tolerating Britain holding on to the remnants of the Empire. I'd guess both Spain and Britain will need to compromise.
    1
  376. +sam raynes Because colonies just aren't the right thing to do in this day and age.
    1
  377. +capssslock The Commonwealth is a sports and culture club. Sure, it was once envisaged that it could assume a role similar to that of the EU, but nothing ever came of it. If an independent Gibraltar was viable, the city state would be a perfect candidate for Commonwealth membership. Problem solved, eh? But it's not viable.
    1
  378. *real *wherever *too ;-)
    1
  379. Or the immigrants.
    1
  380. Keep repeating the mantra. Harder and harder.
    1
  381. Mister Furious It's starting to sound hollow.
    1
  382. The South 803 Well, tell me then when gun-carrying US civilians have foiled a terrorist attack.
    1
  383. The South 803 FBI agents aren't civilians, are they?
    1
  384. +moreREDmeat Not to worry, I'm sure Trump will impose censorship the moment he takes office.
    1
  385. +ilove wires Interesting. Is that a Catholic thing?
    1
  386. +ilove wires I get that, but for a Unionist it must be tough to apply for a Irish passport. I lost my dual nationality when I went soldiering. They wouldn't return it unless I married a Dutchwoman. Anyhow, two EU nationalities don't make much sense.
    1
  387.  @dylanvogler2165  I'm talking about practicalities, not illusions.
    1
  388.  @GIBBO4182  No particular fan of his, but which wars did Biden start? He did end one, as per Trump's masterplan, in Afghanistan.
    1
  389. I think the problem is twofold: Democrats and Republicans. Disband both parties and start anew with a true multi-party democracy.
    1
  390.  @MrPurge11  How about aiming higher than both Trump and Biden?
    1
  391. Israel is closing ranks for now, but Bibi's day of reckoning will come when the smoke clears.
    1
  392. Did Lukashenko have a death wish when he signed said pact, or was he consciously suicidal?
    1
  393.  @republicofhandball8815  Whoosh. If Belarus reverts to Russia when Lukashenko dies, Lukashenko dies prematurely at Putin's pleasure.
    1
  394.  @laloelsalamanca  Don't try to sugarcoat it. It was Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine that spurred UEFA and FIFA to ban Russia from the World Cup 2022. As we tend to say, the world of sports misses Russia like a toothache.
    1
  395.  @laloelsalamanca  Qatar bribed FIFA to get the World Cup (and Russia probably did same before that), but that's another matter altogether.
    1
  396. Left alone? Gaza has been turned into a ghetto by Israel and the West Bank is occupied by Israel.
    1
  397.  @GICHUJ.J.NJURURI  Let me guess. Your imaginary magic sky friend said so.
    1
  398. How the tables have turned.
    1
  399. This Willy Wonka equates to 123 countries acting on said arrest warrant in case Putin sets foot on their soil.
    1
  400.  Jason Voorhees  All of them lack jurisdiction in Russia, just like Russia lacks jurisdiction in their countries. That's why I specifically wrote "in case Putin sets foot on their soil." Savvy?
    1
  401. That'll be Russian Civil War 2.
    1
  402. It's a pity the same countermeasures couldn't be used this time. Then, the press blackout led the Japanese to believe that their incendiary balloons failed to reach their target. It was almost as brilliant as the Brits using the press to convince the Germans that their V-1s tended to overshoot London. The Germans corrected their aim with the result that the V-1s fell short.
    1
  403. Everything is relative. I wonder what historians will make of Trump's toady support for Israel's hard-liners, whose actions lie at the root of this enduring conflict.
    1
  404.  @q-anonandtheruskimirchelon1886  Don't be so dramatic. There will be a UN criminal tribunal, just like there was one for former Yugoslavia. The post-Putin Russian government won't make a fuss about extraditing the accused.
    1
  405. The US is caught between a rock and a soft spot.
    1
  406. It's interesting why autocracies like Russia need to pretend to be democracies. Putin should crown himself tsar already and be done with the pretence.
    1
  407. The casual manner in which Russia sent its troops into Ukraine suggests that it anticipated only sporadic and token resistance. A cakewalk, in other words. For centuries to come, military academies will use this war as a case study in poor intelligence and even poorer planning.
    1
  408. That would make little difference. NATO gets by with very little funding, because it's got a relatively small budget. The main contributions to NATO come in the form of national armies, navies and air forces funded directly by the members themselves. So, feel free to cut all funding for your armed forces. And capitulate to Putin while at it. And Xi. And Iran's mad ayatollahs.
    1
  409.  @TomNook.  Support for Russia, too. They think India owes Russia, because the USSR supposedly stood by them in their forever-squabbles with Pakistan. Putin gets to collect on the debt, morals be damned.
    1
  410. True, that.
    1
  411. The same could be said about Assad.
    1
  412. Are we calling the City of Brussels that nowadays?
    1
  413. And heading straight for the cliff, no doubt.
    1
  414. And when found, they can flip him over, like a pancake.
    1
  415.  @declanjones556  True dat. I derive pleasure from killing magpies that would otherwise obliterate songbirds' nests. Having seen the cracked eggs and tiny fetuses strewn around, it's not even a guilty pleasure. I do draw the line at shooting the fieldfares that pick my mum's berry bushes clean. I wish they wouldn't repay me by bombarding me with faeces, the little ingrates.
    1
  416.  @nigelsmith3719  If so, Netanyahu committed political suicide. When the smoke clears, he'll face imminent retirement.
    1
  417. ​ @nigelsmith3719  Nothing that Netanyahu does to the Gazans next will placate the ire of the Israelis, who're already accusing him of disregarding intelligence and failing to prepare. It's a double whammy, too, because it's as clear as day that Netanyahu's brute force policies towards the Palestinians have proven to be counter-productive. If nothing changes, Hamas will lick its wounds and prepare for a repeat performance, if not from Gaza, then from the West Bank -- or both. The Israelis would do well to realise that the Palestinians can't be subdued any more than they can.
    1
  418.  @garrywynne1218  Whoosh. The point here is that foreigners shouldn't decide where the borders go. Russia didn't get the memo.
    1
  419. This is an international forum. 'Republic' means something else than your dated definition.
    1
  420.  @gooldii1  Russians in general play the victim card once a lifetime and twice a day.
    1
  421. I wonder if there will be a referendum before Russia becomes Ruxia, China's northernmost province.
    1
  422.  @AndyM_323YYY  If Britain promises to take in all the Russians presently living in Karelia, Finland will have Karelia back. All the Karelians left in 1944.
    1
  423.  @manutd2061  Yeah, what about whataboutism?
    1
  424. Yeah, what about whataboutism!
    1
  425. I'm sorry, but by definition, a ceasefire is a suspension in hostilities. A follow-up peace treaty of sorts is required to end hostilities on a more permanent basis. It's just one step in the right direction... for a change.
    1
  426. The British monarchy may just be the only one in human history that, per se, makes economic sense. Tourism.
    1
  427.  @evgeniam685  I didn't know the royals are hoteliers and restaurateurs. I thought they left those jobs to their commoners.
    1
  428. It's a message to Iran and Syria. Don't get involved. Or else.
    1
  429. She's half Ukrainian, in fact, and Odesa-born.
    1
  430.  @ikopotamus7774  Because Htler had promised Estonia to Stalin. Partners in crime.
    1
  431. Isn't that grand! Everyone gets to break international law till Palestine is sorted!
    1
  432. ​ @Incog2024  Interesting. I want to know if there's method to your madness. What does Russia gain from falsely admitting that it has suffered yet another embarrassing military setback?
    1
  433. Try to guess. Three letters, starts with a U and ends with an A.
    1
  434. But for unexplained reasons, it's keeping them under wraps?
    1
  435. Is this like the 2014-2022 OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in the Donbas? Not a single Russian claim of indiscriminate targeting of civilians could be corroborated. Yet your lot still goes on about Western media failing to report these fabrications.
