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My gut feeling right now is that if this actually does happen, Ukraine will move to a guerilla war against Russia. They can operate quite freely in Russia (there is a Ukrainian accent in Russian, but this can be disguised), and if they bring mass terror to Russian cities, Russia may really struggle to deal with the consequences of it. A few trucks blowing up in busy populated areas would soon cause mass discontent, and Russia is so corrupt that it wouldn't be difficult to buy off a few people to allow such attacks to happen.
I was actually thinking about Napoleon invading Iberia recently and I can see a similar situation both now and in future with Ukraine-Russia. The Spanish would never accept Napoleon's rule, so waged a guerrilla war (where the term originated) which proved to be very costly for him. Ukraine are clearly not accepting Russian role (with the exception of the Donbas and Crimea to an extent), so will be motivated to do likewise.
Didn't take him long to start repeating Putin claims and now calling Zelensky a dictator. Feel for Ukraine, as the bus the US is throwing them under screeches towards them at astonishing speed.
Europe provides 60% of the support, take away the 40% and I don't Ukraine will hold. Simply because Russia will push harder knowing US isn't supplying Ukraine and Ukraine morale will surely nosedive.
No, that's not correct. If US comes to an agreement with Russia, whatever the said agreement maybe, Europe & Ukraine will NOT have choice but to accept it.
Our country can barely issue a statement against US, what makes you think Europe will continue to support Ukraine and continues with the war?
No, that's not correct. If US comes to an agreement with Russia, whatever the said agreement maybe, Europe & Ukraine will NOT have choice but to accept it.
Our country can barely issue a statement against US, what makes you think Europe will continue to support Ukraine and continues with the war?
Is there a particular reason that after over 2 years on this railway forum being rather dormant, you decided now to start and in a thread on the geopolitical situation of all things?
If I'm honest the whole situation regarding Ukraine and Russia with Russia claiming victimhood has just further pushed my own view that these populist parties popping up are all just grifters who seek to gain power regardless of consequence. They've seen their supporters take in pro-Russia stances, presumably from a dissatisfaction with their own state, and decided to promote these views further instead of shooting them down as disinformation. Turning away from Ukraine and praising Russia just shows what cowards these people are and how easily they can and will be bought out. Putin has managed to do what soviet leaders could only dream of while still being openly authoritarian.
You know how when some people said how much they feared a Trump presidency and how it would be dangerous and verge on the apocalyptic, well it us starting to look like they were being overly optimistic.
Trump is trying to end congestion charge price rises in New York and signed off his social media post with “LONG LIVE THE KING!”. I suspect he’s not referring to Elvis.
Trump is trying to end congestion charge price rises in New York and signed off his social media post with “LONG LIVE THE KING!”. I suspect he’s not referring to Elvis.
Almost certainly a reference to 'King of New York', a well-worn phrase in culture and crime. Pure trolling but seems have wound up quite a few online who have taken him a bit too literally on this occasion.
Almost certainly a reference to 'King of New York', a well-worn phrase in culture and crime. Pure trolling but seems have wound up quite a few online who have taken him a bit too literally on this occasion.
in the context of the executive order that he had literally just signed, which is an attempt to sideline the checks and balances of the other branches of the US government by decreeing that only his (or the attorney general's) legal opinion matters - is it really "pure trolling"?
he's also posted an AI/photoshopped cover of time magazine (renamed "trump" of course) of himself wearing a crown
Well yeah, of course it is...he's not proclaiming himself to be an actual king. In reality via his actions he's moving exclusively into the arena of 'elected dictator'.
Almost certainly a reference to 'King of New York', a well-worn phrase in culture and crime. Pure trolling but seems have wound up quite a few online who have taken him a bit too literally on this occasion.
As usual, it's saying something openly but having plausible deniability. 'Oh he was only joking!' as a defence, which Trump supporters have had to do repeatedly rather than admit it is exactly what it looked like. See also Elon and 'Roman salutes'.
