Eastern Europe/Ukraine [Feb 6th 2015]

[Atmavik]

https://youtu.be/tFnl81osXUI

Watch the first few mins of students from Ukraine.

Some entitled bunch is saying bringing them back from Romania and Poland is not evacuation. They needed GOI to act in Ukraine.

Wonder why they did not give up there seat and stayed back in refugee camps

Media is focused on the -ve here is one student who is great dil for the evacuation from Bucharest

https://mobile.twitter.com/PoulomiMSaha ... 2X584pAAAA

[Anujan]

Don't know if it holds any water but none the less a completely different take on removal of Russia from SWIFT. Pls do read the entire thread.

https://twitter.com/MumbaichaDon/status ... 4o4LA&s=19

That fellow has no idea what SWIFT is. SWIFT ban is largely symbolic, it is just a messaging layer. The real problem/impact on Russia is from sanctions


Think of SWIFT as whatsapp, UPI as the payment layer, Postal service as the exchange layer.

You message your friends on whatsapp that you have a shoe to sell, friend pays money to you using UPI, you ship your shoe using Postal service.

You dont want to use anything other than whatsapp, because everyone is on whatsapp. But banning you from whatsapp has no effect, you can still talk to your family and friends on signal. In theory you can use signal or telegram and people who want to talk to you can message you on signal, but then you'd be the odd one out, its a bit of a pain, but its not that big a deal. Russia got banned from SWIFT. Big deal, nobody cares.

On the other hand, If you get banned from UPI you cannot send money or ship goods. That is what happened with Russia with its central bank getting sanctioned. Nobody can get dollars from russia, or exchange dollars for roubles or vice versa so you cannot send money to Russia or accept money from Russia. This has nothing to do with SWIFT.

If you get banned from Postal service, you cannot ship goods. Thats what happened with severing the air and shipping traffic from russia. Apple cannot ship iPhones to Russia, Nike and Adidas cannot ship shoes to Russia, and the price of these goods are going to skyrocket. That has nothing to do with SWIFT.


I think the SWIFT ban was stupid, because it prevents the west from monitoring money laundering and sanctions compliance. The effect probably is a bit of a nuisance for Russia, but not DOLLAR IS DYING!!! ZOMG!!1111!!!!1111

Now do I think weaponizing the dollar in the form of sanctions and bans on things like shipping will have a long term effect? Sure. China will sell its digital Yuan as a payment alternative, that countries might adopt to insulate themselves from sanctions. That is a whole another story.

[John]

UKR flagship Hetman Sahaidachny has been sunk it is Krivak class Frigate. Ukranians claim it was skuttled to prevent landings or Russians capturing it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraini ... ahaidachny

https://twitter.com/grangere04117/statu ... 88325?s=21

[Rakesh]

I would agree with you on this point. The Apaches are also holding their own in the Himalayas and the Vajra is essentially an S. Korean product. There are many on here who believe it's either Russia or the high road and that is an extreme fallacy. Many want the American Empire to end and maybe that will come to pass but you might not want to witness what will replace it. It might be far worse.

The Apache is not ideal for the Himalayas and for that reason, the IAF is switching to the locally developed LCH. There have been a number of articles on this. Do look them up.

And there are others who believe its America or the high road. Yet others who believe that India should go at it alone.

Regardless, they are entitled to their view...just as you are.

[Rakesh]

What is Putin's end game? I am serious. So you destroy and defang a country. Then what? Form a partnership with India and China versus the rest of the world? Is that it?

Also, for all of you American haters, it seems to me that the C-17s outperform the IL-76s in pretty much everything. That's a real shame isn't it?

I believe that is a question you should direct to Putin, no? Otherwise we will be relying on people's opinions in here. Perhaps his end game is to align with China and destroy India. I am taking both Russian and Mandarin classes, along with some Cantonese on the side. Would you like to join?

What was Russia's end game in Afghanistan in the 80s? What was America's end game in Afghanistan from 2001 - 2021? What was America's end game in Iraq? What was America's end game in Vietnam? Destroy and defang a country? How well did that work in any of those instances? Why is only Putin's actions causing this much heartache? What Putin sows, he will reap. Law of life.

