Europe at War

[Florestan]

I hope I can sleep well again when Finland is officially in NATO, but thanks to Turkey it can take a year. Life sucks...

Turkey is a beautiful country and the Turks are very nice and friendly people. You should take a trip there. 

[drogulus]

     As I indicated F-35ly, Finland and Sweden are "interoperable" with NATO forces.

     That's a fact. Some facts are on pieces of paper you can read, other are not. Finland and Sweden anchor the Baltic and Arctic regions. Due to climate change the Arctic gets more important every year.

[71 dB]

Turkey is a beautiful country and the Turks are very nice and friendly people. You should take a trip there. 

Leaders of a country do not always represent well the people. One of my former working pal was from Turkey. One the the smartests and nicests people I have ever known!  0:)

[drogulus]

Turkey is a beautiful country and the Turks are very nice and friendly people. You should take a trip there. 

     Yeah, well, that's just......

     

     The Turks love cats. They are very OK.

[Todd]

Well, okay, but still... The disappearance of Russia as we know it? What does that mean? People's Republic of Moscow breaking away form the Russian Federation? The Federal Republic of St. Petersburg and Baltica following suit and applying for EU and NATO membership? The Vladivostok Free State asking to be annexed by China? 

The article means nothing.  I view it as equivalent to a comic strip, except that the article actually resulted in some laughs.

Instead of denouncing NATO's aggressive expansion, Russia should ask why is it that each and every Central / Eastern European nation who were once their subjects or puppet states joined NATO as soon as they could. Are we all Central / Eastern Europeans just a bunch of irrational and hysterical Russophobes?

And the US should ask why non-Russian Europe is not entirely responsible for its own defense and what benefits the US receives from expanding NATO.

[Madiel]

Now the war is distorting Eurovision. After the invasion of Crimea the Ukrainian entry was REALLY good and a deserved winner. This time... well it's okay but not amazing, and an overwhelming betting favourite.

What? This is a music message board.

[Florestan]

Now the war is distorting Eurovision. After the invasion of Crimea the Ukrainian entry was REALLY good and a deserved winner. This time... well it's okay but not amazing, and an overwhelming betting favourite.

What? This is a music message board.

Is Eurovision still alive? 

Seriously now, the final is tomorrow, right? In the Czech Republic if I'm not mistaken? Well, I bet that good or bad, Ukraine will win. 

[71 dB]

Is Eurovision still alive? 

Of course! Now even the US has their own copy of it!

I know Finland's song by Rasmus (hard to avoid), but otherwise I ignore the contest completely. 

[LKB]

...And the US should ask why non-Russian Europe is not entirely responsible for its own defense and what benefits the US receives from expanding NATO.

You're seemingly either a) being intentionally obtuse or b) trolling.

[Todd]

You're seemingly either a) being intentionally obtuse or b) trolling.

Or neither one of those.

[LKB]

I slept really badly last night. I am tired and easily irritated. That's why Erdogan's message hit me really hard. Unfortunately bad news don't come only when I have slept well and mentally strong to deal with it. It is a vicious cycle: Bad news make me sleep worse and when I am tired the bad news affect me even stronger. That's why I have not slept well in months... ...I hope I can sleep well again when Finland is officially in NATO, but thanks to Turkey it can take a year they say. Life sucks...

At least Italy has expressed strong support for Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

I am sympathetic towards the sleep- challenged, as I've been among their number since l became homeless in 2017. Once l was back on my feet in 2018, my sleep remained fractured, and l am now averaging between 2.5 and 4 hours daily most of the time. Once or twice a month I'll manage 6+ hours, which feels great.

[Madiel]

Is Eurovision still alive? 

Seriously now, the final is tomorrow, right? In the Czech Republic if I'm not mistaken? Well, I bet that good or bad, Ukraine will win. 

It's in Italy. I could be wrong but I don't think it's ever been in the Czech Republic.

Of course there's a glaring question of whether Ukraine would be able to host next year if/when they win.

[71 dB]

Fresh news:

The US will ask Turkey to explain why they oppose Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

[Todd]

If the UK is at war with you, you are at war with NATO.

It is very unlikely that the UK would take any large-scale action without buy-in from the US.  Also, it is not clear what great military benefits are provided to Sweden and Finland in this agreement.  The UK, when partnered with France, was entirely incapable of managing a sustained bombing campaign in Libya.  Taking on Russia, even in its current state, is far more challenging.  The agreement is blustery political theater aimed at sending a message which the Russians will disregard.

The UK, through the JEF, has proven effective in sending weapons to Ukraine to keep the proxy war going.

[71 dB]

Frankly, I don't think it matters any longer whether Finland or Sweden are 'officially' in NATO or not. The UK has signed a mutual defense pact with them: you invade one, the UK is now at war with you. If the UK is at war with you, you are at war with NATO.

I rather think that was the point of the recent defence pacts: they are effectively 'in' and the legalese can follow in due course.

The mutual defence pact is certainly great, but frankly I don't trust the UK 100 % at the moment. The UK seems a confused nation after years of Tory austerity policy and xenophobia-based populism.

[71 dB]

I am sympathetic towards the sleep- challenged, as I've been among their number since l became homeless in 2017. Once l was back on my feet in 2018, my sleep remained fractured, and l am now averaging between 2.5 and 4 hours daily most of the time. Once or twice a month I'll manage 6+ hours, which feels great.

I think your sleeping problems have been much worse than mine. I sleep enough hours, but it is bad heavy sleep and my heart is restless and pumping fast. I see very strong vivid dreams (I almost never see real nightmares, but these dreams have heavy stressful atmosphere). That's why I don't feel well-rested after even 9 hours of sleep and I am tired almost all the time. The only good thing is I haven't been experiencing panic attacks. Those are really nasty! I suffered from panic attacks a few years ago for more or less unknown reason.

[drogulus]

Fresh news:

The US will ask Turkey to explain why they oppose Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

     They host Kurds who are considered to be terrorists.

Frankly, I don't think it matters any longer whether Finland or Sweden are 'officially' in NATO or not. The UK has signed a mutual defense pact with them: you invade one, the UK is now at war with you. If the UK is at war with you, you are at war with NATO.

I rather think that was the point of the recent defence pacts: they are effectively 'in' and the legalese can follow in due course.

     You're right. They are in with the in crowd.

[Karl Henning]

I'm not going to ignore Todd. His posts about music are substantial and interesting.

In a music thread, you can choose to read his posts.


I do not, but one can.

[drogulus]

     I don't see how it is in the US interest to defend Belarus.

     Lukashenko is starting to crack. Now he's praising the Ukes and says he hopes his military learns from them. I shit you not.

     

[milk]

Rand Paul has less of a chance of becoming president than his father did, which means he has precisely no chance.  Sanders never had a chance.

A lot of people said the same about Trump in the early days of the (first election's) primaries.