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[Politics] Russia invades Ukraine (24/02/2022)



Commander

Arrogant Prat
NSC Patron
Apr 28, 2004
13,555
London
I saw a clip of him talking to Shoigu at a small desk, and I'm pretty sure there were at least two buttons within his reach.
Two buttons that do what!? Aimed where? Which missiles? It doesn't work like that, he's not a Bond villain.
 




Eric the meek

Fiveways Wilf
NSC Patron
Aug 24, 2020
7,070
Two buttons that do what!? Aimed where? Which missiles? It doesn't work like that, he's not a Bond villain.

Unfortunately he didn't respond to my freedom of information request for answers to those questions.

But at a guess, they were nothing to do with nukes. My guess is one of them would be to call security in case his guest, not necessarily Shoigu, tried to keel heem.
 




MTSeagulls

Well-known member
Sep 18, 2019
935
Unfortunately he didn't respond to my freedom of information request for answers to those questions.

But at a guess, they were nothing to do with nukes. My guess is one of them would be to call security in case his guest, not necessarily Shoigu, tried to keel heem.
The other is the trap door to the shark pool?
Anyway I'm out already as it's far too serious a thread for my input, just couldn't resist that little one.
 


Commander

Arrogant Prat
NSC Patron
Apr 28, 2004
13,555
London
The other is the trap door to the shark pool?
Anyway I'm out already as it's far too serious a thread for my input, just couldn't resist that little one.
Sadly you were a minute too late.
 












raymondo

Well-known member
Apr 26, 2017
7,318
Wiltshire
I fear we will never find out. They blanked me when I asked what the buttons were for. Can you believe that?

No sense of public accountability whatsoever. They forget that the public pay their wages.
I'm pretty sure the public's bank accounts will be tapped directly to pay for their wages, and sundry other stuff, if the public don't buy copious amounts of war bonds (I mean 'Special Military Operation' bonds of course 🤦‍♂️).

I have emailed BBC Verify about the desk buttons - I'll let you know when I get a reply 👍.
 




Sirnormangall

Well-known member
Sep 21, 2017
3,176
Two snippets for this morning:

1. Times Radio report that Trump has said 'if Russia doesn't compromise, he'll arm Ukraine to the teeth'. (Let's hope Russia doesn't compromise then).
2. FMCG (fast moving consumer goods - stuff you buy at the supermarket) inflation in Russia in August was 22% - Vladimir Milov, Swedish Economic Symposium in August.
Steve Rosenberg also reported similar this morning. His summary of today’s Russian newspapers, which are obviously subject to heavy censorship/ control, nonetheless contained a lot of negative references to inflation, referenced the “war” (not SMO) and one paper had a cut out and keep prayer guide for the war.
 




essbee1

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2014
4,716
Steve Rosenberg also reported similar this morning. His summary of today’s Russian newspapers, which are obviously subject to heavy censorship/ control, nonetheless contained a lot of negative references to inflation, referenced the “war” (not SMO) and one paper had a cut out and keep prayer guide for the war.
Trump is a loose cannon, but it you piss him off, then I wouldn't like to be on the end of it. So I hope that **** Putin pisses him off big time.
 


Eric the meek

Fiveways Wilf
NSC Patron
Aug 24, 2020
7,070
Steve Rosenberg also reported similar this morning. His summary of today’s Russian newspapers, which are obviously subject to heavy censorship/ control, nonetheless contained a lot of negative references to inflation, referenced the “war” (not SMO) and one paper had a cut out and keep prayer guide for the war.
That's an interesting one. I would interpret that as reality leading the way for the newspapers, in that the press must in part reflect the unavoidable bits of the real world, and report the same things that readers experience in their day-to-day lives, otherwise people will stop reading them, and they will no longer be a useful propaganda tool to shape the opinions of the masses.

You cannot avoid seeing the 22%+ inflation in your food bills, so if you see articles on inflation, rather than article denying inflation, you will still read the papers and the government still has a chance to convince readers it is not the government's fault. We could begin to see inflation being blamed on external factors.

The litmus test of a free press though, may be to see if they report the true numbers of casualties on the battlefield. I assume that is still a long way off.
 






raymondo

Well-known member
Apr 26, 2017
7,318
Wiltshire
That's an interesting one. I would interpret that as reality leading the way for the newspapers, in that the press must in part reflect the unavoidable bits of the real world, and report the same things that readers experience in their day-to-day lives, otherwise people will stop reading them, and they will no longer be a useful propaganda tool to shape the opinions of the masses.

You cannot avoid seeing the 22%+ inflation in your food bills, so if you see articles on inflation, rather than article denying inflation, you will still read the papers and the government still has a chance to convince readers it is not the government's fault. We could begin to see inflation being blamed on external factors.

The litmus test of a free press though, may be to see if they report the true numbers of casualties on the battlefield. I assume that is still a long way off.
I think the extent of casualties will only become truly visible when and if Moscow and St P citizens are conscripted. They're not there yet.
Until now I believe it's been mainly the third class folk from the provinces and prisons.
 




Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
53,072
Goldstone
Solovyev tells Trump what Russia wants.


Madness.

'Special Military Operation' to 'There will be no Ukraine' is some mission creep.

A country is its people, so how 'the Ukrainian people must be liberated' tallies with 'Ukraine must be destroyed once and for all' I'm not sure.
 








Eric the meek

Fiveways Wilf
NSC Patron
Aug 24, 2020
7,070
Solovyev tells Trump what Russia wants.

Trump discovers that ending this war and stopping the killing, is not a five minute (or a 24 hour) job.

Even if he were to make an overly-generous offer to Putin of a chunk of Ukraine, Putin doesn't just want a chunk. He wants it all, and all of it within Russia.

Even in the face of an off-ramp, a chance to save his own life, and those of his Moscow elites, Putin uses his favourite mouthpiece, to merely repeat the propaganda he used to initially justify his invasion. He is repeating himself.

Has Trump got the patience and the will to make a success of this? To pull this off with minimal loss of life, he will need a level of dexterity that I doubt he possesses.

Perhaps the best course of action is to appear to do little. Keep the talks on a low simmer, but feed Ukraine all it needs to defend itself. All the while, gently reducing the price of oil, so that Putin slowly, inexorably, runs out of money, the Russian tank slowly grinds to a halt, and the exhausted, sickened, unpaid Russian troops walk off the battlefield and go home in search of Putin.
 


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