    1
  436.  @AahFukIt  OK, troll.
    1
  437. Yup, Taiwan needs a restraining order against China, too.
    1
  438. UNCLOS says it's not Yemeni "territory". Secondly, the Houthis are officially rebels. They don't represent Yemen.
    1
  439. Be that as it may, this is containment, so Iran and Syria won't get any ideas.
    1
  440.  @aredditor4272  The Orange Omen of Doom is still putting his overly-short finger on the sore spot.
    1
  441.  @myviews9369  Ah, a suicidal sociopath reported for duty.
    1
  442. Firstly, Russia has bombed these Sunnis for nearly a decade. Secondly, Russia is harbouring Assad, who's not exactly in the rebels' good books either.
    1
  443.  @letXeqX  That's 4 countries. 5 in all, including Russia, voted in the UN against condemning Putin's special military misadventure. FYI, Bab Blo hasn't managed to post anything sensible in his brief career as a YouTube commenter.
    1
  444. What's the answer then? UKIP or BNP? Or have they effectively merged?
    1
  445.  @FAFO36  Hey, credit where credit is due. The Afghanistan debacle was a bipartisan effort. Biden's mistake was following though on Trump's plan.
    1
  446. Sure, Trump and Biden take turns displaying their age-related cognitive decline.
    1
  447. Worse still, Assad has a date with Putin, who'll take him horse riding, bare-chested of course. To get into the mood, they're watching Brokeback Mountain.
    1
  448. I think they want a better future. Money alone won't cut it.
    1
  449.  @ryanhunter5594  But the acute problem we're facing now is Russia colonising and bombing Ukraine. On a positive note, when Russian efforts to colonise Ukraine inevitably come to naught, we will see Russia spontaneously decolonise Chechnya, Tatarstan, Kalmykia, Udmurtia, Mordovia and whatnot. It'll be like the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but on a somewhat smaller scale.
    1
  450. It's Russia that's banned, not their athletes -- as long as they can prove they're clean.
    1
  451.  @emmittabramoff5067  RUSADA, who've now been caught cooking the books for the second time, can't be trusted to vouch for the Russian athletes, so other means needed to be found to ensure that there's no foul play. It's not ideal for the athletes, but it is fair towards the rest.
    1
  452. So? The USA is a gerontocracy. He'll fit right in.
    1
  453. The Orcs have never really understood scorched-earth policy, according to which a retreating defender destroys any assets that are useful to the advancing enemy. In Soviet Russian thinking, they must do the honours themselves.
    1
  454.  @JulianSojobo  You'd think the meticulous reports compiled by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in the Donbas would've mentioned said killings (of civilians?). But no, nothing. What makes the oversight even more peculiar is that Russian monitors actively participated in the SMM. You'd better explain this curious anomaly.
    1
  455. Yeah, how many did Russia kill in Afghanistan? And in Syria? Whataboutism works both ways.
    1
  456.  @herbh7893  Blackmail entails a threat of revealing damaging information. What's Serbia done this time?
    1
  457. Russia doesn't have air superiority over Ukraine and its drones are being shot down by British Martlets.
    1
  458.  @des_smith7658  Why not the Commonwealth? Oh, wait...
    1
  459.  @j.k.1239  So Russia isn't a debt spender. However, Russia is living off its savings, which are literally going up in smoke in Ukraine. The sole reason why Russia achieves GDP "growth" is that it dips into its savings. In another two years, Russia's national wealth fund will be depleted. Unlike debt spenders, Russia can't borrow money, because potential creditors know that it can't service its debts.
    1
  460.  Timon  Maybe so, but it's a marriage of convenience as far as China is concerned.
    1
  461.  @thomasshepard6030  They'll be under new management, that's all.
    1
  462.  @firestarter8202  This is embarrassing. Sweden is not a North Sea country. It's that old nemesis of yours again, geography.
    1
  463.  @watchnoface8770  Aw.
    1
  464.  @Gerrard_Pike2008  Russia's economic rise is a tall tale that has no basis in truth. No economist the world over is fooled. Russia's life blood, its oil and gas revenues, are seriously down. China and India are still buying, but at much reduced prices -- so reduced that Russia is selling at a loss. Russia is on the edge of a precipice.
    1
  465.  @Gerrard_Pike2008  Cope with regard to what? Our economy is doing fine, inflation is in check and energy prices are modest. The coping needs are all yours.
    1
  466.  @terryturbo7865  Nothing could be further from the truth. This makes for a nice chapter in the Brexit tragicomedy. We could title it "Boris Johnson Revisited".
    1
  467.  @mrjerzheel  Actually, Soviet arms were divvied up among the former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the USSR. Why would nuclear arms be an exception? Ukraine had a legal claim, just like Russia. Incidentally, among the conventional weapons that Ukraine inherited from old Soviet stocks were Tu-22 bombers and Kh-22 cruise missiles. Had Ukraine kept them, too, it could have repaid Russia in kind and fired the missiles at shopping malls and apartment buildings in Russia proper. Maybe Russia would've thought twice before targeting Ukrainian civilians.
    1
  468. What has Paul Gascoigne got to do with anything?
    1
  469. Which of the two?
    1
  470. Who's put nuclear missiles on whose doorstep? Only Russia is on NATO's doorstep. Not the other way around.
    1
  471.  @cyberash3000  RPGs are useless against airborne targets, sport.
    1
  472.  @arseface2k934  Kherson is 100% Ukrainian. Try telling the Irish or the Americans that they're English on account of the language they speak.
    1
  473.  @ralphzoombeenie2330  If so, why is the 4D chess player so keen to play into American hands? This war is ruining Russia, not to mention Putin's political career and his retirement plans.
    1
  474.  @hondurasallday123  I prefer the euro, Mr. Whataboutist.
    1
  475. We've been over this oh-so many times. The UNSC votes on a draft resolution, the US vetoes it. Notice the difference: UN, US?
    1
  476. Name some, in addition to the Qatargate ones.
    1
  477. Donnie Dumpsterfire also told us to eat lightbulbs and wash them down with disinfectant. But true enough, if the Germans had followed that particular bit of advice, Germany wouldn't need any Russian oil and gas now. They'd be extinct.
    1
  478. Your definition of greatness is an odd one. Putin turned the gas station that masquerades as a country into a gas station that's going out of business.
    1
  479.  @futuroluxo  The UN, flawed as it may be, is the only true international forum we've got. We could all send emissaries to a clearing in your jungle to agree on what little we can agree on, but that's not very practical.
    1
  480.  @spiritualwarrior7627  Sure, I think it poetic justice if the UK were to make way for India as a permanent member of the UNSC. But in order for that to happen, India needs to show it has a functioning moral compass and that it's not subservient to anyone.
    1
  481.  @warnpassion  Have a look at all the UN peacekeeping missions to date. Google is your friend.
    1
  482. If it helps to make Israel ease up on the wanton violence, why not.
    1
  483.  @mytrahana  No. Yours?
    1
  484.  @feiningerjones738  There's a lovely (Dutch) video about reporters putting a Quran wrapper around the Bible and reading unflattering passages from it to passersby. The latter are outraged by "Islamist" extremism.
    1
  485. What a great idea! The Druggie Olympics!
    1
  486.  @nickharvey7233  Any day now, the Kremlin will issue a statement that Sokolov has died a natural death. An undiagnosed health condition did him in. No storms or shadows were involved in his sudden demise.
    1
  487.  @christhedoc8689  Hello, fanboy. The 777 is getting long in the tooth.
    1
  488. They very rarely are, with FPTP.
    1
  489. There's plenty more where that come from.
    1
  490.  @jackybogues2495  If Putin want to play tit for tat, he'd have to send over weakly radioactive weapons, because that's what DU ammunition is. Its radioactivity is actually an unwanted feature; it's the other features that make DU penetrators lethal. In order to die from radioactive poisoning, the Orcs would literally have to lick off a whole lot of tanks struck by the DU-tipped rods.