Indeed, the C-17 is a powerhouse. We are eternally grateful that we were bestowed and trusted with such beautiful pieces of US military kit. We were toothless prior to the C-17, but with the Globemaster we have achieved samyaksaṃbodhi. Please convey our regards and heartfelt gratitude to President Biden. It is as you say Sir - with regards to the IL-76 - a shame onlee. The very idea that IL-76 and C-17 can be put in the same sentence, makes me die with laughter. Thank You. We needed that humour in these very painful times.

No one hates America. Don't take it to heart. We are all about loving onlee. That love is expressed in many ways

[vimal]

Every country takes only one side, it's own.

[Rakesh]

Every country takes only one side, it's own.

Some have a hard time accepting this fact Sir. Thus the takleef.

[Div]

Don't know if it holds any water but none the less a completely different take on removal of Russia from SWIFT. Pls do read the entire thread.

https://twitter.com/MumbaichaDon/status ... 4o4LA&s=19

I am not an expert at SWIFT but I think that poster is quite a bit off. My understanding is that SWIFT is the communication layer - transfer money from account A in Bank 1 to Account B in Bank 2. You could replace this with an email, phone call, fax, telex, etc.

The actual movement of money occurs through a central clearing entity, typically the central bank. I posted this before, well worth the 1 hour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty7eQRwcy2c

[hnair]

Rakesh, hmm…. the poster Anant does not seem to understand the simple reason for this forum’s existence - Care about India’s POV

Rest of the love or hate for other countries, are all personal preferences that has zero value for this forum. Imposing those labels on others is cheap-ass trolling

A warning issued to Anant to stop trolling. There are many others posting (with better self control) pro-west stance for reference.

[Rakesh]

Fully agree hnair. Thank You.

[m_saini]

On the other hand, If you get banned from UPI you cannot send money or ship goods. That is what happened with Russia with its central bank getting sanctioned. Nobody can get dollars from russia, or exchange dollars for roubles or vice versa so you cannot send money to Russia or accept money from Russia. This has nothing to do with SWIFT.

Nobody from "European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States". Everyone else including Chinese, South Koreans etc are free to exchange currency.

The problem for Russians is that almost 60% of their $643 billion FX reserves is held in those countries(the ones imposing sanctions) and they can't touch it. The rest, well....

Central bank sanctions strike at the foundations of Russia’s economy

With 60 per cent of FX reserves out of commission, Russia has to rely on the remaining 40 per cent, but there is no freedom to operate there either. The central bank cannot sell gold for dollars and euros because all transactions with it are prohibited and foreign bankers and dealers do not want to invite western wrath. The IMF reserve position is untouchable. Some $84bn in Chinese securities could, hypothetically, have been sold back to China, with a discount, to be paid in dollars, cut to $50bn, but China’s state banks have already refused financial deals with Russia. Which leaves only $30bn in cash — too little to prevent financial and economic ruin.

So technically, SBI could exchange Roubles with Rupee at a rate, say, 5x (x being normal exchange rate). But everyone is running away scared (as they should be).

[hnair]

Also Rakesh, if we consider Antonov as the OEM of An32s and hence an Ukrainian plane, then IL76 is an Uzbeki one based on the Ilyushin’s plant that produced them in the 80s. And hence not Russian as per that logic.

So don’t know why these two airframes that helped feed, clothe and arm Indian soldiers up in the hills for four decades and counting, are being tarred up? An Indian jawan is not dumb enough to say “bhai, this MRE doesn’t taste as good as the one dropped from a C17”. He has been seeing these airframes for a while and he has been seeing C17s for a shorter while. He is just happy they all are there when he wants them to be.

[John]

Large # of Tunguska (5+1 supply vehicle) abandoned by Russian army and burnt by locals.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/ ... _mykolaiv/

[hnair]

Canada makes even Musharraf look like a prophet

Canada prepared to welcome an 'unlimited number' of Ukrainians fleeing war, minister says

To start, Fraser said his department has created a new visa category that will allow a limitless number of Ukrainians to come to Canada to live, work or study here for up to two years.

