Russia/Ukraine conflict

[iPlug]

Another Russian naval ship is on fire in the Black Sea, Ukraine says

A Russian support ship, the "Vsevolod Bobrov," was being towed to Sevastopol from the area of Snake Island after it caught fire, according to Serhii Bratchuk, spokesperson for Odesa Regional Military Administration.​

 

[samppa]

Finland says they will apply to nato without delay:

Finland's leaders call for NATO membership 'without delay'

Finland’s leaders say they’re in favor of applying for NATO membership “without delay.” The annoucement by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Thursday means that Finland is all but certain to join the Western military alliance.

apnews.com

Not quite. news is that today president and prime minister announced that they support joining Nato.

Parliament still has to vote on it, vote is next monday.
But it will pass, public support is around 75% for, so it's political suicide to vote against.

 

[SmokyPeat]

Not quite. news is that today president and prime minister announced that they support joining Nato.

Parliament still has to vote on it, vote is next monday.
But it will pass, public support is around 75% for, so it's political suicide to vote against.

They'll vote to join NATO mainly because they see it as the best option for Finnish national security. Likewise in Sweden. The fact that it will have majority public support is secondary.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

Let's see if the Russians want to have a sequel: "The Winter War II"

The Finns have a long history of making the Russians look bad in warfare...

 

[ggr]

 

[SmokyPeat]

Let's see if the Russians want to have a sequel: "The Winter War II"

The Finns have a long history of making the Russians look bad in warfare...

They sort of already did- called The Continuation War, fought from '41-'44. Somewhat of an unholy alliance with the Nazis, but they did get back the territory they lost to Russia in the Winter War. The use of swastikas you see on the Finnish aircraft of that era predate the Nazis though.

 

[SmokyPeat]

View attachment 803435

The greatest sniper in history, Simo Hayha, earned the moniker of "The White Death" from fearful Russian soldiers. The number of kills he racked up is pretty amazing considering that he didn't use optics on his rifle. One of his tricks was to put snow in his mouth so that his breath wouldn't produce vapor and give away his position.

 

[wdolson]

Expect to see more about grain exports

G7 to discuss action to break Russian blockade of Ukraine grain exports

Meetings in Germany will look at alternative routes to ports as ‘44 million people march towards starvation’

www.theguardian.com

The loss of grain exports is a major global problem. It has no direct impact on the world's wealthier countries, but it's a stab at the heart of much of the developing world. Getting the grain moving again is a major step towards stopping the poorest countries in the world from starving.

Doesn't Russia only have like 3-4 ships left in the Black Sea at this point?

Blow them to hell. Problem solved.

They have a few more than that, but the largest combat ship are frigates (5 of them). They also have subs and aircraft.

Not exactly new news except it is official now.

Russia threatens to retaliate as Finland seeks NATO membership 'without delay'

HELSINKI/KHARKIV, Ukraine, May 12 (Reuters) - Finland said on Thursday it would apply to join NATO "without delay", with Sweden expected to follow, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine looked set to bring about the very expansion of the Western military alliance that Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent.​

With what? Are they going to nuke Finland or withhold vodka the Finns aren't buying?

Intriguing, but not sure Estonia, Latvia, and Norway would go along all the same.

Norway is one of the original NATO members. Kicking them out would be very bad politically. The countries on Russia's borders want to belong to NATO because of what happened to Ukraine. Ukraine has done a marvelous job protecting itself, but the price has been high. Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania are too small to defend themselves. The USSR took them over pretty quickly in 1940.

Let's see if the Russians want to have a sequel: "The Winter War II"

The Finns have a long history of making the Russians look bad in warfare...

The Russians don't have the army to invade. The BTGs remaining in Russia likely have no ammunition right now.

They sort of already did- called The Continuation War, fought from '41-'44. Somewhat of an unholy alliance with the Nazis, but they did get back the territory they lost to Russia in the Winter War. The use of swastikas you see on the Finnish aircraft of that era predate the Nazis though.

The swastika was originally an old Norse symbol in Europe. It was also used around Nepal too. The Nazis co-opted it and forever tarnished it like the Russians have tarnished the letters Z and V. Though the cultural prohibition against those letters likely will be constrained to context in the future since they are letters of the Latin alphabet and not a cultural symbol.

My partner saw this today. It's from a speech given by Helmut Schmidt in 1987 about Russia
Thread by @WeLoveNATO on Thread Reader App

Putin is just reflecting Russian culture.

 

[SmokyPeat]

The swastika was originally an old Norse symbol in Europe. It was also used around Nepal too. The Nazis co-opted it and forever tarnished it like the Russians have tarnished the letters Z and V. Though the cultural prohibition against those letters likely will be constrained to context in the future since they are letters of the Latin alphabet and not a cultural symbol.

My partner saw this today. It's from a speech given by Helmut Schmidt in 1987 about Russia
Thread by @WeLoveNATO on Thread Reader App

Putin is just reflecting Russian culture.

Yeah, it's a damn shame that the Nazis ruined such a beautiful symbol- for most of the western world anyhow. The earliest known use of the symbol dates from 10,000 BCE, found on a bird figurine carved out of mammoth ivory- found in Ukraine!

 

[SageBrush]

Yeah, it's a damn shame that the Nazis ruined such a beautiful symbol- for most of the western world anyhow. The earliest known use of the symbol dates from 10,000 BCE, found on a bird figurine carved out of mammoth ivory- found in Ukraine!