    1
  491. Niger has had five coup d'etats. Burkina Fasso, a record-breaking eight. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
    1
  492. So the US is finally succumbing to Communism. Hint: this is an international forum.
    1
  493. Be that as it may, this one totally surprised him. We'll see another election soon, I guess, and that's not to Benny's advantage.
    1
  494. ​ @kuroneko9710  I wouldn't be too sure about that. As much as I support self-determination, a disintegrating Russia is going to be a bit of nightmare. The list alone is nearly endless: Adygea, Alania, Altai, Amberland, Astrakhan, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Chechnya, Chuvashia, Dagestan, Erzya, Ingria, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Karelia, Khakassia, Komi, Koryakia, Mari, Mordovia, Sakha, Siberia, Ossetia, Pomoria, Tatarstan, Tuva, Udmurtia, Uralia, Yakutia... and last and perhaps even least, Muscovy.
    1
  495. Former? There's a $250,000 bounty on his head.
    1
  496. At a distance, yes, because they've been denied entry into Putin's bunker.
    1
  497. Something's afoot at the UN. There's talk of a ceasefire all right.
    1
  498.  @tictoc5443  That'll set off a new Intifada that will dwarf the previous ones combined. Israel will be the first to demand aid for the Palestinians, or it will have to foot the bill itself.
    1
  499. What do we know? Google "List of NATO operations" and "Post-WWII conflicts". Not a lot of overlap.
    1
  500. Aren't we?
    1
  501. I had to teach my American cousins to shoot properly. They marvelled at my accuracy, but soon found out that with a little proper training, they could shoot straight, too. Military training makes all the difference.
    1
  502. Alas, that won't help Britain win.
    1
  503. I'm confused. Russia has started wars in Transnistria, Abkhazia and Ossetia. It seems Russia has no intention to end them. They don't call them frozen conflicts for nothing.
    1
  504.  @GIBBO4182  England is a country like Napa Valley is wine country.
    1
  505.  @menfis2  Foreign nationals? Dual nationals, more like. It's very popular in Israel, too. Most Israeli expats that I'm acquainted with have another nationality beside Israel's.
    1
  506. Have I claimed it's a prison for dual nationals? Your imagination is running wild.
    1
  507.  @rcgunner7086  Incidentally, Iraq already has F-16s, so our whataboutist friend needn't worry on their account.
    1
  508. Putin had Navalny's underpants laced with Novichok, so the answer is 'yes'.
    1
  509.  @IsraelistheJewsland  Well waddaya know. A pogrom perpetrated by Jews.
    1
  510. Don't forget to nominate the IDF for the Nobel Peace Prize.
    1
  511. What matters more is who's in. Preferably not a geriatric case.
    1
  512.  @mitchmomlc  Who then?
    1
  513. If so, Assange should've taken his chances in a US court of law.
    1
  514.  @semperxian It depends on how much economic hardship the Russians are willing to endure on account of Putin's ill-advised military adventurism. Probably too much, knowing the Russians' ingrained political apathy, but there's a limit.
    1
  515. Elaborate, which wars? I know of Biden only stopping one war, that in Afghanistan. He followed Trump's peace plan to the letter.
    1
  516. They'd have the guillotine out as soon as Charles mentions his salary expectation. France is doing better than the UK tourism-wise as it is.
    1
  517. A roo would do nicely. I loved Skippy as a nipper.
    1
  518. It does, too, funny man.
    1
  519. I'm curious how Taipei 101 fared.
    1
  520.  Lasse Riise  A general election would set that right in jiffy, but no, BoJo has to play PM, at least for a while.
    1
  521. Flag-waving is always good for a politician's popularity. I suppose Sunak was prodded into action by the Tory PR department.
    1
  522. The link to Ukraine was all in his head. And it's suspected would-be assassin. Presumption of innocence still applies in the Free World.
    1
  523.  @Richard1A2B  Which European country is capable of defending itself? Switzerland comes to mind, and some of the frontline states, like Finland and Poland. Sweden and Norway, probably, too.
    1
  524. The same God later created Christianity and then, Islam. He sure likes his devotees to be competitive... to a fault.
    1
  525.  @Imnotagroyperyoutube  I think they'll readily agree, but we're talking about a Christ that hasn't paid an earlier visit to Earth.
    1
  526.  @Imnotagroyperyoutube  No, I wasn't born yet.
    1
  527.  @Imnotagroyperyoutube  I don't like clichés. They're beneath me.
    1
  528. Will Trump have Secret Service agents accompany him in prison? As an ex-president, he's entitled to protection.
    1
  529.  @khiem1939  The Ukraine? Should we also refer to the USA as the American Colonies or the United Colonies?
    1
  530. ​ @Coolerman565  No worries, Russia will self-disassemble, just like the once-mighty Soviet Union did. The EU and NATO will see a queue of new applicants.
    1
  531. I don't know, but vice versa, we're always sending aid and taking in your refugees.
    1
  532.  @YOUTUBE_AMERICA  What am I missing here? Wasn't the OP juxtaposing Europe with the rest of the world? FYI, even with a brutal war being fought in Ukraine and scores of displaced Ukrainians sheltering in our midst, most of our refugees ("refugees") are non-European.
    1
  533.  @manas3492  Flaccid response, little guy.
    1
  534.  @neilbora2758  For the second time, we haven't got your stuff. Try rereading the whole thread, "old Indian".
    1
  535. Russia follows the trend, giving itself carte blanche to cause murder and mayhem in Ukraine.
    1
  536.  @bolatsabikhan8127  In the Winter War of 1939-1940, the USSR lost five times as many soldiers as Finland did, and this despite an overwhelming Soviet superiority in artillery and air power. The similarities are uncanny. And this time, Ukraine won't be left in the lurch.
    1
  537.  @SassoSkorzeny  The Western Allies let the Soviets take Berlin, as in stood by and waited, out of deference. Stalin desperately wanted it that way.
    1
  538. I'm watching a Putin troll squirm in anguish.
    1
  539. OK, whataboutist.
    1
  540. Western world? The UK is in a class of its own.
    1
  541.  @shadowbanned636  Nonsense. There were 120 troops, 14 Challenger 2s and an assortment of other British armoured and non-armoured vehicles in Finland for an exercise that saw many more Finnish, US and Estonian armoured vehicles participate. The Brits have moved on since.
    1
  542.  @shadowbanned636  No, they're not and no, no Brits are transferring here, and most certainly not on a permanent basis, not before Finland becomes a full NATO member and most probably, not after either.
    1
  543. Yet Putin is sought for war crimes in 124 countries.
    1
  544.  @patverum9051  Thyroid cancer is a relatively benign form of cancer. If Putin has to escape justice, he should emulate Hitler. He's in his bunker already.
    1
  545. An absolute monarch in this day and age. Well I never.
    1
  546. Yes, this must be a taxing time for conspiracy theorists.
    1
  547. Maybe it's the other way around.
    1
  548. Tautology detected.
    1
  549. Got it. Wagner will do an about-face and continue to advance, this time to the rear.
    1
  550.  @gearoidt6761  It's estimated that 700,000 Russians suffer from Russophobia to the extent that they had to leave the country. It's becoming a real pandemic, this Russophobia.
    1
  551. Tell Trump to walk the talk. He leaves unpaid bills in his wake like no other.
    1
  552.  @ricardoortiz-ij6io  Mr. Green did it with the lead pipe in the billiard room.
    1
  553.  @LewisJohniom  It would have to be a nuclear one. In my understanding Ukraine gave up theirs in exchange for security guarantees from Russia. Little did they know that Russia held its fingers crossed behind its back.