People accepted under the Canada Ukraine Authorization For Emergency Travel program will have an open work or study permit and employers will be free to hire as many Ukrainians as they want.

And they object to CAA clauses that try to protect persecuted minorities in India’s neighborhood which has such luminous governments as Taliban, paki military, BD bros etc. Ukrainians are not yet being hunted down and hanged like the minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan or BD.

Canadian govt is turning out to be one giant hypocrite. But I suspect this is just a no-nonsensical war-profiteering neon sign announcing “sent in your productive workforce for our economy”

[kit]

On the other hand, If you get banned from UPI you cannot send money or ship goods. That is what happened with Russia with its central bank getting sanctioned. Nobody can get dollars from russia, or exchange dollars for roubles or vice versa so you cannot send money to Russia or accept money from Russia. This has nothing to do with SWIFT.

Nobody from "European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States". Everyone else including Chinese, South Koreans etc are free to exchange currency.

The problem for Russians is that almost 60% of their $643 billion FX reserves is held in those countries(the ones imposing sanctions) and they can't touch it. The rest, well....

Central bank sanctions strike at the foundations of Russia’s economy

With 60 per cent of FX reserves out of commission, Russia has to rely on the remaining 40 per cent, but there is no freedom to operate there either. The central bank cannot sell gold for dollars and euros because all transactions with it are prohibited and foreign bankers and dealers do not want to invite western wrath. The IMF reserve position is untouchable. Some $84bn in Chinese securities could, hypothetically, have been sold back to China, with a discount, to be paid in dollars, cut to $50bn, but China’s state banks have already refused financial deals with Russia. Which leaves only $30bn in cash — too little to prevent financial and economic ruin.

So technically, SBI could exchange Roubles with Rupee at a rate, say, 5x (x being normal exchange rate). But everyone is running away scared (as they should be).

maybe less than that amount

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/a ... na/2519923

The Russian central bank reserves stood around $643 billion as of Feb. 18. While 21.7% of the reserves are in Russia as gold, 13.8% are being held in China.

However, some portion of the reserves is still being held in Western countries, mostly as foreign exchange. The central bank's access to those has been blocked by the Western sanctions.

Around 12.2% of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves are in France and 10% in Japan, while 9.5% are held in Germany and 6.6% in the US.

Another 5% of the reserves are in various intergovernmental organizations and 4.5% in the UK. Austria holds 3% of the reserves, with 2.8% in Canada and the remaining 10.7% in undisclosed countries

[SwamyG]

https://thehill.com/policy/internationa ... stockpiles

Biden weighing sanctions on India over Russian military stockpiles.

The Biden administration is weighing whether to impose sanctions against India over its stockpile of and reliance on Russian military equipment as part of the wide-ranging consequences the West is seeking to impose on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

[kit]

https://thehill.com/policy/internationa ... stockpiles

Biden weighing sanctions on India over Russian military stockpiles.

The Biden administration is weighing whether to impose sanctions against India over its stockpile of and reliance on Russian military equipment as part of the wide-ranging consequences the West is seeking to impose on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

"methinks the lady doth protest too much"

[Ambar]

With every new sanction an alternate economic system that does not rely on the west gets one step close to reality. Countries are closely watching how ruthlessly the west is trying to crush Russian economy including freezing their legitimate foreign reserves, expect precious metals and crypto currencies to soar in the days to come as other countries will park more and park of their reserves in non-US dollar, non-euro assets. Same with SWIFT, for good or bad China will end up creating its own payment settling system similar to SWIFT.

[Primus]

Every country takes only one side, it's own.

Some have a hard time accepting this fact Sir. Thus the takleef.

I've seen this movie before.

When I first came here thirty-some years ago, went to visit a cousin of the SHQ with the family in a beat-up old Toyota. The said cousin looked down his nose at me and said 'Hum Japani gaadi nahin kharidte'. When asked why he said 'Hum Amreeki Hain'. My jaw dropped and stayed on the floor for many years, because every now and then I would come across somebody else like him, who was more 'American' than the Pilgrims themselves. It is very true, the new Mullah sings the azaan the loudest.