Trump doing it doesn't surprise me, but it's frightening to see his supporters doing the same. These people seem openly willing to dance with Putin simply to 'own the libs', and it's quite surreal to watch.
Owning the libs is the main motivation of many Trump supporters and is precisely why there is no reasoning with them. Only a harsh round of leopard-based face eating will change their mindset.
In Trump's approach to both Gaza and Ukraine you can see his transactional approach. His whole life has been doing "deals" and that's what he looking for. Wars are bad news because they cost lots of money, so he's looking for the way to end them that's most favourable to him - and since in his head he is now the feudal lord of the USA, favourable to the USA is the same thing.
So Gaza is going to get lots of money from Saudi Arabia which will be channelled to US property developers, with maybe some suites for rich Palestinians as long as they pay homage. And the deal for Ukraine is to give Putin "Friend of Trump and Favoured National Leader" status as long as US companies have access to develop "Greater Russia's" natural resources. Ukraine can sink or swim as long as it doesn't go on costing the US money. If that sinks European liberal democracy in the process through economic pressures, so much the better.
You are right - that's the way the feudal system worked. The peasants did all the heavy lifting and the king creamed off the profits, with a rakeoff for local lords as long as they behaved themselves.
If an average UK citizen was behaving and speaking exactly as Trump has been since returning to office, I'm willing to believe they'd have been sectioned or referred to Prevent by now.
Why do you believe that? Europe has a comparably sized economy to the US. I understand that references to Suez could be made, but the US threats of calling in war-debt don't exist, as that has been paid-off.
Some people seem to like Putin because of his stance on things like LGBTQ+ issues and ethnic minorities. They'd really like to see places like the USA or UK look like what they think Russia looks like, and seem willing to accept the loss of democracy and freedoms to achieve that aim.
That's why so many people on the far right are defending and even supporting/promoting Russia.
I can't imagine Big Bob from Essex loving the fact there's no more 'brown' people in the South East while he has to go to a counter in a shop to receive a token so that he can go to the alcohol section of his local Sainsbury's (other supermarkets are available) to get his 4 cans of Dark Fruits for Saturday Night while he watches Putin's Got Talent.
Not sure if Russia has changed since, but that was what Michael Palin had to endure to get some Vodka when he was there during Pole to Pole
Put in gets Ukrain, Trump gets Greenland, Israel takes Gaza whilst China gets Tiwan. Anyond who lives in these countries and does not want to live under the new government can be resettled and paid compensation.
By doing this everyone wins. Those impacted in the countries in question will be better off with more money whilst in the long run and the world powers will be happy and stable.
If we don't appease them then we run the risk of economic misery and even war.
Do They?
Who exactly? the people displaced (and indeed those who stayed) from Greenland, Taiwan, Gaza, Ukraine?
That I very much doubt, it'll be Trump, Putin, Netanyahu and their acolytes and lickspittles.
As usual, it's saying something openly but having plausible deniability. 'Oh he was only joking!' as a defence, which Trump supporters have had to do repeatedly rather than admit it is exactly what it looked like. See also Elon and 'Roman salutes'.
At this point, it's better to take any word or action from Trump or Elon as literal and purposeful.
Trump is the current president of the United States. Everything he says and does has to be taken seriously.
Giving them the benefit of the doubt is allowing them to dodge responsibility at any given opportunity, while slowly building their position as king and grand-vizier of the United States.
Arsenal last won the title in 2004. The world was mostly a calm and sensible place in 2004.
We know what needs to happen.
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Of course Putin will be satisfied with what he's gained, just as Hitler was quite satisfied with his lebensraum and didn't just keep pushing for a little bit more.
Oh.
If I were Taiwanese I'd be looking nervously over my shoulder right now.
I can't believe that a USA that has been terrified of the Russians since 1917 now has a bona fide KGB agent in the Oval Office. The world has, quite literally, gone mad.