    1
  554. ZZzzzz...
    1
  555. The Russians are chucking $10 million missiles at $1 million targets -- and often miss. The game must be Monopoly and Russia is the one with the cashflow problem.
    1
  556. I hope the arms manufacturers remember Putin with a gift basket. NATO should, too. Best recruiter ever.
    1
  557. The biblical Job? He must predate Scholz by thousands of years.
    1
  558. What's your beef?
    1
  559. The EU is no stranger to corruption. It's rife in certainly member countries, like Hungary, where it has been endemic for, like, ever. The EU lacks jurisdiction to tackle corruption on a national level. Qatargate, however, as in a central EU organ being affected, is a new development.
    1
  560. Okay then. Poland, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, United Kingdom, Slovakia, France, Montenegro and North Macedonia are paying their dues.
    1
  561.  @UkraineNeeds  France 24 post videos on fake news. For your sake I hope this one is going to be featured, but I'm afraid not. It's too bizarre to be taken seriously by anyone but yourself.
    1
  562. @Козырь The Kremlin was actually quite bullish on Saddam's WMDs. Much more so than France and Germany, for instance.
    1
  563.  @keithrobertson3232  Not so fast. Russia covers a large part of Europe and it comes off worse than Ukraine in the Corruption Perception Index. Just saying.
    1
  564. If Qatar deems it worthwhile to bribe MEPs, wouldn't it stand to reason they're at it with your MPs, too? Glass houses...
    1
  565. Not quite. Netanyahu was caught with his pants down. It's a bit of a Yom Kippur War situation for his already troubled cabinet. I guess we're looking at yet another election in Israel.
    1
  566. If so, why not have Cameron return? His hubris made Brexit happen. If anyone, he should make it go away.
    1
  567. He knows now what daddy Xi thinks about nuclear sabre-rattling. Putin got a talking-to from his master and commander and, fighting back tears, Putin promised to behave from now on.
    1
  568. The Ukrainians are fighting like lions. Assad's troops, on the other hand...
    1
  569.  @evdomintakosto  Keep repeating that like a mantra and it becomes true... in your mind.
    1
  570. Who should Zelenskyy blame, its benefactors instead of its aggressor?
    1
  571. Because China wants Russia for a colony.
    1
  572. The fact of the matter is that Germany has been skimping on its own defence procurement, but at the same time, it has enjoyed lucrative arms exports. Especially now it's making a killing.
    1
  573. Yeah, but for how long? I remember only too well how I visited Taipei right after the big one 25 years ago. At our corporate office, there was a guy with a giant glue gun filling in the huge cracks in the walls. The next time I visited, we'd moved to a new office building, made of concrete slabs bolted to a steel frame.
    1
  574.  @missesCarmenB  In your wet dreams. Russia is screaming bloody murder about Western aid.
    1
  575. The correct reference here would be the Yom Kippur War. Likewise, Netanyahu and his not-so-merry men were caught with their pants down, despite the generals fussing about an imminent Palestinian attack. Netanyahu's unholy coalition will pay a political price, hopefully a steep enough one that banishes them to the opposition (or jail in Netanyahu's case) forever.
    1
  576. Be that as it may, this isn't helping the Gazans. On the contrary, even.
    1
  577. An ever-weakening Russia is only to China's advantage. Soon, Russia's UN membership can be revoked and it will be renamed Ruxia, China's northernmost province.
    1
  578. They have nowhere near the capacity of the train link that has just been severed. Stop day-dreaming.
    1
  579. Am I missing something or is there an Alternative Truths Network?
    1
  580. The International Osteoporosis Foundation? Me thinks there are more pressing concerns in Gaza right now.
    1
  581. Russia can't provide evidence in support of its wild accusations. Ukraine, on the other hand, has plenty of evidence. It's because these war crimes actually happened.
    1
  582.  @dil2370  The French have run out of royals, so they'll have to settle for imports.
    1
  583. In addition to the Gaza Strip, the UNRWA is active in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. UNRWA employs 30,000 aid workers in all. The accusations concern 12 of its Gazan employees. Er, never bathe babies.
    1
  584. What's new about it?
    1
  585. @Power Ball! Communism led to endemic corruption. The root of it all, Russia, is easily the most corrupt of them all.
    1
  586. In neutralising Hamas, yes, but not in continuing to oppress the Palestinians. Israel needs fresh ideas when the smoke clears.
    1
  587. They're not illegals the moment they apply for asylum.
    1
  588.  @thedin3467  Not at all. I'm an early Brexiteer -- assuming the term can be applied to a non-Brit.
    1
  589.  @lionchampion587  "When Russia retaliates"? Russia has been "retaliating" with the very same type of missiles from day one of the war. And what is Russia going to do next? Put nuclear warheads on its long-range missiles and in the process poison itself with radio-active fallout?
    1
  590. Russia can ill-afford to open up another front. The war in Ukraine is already bankrupting Russia.
    1
  591. Anti-Putin Russian partisans made their presence known?
    1
  592. You'd think the Russians have developed IFF by now.
    1
  593. The former is very real and while the latter is imagined. Ask Russia's OSCE observers. They reluctantly had to admit no massacres took place in Donbas between 2014 and 2022.
    1
  594.  @psibug565  The UK has stricter defamation laws. And the Muricans didn't invent presumption of innocence. The Romans did.
    1
  595.  @nataliakalinina3883  Osama ended up dead, didn't he?
    1
  596. I hope Macron remembers to serve them blood, not wine.
    1
  597. I'm sure Charles is putting out feelers.
    1
  598.  @Wally-H  So, agent Putin carried a Nagant revolver from 1895? Figures.
    1
  599.  @Senninhamcl  Ahem, Putin is better off calling it quits. Embarrassingly, Prigozhin showed that the Russian army won't oppose a coup d'état. Also, Putin cutting a deal with a coup plotter whom he called a traitor and promised to punish only hours before shows that the dictator is utterly desperate. He's a goner all right.
    1
  600.  @thetruth9210  As the Americans so aptly put it, coulda-woulda-shoulda.
    1
  601. Not sure if West China makes for a great holiday destination. Xi's people will turn Russia upside down for natural resources. Colonies are meant to be exploited.
    1
  602. I wonder. Prigozhin's Wagner is well positioned to take on the other oligarchs' private armies. He may very well emerge victorious from the upcoming series of team deathmatches that will become known as Russian Civil War 2.0.
    1
  603.  @Ovajug  Referendums are necessary when the outcome is uncertain. In Finland, there was nothing uncertain about the outcome. A whopping 96% of the MPs voted in favour of NATO membership.
    1
  604. The massive Israeli military build-up belies the fact that Israel is more than ever at a loss how to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
    1
  605. That's desperate botting. Up your game.
    1
  606.  @Coolerman565  Why should they have? For all those years, Russian OSCE SMM officials in Donetsk failed to report anything that would incriminate Ukraine. Disinformation is Russia's style.
    1
  607.  @degreatal  Psychopath detected.
    1
  608.  @SON-OF-AFRICA1022  Jews believe in Jesus? They think him an imposter, more like.
    1
  609. Despite having superior air power, the tide hasn't turned in Russia's favour.
    1
  610.  @ulrikjensen6841  What exactly is the great attraction of a monarchy? Income from tourism? France literally cut off the problem at the head, and it's raking it in like no other.
    1
  611.  @guleet75  Sure thing. It happens even in the most developed countries.
    1
  612.  @muckraker7942  Trump should let street gangs attack tenants of his who're behind in rent payments. Same difference. Wait, should Trump's many, many irate creditors also send street thugs after him? What's good for the goose...
    1
  613.  @aantonic  Sure, Ukraine is a beacon of democracy, freedom and human rights in a sea formed by Russia and Ukraine. No question about it.
    1
  614. Huh? Putin should sign a law that allows unicorns to join Russia's armed forces. Maybe they can charm the Wagnerites to play nice.