For whatever reason, many Desis are so overawed by Massa for having allowed them in, that they can't smell American $hit at all, or believe that it just does not do so. They develop a sense of disdain and pity for 'those left behind', thrilled with the fact that they 'made it'. But every now and then, perhaps when they realize that they are, after all, still darkies, they head to places like BRF to salvage some pride.

Perhaps they should hang out somewhere else instead. And I don't care if this post is offensive or not. It needed to be said, IMHO.

[Anujan]

What is Putin's end game? I am serious. So you destroy and defang a country. Then what? Form a partnership with India and China versus the rest of the world? Is that it?

Also, for all of you American haters, it seems to me that the C-17s outperform the IL-76s in pretty much everything. That's a real shame isn't it?

The same amreeka that graced India with C-17s with the largeness of her heart also

-- Helped Pakistan set up Jihad factory and looked the other way when it was deployed in JK
-- Supplied Pakistan with F16s and AMRAAMs which shot down our plane and directly impacted our security and freedom of action after terror attacks
-- Excluded India from discussions vis-a-vis Afghanistan, even though the maxium security impact of chaos in Afghanistan is on India
-- Did not allow India to interrogate Headley to figure out how to prevent 26/11 type attacks in the future
-- Mulling sanctions on India, knowing very well that we rely on Russian arms to Keep China and Pakistan at bay - two rogue nations which are our neighbours

I am not going to dig up history about "Cap, roll back, eliminate" of George Bush sr or sanctions post op Shakthi or "travel advisory diplomacy" during op Parakram post Parliament attacks. Let us consider that water under the bridge. On the other hand, they did supply us with intel during Galwan.

Ukraine is many thousands of kilometers away from US, Pakistan and China share borders with us. Sensitivities to security interests go both ways.

Not that Russies are any better either
-- Anyone remember Gorky? And its air wing?
-- Anyone remember T90? And their refusal to let us indigenize its ammo?
-- And they have armed China with exact same or better arms than us, while looking the other way when China reverse engineered and some cases made better versions.

I am not even going to dig up the exchange rate arm twisting during USSR collapse or their shenanigans during Emergency during IG period. Let us consider that water under the bridge for the help in 71.

What desh should do tell everyone our position: equal==equal between our strategic al-lie (massa) and our front-line al-lie (natasha), appeal for peace and offer our good offices for mediation.

The world has a big nuclear flashpoint between 2 superpowers with tens of thousands of nukes pointed at each other, while 1.5 billion people of South Asia live under $2 a day. We cannot afford this war. Last time there was war in Europe we had holocaust, 100K Indian soldiers dead and 3 million more due to bengal famine. It is high time that war mongering europeans realized that ideals of Siddhartha Gautama is the right way forward. India can arrange for some pilgrimages and some yoga lessons.

[Ambar]

"I don't care if the Biden administration misunderstands me!" - MBS of KSA. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has not just turned the world of geopolitics upside down but has violently shook it ! Old alliances are under stress, the whole economic system is being questioned, new alliances are being forged. Within the next 10 yrs, i see China and possibly Russia setting up military bases in the middle east. I also see this war as the beginning of the end of a globalized world. After 4 decades of harsh sanctions, you now have US and Europe tripping over themselves trying to woo Iran. This new courtship will leave US' old allies in the middle east bitter and they will inevitably seek a closer relationship with China and Russia. Israel too sees US getting closer to Iran in the hopes of building up Iran and Qatar as counter-balance against UAE-KSA-Bahrain, no wonder Israel is now working overtime trying to normalize relations with sunni Gulf kingdoms. In the long term the only winner out of all this will be China, the so called rejuvenated NATO will prove to be a more assertive and independent Europe which will rapidly seek to uncouple itself from the US shenanigans .

[Anoop]

https://youtu.be/ql47PqmMeDM

Interesting conversation with Lt. Gen..Shankar. Talks about how the Russia army might have fallen prey to a template it had used successfully in Ukraine and Georgia earlier.And the need for off-ramps for all parties involved.

