Russia invades Ukraine

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by GhostCookie

It seems to me that the whole plan for the invasion was a blitzkrieg into Ukraine, seize the cities, install puppet leaders who all "vote" to become Russian, and then Russia demands the world accept the new governments as legitimate and fight to have sanctions reduced/removed. That's why pootin thought he could weather the sanctions, because he thought this would all be tied up in a neat bow by now.

And if I recall, the forces in crimea were pretty much all Russian regulars with markings covered, so yeah, i would take any claim from Ruzzia about an areas assertions of independence (or really any claim at all) with boulder size grains of salt.

It’s the same story that plays out everywhere when there are similar conflicts. It gets even more complicated several years after a conflict and people wonder why an ethnic minority with a regional majority shouldn’t be allowed to democratically leave a country. It seems logical on the surface, but it just rewards the ethnic cleansing that came before.

I know this may be controversial, but my personal belief is that if a group of people in one country wants to be unified with the motherland, it’s the people who should leave and not the borders that should change. They should of course be welcome to stay and be protected if they choose to, but if they continue to refuse to accept the authority of the country they are in and just want to make trouble, they should be given a free plane ticket out.

[Itse]

Accusations against Germany's newish chancellor Scholz are starting to be pretty heavy and targeted more and more against him personally. There's reports that even people in his own government are starting to find his behavior curious.

I consider this particular thread of dubious informational value in itself, but I think it's worth sharing just to show how venomous the accusations against Scholz are getting, and to show how things look at least to some people.

So accurate or not, this is at the very least how Scholz is starting to be seen.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1516545893805273091

Oh, and in other news, the Finnish parliament officially opened discussions on the question of whether or not Finland should apply for NATO membership.

While there really is quite a lot to talk about, it based on the opening day it seems very likely that we will.

[CroFlames]

So Merkel really was the 21st century Bismarck.

She leaves and all hell breaks loose in Europe.

[activeStick]

Wimbledon is not allowing Russian tennis players to play this year. I'm not a fan at all of banning regular Russian citizens who in my opinion shouldn't be penalized for things their leaders do.

[FlameOn]

Dutch in another FU to Olaf Scholz provides German made howitzers to Ukraine

https://twitter.com/user/status/1516840494675939331

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Dutch in another FU to Olaf Scholz provides German made howitzers to Ukraine

https://twitter.com/user/status/1516840494675939331

I googled Scholz after the post ITSE put up, an god damn it's a bad look for him.
Seems like he'd rather play politics than do what's right to help the Ukraine.
hope it bites him on the ass sooner, rather than later.

If the articles I read are correct, it seems a majority of Germans still have a neutral or favorable view of Russia. (especially the area where the pipeline comes into the country.)

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Wimbledon is not allowing Russian tennis players to play this year. I'm not a fan at all of banning regular Russian citizens who in my opinion shouldn't be penalized for things their leaders do.

I was on the fence originally, but I now totally support the bans.
Your country wages unprovoked war, you get to deal with the consequences.
besides, I don't trust any Russian athletes to not be a part of a coordinated doping program.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

I was on the fence originally, but I now totally support the bans.
Your country wages unprovoked war, you get to deal with the consequences.
besides, I don't trust any Russian athletes to not be a part of a coordinated doping program.

Do you support firing of Russians in your workplace based on their ethnicity?

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

If the articles I read are correct, it seems a majority of Germans still have a neutral or favorable view of Russia. (especially the area where the pipeline comes into the country.)

But Germans have a hugely negative view of Russia and it's invasion of Ukraine. Right now over 78% of Germans believe that they should be sending weapons to Ukraine, 55% strongly support heavy weapons with only far left/right wing parties affiliated supporters opposed. Scholz has political cover for this from constituents and large portion of his own party, fact he isn't doing so means he's in Russia's pockets or he's stupidly afraid of risking his economy because of a sudden gas cutoff.

The Forsa poll, conducted for German broadcaster ntv, found that 78 percent of those surveyed supported both sending weapons to Ukraine and the federal government’s decision to immediately spend €100 billion on modernising the German military. Before Russia’s invasion, both steps were considered highly controversial in Germany.