    1
  615.  @zelenskyy-the-blackmailerh5920  Have ever given it any thought that your megalomaniacal impersonation of Zelenskyy is actually a compliment to the man? I mean, Napoleon has many impersonators in mental asylums. Only great leaders have 'em.
    1
  616.  @justiceandfreedom5773  Yeah, the UK president, that's a real meanie!
    1
  617. ​ @minimoog4236  It's a start, but it's the long drop that does it.
    1
  618.  @anti-bullingjames  NATO didn't get involved in Syria. Facts are a b*tch, aren't they?
    1
  619. The question is, does Iran really expect Israel not to retaliate in kind? Israeli military planners must be salivating at the opportunity to strike Iran directly. Iran just provided a very welcome excuse.
    1
  620.  @kanedNunable  That's highly debatable. Iran uses proxies to attack Israel and Israel attacks their Iranian handlers, thus far on foreign soil. Try to keep it civil, buddy.
    1
  621. I know, Iraqi infantry tried to surrender to Apache attack helicopters in the Gulf War. Now it's Russians surrendering to drones.
    1
  622. I know this one! Russia! Correct?
    1
  623. Every conflict needs a Comical Ali. Saddam had the real thing, Putin has Lavrov and Hamas has this clown.
    1
  624. If the landing ship was struck by a Tochka or Neptune missile, as experts have suggested, the port of Berdyansk continues to be within striking range. Also, the sunk ship is blocking part of the pier, which isn't helping Russia's supply situation either.
    1
  625. The Brits skipped King Charleses 3 to 110?
    1
  626.  @BIASED_YOUTUBE  The real question is, where are Putin's flashy parade tanks, the "state-of-the-art" T-14 Armatas? We all know they're not battle-ready, so he might as well use them for their intended purpose: parades.
    1
  627.  @thorkushari4027  Your point being?
    1
  628.  @NathanM4A1  Your 90% success rate -- even if true -- is wishful thinking if Hamas saturates Israel's defences like they've done this time. We're seeing a classic saturation attack.
    1
  629. It's a no go. Russians are too apathetic for that. Their apathy also explains why Putin is still in power.
    1
  630. <Cough>Iraq War<cough>.
    1
  631. @Anonymous One I wouldn't go that far (FPTP is hopelessly archaic), but it seems the UK can tell good democracies apart from mediocre and bad ones. Or at the least the analysts at The Economist can.
    1
  632.  @Bee.Holder  But your Slobodan Milosevic, the Butcher of the Balkans, fits the bill nicely. Died in his prison cell.
    1
  633.  @cplcabs  Actually, polls suggested that a majority of the Gazans were in favour of maintaining the tenuous ceasefire that existed before Oct 7. But don't let facts interfere.
    1
  634. ...and now it's even worse off.
    1
  635. Sly? Biden isn't letting Ukraine do anything that Russia hasn't done unto Ukraine first. Russia's been at it for nearly three years, for gossake.
    1
  636. I suppose you'd be happy with Trump in the White House. He wouldn't even pretend to care for Gaza's civilians, and he'd send twice the amount of weapons to kill them. No hypocrisy, after all.
    1
  637. Same!
    1
  638.  @managerofthebotfarm7111  Don't flatter yourself. I would never work for a nincompoop like yourself.
    1
  639. I'm not so sure. Israel is clearly out of ideas. They're acting like an automaton. Itchy & Scratchy Show, except it isn't funny. The US has no clue either.
    1
  640. Saddam got a full 100% of the vote. Then they hung him.
    1
  641. I'm sure they'll get on like a house bridge on fire.
    1
  642. It depends on whoever decides to print out the PDF. This is the Information Age, sport.
    1
  643. Duh, Trump is literally an agent provocateur here.
    1
  644. Uh, it's because they've joined the digital world that they rejected mobes and opted for one-way pagers.
    1
  645. Fanboys fooling fanboys.
    1
  646. My Finnish granddad told similar stories. The Russians attacked across snowy fields, clad in brown overcoats, which made them stick out like sore thumbs. The machine gunners mowing them down had to be replaced regularly, because they were sickened by the wholesale slaughter. He once dryly commented that on his 21st birthday he became a serial killer.
    1
  647.  Ben Gunn  Weird, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission reported no deliberate shelling of civilians by Ukraine. And Russia is an OSCE member, which makes it doubly weird.
    1
  648.  @JamesBond-8668  Didn't I just imply that the Yoonited States of Murica are sick?
    1
  649. In that Soviet-era relic? It would self-destruct before anyone would notice.
    1
  650.  @danishcommander4dk  Aw.
    1
  651. Aren't they? Their secret is their ability to spell the word.
    1
  652. London is a marmite target.
    1
  653. Same difference.
    1
  654.  @Imnotagroyperyoutube  Non sequitur, little buddy.
    1
  655. I thought it would be President Navalny who extradites Putin to stand trial in The Hague. Oh well, President Navalnaya is close enough.
    1
  656. Go for it. I hope the three can have adjoining cells.
    1
  657. The expectation of a free and fair election in Russia doesn't amount to meddling.
    1
  658.  @polasbeatz  In your undoubtedly humble opinion, should Israel also strive to become a terrorist organisation? I thought the country had loftier goals (after attaining nationhood, that is).
    1
  659.  @tastypymp1287  I wouldn't go that far. There's a lot of heckling going on.
    1
  660. By the justice system, actually. Separation of powers? Nothing?
    1
  661.  @MWENDA-vv5im  Russia lost on SMO Day+10. The rest is just about Putin still somehow trying to stave off forced retirement -- or worse. His best bet may be a cell in The Hague.
    1
  662.  @77esto  *Russians haven't even managed to scratch a M1 Abrams.
    1
  663.  @toto-yf8tc  Don't spread misinformation. No one said so, because everyone knows economic sanctions take time to bite. Russia is in a long, ever-darkening tunnel. And there's no light at the end. Only pitch-black darkness.
    1
  664. Right, he should lower the average age of his team rather than raise it further.
    1
  665. Hopefull they concentrate on the culprits instead of raising a new regiment of future Hamas terrorists. Violence begets violence, unrestrained violence even more so.
    1
  666.  @Dive-Bar-Casanova  Nah, they're busily preparing Milosevic's old cell in The Hague. They repainting it blue and yellow just for Putin.
    1
  667.  @khongelaningobeni6614  Copy-paste job from Wikipedia.
    1
  668.  @aleksej6489  Yeah, Putin's puppet Janukovych fled to his pupper master in Russia, after being abandoned by his own party. Anything to add to that?
    1
  669. Congrats to India, too. Poetic justice.
    1
  670. Question: as a Communist Party member for over twenty years, wasn't Putin a filthy leftist himself?
    1
  671. Banks tend to record transactions carefully. You'd better not engage in any corrupt practices, because you'd find yourself in the slammer in no time.
    1
  672. It should've gone to trial, if only to see if the charges against Assange had any merit. Assange going to great lengths to evade a trial does hint that there was an element of truth to the charges.
    1
  673. Why, Ukraine just made great strides in pushing the Orcs out.
    1
  674.  @WhatYaL00kingAt  Russia only has the legal right to pack up and leave Ukraine.
    1
  675.  @spaceman51974  Hitler approves of your message.
    1
  676. With the staggering number of Russian tanks captured and destroyed in Ukraine, Putin would have to send WW2-era T-34s to Finland. Perhaps the Finns can muster enough humour to play along and stop them with WW2-era Panzerfausts, just like last time. Or just use NLAWs and see which AT team can make a turret fly the furthest.
    1
  677. Then the Siege of Bakhmut starts.
    1
  678. Wishful thinking. FYI, when military experts speak of "boots on the ground", it doesn't mean boots scattered on the ground after a stand-off strike on a shoe factory.