[hanumadu]

https://twitter.com/thomas_garrard/stat ... 0135052290

Beer Drinking Army Vet
@thomas_garrard
I am a U.S. Army Veteran. I served in Iraq. That was hell. Nothing hits you harder than realizing that maybe, just maybe, we are the bad guys. I love my country more than myself or my dogs, but that thought hurts. Look deeper in to what you see on the news.

Lot of people expressing the same sentiment in replies to the tweet.

[hgupta]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why- ... 1646326860

I think Biden and other western countries have overreached with their sanctions and the seizure of Russia foreign exchange reserves and assets. It will only boomerang big time. And I think that NATO expansion needs to stop.

I do not think Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a war hero or a good President. He is leading his country to destruction if he doesn't deviate from the current path. He's no saint and he has committed pretty egregious stuff in the months leading to this conflict.

[ramana]

Three graphs that show how Russia prepared for the war.

https://twitter.com/ramana_brf/status/1 ... y-kMw&s=19

If Jack Ryan were really there, would have seen the signals.

[yensoy]

What is Putin's end game? I am serious. So you destroy and defang a country. Then what? Form a partnership with India and China versus the rest of the world? Is that it?

Also, for all of you American haters, it seems to me that the C-17s outperform the IL-76s in pretty much everything. That's a real shame isn't it?

The same amreeka that graced India with C-17s with the largeness of her heart also

-- Helped Pakistan set up Jihad factory and looked the other way when it was deployed in JK
-- Supplied Pakistan with F16s and AMRAAMs which shot down our plane and directly impacted our security and freedom of action after terror attacks
-- Excluded India from discussions vis-a-vis Afghanistan, even though the maxium security impact of chaos in Afghanistan is on India
-- Did not allow India to interrogate Headley to figure out how to prevent 26/11 type attacks in the future
-- Mulling sanctions on India, knowing very well that we rely on Russian arms to Keep China and Pakistan at bay - two rogue nations which are our neighbours

I am not going to dig up history about "Cap, roll back, eliminate" of George Bush sr or sanctions post op Shakthi or "travel advisory diplomacy" during op Parakram post Parliament attacks. Let us consider that water under the bridge. On the other hand, they did supply us with intel during Galwan.

Ukraine is many thousands of kilometers away from US, Pakistan and China share borders with us. Sensitivities to security interests go both ways.

Not that Russies are any better either
-- Anyone remember Gorky? And its air wing?
-- Anyone remember T90? And their refusal to let us indigenize its ammo?
-- And they have armed China with exact same or better arms than us, while looking the other way when China reverse engineered and some cases made better versions.

I am not even going to dig up the exchange rate arm twisting during USSR collapse or their shenanigans during Emergency during IG period. Let us consider that water under the bridge for the help in 71.

What desh should do tell everyone our position: equal==equal between our strategic al-lie (massa) and our front-line al-lie (natasha), appeal for peace and offer our good offices for mediation.

The world has a big nuclear flashpoint between 2 superpowers with tens of thousands of nukes pointed at each other, while 1.5 billion people of South Asia live under $2 a day. We cannot afford this war. Last time there was war in Europe we had holocaust, 100K Indian soldiers dead and 3 million more due to bengal famine. It is high time that war mongering europeans realized that ideals of Siddhartha Gautama is the right way forward. India can arrange for some pilgrimages and some yoga lessons.

Quoting in full, this is worth repeating.

These are excellent points. We need to internalize each and every one of them. Let us never forget how both the US and Russia (to a lesser extent) have worked against us while being our friends/allies.

I am dismayed by a lot of threads on western sites which talk about "Russian military aid" to India. Bullshit. There is no such thing as "military aid" to India. We paid top ruble for it during USSR days, and top dollar for it since its collapse (including paying dollars for USSR debts that boss alluded to in the quoted post). Whenever you have a chance to respond, please call it out. India never received aid. In fact, right at the time of independence we were forced into buying overpriced British hardware because UK were unable to repay their dues to India and gave us "coupons" to use to buy from their industries - this was a classic "lock in". Since the collapse of USSR and migration of top brains to Israel, we paid Israel top dollar for military tech that was arguably cheaper during communist times. And now we are purchasing from France, not exactly a country known to be cheap.

