Rayvin
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Posts
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Days Won
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Everything posted by Rayvin
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Aye, Ukraine agreed to surrender all nukes in exchange for assurances that it wouldn't be invaded...
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This 40 mile long Russian tank convoy is concerning me I have to say. Are we about to see Russia "get serious"? We've had quite a bit to celebrate in recent days with how well Ukraine has resisted occupation, but it could return to being very grim very quickly if Putin wants it. Fuck this whole thing, seriously.
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I'm not "patriotic" but I'm glad we've given them something that's actually helping.
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I mean yeah it is, until or unless the EU finally takes over on that front. But we were talking about Trump resisting NATO and I'm saying it was problematic that he did because it shook the foundations of the US' own empire. They've built the whole thing around internationalism, and if they start stepping back it's going to be chaos - as we're now seeing. Trump dulled America's edge (intentionally, because his philosophical position is that the US should be isolationist - I disagree with him but I do at least respect that as an honest view), and that's prompted Putin to try his luck IMO. The US shrank back under Trump and we're going to be seeing the consequences of it either until it reasserts itself, or until it fades altogether. Such a decline, to be fair, would have happened with or without Trump. I do think he accelerated it though. As for least aggressive, please do remember that he carried out a strike on an Iranian general and almost kicked off his own war by accident
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I think this is to misunderstand the US and Trump to an extent. Yes, the US doesn't need to be militarily supporting countries all over the world - it does so as part of a soft power initiative to tie these states to the US in terms of culture. And it has been very successful with this. And has benefited hugely in terms of being the sole global superpower with all the benefits that come with that. Trump is an isolationist and didn't care for the internationalist vision of the US that it had spend decades cultivating - so he saw no value in this soft power. Thus, for him it just came down to collective security - but make no mistake, the US reaps many benefits outside of that for being the global policeman. We are all, in effect, living in an American empire.
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Howe's Peace Loving Mags v Potter's Wand Waving Wankers
Rayvin replied to wykikitoon's topic in Newcastle Forum
Hadn't picked up on this, but fair. -
This thread is superb and IMO completely accurate based on my limited knowledge. And it makes me so fucking angry, it really does. I don't even know how we row it back from here.
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I could actually get behind a lot of that, truth be told - Europe needs to be way less dependent on America, a multipolar world would be preferable to a US dominated one (if it could be done while respecting the autonomy of individuals and smaller nations, which as Russia is showing, it can't be). But the notion that Vladimir Putin and the current state of Russia is doing this all for global unity and prosperity is a complete fantasy. If this is what he thinks then he really has lost it.
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Published by whom? The Russian state?
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Another really interesting thread that I had no awareness of. I think this bit is also quite telling, not that we didn't already know it: "Foundations of Geopolitics sets out very specific aims for establishing the 'Greater Russia'. For example, advocates cutting off the UK, politically, from the rest of Europe. This has been achieved. 15/22"
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Likewise, no issue for me in agreeing to disagree.
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Aye but we could have a world with a powerful Russia (I appreciate that Putin won't care for it though). In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if they lost Putin and came to the table with a vision of becoming a Western styled democracy, we'd never see another major conflict again. Bring them into NATO, the EU, but just get rid of fucking Putin and make them grow up a bit in how they carry on.
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Just look at how we've been sidelined man, you can see it even in the few days that have gone past here. We were begging and pleading with Germany for several days to take command of the situation rather than being able to do it ourselves. This whole situation is a wake up call for ever closer unity for Western democracies. Ukraine will likely join the EU after this due to collective security and prosperity that it offers. Frankly, I now think even we're probably more likely to rejoin than we were a few days ago, given what we've witnessed. Why wouldn't we want to stand shoulder to shoulder in the firmest possible terms with people who think and live like we do?
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Howe's Peace Loving Mags v Potter's Wand Waving Wankers
Rayvin replied to wykikitoon's topic in Newcastle Forum
Wait, Brighton at home is our next game? Christ, this is very winnable. I'm guessing we'll have ASM back too? -
I do feel that this is exactly the sort of crisis that the EU would have looked to the UK to lead on, in the past. Germany has clearly been reluctant stepping into that role. Why we've chosen oblivion over a leading role in an emerging super power, I don't know.
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I agree despite my initial scepticism of our approach - that view was predicated on the notion that Ukraine would simply be unable to defend itself however, which is what the thread that Toonpack posted talks about. If you look at Russia's invasion of Crimea, Ukraine was entirely unable to repel them. It has however spent the last 8 years addressing that problem, and so has a much more capable standing army now. I will admit that Western governments do seem to have called this right - which is good, because that's what we pay them for. Given that Ukraine hasn't just folded and given up, that Zelensky has proven himself to be a strong and charismatic leader, and that Russia appears considerably weaker than many of us thought, there are a lot of positives indeed. However, I do wonder if Ukraine might go for neutrality as part of the peace discussion, which would rule them out of joining the EU - that would be a shame, as I think their battle for their country should be rewarded with the freedom to break away from that lunatic properly. If peace cannot be reached, and if Russia starts carpet bombing Ukraine, then I'm going to start feeling like we should intervene directly once again. But as things stand, I agree we're in a good position.
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Also agree on the EU. A superpower in waiting for years now, apparently just needs the occasional catastrophe to kick it into gear.
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That was superbly written and very informative, thanks for sharing it.
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I have been. Probably still am tbh though it really depends on your POV at this stage admittedly. I reckon the interconnectedness of nations as a consequence of globalisation is a more important factor in resolving stuff like this than possessing nukes. Ukraine doesn't have nukes and we wouldn't launch at Russia if he fired on them IMO, so us having trident hasn't been worth anything so far in this conflict. Putin is bringing nukes into the conversation because he has no other response to the sanctions. That said, this is a really serious test of my worldview on that front so it'll be interesting to see where we end up. I think the proof that trident is helping us would actually be if we were to get involved in a ground war to help Ukraine. At that point you could make a convincing argument that nukes are keeping us from being nuked. Until then I'm not sure they're part of the equation yet. I might be wrong though and while this whole thing is tragic, I suspect I'll be changing my view on several things as a result of it.
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Other Games 21/22: Talk about Actual Football
Rayvin replied to Ayatollah Hermione's topic in Newcastle Forum
Unlucky, but well in for being brave enough to try at least -
Useful info but can you post the link confirming this?
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Much better from Germany, great to see and much more like the country I believe them to be. Europe now on the same page at last.
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There was a time I'd have thought it was just posturing, but I think that particular vision of Putin's mental state hasn't survived this invasion. Who the fuck knows what he's thinking at this point.
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Good news: Ukraine won the battle of Kharkiv. Bad news: Putin is readying nukes and Belarus is joining the invasion.
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Superb result. The one bright light in the whole fucking week, this club. How often have we been able to say that over the last 14 years? Probably not once.