    1
  679. Putin manages to get himself "voted in" as a dictator again and again. Trump, no.
    1
  680. Interestingly, the Democracy Index downgraded the USA to 'flawed democracy' when Trump got elected. Not because of what Trump did -- he hadn't had the chance yet -- but because of the eroding trust in US democratic institutions that landed Trump the presidency. Be that as it may, Trump's subsequent election denial hasn't improved matters. Year by year, the US is doing worse in the Democracy Index.
    1
  681. Someone's forgetting that WMDs include biological and chemical weapons, too.
    1
  682.  @niblet112  Your mum.
    1
  683.  @halberderdier8073  The US has a plethora of extracurricular activities in matters military. With few exceptions, European defence spending goes purely towards fullfilling NATO commitments. The US have committed themselves in many more areas. The Iraq War was a case in point. That was purely an extracurricular activity as far as NATO was concerned.
    1
  684.  @loppadus  Yeah, time for a true multiparty democracy.
    1
  685.  @dakedakinson64  Kinda hard, with weakly radioactive material. They don't call it 'depleted' for nothing.
    1
  686. It's pretty much Putin against the world.
    1
  687. How about a Reptilian then? Tories loved the Queen, and she was one.
    1
  688.  @cdeford2  Putin has no veto in matters pertaining to NATO membership. Putin can invent himself a sphere of influence, but there's no legal basis for it. Russia broke the UN Charter, period.
    1
  689. Russia and Israel have been on pretty good terms lately.
    1
  690. I'm sure Lukashenko already learned his lesson two and half years ago, when Russia's 3-day SMO went pear-shaped. He's sitting tight in the knowledge that his dictatorial regime will survice Putin's by mere days. Rocking the boat would only hasten their demise.
    1
  691.  @madalinradion  ...and Russia's permanent seat in the UNSC. He won't be needing that either.
    1
  692. Biden ain't no Dubya.
    1
  693. What are your thoughts on having an ex-KGB officer as Russia's president-for-life?
    1
  694. Not that easy. We'd like to give Ukraine some of our AGM-158 JASSMs, but the USA controls their export licenses.
    1
  695. One of the African alliances is Ecowas. It firmly opposes the coup d'etat.
    1
  696.  @Ovajug  On Putin's orders, I'm sure.
    1
  697. If Scots vote SNP and elsewhere Labour wins the day and the two form a coalition government, what's the issue? There's only an issue if anti-Tory votes get split on a constituency level.
    1
  698.  @ScottishRoss27  That's the SNP's job, innit?
    1
  699. Who exactly is Putin railing against here? He let go the biggest rebel of them all.
    1
  700. ​ @matimus100  Which part? Hint: Vikings were decidedly Germanic in origin.
    1
  701.  @Arltratlo  Read again. Germanic.
    1
  702.  @Marie0575  Is HUH already trademarked, for His or Her Useless Highness?
    1
  703. Not really. Zelenskyy has shown that he has taken defence in depth to heart. In the mean time, the chief (or chef) of your group of ex-prisoners is screaming blue murder about his exposed flanks and lack of ammunition. Now he's even turned against grandpa Putin.
    1
  704.  @EmperorCheed  Krembots don't bother with sources of any kind. Krembots are allergic to facts.
    1
  705.  @youjustreadthis897  "[The] investigation was delegated to the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) and the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT), which in 2016 reported that the aircraft had been downed by a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine. [...] The JIT found that the Buk originated from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Federation [...] and had been transported from Russia on the day of the crash, fired from a field in a rebel-controlled area, and that the launch system returned to Russia afterwards. [...] On 17 November 2022, following a trial in absentia in the Netherlands, two Russians and a Ukrainian separatist were found guilty of murdering all 298 people on board flight MH17. The Dutch court also ruled that Russia was in control of the separatist forces fighting in eastern Ukraine at the time. [...]"
    1
  706. I'm not sure they'll ever get democracy right.
    1
  707. @Blue True, and Airbus and Boeing use very similar avionics.
    1
  708. Those "reports" come in from the voices inside your head. The good news is, they can be suppressed with antipsychotic medication.
    1
  709. Impotent rage.
    1
  710.  @billgussy6099  I agree. The extradition of Putin to The Hague must be negotiated.
    1
  711.  @salvatoreventaglio3782  Is Russia at war with the UK, USA and the *EU now? I'm sure President Navalny will have no problem with extraditing Putin.
    1
  712. MAKS is first and foremost a marketplace for Russian aerospace companies. I guess there's no business to be had for the poor blighters. They can't produce so no-one's thinking of buying their kit.
    1
  713.  @bernardzsikla5640  Nah, cooler heads understand that this is between Hamas and Israel. In more ways than one, Hamas is a monster that Israel's hard-liners created. Hamas is an obstacle to peace, but the same can be said about Netanyahu and his far-right cronies. When both are out of the picture, there's a chance for peace.
    1
  714. ​ @Doobiescoo18  Perhaps Farage should fight to get his democracy in the UK. The House of Common remains perpetually out of his reach, unlike the European Parliament, where he was a shoo-in.
    1
  715. Putting things into perspective clearly isn't your forte.
    1
  716. I'm sure President Navalny will be only too glad to extradite him.
    1
  717. Finland, Canada and Spain should also gift theirs. Cowardly Switzerland won't give Ukraine even a flyswatter.
    1
  718. It comes with the job. Deep down, he has a conscience.
    1
  719.  @winstoningram99  It fits the picture that you'd leave Ukraine in the lurch. Brexit was all about lack of solidarity, too.
    1
  720. A team deathmatch pitting Wagnerites against Kadyrovites would be fun to watch. But when a PMC fails to deliver on its commitments, it's a breach of contract, not desertion.
    1
  721.  @johnmuthan286  "Other Muslims"? Reading comp!
    1
  722. Israel rules the waves.
    1
  723. Wrong vid, Carlos. Keep your eye on the ball.
    1
  724.  @UkraineNeeds  Now it's generals? Your propaganda piece about Western soldiers and/or mercenaries being killed in the criminal Kramatorsk missile strike failed to gain traction, so now your propaganda masters have upped the ante? Russia's desperation is palpable.
    1
  725. Yes, let's have a distraction! Anything will do!
    1
  726.  @slawomirsobanski8830  But there's compelling evidence of Russia being even more corrupted.
    1
  727. They're there already, operated by the locally based Orcs. They daren't give them to the Syrians, however. Firstly, Israel would show the world how they fall short. Secondly, the bumbling Syrians would shoot more Russian planes out of the sky.
    1
  728. JD Vance is a right-wing populist all right. Xenophobic scaremongering, check.
    1
  729.  @Redpilled66  Russia is only formally out of a recession because it's plundering its own national wealth fund to produce arms, which literally go up in smoke in Ukraine.
    1
  730. Give it a few days and the Kremlin will announce that Sokolov died from entirely unrelated causes.
    1
  731. Not true. The EU wisely steers clear of separatism in its member states. Besides, Catalonia isn't the only fault line in Europe. Belgium has existed as an entirely artificial construct for nearly two centuries. It will split eventually, but without a bang. Ironically, it's the EU that enables separatism by providing a sound framework for peaceful coexistence and continued close economic co-operation. France, Germany and Italy may go down the same road, with Euskadi, Bavaria and Padania splitting off respectively. The UK's problem with regard to Scotland is that there's no such framework in place. Unionist unhappiness with the NIP illustrates the problem nicely.
    1
  732.  @richardwainwright507  At the risk of being pedantic, Putin's 20-year rule hasn't been continuous. He did the infamous switcheroo with Medvedev, who served as a placeholder 'president' for four years until Putin, who served as 'prime minister' in the mean time, could resume his presidential duties. It's also interesting to note that Medvedev has evolved during the years. He used to be Putin's lovable lapdog, but now he's his snarling attack dog. The right role in the right place.