West's takleef with Indian arms purchases from Russia comes from the fact that without the Indian market, Russia won't have money for R&D. At least that is my belief. China doesn't need Russian tech anymore - and if they do they would rather hire Russian scientists to work in China. Why buy the cow when all you need is a glass of milk?

[Suresh S]

Thx for that Primusji, exactly my thoughts. I despise these Indian gangadins sometimes more than the anglos.

[Pratyush]

https://thehill.com/policy/internationa ... stockpiles

Biden weighing sanctions on India over Russian military stockpiles.

The Biden administration is weighing whether to impose sanctions against India over its stockpile of and reliance on Russian military equipment as part of the wide-ranging consequences the West is seeking to impose on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Bring it on.

[chanakya_neeti]

We can’t even say that India had no dog in this fight . The compassion shown by GOI is exemplary. ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः।

Wo bhi firangi dog. Apni gali ke desi kuttes....I can only imagine

Just keeping thangz a little light....turns out there were not one but two dawgs on dat flyte.

https://twitter.com/Gen_VKSingh/status/ ... 2M7k_dSk-g

[Anujan]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/tech/spa ... risks-scn/

SpaceX sent Starlink internet terminals to Ukraine. They could paint a 'giant target' on users' backs, experts say

"If an adversary has a specialized plane aloft, it can detect [a satellite] signal and home in on it," Nicholas Weaver, a security researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, said via email. "It isn't necessarily easy, but the Russians have a lot of practice on tracking various signal emitters in Syria and responding. Starlink may work for the moment, but anyone setting a [Starlink] dish up in Ukraine needs to consider it as a potential giant target."

Shortly after this story was originally published, Musk also weighed in on Twitter, saying "Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution."
He went on to advise users in Ukraine to "turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna away as far away from people as possible," and to "place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection."

[Raja]

Any clue why Russia is apparently shelling the nuclear power stations? Seems slightly irresponsible...

[pravula]

Oh No....

The 'United Nations of cat federations' bans Russian cats from its competitions
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/10842053 ... ompetition

[achy]

Three graphs that show how Russia prepared for the war.

https://twitter.com/ramana_brf/status/1 ... y-kMw&s=19

If Jack Ryan were really there, would have seen the signals.

Exactly right.. Bear has prepared well for hibernation before the last meal of the season. Folks who are basing their strategy on economic starvation are following scorched earth policy. Will harm them more then the bear in medium to long term.

[Div]

Any clue why Russia is apparently shelling the nuclear power stations? Seems slightly irresponsible...

If anyone is interested in monitoring the radiation levels near that power plant...

https://www.npp.zp.ua/en/safety/arms

(So far the levels are ok)

[KL Dubey]

We can’t even say that India had no dog in this fight . The compassion shown by GOI is exemplary.

These dawgs are already being better ambassadors of Pakraine than the clowns who are sitting in the "embassy" they are running in some apartment in Vasant Vihar

There was another Pakranian in Arnab's debate...a former PM, no less...who shouted that the west's response has been "very weak...vegetarian". The implication is that vegetarians are weak...wonderful thing to say on an Indian channel, genius. Brains turned to borscht. No wonder the Russians are devouring them for lunch and dinner.

[kancha]

Shared some thoughts on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine mess.
Blog Link
Twitter Link

So .. going ahead, let’s see what has brought us to where we are on this first day of March of 2022.

Well, in one word, or rather in one acronym, the reply is NATO!

Let me tell you why ..

Post the breakup of the Soviet Union, NATO was NOT supposed to expand any further, having lost the primary reason for its existence in the first place!

In fact, Russia was explicitly promised about this.

BUT .. We wouldn’t be here if that had indeed been the case, no?!

Despite the literal collapse of Warsaw Pact, NATO galloped eastwards, unshackled, or as I originally wanted to say, UNHINGED!

But why did they do it in the first place? Well, it wasn’t the Soviets that were the enemy, it was Russia that was the ‘Other’, CIVILIZATIONALLY speaking.

