Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by wiseowl, Jan 1, 2025.

  1. Tidemark

    Tidemark Super Gardener

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    I suppose what he really wants is to be a member of NATO. That would put the kibosh on any more Russian aggression. So simple. Just a few signatures on a bit of paper..
     
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    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      Yes I see your point but what is the alternative, by the time the minerals have all been mined there will likely be a different .president in America and Putin will be dead.

      Its a sad situation but if America goes for a military option it will develop into WW3, a kind of civil occupation might, just might, get passed Putin.

      Putin is not going to backdown, he's winning so why would he suddenly vacate all the land he's grabbed.
       
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      • Ergates

        Ergates Enthusiastic amateur

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        Putin has been hanging on for Trump to take over, as it has definitely been weakened. However, Europe has probably been compromised by all the security secrets that Trump has already handed over to Russia.
        The USA has benefitted from not being actually involved in the conflict while handing over almost obsolete weapons, which would have cost a fortune to dispose of, while manufacturing more to sell across the world.
        It will probably fall to the next President to start reinforcing Alaska, if it hasn’t already been annexed for its resources. Trump has been spouting forth about the lovely ocean between him and Europe, but evidently none of his lackeys has been brave enough to take the map off him, and show him a globe. Won’t matter during his tenure, given his ‘friendship’ with Putin. However, Alaska has no land borders with the rest of the USA, any land reinforcements would have to cross Canada - whoops.
         
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          Last edited: Mar 3, 2025
        • ViewAhead

          ViewAhead Total Gardener

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          Ukraine joining NATO would kick off WW3, I think, though I agree that is the level of security Zelensky needs.
           
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          • ViewAhead

            ViewAhead Total Gardener

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            It isn’t possible to deal with Putin whilst the US is backing him. And no country in that region is safe in these cirs.
             
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            • pete

              pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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              I'm not sure where everyone gets the idea the US is backing Putin, Trump has talked to him if that's what is meant by backing him.
              Probably did a bit of crawling around him but then Starmer has done the same around Trump.
              Its called diplomacy.

              It will never end until people start talking
               
            • ViewAhead

              ViewAhead Total Gardener

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              All Trump’s criticism is of Zelensky, not Putin. If Trump were genuinely on the fence, he wouldn’t need to harry and insult Zelensky, accuse him of being a dictator or ungrateful or wanting war. The Kremlin has said Trump aligns with their “vision”.

              Ukraine has been subjected to an unprovoked, prolonged attack. Any “discussions” should be on what reparations Russia is going to pay.
               
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                Last edited: Mar 3, 2025
              • Ergates

                Ergates Enthusiastic amateur

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                I don’t think Trump is capable of anything resembling diplomacy. He says what he feels like, and has not acknowledged that Russia attacked Ukraine, and he has seemingly been careful not to criticise Putin. I don’t think they are friends, I think Putin has a strong hold over Trump, and is now calling in the favours. Probably bailed Trump out of his bankcruptcy, and the rumours of vote rigging in Trumps election are nearer the truth than rumours.
                I think everyone is desperate for peace, apart from Trump who just wants an end to the war. I suspect that all he wants is a share of the resources, and if he can’t get those from Ukraine, he’ll get them from Russia, so he’s not bothered about who wins, just wants a quick result.
                 
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                • pete

                  pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                  Then there will be no discussions and we are back to square one, throw in more money and kill more people.
                  Until Russia takes complete control and it will end.

                  Its very easy to say what "should" happen, but not so easy to make it happen.

                  I just hope they keep talking and thrash something out, it was going nowhere when Biden was at the helm and Europe were sitting on their hands, at least Trump has stirred some action, even though he comes across as obnoxious that is not a good reason to not try and sort something out.
                   
                • Fat Controller

                  Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                  More than anything, for me, Trump is the only one out of the lot of them that it is demanding peace and an end to killing. The others are all seeking to back Ukraine (good thing) at any cost (bad thing) and not even seeking to negotiate at all.. they seem to want to continue the war.
                   
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                  • ViewAhead

                    ViewAhead Total Gardener

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                    Can you negotiate with a murderous dictator though? How likely is Russia to stick to any terms? And how reliable is Trump’s word, for that matter?

                    There’s no fair solution. Deaths and destruction are irreversible. But we have to think forward. Appeasement never works longterm.
                     
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                    • pete

                      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                      So you prefer all out war, hardly looking forward to my thinking, not saying its the ideal out come but better than any others I can see.
                       
                    • Fat Controller

                      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                      I think said dictator would be far more likely to negotiate if he has it in his mind that he is dealing with someone who will actually follow through and kick some arse (for want of a better expression) if said dictator doesn't behave.