I wasn't there but the history books suggest not a lot was going on in 1927 when Newcastle United last won the title, so I think that's more deserving than Arsenal
I would like to think that even the most dense American can see what he's doing and reject what they presumably think is Communism on its way to the USA
as there are quite significant cultural differences that are reinforced through education. For instance, we learn very little about England before the Stuarts, except as a foreign power intent on annexing Scotland.
History throughout my time through the English school system:
1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge, Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, Bayeux Tapestry
1086 The Domesday Book
Then a jump to 1485 (with emphasis on the Battle of Bosworth Field) the Wars of the Roses, culminating in Henry VII ascension to the throne
The Tudors, focusing on Henry VIII and his wives and the Reformation, Mention of Queen Mary, then Elizabeth I, mention of Mary Queen of Scots, a few lessons on the Spanish Armada and Drake
The Stuarts with focus only on James VI/ I
Mention of the English Civil War and a few lessons on it and Oliver Cromwell
1492 Columbus and the discovery of the New World. Lessons on Magellan
Coverage of the Aztec Empire
Coverage of the Inca Empire and their conquest by the Spanish
1899 The Second Boer War
1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the First World War
1918- 1933 The Treaty of Versailles, The League of Nations, the rise of Nazism
Lebensraum
1939 Invasion of Poland and the Second World War
1950 Mention of the Korean War
So, nothing at all happened:
Between the dawn of time and 1066
Between 1086 and 1485
Between 1660 and 1899
And after 1953 (presumably because of official documentation etc that would better explain the situations that may be covered still being classified, Profumo, Cuban Missile Crisis etc)
Obviously I know things did happen and my history hasn't differed that much to yours
What worries is me is how the narrative seems to be that Ukraine is not sovereign, and Russia has every right to the country because of the past. With Trump facing no opposition, it doesn't matter what treaties there may have been to date. He will ignore them and press on regardless.
None of what's happening now is unique. It's the same playbook played out by people throughout history. And even when we learn from these mistakes, future generations will repeat them.
It's like the belief that nobody today would fall for common and obvious scams, like a Prince in Nigeria wanting to give someone billions of pounds. Sure, most people know. But every year a new generation of children are born that grow up not to know about things unless they're taught, or find out the hard way.
He'll state that he knows the match was rigged (without providing any evidence, naturally), and demand that the match officials are jailed immediately.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana, 1905. Somewhat better than (Karl) Marx (after Hegel), “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” This is no farce, but then they have managed to find a new variation on age-old despotism.
One of the main problems at the moment is keeping up with what is going on. Some of the changes that have been started are obvious to those outside of the US (Ukraine, Gaza, Greenland), some of them are going to be obvious for their triviality (drinking straws *), while some are obvious to MAGA supporters (anti-woke measures), but there are just so many that quite a few measures that will drastically affect peoples’ lives are going under the radar.
I did 1789 to 1870 for A’Level history, both British and European.
I rather enjoyed the bit where all the aristos got their heads chopped off.
And, joking aside, the story of German unification was fascinating. And it certainly still applies now in going some way to explaining the popularity of AfD.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana, 1905. Somewhat better than (Karl) Marx (after Hegel), “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” This is no farce, but then they have managed to find a new variation on age-old despotism.
One of the main problems at the moment is keeping up with what is going on. Some of the changes that have been started are obvious to those outside of the US (Ukraine, Gaza, Greenland), some of them are going to be obvious for their triviality (drinking straws *), while some are obvious to MAGA supporters (anti-woke measures), but there are just so many that quite a few measures that will drastically affect peoples’ lives are going under the radar.
The main lesson we should learn from history (besides that we don't learn anything from history) is "never let anyone get too rich and powerful". Power and greed are very powerful forces and there is always someone who is corrupted by it too much, this is why history keeps repeating, and wars are very much displays of power and greed, while gaslighting is used to con victims into supporting the powerful in their conquest. Usually they are gaslit into thinking it's about religion, this other group threatening to take away what they value (that's actually being taken away by their own corrupt rulers), or something else that deflects away from the real motives.
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