Feel free to disagree, but European history bears witness to the fact that a strong Russia has always been a threat.

Well, I would say that both sides are to blame for this – NATO for leading on Ukraine, and Ukrainian leadership itself, for not seeing the clear red line that Russia had laid out.

As they say, we are all Prisoners of Geography.

This is something that just cannot be wished away. Either make peace with it, or continue fighting it but without success. I guess any astute political leader would have seen this from afar.

But then, Ukraine elected a comedian!

Well, nothing against Shri Volodymyr Zelenskyy Ji personally, but I don’t think he appreciated that NATO would merely pay lip service and lead Ukraine into actually believing the crap about getting inducted into NATO so that they can fight Ukraine’s wars with Russia!

Zelenskyy is just another manifestation of Leftist Liberal ‘experiment’ with political power through revolutions of various kinds, but one which has bounced back at them so badly. Ukrainian lives don’t matter to them, just like Syrian/Libyan ones. Period.

Like I’ve said before in this blog, NATO will happily fight Russia till the last Ukrainian. Even thereafter, Ukraine will NOT be a part of NATO.

So let’s get on to the current conflict as such ..

It has been a personal belief / opinion that I’ve held since long, so I’ll not mind you not agreeing with what I write next.

The world as we knew it, had changed long ago, what with the Arab Spring and states arming militias to go after governments in countries that fell out of favour with the Western establishment that was overrun by the ‘Liberal’ cabal.

Yup.

Do read the above statement once again.

But this was the first instance that one Nation was forced to militarily attack another. I do believe that this may not have been the Western gameplan originally, but then I still have my doubts. So I’ll not go there.

For me, the first inkling of the imminent commencement of military operations by Russia was the day US/Europe announced the first set of sanctions against Russia, after weeks and weeks of threats.

In fact, the first thought that crossed my mind once I learnt of the sanctions was that now there is no more leverage to threaten Russia with!

Threats of sanctions can still expect a pliable behaviour from the other party, but with sanctions actually imposed, that threat is gone!

Of course, with a comedian presiding over the rapidly sinking Ukraine, any chances of backpeddling / deal-making that some other, seasoned politician might have done, were simply non existent. Small wonder then, that the Russian troops soon entered Ukraine!

The moment that happened, I swear if you tried hard enough, you could have actually HEARD all those High Fives in the corridors of power in various ‘major’ world capitals! Here was Russia, fighting Ukraine!

(Implication – Ukraine, and NOT a NATO member European country!).

Also came in the narrative building on social media and very very compliant mainstream media in the ‘free’ world! Visuals of Shri Zelenskyy Ji freely walking on the streets of Kyiv, of countless Russian tanks etc destroyed along the roadsides (Hint: They were Ukrainian tanks!) soon filled up the social media landscape as well as were faithfully reported by the various large media houses.

Of course, Russian voices were conveniently cut-off from these very social media platforms that swear by their neutrality and commitment to free speech!

No wonder, Ukraine is already winning the war handsomely, atleast on social media, and kicking Russia’s backsides!

It’s been six days and Russia STILL hasn’t taken Kyiv, shout the TV Channels, announcing the defeat of Russia. If only they knew a bit of history, they would realize that the famous BLITZKRIEG of Hitler still took SIX WEEKS to overrun France!

But then, agendas rule!!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Soft Power is meaningless without hard power. We ourselves learnt it at a great cost in 1962.

Before moving ahead, all I will say is that the conflict doesn’t affect us, YET.

Atleast not directly.

Let me delve on that a bit before moving ahead.

We are going to be all alone in the battles we fight. A perfect example is the immense ‘outpouring’ of wanton racism from the West just because we ‘dared’ to abstain from the UNSC vote. The way they came about to ‘scold’ India was .. well .. amusing, to say the least.

Why amusing? Well, because they forgot that India wasn’t the only country that abstained.

China did too!

But will they dare even WHISPER sweet nothings to China?

I think we all know the answer!

Fight or perish. Period.