    1
  733.  @dagestandagestan8064  For your info, Russia's warships in the Med were and continue to be barred from entering the Black Sea. They'll just have to go and twiddle their thumbs in the Barentz Sea or some such.
    1
  734.  @Z5100-k7t  I don't think the rebels are keen on striking deals, after being bombed by Russia in Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Homs. Russia has made its bed and now has to lie in it.
    1
  735.  @zeusprophet7305  Is there a point in there somewhere?
    1
  736.  @ktb9369  It will be nigh impossible for Sunak to negotiate the mountain of dung left by his predecessors. Leader of the Opposition is an achievable role for him.
    1
  737. Russia can't afford to make more enemies. It's up to its neck in trouble on account of Ukraine.
    1
  738. Please don't kill your colleague.
    1
  739. The Montgolfier brothers are jealous.
    1
  740. Labour could try to sway its voters against reunification. Nice of them that they won't. Or so they promise.
    1
  741. A nuclear escalation wouldn't please Xi. China's patience with Putin must be wearing thin.
    1
  742.  @petersack5074  It's ironic that Putin's "special military operation" is showing more and more similarities with Napoleon's Russian campaign, which the Russians still celebrate as a great victory. Napoleon withdrew his forces with appalling losses. Likewise, Putin's Russia has suffered appalling losses. The withdrawal is still pending.
    1
  743. Yeah, have yourselves another fateful referendum and cut the UK even further off from the club of civilised nations that want justice and freedom to prevail.
    1
  744. Several British PMs have served in the role, taken a break, and returned to office. Churchill is the latest example.
    1
  745.  @R-E-X-  I meant to say the last Tory.
    1
  746.  @psycho8927  Russia is hardly doing fine. It's plundering its own national wealth fund to keep the war machine going. In another two years, Russia will be bankrupt. Then the beggar's hand comes out again.
    1
  747. The man deserves an OBE for launching new parties. And abandoning them.
    1
  748. Oh, but Russia did sign the Rome Statute that established the ICC, only for Putin to withdraw Russia's signature when he'd gone over to the dark side. It's a no-brainer for an international criminal.
    1
  749. Give them time. They're arrive at the right conclusion eventually.
    1
  750. Nonsense, Russia has expended all the credibility it ever had, many many years ago. The funniest example was when Iran blundered and shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet. Russia jumped to defend Iran, concocting one conspiracy theory after another blaming the US... till Iran owned up. Russia wasn't even ashamed. Better luck next time, the Kremlin propagandists shrugged it off.
    1
  751. They'll find a way to sink even lower. The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is due in November.
    1
  752. Putin expected the Ukrainians to greet his troops with flowers. He never anticipated this.
    1
  753.  @mariaadelecagna3540  Too bad then that Russia isn't a superpower.
    1
  754. That'll be the day. A Briton speaking a foreign language.
    1
  755. On the contrary, she made Britain more democratic, and if she's victorious again, it's another great victory for democracy. She should be at the top of the Honours list.
    1
  756. Both the Hezbollah and the IDF accuse the UN of being partial. I guess it's OK then.
    1
  757. ​ @tomhenry897  Putin, strong? He's still in power, but much weakened. Tellingly, in Rostov, the Russian army just waved Prigozhin's Wagnerites on. Then Putin strikes a shady deal with Prigozhin, only hours after calling him a traitor and promising to punish him. Putin's countdown has begun.
    1
  758. Wait, isn't India a republic as well?
    1
  759. Putin is actually on surprisingly good terms with Netanyahu. China knows better, too.
    1
  760.  @Peter_S_  A Javelin packs a bigger punch than a naval gun, and those are still widely used for anti-ship purposes. Besides, even if the landing ship stays afloat after a hit, there's a good change its cargo is rendered useless. Admittedly, getting into firing range with a Javelin would be a challenge.
    1
  761.  @AnotherOne-ny5ls  I wouldn't be so sure. Israel can pressure the US government, which in turn can pressure Musk. The Pentagon is paying for Starlink service in Ukraine. Musk may have to choose between Ukraine and Gaza. Ukraine is fighting an existential battle against a foe many times its size, while Israel is conducting punitive raids against a terrorist organisation, be it with a lot of collateral damage.
    1
  762. If so, public humiliating ensued for Russia.
    1
  763. How about a non-geriatric case for President?
    1
  764.  @briancarno8837  The OSCE, including its Russian monitors, found no evidence of Ukraine targeting civilians in Donbas. Stop peddling blatantly obvious lies.
    1
  765.  @taika.melissa2798  That's all good and well, but Niinistö's Swedish is an abomination.
    1
  766.  @neponepo8349  It isn't. I should know.
    1
  767. How's Trump going to solve all the crises we're now seeing? Swallow a light bulb and wash it down with bleach? Come to think of it, I'd like to see him try.
    1
  768. Bolsonaro already left for the US with his tail firmly tucked between his legs. But the fat lady hasn't sung yet. Soon enough, there will be an extradition request for the Americans to peruse.
    1
  769. 0:26 "The Kiev regime is trying [...] to provoke us to similar actions". Putin's Baghdad Bob gets it backwards again.
    1
  770. It was force majeure. Russia's entry, a military brass band, was wiped out in the Battle of Kyiv.
    1
  771. Yup, he's making way for the next gerontocrat. Vance and Musk are getting their milking machine ready as we speak.
    1
  772. The Brits will still be shafted, but um... okay.
    1
  773.  @theguy4084  It's not just Lithuania. Likewise, Finland refused to pay for Russian gas in roubles and found itself cut off. Now Russian oil is also banned.
    1
  774. It made way for Putin's Special Political Survival Show. Gotta love Reality TV.
    1
  775. Yeah, what about whataboutism.
    1
  776. Maybe they agreed on the deputy minister's upcoming nomination to defence minister in Prigozhin's administration.
    1
  777. It's almost worth the £107.5 million a year.
    1
  778.  @xhogun8578  France chopped their heads off and still makes more money from tourism. Better worth it!
    1
  779.  @eyaklen4804  If it was a clever deception of Putin's and Prigozhin's part, then there's a problem. In the process, Prigozhin dealt Putin a mortal wound. The wound will fester for a while, but in the end, Putin will succumb to the political equivalent of septicaemia.
    1
  780. Same difference.
    1
  781. ​ @mitchhills4747  I believe both the Republicans and Democrats have other candidates, right? Then there are independents and third-part candidates.
    1
  782. I agree that Israel has "zero war aims". It simply doesn't know what it's doing.
    1
  783.  @anoobiscooking1193  Sure they want to trade and will, too. But at the same time, they have to make sure they're not getting screwed over by China. Hence, things will move much slower. That is not to China's advantage. Actions have consequences.
    1
  784. The monarchy is a disgrace to your country.
    1
  785. Lying comes easy to Russians. So much so, that they think it a devilish ploy when someone speaks the truth when it's more advantageous to lie. They can't get their heads around it.
    1
  786. Much more than that, he's a great source of grief to those who still believe, against all odds, in a semblance of Russian victory in Ukraine. Don't O.D. on copium.
    1
  787. I'd love to hear about the talking-to that Putin has received from Xi. It's a pity autocratic societies can't be open about these things.
    1
  788.  @2XLBlazer  Yup, he used to be David Franks.
    1
  789. China has copied them well.
    1
  790. If the door plug was covered up by paneling and the loose bolts were behind it, it's not a regular maintenance issue. Maybe heavy maintenance, but that's after 6 to 10 years of service. The aircraft in question was only a few months only.
    1
  791.  @MuantanamoMobile  Obviously, I'm talking about the Nigeriens at large. They voted in President Bazoum. They've had no say about General Tchiani usurping power. What we're dealing with here is vampires replacing ticks.
    1
  792.  @CjrRbt  Generic claptrap.
    1
  793. 36,693 Richmondians did.
    1
  794. How exactly has Russian sovereignty been threatened? Me thinks Russian sovereignty stops at the Russian border. Unlike Russian expansionism.
