Ukraine and the wisdom of the RB crowd

[M-Power]

We take so much for granted in the UK with freedom of speech, civil liberties and a generous welfare state compared to most other countries etc

maybe Alex Salmond should look at the Russians before he starts spouting about bullying from Westminster

time to repair Hadrians wall maybe on their side !


Sadly Putin has reacted exactly as I thought he would, being the ex KGB Judo black belt warrior that he is. He's a close friend of Berlusconi, another total megalomaniac. The unfortunate thing with these types is they dig deeeep holes, then they just keep digging faster and ever deeper until they can't get out without looking weak or foolish. The result is probably going to be huge bloodshed and a reversal back into recession for developed countries. I just can't see this ending well. :facepalm:
In a way, mass communication via Twitter/Facebook etc in real time will allow an ever increasing number of the downtrodden & the dispossessed to organise revolution at the drop of a hat. The media get off on it. Time to retire to the hebridies methinks.

 

[Woz]

Certainly looks like it's gone pear shaped with the Russians digging their heals in. Seems close to a flash point.

I guess the media will love this and "forget" to report on Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, et al.

 

[M-Power]

Just out of curiosity I had a look at this

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ ... _personnel

We all know the Americans and many European Nations have arguably the best military technology but it's quite surprising which countries have incredible numbers of armed forces. :shock:

 

[highlandsflyer]

We take so much for granted in the UK with freedom of speech, civil liberties and a generous welfare state compared to most other countries etc

maybe Alex Salmond should look at the Russians before he starts spouting about bullying from Westminster

Bit daft. Salmond has a point. If a comparison needs to be drawn, Cameron is the Putin figure.

 

[M-Power]

I think Angela Merkel needs to step into the breech and try to diffuse the situation before It escalates out if control. She's a smart woman and respected by all sides.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Someone with a set of balls is in order.

 

[M-Power]

When there are that many huge balls hanging out, it takes a special set of ovaries to release the pressure build up.

 

[Ivo]

One overlooked battleground no is the social media. And www.vk.com in particular. Vkontakte is way more popular in Russia and Ukraine as Facebook. What I see there, following scores of Ukrainians and Russians, is that the Ukrainians in general (both Ukrainian and Russian) are very visibile and outspoken against the Russian military presence on Crimea. Russians generally are silent, there are even a few Russians (living in Russia) who join the Ukrainian chorus. The Russian mainstream media might be following the Putin line, social media is also very important in Russia. The Vkontakte owner has a trackrecord of not yielding to Kremlin pressure.

 

[M-Power]

Hope you are right IVO. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out and I agree Social Media with real time news updates and public opinion trends has changed the World - hopefully for the better. Putin must be trying to find a way out of this mess without loss of face. Sure he wants to improve his stature in Russian politics by being seen as the defender of ethnic Russians in Ukraine. If gun-ho Ukrainian nationalists up the anti too much it could turn very nasty fast.

 

[Ivo]

The problem indeed is that both sides have too much negative points. Putin is clearly playing the imperialist who clings to his zone of influence. But the heavy involvement of Svoboda forces in the current Ukrainian political field is equally disturbing. Their trackrecord during the past century is very, very nasty.
My hope is on the Ukrianian minded russian speakers in Ukraine. I closely follow what they say on the social media. And my sympathies are with the Crimean Tatars now. They are completely caught in the cross-fire. I've recently seen statistics appearing, albeith from nationalist Ukrainian sources, stating that currently abt. 1/3 of the Crimean population is Crimean Tatar, 1/3 Russian and 1/3 combined of Ukrainians and others (mainly German and Jewish). Nearly all of them Ukrainian citizens though.