I personally believe that this conflict (not specifically the Ukraine situation) was already in the making over the past decade and half or so since ‘liberalism’ became the flavour of the day. But I also believe it was mostly being shaped in the cognitive domain without any overt involvement of National militaries in the physical domain. It was a war of narratives thus far which has now, for a change, turned kinetic with both sides being sovereign Nations. Yet, some ppl continue to feel happy in the cognitive domain!

So what comes next ..

Well, for one, I’ll wait for Kyiv to fall, or for Ukraine to beg Russia for peace. When this happens, there will be a LOT of heartbreak all around primarily because of the propaganda fed to us all, thanks to the insane control over narrative by the West.

What has already happened, of course, is that Putin has called the bluff of the West once and for all. Western leaders (currently atleast) appear to be headless chickens even as Ukraine gets systematically dismantled by Russia, even as the Comedian’s calls get increasingly desperate.

Europe / NATO are but proxies for America, atleast in the current conflict and the western response to it in terms of sanctions.
That is a fact.
But .. there is one major actor that isn’t yet involved in this mess, yet.

Europe / NATO are but proxies for America, atleast in the current conflict and the western response to it in terms of sanctions.
That is a fact.
But .. there is one major actor that isn’t yet involved in this mess, yet.

Yes, China!

the world will be a much more violent place over the coming decade or so. Remember, it took TWO world wars and a failed League of Nations to arrive at the current world order. The next world order won’t come any easier.

[Baikul]

Oh No....

The 'United Nations of cat federations' bans Russian cats from its competitions
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/10842053 ... ompetition

I thought this was an Onion article. Dear lord.

Freedom Fries redux. Maybe even sillier.

[Anujan]

Shared some thoughts on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine mess.
Blog Link
Twitter Link

NATO expansion eastwards is not black and white and not some result of a deep rooted conspiracy.

Gorbachev himself contradicts himself and is unclear. He said that he got verbal assurances from James Baker that NATO would not expand east of germany if he withdrew soviet forces from East germany. Later on he said that he did not get verbal assurances and it had only been a discussion point.

There were american neocons like Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz who wanted keep NATO alive, contain Russia and ensure that it never again becomes a civilizational threat.

Then there were numerous erstwhile soviet states, and warsaw pact countries, who had memories of Soviet Tanks rolling up and crushing popular revolts. Read about Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Tbilisi in Georgia, Poznan revolution in Poland, Czechoslovakia in 1968. Soviets just rolled up in tanks, lined everyone up, shot them, and restored the "workers party".

You can argue that all these revolutions were a product of George Soros, CIA and the Illuminati, but in these countries themselves they are recognized as popular protests and monuments were built.

So these countries wanted to be members of NATO to ensure their freedom and independence and were pressurizing NATO to admit them. Not that doing so was a great idea. It is like expanding warsaw pact to South America/Mexico because Massa keeps bullying these countries. In fact Yeltsin proposed that Russia should become a member of NATO and EU! He wanted the economic and security benefits such an alliance would bring.

In the meantime massa was busy with Eyeraq and GOAT (Global Offensive Against Terror), never really took Russian sensitivities into account and stumbled into proxy war with Russia.

This all suits Cheen. What better than to fight EU and Massa through Russia? Also what better than to demonstrate to the world that expansionist amreeka is bad, and invading Taiwan is good.

Point is everyone sucks. Massa, Natasha and Emperor 11.

[Deans]

I clearly said that students should not be allowed to unstable countries and mentioned conflict in Ukraine after 2014. I didn't say Russia. Also specifically mentioned enemy countries like China. You seemed to have missed all the key words in my post.

make them all carry compulsory insurance for repatriation and endorse this in the passport.

no insurance, no ticket to leave India hence no freeloading

Yes, taking insurance is a standard practice when Indians have to visit Schengen/ US. People going on long term visits, should take insurance.

[SwamyG]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... plant.html

Russian tanks set reactor at Europe's biggest atomic power plant ON FIRE: Zelensky accuses Putin of 'nuclear terror' after shelling starts blaze at unit housing radioactive material sparking fears of disaster '10 times larger than Chernobyl'