Why bite the hand that feeds you?
Looking forward to concrete discussion on Bushmasterās and #armukrainenow over next few days.
Meanwhile I just finished watching the recommended video and am going to bed.
Did find it interesting and recommend it as worth watching to others.
I am guessing, perhaps wrongly/unfairly that Benny40 views Niall Ferguson and perhaps also Michael McFaul as closer to his position and John Cochrane and H. R. McMaster as closer to mine.
I thought there was a consensus of the four in not having much confidence in what the Biden administration is doing or will do and also a consensus that the Putin regime is some sort of fascist regime that should be defeated and that it is not up to the USA but the Ukrainians to determine what weapons they need and what constitutes victory.
I agree with Niall Ferguson that there is a real possibility of Russia winning the looming battle for Donbas as well as a real possibility of losing. In my view neither would necessarily result in either a stalemate or an end to the war. Russia has still not mobilized and it has not done so because of the risks armed conscripts pose to the regime.
I donāt agree with Cochrane that Biden mentioning regime change is a gaffe. Convincing defeat in Ukraine is a sufficient contribution to the collapse of the Tsarist/fascist regime in Russia. Worrying about the US supporting Ukrainian armies marching on Moscow is about as irrelevant as any fantasizing could be.
Niall Fergusonās worry that when facing defeat Putin could resort to use of a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine and that he doesnāt know what the Biden administration would do strikes me as both reasonable and ignorant.
What the other three would all be professionally aware of is that responses to various scenarios in which tactical nuclear weapons get used has been central to military planning on both sides throughout many decades of the Cold War and has NEVER had anything much to do with the concepts of Mutual Assured Destruction discussed among ignorant historians.
In fact NATO strategy for responding to a Soviet invasion was for early use of tactical nuclear weapons.
There may well be a possibility that Putin could try out āescalating to de-escalateā and it is even conceivable that such an attempt would not be blocked somewhere along the chain of command.
But no matter how feckless the Biden administration i s the certain would result would be the rapid destruction of the core leadership of the regime. As McMaster mentioned that could be done even without using nuclear weapons, though doing it could result in further nuclear exchanges until a regime emerged that did not think persisting with that would be a good idea.
I do agree with McMasters and Cochrane that the central point is for the Putin regime to be worried about escalation, not for its opponents to frighten themselves about it.
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hrw.org
Section of this site on Poland, including the 2022 report has a level of detail on Poland abortion laws, including appeals to European Courts. It also covers other issues.
PM suggested today just ask your local MP - if itās LNP almost guaranteed to deliver.
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Quite apart from the showcase of ādemocracy goodā, this is a great forum for the USA to advertise the virtues of its products to sell to countries around the world. Capitalism wins through again.
will our newfound guest partake in other discussions on blitz?
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Can we make them solar powered?
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We have had people roll in for single issues before. Criticise them on what they post, not that they donāt clog up other threads here.
We have enough posters already to do the thread-clogging.
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they always rude to a blitz stalwart?
I must admit the comparison was more the vibe rather than overlaying a perfect match of views. Knowledgeable and passionate people bouncing ideas off each other, but all very much looking for Ukraine to win. If thereās a tongue in cheek joke to be made, Iāll generally take it.
Iāll have a ponder about your Bushmaster idea. I agree with you that 20 is a token gesture and thereās no valid reason we arenāt sending more. Question is how to get traction.
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Surely that is just extracting the nitrogen-rich waste waterā¦
Ukraine has plenty of traction.
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According to an article of 2 April in Drive, a 300 litre tank Bushmaster delivers about 600km on the highway
drive.com.au
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the survivors guilt of those that fled to safety outside ukraine is going to be immense.
This might be the 8th general killed, or it might be a double up. Shall become clearer tomorrow.
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Iām joining the campaign.
Every Ukrainian man, woman and child must be armed with an Australian boomerang.
And once we teach them ācooeeā, they can ditch their telecommunications systems too.
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My intention wasnāt to contradict your point, but rather to add some more color to the āmy Polish friends believe xā thread of the conversation.
It just goes to show how messy the situation is in Eastern Europe at the best of times. Thereās layers upon layers of āas a (member of x nationality) I donāt like (other nationality) for what theyāve done to my people.ā
There appears to be a pretty unanimous distaste of Russia, current events notwithstanding.
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Pretty damn comprehensive state of playā¦
Yet Donbas is supposedly full of ethnic Russians?
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Hunting/throwing stick, you numpty.
To be fair, I have taken out more cranes/herons with boomerangs than with hunting sticks.
What, no Bin Chickens?