World War 3 or just a local spat in Ukraine? - Page 461

slammer · #**9201** 27.03.2023, 06:47

	Quote:	ShirleyNot
	Isn’t that true of all current conflicts, though? The days of pausing hostilities for a gentlemanly kickabout on Christmas morning died best part of a century ago. Ukraine/Russia is shitty but no less shitty than any other conflict elsewhere.

Not sure about that. ever since "Wollt Ihr den totalen Krieg" there hasn´t been a war with the potential to escalate into a global conflict. As horrible as it was even Vietnam was fought with punches pulled, of course not for those involved in the actual fighting.
Since 1945 almost all conflicts have been between ideologies, with the US and UdSSR eating popcorn, drinking beer and watching the kiddies squabble. All others have been from ethnic minorities being in the wrong place at the wrong time and a bunch of religious nutters doing a bit of extreme converting.
In short, the world was set out to become a peaceful place.
Russia had declared that they are open for business and China had become the worlds manufacturer of cheap goods with all the new trade routes coming online.
The way I see it is that the US had simply run out of enemies as nobody wanted to come out to play, even the Iranians were all. "Nah! Not today!"
So they had to stir the pot and get back to the status quo of the cold war where things were good and the military industrial complex had a purpose.
And that is the gospel according to Slammer.

robBob · #**9202** 27.03.2023, 08:13

Somehow Allan explains it differently.
https://youtu.be/P-k7DUQPHfQ

nejc · #**9203** 27.03.2023, 09:33

	Quote:	slammer
	The way I see it is that the US had simply run out of enemies as nobody wanted to come out to play, even the Iranians were all. "Nah! Not today!"...

Except for the fact that you completely ignore: it was Russia that decided to subjugate Ukraine. But you already know that, and yet you continue to spread this childish propaganda. Even the Russians no longer pretend that this is the case.

ShirleyNot · #**9204** 27.03.2023, 09:43

	Quote:	slammer
	Not sure about that. ever since "Wollt Ihr den totalen Krieg" there hasn´t been a war with the potential to escalate into a global conflict. As horrible as it was even Vietnam was fought with punches pulled, of course not for those involved in the actual fighting. Since 1945 almost all conflicts have been between ideologies, with the US and UdSSR eating popcorn, drinking beer and watching the kiddies squabble. All others have been from ethnic minorities being in the wrong place at the wrong time and a bunch of religious nutters doing a bit of extreme converting. In short, the world was set out to become a peaceful place. Russia had declared that they are open for business and China had become the worlds manufacturer of cheap goods with all the new trade routes coming online. The way I see it is that the US had simply run out of enemies as nobody wanted to come out to play, even the Iranians were all. "Nah! Not today!" So they had to stir the pot and get back to the status quo of the cold war where things were good and the military industrial complex had a purpose. And that is the gospel according to Slammer.

I don't understand your inexplicably facetious take on geopolitics throughout this thread. It's not nations sitting around eating popcorn and drinking beer.

The war in Ukraine is so far contained with all efforts to keep it that way, despite Putins continued and escalating threats. This is very different to conflicts in, say, the Middle East which spill over elsewhere.

My point was, and still is, that war is shitty and presumably for people in the thick of it, no more or less awful than anywhere else embroiled in street fighting and constant shelling.

marton · #**9205** 27.03.2023, 20:56

Putin moving nuclear weapons closer to NATO in Belarus seems to be inviting NATO to move their nuclear weapons closer to Russia, currently, I believe Turkey is the nearest.

ShirleyNot · #**9206** 27.03.2023, 21:14

	Quote:	marton
	Putin moving nuclear weapons closer to NATO in Belarus seems to be inviting NATO to move their nuclear weapons closer to Russia, currently, I believe Turkey is the nearest.

I’m curious why they need to move weapons closer to borders, or anywhere really. Don’t these intercontinental missiles have ranges of thousands of kilometers? Moving them a few hundred km nearer a border presumably makes little difference if they decide to launch?

Tom1234 · #**9207** 27.03.2023, 21:21

	Quote:	ShirleyNot
	I’m curious why they need to move weapons closer to borders, or anywhere really. Don’t these intercontinental missiles have ranges of thousands of kilometers? Moving them a few hundred km nearer a border presumably makes little difference if they decide to launch?

Don't ask the guy on the current hunting thread who wants to move further away from his prey!

Axa · #**9208** 27.03.2023, 21:21

	Quote:	marton
	Putin moving nuclear weapons closer to NATO in Belarus seems to be inviting NATO to move their nuclear weapons closer to Russia, currently, I believe Turkey is the nearest.

Russia (a subsidiary of Rosatom) is currently building the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey.

So, what would Erdogan do?

slammer · #**9209** 27.03.2023, 22:09

	Quote:	ShirleyNot
	I’m curious why they need to move weapons closer to borders, or anywhere really. Don’t these intercontinental missiles have ranges of thousands of kilometers? Moving them a few hundred km nearer a border presumably makes little difference if they decide to launch?

These are short range tactical nukes with a range of up to 500 kms and designed for battlefield use in close proximity to your own troops. Perfect for use in Ukraine.

marton · #**9210** 27.03.2023, 23:11

	Quote:	slammer
	These are short range tactical nukes with a range of up to 500 kms and designed for battlefield use in close proximity to your own troops. Perfect for use in Ukraine.