    1
  795.  @MartinLundström-l4v  Mind your spelling. *Losers *lose.
    1
  796. Not all of us are psychopaths. Get help.
    1
  797. I've got a better idea. Zelenskyy sends the Orcs packing, so that Russia won't take over the country, because otherwise Russia would bring Ukraine up to the same level of corruption as in Russia, which is way-way worse than Ukraine's. See, Zelenskyy is fighting corruption.
    1
  798. That'll do, Ivan.
    1
  799.  @DavidJohnson-dc8lu  Uh, countries bring themselves into NATO and US military bases -- or rather NATO bases -- and weapons only get to be placed there if the countries in question explicitly agree. In fact, some do not and are none the worse for wear.
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  800. If it does happen, it's a sad day for Putin's eternal whataboutists.
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  801.  @melissas4874  That's a non-argument, Melissa.
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  802. I suppose that if a BRICS summit is ever held in Brazil or South Africa, Putin will have to join over Zoom. Who'll blame him -- I hear the prisons over there aren't particularly nice.
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  803. Didn't everyone get to vote on those EU directives, the UK included? When still a member, the UK could even have vetoed them.
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  804. Wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting defeat? I mean, if what started out as a two-day special military operation turns into a global thermonuclear war, something is terribly amiss. No, before it comes to that, a 4D chess master would cleverly withdraw, knowing full well that NATO won't pursue his bruised and battered troops into Russia proper. Putin needn't worry that the Russians won't understand either. Already 40% of the populace think it's OK for Russia to call it quits and withdraw.
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  805. Lavrov thinks it's a Western ploy. The Kremlin apologists had better sync their excuses. The poor Russians don't know anymore what they're being told to believe.
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  806. A mantra of the clueless.
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  807. Take your ultranationalism where the sun don't shine.
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  808.  @ArashMarzbanan  If so, it's deuced weird that the Afghan Karzai government granted mineral rights to China in particular. The Chinese couldn't exploit said rights because of the security situation. Still can't. So much for your stealing.
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  809.  @Collat3ralD4mage  The Krembot hopes Hamas can do what Ukraine does to their warships as a matter of routine.
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  810.  @peterpeterpeter6315  Historians will refer to the next phase of operations as Russian Civil War 2. May the oligarch with the best private army win.
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  811. "Bryan", NATO has nuclear gravity bombs in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. France has air and sea-launched nuclear missiles. That's 5 out of 27 EU members, a far cry from your "ALL over the EU".
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  812.  @omaral-falahi5005  Be that as it may, Netanyahu doesn't care. He's deliriously happy to continue making war.
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  813. Where's your precedent then? Hamas, or any other Palestinian terrorist organisation for that matter, has never struck such a powerful blow before.
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  814. Don't flatter yourselves unduly. It's your lax legislation -- a huge black job market and lack of ID cards -- that make the UK a premier destination for illegal immigrants. On the continent, we know better.
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  815.  @Worldturnedupsidedown  Russia should've thought of that when it decided to intervene in the Syrian civil war in 2014. Now it's two military bases poorer.
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  816. OK, Sherlock.
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  817.  @frdsg8350  No worries. I have a feeling there will be a sovereign nation called England -- or perhaps more appropriately, Little England -- in the future. Unless the UK manages to worm its way back into the EU, that is.
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  818. By all indicators the West is best. Democracy-wise, the UK scores 18th place among the world's democracies. Russia, 144th. Illusion that.
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  819. ​ @asifdil9998  There's been no shortage of UN draft resolutions condemning Israel's excesses. The problem is, the US vetoes all those that matter, the UN Security Council ones. We have a similar phenomenon at play in Russia vetoing all UNSC draft resolutions that condemn its actions in Ukraine. If the UN is corrupt, it's corrupt in more ways than one.
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  820. Does the British Council organise English lessons in Murica as well? Enrol if they do.
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  821. I believe Hitler said that in his Führerbunker about the Germans and the Endsieg.
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  822. Lay off the video games. This is deep inside enemy territory.
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  823. I'd be surprised if the judges in question have any holidays plans that involve Russia. Putin's travel problems, on the other hand, aren't limited to one country. He's got 123 travel problems.
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  824.  @gordanaarsenic3649  As in lousing it up so the Ukrainians could shine?
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  825.  @davidtrotman5990  Sure, Napoleon overstayed his welcome.
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  826. Likewise, Russia dealt Ukraine a sucker punch in Feb '22. That wasn't the full story, however.
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  827. Uh, Hamas doesn't rule in the West Bank. Fatah does. The two are not exactly on friendly terms.
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  828. Yeah, and FPTP to top it off. Works wonders in a highly polarised country.
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  829. Keeping the war going is Bibi's only chance at clinging to power.
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  830. From Russia? They nuked their own?
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  831. What's the benefit in Israel ruining its already frayed reputation throughout the world?
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  832. Don't go paranoid on us now. It's the mayor of Brussels who called a halt to the conference. The EU has no jurisdiction in such domestic matters.
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  833. It sucks for Russia that while it has taken 99.5% of Bakhmut, that 99.5% of Bakmuth has been turned to rubble as well. Russia must've misunderstood the memo about scorched earth tactics.
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  834. They're called Krembots and useful idiots. I don't know which ones are more pathetic.
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  835. So they have a death wish.
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  836. Putin stayed in Muscovy. Russia is on its last legs.
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  837. 4 to 6 weeks, "George".
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  838. Theirs is a presidential system. The UK is a parliamentary democracy. The Economist's Democracy Index puts the UK in 18th place, whereas Russia manages only 144th place. Putting things into perspective is not your forte, it seems.
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  839.  @petermizon4344  Yup, don't provoke Iran or they'll start killing their own.
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  840. Ruscia sounds more Latin.
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  841.  @thewedge8823  No worries, The Hague will prosecute Putin. I believe a post-Putin Russia will even extradite Putin, just like Serbia extradited Milosevic. Serbia wasn't a member of the ICC's predecessor, the ICTY, either. What's the relevance of the USA here? The Hague is not in the US.
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  842. Simple-pimple. If they apply for asylum, they become asylum seekers. If they're granted asylum, they become refugees.
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  843. Putin thinks peace means taking a break to rest, refit and resupply.
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  844. Of course they did, and Israel didn't disappoint either. In fact, Israel willingly obliged.
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  845. Tens of thousands? An estimated 700,000 military-age Russians have fled the country.
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  846. A conspiracy theorist of the Ickian kind! I thought you'd all died of shame by now.
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  847.  @coindisk355  Ahem, the monarch reigns, but does not rule.
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  848.  @throbbingfellow1136  It's hardly meaningless. Putin suddenly can't go to 123 countries, or he'll face arrest. For example, if BRICS organises a summit in South Africa or Brazil, Putin will be clapped in irons if he attends.
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  849.  @markaxworthy2508  I'm not sure either feat makes the story "beautiful".
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  850.  @markaxworthy2508  St. Patrick didn't invent the Irish. The role of Christianity in 'civilising' a people is overrated. We abandoned our pagan beliefs half a millennium after the Irish, but it hasn't hurt us none. It's also interesting that our would-be St. Patrick, Bishop Henry, literally got the axe after stealing food. At least he left the snakes in peace.
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  851.  @orcho141  Not really separate. Russia pushes migrants across the border, who may seek asylum in the Baltic states, but anyhoo they're likely to move on to greener pastures like the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavia. The UK in particular is heaven for illegal immigrants because of poor enforcement and plentiful 'black' job opportunities.
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  852. I see it differently. Letting Russia keep theirs was an epic fail.
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  853.  @decus9544  Beggars can't be choosers. We could've made the IMF and World Bank loans that saved Russia's bacon in the nineties subject to nuclear disarmament.
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  854. Direct your pleas to not-so-mighty Russia.
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