badgerx16

Estonia's Foreign Minister says NATO has 'perhaps three or four years to prepare'. Also, from a paywalled article in The Times last month; "Lithuania is preparing for a possible escalation in tensions with neighbouring Belarus, Russia’s biggest ally in Europe, its foreign minister has said. Last month Belarus accused Lithuania of trying to target its capital, Minsk, with combat drones, a claim that was rebuffed as absurd. The allegation came shortly after Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian dictator, openly discussed a potential attack on the Suwalki Gap, a sliver of territory on the Polish-Lithuanian border that has been identified by analysts as Nato’s Achilles’ heel. “We hear things like this almost every week. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s happening now,” Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister, said during an interview with The Times on Wednesday." No way is Luka acting without Putin's direction..

Keith

No idea. I have no experience of how the mind of a megalomaniac works. All I can do is read and quote the things he has published, and judge him by his actions.

Apple goes bankrupt ?

How far his intentions stretch is currently a metter of opinion; he has plans and ambitions, these are clearly documented, and should Trump "finish the war in one day" then Putin will feel justified in having initiated the SMO, and have far fewer qualms about turning his eye towards his next target. His justification for attacking Ukraine was that it "is not a proper country", and the same line of argument will be rolled out for the Baltics. What chance of a new wave of 'little green men' posing as pro-Russian independence fighters ?

According to this, only Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Portugal will spend less than 2% of GDP on defence this year; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-44717074

$760Bn in trade says it won't happen.

He certainly has plans for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. He would probably like more control over Finland as well, as part of his bid to rebuild Peter the Great's Russian Empire. If he gets away with his actions in Ukraine he will feel enabled and justified.

"In the poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology between 13 and 18 May 2022, 77% of Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territory said they did not support any territorial concessions to Russia, even if it would prolong the war A KIIS poll conducted in September 2022 found that 87% of Ukrainians opposed any territorial concessions to Russia, up from 82% in May 2022. Only 24% of ethnic Russians in Ukraine supported territorial concessions to Russia." https://web.archive.org/web/20220626003408/https://www.businesslive.co.za/bloomberg/news/2022-05-24-most-ukrainians-rule-out-any-territorial-concessions-to-end-war/ https://www.euronews.com/2022/09/16/ukraine-crisis-concessions-poll

Normandy

Putin will very quickly get everything he wants. An imasculated Ukraine will lose the entirity of Kherson, and Zaporizhia, and give up any hope of recovering Donetsk, Luhansk, and the Crimea, be forced to abandon any hope of joining the EU or NATO, and have to give priority to the Russian language, culture, and version of history.

Watching the '66 WC final, "In colour", on C4. No rolling round after being tackled as if they have been shot, no asking the ref to book an opponent after every challenge, no mobbing the ref because they don't like the decisions, no stealing 10 yards at throw-ins, and linesmen who are allowed to raise their flags immediately there is an offside.. Just proper football.

It won't get better if Donnie wins.

You and Musk have something in common, bet that makes you feel all warm and cosy.

Be thankful you are not in Ukraine.

Jude Bellingham is 55 days younger than Alan Ball was when he was part of England's World Cup winning team in 1966.

GM --- Artificial ( lack of ) Intelligence.

By Trump appointed judges have shown little sign of impartiality in their rulings, be it in womens' health, gun control, or attempts to overthtrow the results of legitimate elections. On occasion they seem to allow their religious beliefs to sway their judgements, contrary to the Constitution, and are probably the most partisan group for decades.

An interesting legal opinion;

Then again, Benny Howell proves me wrong.

This match going away from us in familiar fashion.

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/killers-pause-london-concert-englands-euro-2024-semifinal-celebrate-mr-brightside

Talking of MAGA morons........

Hungry