Also perfect for Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

Edit: I doubt the Russian troops are equipped with suitable protection.

Phil_MCR · #**9211** 27.03.2023, 23:48

	Quote:	ShirleyNot
	I’m curious why they need to move weapons closer to borders, or anywhere really. Don’t these intercontinental missiles have ranges of thousands of kilometers? Moving them a few hundred km nearer a border presumably makes little difference if they decide to launch?

point in moving them closer is to reduce time of flight and therefore time to detect and react. presumably russia already have a lot of nukes in kalingrad, so maybe this move is to warn off supply of weapons to ukraine and bring nuclear weapons closer to europe while maintaining the number of nukes in kalingrad.

slammer · #**9212** 28.03.2023, 07:28

	Quote:	marton
	Also perfect for Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Edit: I doubt the Russian troops are equipped with suitable protection.

They would be if not for the pesky fact that these countries are members of Nato.

marton · #**9213** 29.03.2023, 16:08

The secret is revealed.

The HIMARS attacks are so successful because they are target directed by an American chip in the anti-Covid vaccine Sputnik that Russian soldiers are forced to have.

bossybaby · #**9214** 29.03.2023, 17:25

Damn...I just knew Bill Gates was up to something.

Urs Max · #**9215** 29.03.2023, 19:16

	Quote:	marton
	The secret is revealed. The HIMARS attacks are so successful because they are target directed by an American chip in the anti-Covid vaccine Sputnik that Russian soldiers are forced to have.

That's just great. What am I supposed to do with my nuclear mosquitos now?
Can't export them to the EU due to legal restrictions.

Any suggestions?

slammer · #**9216** 29.03.2023, 19:53

	Quote:	Urs Max
	That's just great. What am I supposed to do with my nuclear mosquitos now? Can't export them to the EU due to legal restrictions. Any suggestions?

You mean the ones that inject a radioactive tracer through their proboscis which is then tracked via the 5G towers?

Axa · #**9217** 30.03.2023, 10:45

So, Finland expected to join NATO a few weeks or months down the road.

	Quote:
	(27.03.2023) Finland has moved one step closer to joining NATO after Hungary ratified the Nordic country’s bid on Monday. A similar decision is expected in the coming weeks from Turkey, the only alliance member that hasn’t approved Finland’s membership.

https://apnews.com/article/finland-n...a22e59cea04e3f

Axa · #**9218** 30.03.2023, 13:22

OMG, my parents were right. Mastering a musical instrument is such a good idea...30 million CHF. I'm just wasting my time as corporate drone :/

	Quote:
	Four bankers who helped a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin move millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts have been convicted of lacking diligence in financial transactions. March 30, 2023 The four were found guilty on Thursday of helping Sergey Roldugin, a concert cellist who has been dubbed “Putin’s wallet” by the Swiss government. The executives – three Russians and one Swiss – helped Roldugin, who is godfather to Putin’s eldest daughter Maria, deposit millions of francs in Swiss bank accounts between 2014 and 2016. The case highlights how people like Roldugin were used as “strawmen”, the indictment seen by Reuters said, a way to hide the true owners of money. In Switzerland, banks are obliged to reject or terminate business relationships if there are doubts about the identity of the contracting party. The four executives helped Roldugin operate two bank accounts at Gazprombank in Zurich, through which millions of francs flowed, without conducting sufficient checks, the court heard. The prosecution had alleged the men failed to do enough to determine the identity of the real owner of the funds and it was implausible that Roldugin could be the real owner. Sums of around CHF30 million ($32.8 million) were involved in the case, said public prosecutor Jan Hoffmann. This was despite the musician, who appears on Switzerland’s list of sanctioned Russians, having no listed activity as a businessman. At the time, the musician told the New York Times that he was certainly not a businessman and did not himself own millions, according to the indictment. Roldugin was among scores of members of Putin’s inner circle sanctioned by the West, including Switzerland, after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/busines...icted/48404704

marton · #**9219** 30.03.2023, 20:48

	Quote:	slammer
	I have been saying this all along. Putin is the moderate here and there a lot of very nasties waiting in the wing should he be ousted. And on the homefront it seems to be a given that we are in store for energy shortages and energy rationing this winter and in some Gemeinden the local government is urging Bürger to prepare for blackouts and is encouraging self responsibility for fuel and food. You should see the checkout lines in the Baumärkte with people buying gas cylinders like the whole country is going camping.

Figures released today show German consumer prices rose 7.4 percent year-on-year and Spain’s annual inflation rate almost halved to 3.1 percent for March.
No doubt helped by falling energy prices as the European price of gas was around €44 a megawatt hour today, down from €175 six months ago.

Putin's attempt to blackmail Europe by withholding gas supplies over winter was a spectacular failure despite all the doomsayers.

Now looking for cheap unused gas cylinders for my barbie with warm Summer weather forecast.

komsomolez · #**9220** 30.03.2023, 21:12

	Quote:	marton
	Putin's attempt to blackmail Europe by withholding gas supplies over winter was a spectacular failure despite all the doomsayers.

True. But also dumb luck.