According to the latest DeutschlandTrend survey, 55 percent of German citizens support the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine, while 37 percent are against it.

The poll – a monthly survey of political sentiment for ARD and die Welt – also shows that supporters of the Greens, SPD, FDP and CDU/CSU are overwhelmingly in favour of the arms deliveries, while the majority of AfD voters are against them.

https://www.thelocal.de/20220414/maj...ns-to-ukraine/

https://www.thelocal.de/20220302/zei...ft-in-germany/

[burn_this_city]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1516883853431955456

[burn_this_city]

Noticing this quite a bit lately. The far left being less overt, but the outcome they crave is basically the same.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1516718708508565509

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Do you support firing of Russians in your workplace based on their ethnicity?

If we had any employees from Russia that currently still lived there and only traveled to work at my company on Monday and then went home at the end of each week, then yes. fire them and ship them home.

but I don't think you can fairly compare Yuri from Leduc, who has been in Canada for 20 years and has a Canadian family, with a Russian athlete.

I'll mention to him that you care.

[JoseCuervo]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Do you support firing of Russians in your workplace based on their ethnicity?

There is quite a difference. Having Russian star athletes banned from international events has an impact, even if just symbolic.

[Geraldsh]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Do you support firing of Russians in your workplace based on their ethnicity?

Never for ethnicity but probably for attitude. Putin lovers be goners.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

If we had any employees from Russia that currently still lived there and only traveled to work at my company on Monday and then went home at the end of each week, then yes. fire them and ship them home.

but I don't think you can fairly compare Yuri from Leduc, who has been in Canada for 20 years and has a Canadian family, with a Russian athlete.

I'll mention to him that you care.

No it's not different.

You are barring a Russian from working based on their ethnicity. How is that different than firing someone based on their ethnicity?

Most of the highest profile Russian tennis players live outside of Russia.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

No it's not different.

You are barring a Russian from working based on their ethnicity. How is that different than firing someone based on their ethnicity?

Most of the highest profile Russian tennis players live outside of Russia.

Technically, the players are being barred because of their nationality.

They also play as a representative of Russia. If you stop doing business with a company, you stop dealing with anyone that represents that company; same thing with Russian athletes playing for Russia.

Russian-born hockey players in the NHL = Good
Russian-born hockey players playing internationally and representing Russia = Bad.

Not sure where this is confusing for you.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by you&me

Technically, the players are being barred because of their nationality.

They also play as a representative of Russia. If you stop doing business with a company, you stop dealing with anyone that represents that company; same thing with Russian athletes playing for Russia.

Russian-born hockey players in the NHL = Good
Russian-born hockey players playing internationally and representing Russia = Bad.

Not sure where this is confusing for you.

I'll concede that point.

But do individual tennis players play for Team Russia or Team USA? I thought they were all independent contractors.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Noticing this quite a bit lately. The far left being less overt, but the outcome they crave is basically the same.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1516718708508565509

Adherents to extreme ideologies hold worldviews which they believe they know the righteousness of their positions already, which allows them to reject facts or double down on bad beliefs that don't line up with their worldviews. This also makes them the easiest to manipulate with Russian disinformation.

We are not immune to this even in Canada... Freedumb protests, etc (despite widely reported Russian disinformation campaign targeting Canada). Heck I had a convo yesterday with a self professed "conservative" about the ban on Russian players in the IIHF/CHL being racist, and I had to point out there needed to be consequences for Russian "support" for Putin's invasion and that ethnicity/nationality are completely different things... and the guy is just like "semantics".

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

I was on the fence originally, but I now totally support the bans.
Your country wages unprovoked war, you get to deal with the consequences.
besides, I don't trust any Russian athletes to not be a part of a coordinated doping program.

Discriminating against people for things that they don't control and which do no harm to others, such as where they were born, is stupid. A person is not their nationality.

[vegasbound]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

If the articles I read are correct, it seems a majority of Germans still have a neutral or favorable view of Russia. (especially the area where the pipeline comes into the country.)

I can only speak for the Germans in my family and they are very neutral, leaning towards a favorable view of Russia and Putin. Blows my mind. A lot has to do with the pipeline and how they view Ukraine as corrupt.