I've see a variant locally -- a mirror image. I've been told that it is an old pueblo Indian symbol.
I'm sure due to the Nazis, I cannot help but see it in motion, crushing anything in its path.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Yeah, it's a damn shame that the Nazis ruined such a beautiful symbol- for most of the western world anyhow. The earliest known use of the symbol dates from 10,000 BCE, found on a bird figurine carved out of mammoth ivory- found in Ukraine!

If you visit any Buddhist places, they are also commonly used there (as well as in Hinduism). You see them a lot in depictions of Buddha too:

This one is on the giant Buddha statue at Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong.
Po Lin Monastery

Very common if you travel to temples in Southeast Asia and people think of it as a positive symbol. Unfortunately in the western world it has become taboo (even when in the opposite direction the Nazis used it).
Swastika - Wikipedia

 

[UkNorthampton]

Again, effectively commandeering private property which I’m pretty sure is illegal. Also pretty sure if you arrived home to find squatters in your house you’d be bleating like a . It’s all well and good saying this but illegal is illegal.

Parliament is sovereign. WW2, plenty of country houses commandeered.

Police response to this mild protest/occupation was unusual and disproportionate. Cherrypicker!

'Surprised' mayor to question police response after squatters seize oligarch's mansion

Sadiq Khan has told LBC he plans to question the Met Police response after dozens of officers, riot vans and a cherry picker were sent to clear a handful of protesters from the balcony of an oligarch's London mansion.

www.lbc.co.uk

Listen to Andrew Marr! He's not very supportive of the silly police response compared to ordinary people's experiences.

James O'Brien castigates ex-cop backing oligarch mansion response

This former officer is taken to task after admitting the quick police response to the occupation of an oligarch's mansion was because of its value.

www.lbc.co.uk

James O'Brien relates how a burglary in progress in HIS house (with a child inside) resulted in a day and a half's response.

"Many were critical of the police response to the occupation, with dozens of police, riot officers and a cherry picker being deployed to remove protesters.

"Is the police response going to be different in a 50 million pound house in Belgravia compared with an 80,000 house in Darlington?" The caller asked. "Yes it is."

James wanted to know why the response would be different."

He went on to argue that the squatters had the potential to cause millions in damage to surrounding houses and the police were right to react so quickly.

"You've come on the radio programme Richard, without realising it, [to say] that people aren't equal before the law, it's determined by the value of the house you own."

The caller denied James' claims, telling him that the quick response may have been because "they may well have been around the corner."

"Last time I got burgled it took a day and a half for them to come around", James said, before the ex-officer saying his claim was false.

"I was there!"

"Where is the threshold? How much does my house have to be worth in order for police officers like you think it's worth bombing around there at 100 miles an hour?"

The caller insisted that "poor people do" get the same response to the scenes in Belgravia, to which James reiterated his first point.

 

[heltok]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1524506104192974849

https://twitter.com/x/status/1524506192252444672

 

[SmokyPeat]

It warms my heart to see that many destroyed Russian tanks piled up. Many more attempted river crossings like that and this war will see a swift resolution.

 

[SmokyPeat]

More than 70 units of Russian armor destroyed in the attempt!!

The Russians Lost An Entire Battalion Trying To Cross A River In Eastern Ukraine

The better part of a Russian army battalion—50 or so vehicles and up to a thousand troops—in recent days tried to cross a pontoon bridge spanning the Siverskyi Donets River, running west to east between the separatist provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

www.forbes.com

 

[wws]

A little humor:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523664324950036480

 

[petit_bateau]

Erdogan throws a Turkish spanner in the wheel of NATO as revenge for Finland and Sweden daring to ask probing questions about human rights in Turkey during the Erdogan era. I wonder to what extent it is an attempt to extort concessions in other areas ....... of which there are many

Erdogan says Turkey not positive on Finland, Sweden joining NATO

ANKARA — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday it was not possible for NATO-member Turkey to view positively plans by Sweden and Finland to join the…

nationalpost.com

Turkey comes out against Swedish and Finnish Nato membership

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has thrown up the first significant hurdle to Sweden and Finland joining Nato, declaring that

www.thelocal.se

 

[bkp_duke]

Erdogan throws a Turkish spanner in the wheel of NATO as revenge for Finland and Sweden daring to ask probing questions about human rights in Turkey during the Erdogan era. I wonder to what extent it is an attempt to extort concessions in other areas ....... of which there are many

Erdogan says Turkey not positive on Finland, Sweden joining NATO

ANKARA — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday it was not possible for NATO-member Turkey to view positively plans by Sweden and Finland to join the…

nationalpost.com

Turkey comes out against Swedish and Finnish Nato membership

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has thrown up the first significant hurdle to Sweden and Finland joining Nato, declaring that

www.thelocal.se

The NATO vote doesn't have to be unanimous, does it?

 

[petit_bateau]

The NATO vote doesn't have to be unanimous, does it?

Yes, in essence.

No country must object. So strictly speaking I think abstain is allowed.

 

[petit_bateau]

Hmmm..... getting the fairly obvious reactions

By the way there is (AFAIK) no direct way to eject a country from NATO, or for that matter the EU. I think there might be some roundabout ways, but not direct ones.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1525117029866516480