Europe at War

[Gurn Blanston]

So what's going with this fucking war? Is Putin dead yet or what? Let's get to the bottomline here, folks.

Well,  Putin is counting on us to get bored,  so you're on the right track.   

🤠😎

[Lisztianwagner]

Alas, it seems it is far from coming to an end; practically, everyone has tried to convince Putin to stop the war, but everyone has failed. He doesn't listen to anybody......

[71 dB]

So what's going with this fucking war? Is Putin dead yet or what? Let's get to the bottomline here, folks.

According to some sources Putin has cancer and 2-3 years to live.

[Madiel]

According to some sources Putin has cancer and 2-3 years to live.

That's a rather long time to be living with terminal cancer. So call me skeptical.

[LKB]

Medical rumors concerning Vlad the Mad pop up as frequently as strident television hosts in Moscow, and are just about as credible.

[Que]

An overview of the various reports on Putin's health:

https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-putin-alleged-health-problems-2022-5?r=US&IR=T

But if Ukranian intelligence says he has still a few years to live, I'll take their word for it.
If true, it's unlikely to influence the outcome of this war. It might have played an important role in its creation, but that is another matter....

[71 dB]

That's a rather long time to be living with terminal cancer. So call me skeptical.

Of course you should be skeptical. It is just what I have seen, not a proven mathematical fact!

[Karl Henning]

36 experts agree: Stay the course in Ukraine

[drogulus]

     If you asked the Uke defense people I think they would tell you the war is going to last for many more months at least, and based on what the expertariat has been saying for a while this has been the consensus view for most of the war. The reason is not hard to see. Russia will take time to exhaust all of its resources. They can fail repeatedly in their main goals while gaining ground here and losing it there. The ghost of General Kutuzov is fighting on the other side.

     Poland understands what Russia is up to. Well, everyone does now but the Poles always did. Russia will do whatever it can to plug the invasion routes into Russian territory. They won't stop until they can't go on.

[Karl Henning]

Russia will do whatever it can to plug the invasion routes into Russian territory.

Meanwhile, in the West, we see what futile endeavors Napoleon and Hitler headed.

[drogulus]

     China has Russia's back, or at least they are threatening to have it. Since February the Chinese have been holding military exercises around the city of Harbin where there's a big PLA headquarters. This is not far from the border with Russia. China is the country for which the term "border clash" was invented. There are the ones with India, and in 1969 the Chinese massacred several dozen Soviet border guards for the crime of being border guards.

[Karl Henning]

... and in 1969 the Chinese massacred several dozen Soviet border guards for the crime of being border guards.

Sounds like "special operations" to me ....

[JBS]

     If you asked the Uke defense people I think they would tell you the war is going to last for many more months at least, and based on what the expertariat has been saying for a while this has been the consensus view for most of the war. The reason is not hard to see. Russia will take time to exhaust all of its resources. They can fail repeatedly in their main goals while gaining ground here and losing it there. The ghost of General Kutuzov is fighting on the other side.

     Poland understands what Russia is up to. Well, everyone does now but the Poles always did. Russia will do whatever it can to plug the invasion routes into Russian territory. They won't stop until they can't go on.

Bear in mind that historically the invasion routes into Russia were actually invasions of what is now Belarus and Ukraine.

[71 dB]

     If you asked the Uke defense people I think they would tell you the war is going to last for many more months at least, and based on what the expertariat has been saying for a while this has been the consensus view for most of the war. The reason is not hard to see. Russia will take time to exhaust all of its resources. They can fail repeatedly in their main goals while gaining ground here and losing it there. The ghost of General Kutuzov is fighting on the other side.

     Poland understands what Russia is up to. Well, everyone does now but the Poles always did. Russia will do whatever it can to plug the invasion routes into Russian territory. They won't stop until they can't go on.

100 days...

I go back to my Elgar avatar for this reason. This problem called Russia isn't going anywhere so better move on with our lives while we can...

[LKB]

100 days...

I go back to my Elgar avatar for this reason. This problem called Russia isn't going anywhere so better move on with our lives while we can...

100 days is nothing, and l'll fly the flag of Ukraine for as long as it takes for Russia to capitulate. 

[71 dB]

Ex-diplomat of the US and foreign policy expert Elizabeth Shackelford says NATO should smoke Türkeya out. She says the undemocratic nature of the country makes NATO weaker rather than stronger. Türkeya abuses its veto-power against countries who do not support Erdogan's obsession over the Kurds.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-nato-alliance-turkey-divorce-shackelford-20220602-nyreivkfdndtpfivcepjnbv7xy-story.html

[krummholz]

Ex-diplomat of the US and foreign policy expert Elizabeth Shackelford says NATO should smoke Türkeya out. She says the undemocratic nature of the country makes NATO weaker rather than stronger. Türkeya abuses its veto-power against countries who do not support Erdogan's obsession over the Kurds.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-nato-alliance-turkey-divorce-shackelford-20220602-nyreivkfdndtpfivcepjnbv7xy-story.html

She has a point. Unfortunately, as the op-ed states, there is no clear path for doing this.

[71 dB]

She has a point. Unfortunately, as the op-ed states, there is no clear path for doing this.

Yeah and Sweden & Finland remain sitting ducks despite of fulfilling the NATO membership requirements. What Türkeya demands from us is ridiculous and nothing to do with NATO.

[LKB]

Yeah and Sweden & Finland remain sitting ducks despite of fulfilling the NATO membership requirements. What Türkeya demands from us is ridiculous and nothing to do with NATO.

There will probably be more member states willing to make bilateral arrangements with both Sweden and Finland, just as the UK have.  Even if NATO membership is delayed, security will still be enhanced. And, Erdogan won't remain in power forever ( though he probably won't be going away anytime soon ).

[LKB]

So it seems Putin was the target of an assassination attempt, and the rumors of illness may be more than rumors.

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-putin-treated-cancer-april-us-intelligence-report-says-1710357