badgerx16

No, dear Alexei, I mean NATO, ( or OTAN if you speak French ). It is on Europe's doorstep, and Europe, almost in it's entirety has a vested interest in resisting Putin. Of course the US is far and away the biggest contributor, but given the way the SMO is currently going, even without the US there should be more than enough to supplement the Ukrainians successfully. However, the US will not renege on it's article 5 obligations. Sorry to disappoint you.

Can you spot what is wrong with this comment from the BBC ? "Kent move past 200, and pick up their first batting point." And I know it has nothing to do with Hampshire blowing their chance of the title, but it's great to see Essex getting dicked on their own doctored pitch.

I suspect that, should Putin use even the smallest tactical nuke, ( or even cause an 'accidental' nuclear incident at an NPP ), NATO's response would be an immediate denial of air space for Russian forces within Ukraine, and operational air support for Ukraine within the pre-2014 borders.

How would the World respond ? There is a reason why, despite the number of countries with nuclear weapons, whether tactical or strategic, the only 2 ever used in anger were the first 2 deployed.

People near him may be sycophantic, but they are not suicidal. Plenty of people at the top know how things are really going, even though they maintain the public facade. There will be red lines that they will not cross, and at that point Putin will be defenestrated.

Putin, ( paraphrased ) - "We have advanced weapons, better than the West, and we will use them". Reality - No, you really have not. For instance, the Armata is only fit for Moscow parades. Putin - " I'm not bluffing" Reality - The cards you hold are 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8, in 3 different suits. Not only are you bluffing, your palms are dripping sweat, your knees are knocking, and that twitch over your eye looks like an earthquake. I wonder if any of these reservists will come from west of the Volga.

"The Treasury is refusing to publish a forecast of the UK's economic outlook alongside this Friday's mini-Budget. " https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62970803

Perhaps Russia's plan is to swamp the UA with POWs, draining supplies and personnel to manage them.

Have you seen the scorecard from Chelmsford ? Lancashire were 7-6 in the 3rd innings of the match.

WTF ?????

Full mobilisation requires: 1) People wiling to sign up - metropolitan European Russians won't be eager to join, so they wil be stuck with the ethnic groups further East, as they currently seem to be doing. Sooner or later the regions will cotton on. 2) Time to train them - time they don't have, so ( at best ) half trained conscripts will be being fed into a modern meat grinder operated by experienced and motivated opponents. 3) Equipment for them to use. Most of Russia's heavy gear was originally built in Ukraine, so there is limited capability to generate new machines, and they seem to be 'donating' their diminishing stock to Ukraine in similar quantities to what UA is vapourising. Although Russia has reportedly thousands of AFVs in storage, they have already burned through the fully, or even partially, operational stuff, and are now cannibalising what is left to try to build something that at least drives under it's own power. Most of their 'reserve' is simply scrap.

No, that is liberating them from Nazi control.

You don't mean that one we were promised ? ( The one that Barack Obama said would not be a priority as Brexit would put the UK "at the back of the queue" ) [Edit: for lols, re read the first page of this thread ]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62967084 "The UK is weighing up whether to attend a new European political "club of nations" next month"

Indeed. There is a thread elsewhere for 'The Small Things' that we do well - this is the sort of Big Thing the UK beats all comers at. And the links of continuity going back to Edward the Confessor demonstrate the nation's collective and continuing pride in it's history.

I was disappointed when the Lord Chamberlain broke his wand of office that there wasn't more of an emphatic crack.

Apparently they are vicious, bad tempered, and not house trained. ( Gifts from Andrew and Fergie, who are taking them back - perhaps appropriate ).

Bear

( Tries to bring the thread back on track ......... ), JRM has just arrived at the Abbey dressed like a Victorian melodrama villain.

In February she said on LBC that Crimea was a "complete one off", Putin didn't want any more Ukrainian territory, and that Putin did not support the DPR/LPR separatists - as all they wanted was a degree of devolution from Kyiv. She has also said that Putin had no part in the novichok attack in Salisbury. Plain and simple, she is a Kremlin apologist.

Is there a whole grain of truth in anything that the Government says ? Or are we just being seeded with half truths ? Although they haven't shown a great deal of sense yet, perhaps they are late bloomers, or maybe they are just barmy.

Try this..... https://www.worldstopexports.com/worlds-top-export-countries/ The UK is down to 14th, ( though I am not sure if the figures here are measuring exactly the same things ).

Polish football fans show their feelings towards Putin....

Might yet get worse, Brenda should be available in a few hours. Stick or twist ? 😉

At least in all our "points lost from winning positions" games we scored goals and took the lead.