                      I watched the meeting between Zelinsky and Trump twice over the weekend and whilst, in my opinion, should not have happened on live TV, there were maybe some things in there that needed to be said. Biden apparently lost his temper with Zelinsky back in 2022, yet that wasn't reported on in the same way this one with Trump has been for a starter for ten. The other thing that we don't know is what sort of discussions Trump has had with Putin behind closed doors -- there seems to be an assumption that Trump is somehow big friends of Putin, but there is no actual evidence of that. We simply don't know what was said, or how it was said - maybe he was similarly firm with Putin, albeit that it maybe didn't descend into a shouting match on TV.

                      The other angle, potentially - was that theatre? Was that a way for Trump to show Putin he wasn't messing about and wanted peace more than anything? Who knows... I know one thing for sure - the methods of the past few years haven't worked.

                      I'll be the one to mention Musk too - as someone is bound to, he being something of an ally of Trump - Musk posted this the other day and I took a screenshot of it as it resonated with me:

                      WhatsApp Image 2025-03-03 at 19.55.09_9b675c8c.jpg

                      Say what you like, but that says to me that 'team Trump' are pretty serious about stopping folks being killed.

                      Will there have to be concessions on both sides? Absolutely. Will Ukraine have to enter deals for minerals and goods with the likes of the US and potentially other countries? Almost certainly - but then, there will also be employment, support and contracts for Ukrainian people as they rebuild.
                       
                    • lizzie27

                      lizzie27 Super Gardener

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                      It is worth remembering that the 1994 Budapest Memorandum was signed by Ukraine, Russia, America and the UK in which Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons (the 3rd largest in the world at the time) and in return the the other countries pledged to respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and existing borders. That pledge was broken when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and got away with it. If the US, UK and possibly Europe had stepped in then, we probably wouldn't have had the current situation. Putin was just trying it on and seeing just how far he could push.

                      He'll do it again, as bullies always do.

                      As will China against Taiwan and possibly Japan.

                      Putin is personally fixated on the idea that he has to get Ukraine absorbed back into Russia which he wants to make into a superpower. He'll do anything to achieve that aim and doesn't care how many people are killed.

                      I would hazard a wild guess that he's blackmailing Trump to toe his line.
                       
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                      • Fat Controller

                        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                        Indeed, Putin may be blackmailing Trump, however I am less sure - I think this is all over the minerals and potential farmland output from Ukraine, and mostly minerals as well as control over shipping in the Black Sea.

                        Trump is behaving like a huffy kid after Zelinsky had a bit of a spat with him ahead of his visit... but then, that is as a two-way street - if I chose to have a bit of a set to with my engineering director, what do you think my chances would be of him providing me a few buses for free for a day? When it boils down to it, all humans are reactionary, so if someone does or says something to us that we feel to be offensive, we react to it.

                        Regarding the agreement to respect Ukraine's independence etc - indeed, Russia broke that deal by annexing Crimea - that barely caused a ripple politically, yet Ukraine it was massive news from the off. We are seeing the coaxing of Ukraine to give up it's nuclear weapons through a lens of furthering peace - but was it actually a way of weakening Ukraine? There were other things agreed with Russia, such as the EU not pushing further around it - Norway joining the EEA was a catalyst, but that was followed by talks of Ukraine joining or at the least joining NATO, directly provoking Russia. As for Putin being a bully, yes he is - just the same as every single other world leader - the difference is, the bullies of the Western world have become a bit smarter as to how they do things now... even China has become smarter at it, in fact and they bully by finance, dependence and red tape.

                        My real worry here is that we've now got a situation where the UK is saying they will put "boots on the ground and planes in the air" whilst Germany and France have not made that same commitment for a starter. Our 'boots' are short in number (currently less than 80k serving soldiers which is not enough to even fill Twickenham Stadium) and our planes are equally short. We've made a statement as though we are ready to go, when in reality we are years away from being able to do so - the money needed won't be on stream until next year and then it takes years to build fighter jets and ships, let alone train the personnel. Worse still, we've not long culled our ability to make virgin steel, so we are basically beholden to China - China who are still quite pally with Russia not least because Russia supply them lots of gas etc. China who are spying on countries all over the world, have us pretty much over a barrel for electronics and even things such as our power/energy and our public transport. We don't even build our own buses here anymore, so what makes us think we can suddenly build tanks and planes in significant number?

                        Bluntly, we've not bothered to defend our OWN borders for decades either - so why do we think we can defend the borders of others?
                         
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