Russian Invasion

[LesPalenik]

Name?
-  Vladimir Putin.
Nationality?
-  Russian.
Occupation?
-  No. Just visiting.

Here is a commentary on the Russia-Ukraine war situation on youtube by Tom Nash, who is a financial analyst / youtuber, born in Russia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7ssk3PXIEk

and here is a commentary by Deutsche Welle, German Public broadcast station:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-VX8O-yWKU

[LesPalenik]

Below are the latest reports from dw.com (Deutsche Welle). They have good coverage about the Russian-Ukraine situation with more video reports on their youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9FlJKFWawM  1:23 min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMIISXFw2Do  26 min.

[kers]

The Russians were so polite to not to ruin the the Olympic Games in China and to atack just directly after...

This war will change a lot to many people in Europe and the world.
Putin shows completely not trust worthy and very dangerous and NATO will react accordingly. For Russia the consequences will be enormous too.
Another war started by one idiot with too much power.
The people in Taiwan must also be afraid to at this moment, for China backs up Russia and 'understands their quest for safety'
as always; only losers, fear, destruction ... and already now we need decades to restore what we had.

[Peter McLennan]

Russia is a third rate country ruled by a thug with an inferiority complex.
Trouble is, we're all going to be adversely affected by this asshole.

Best description of Russia I've read recently: "Upper Volta, with nuclear weapons".

[Robert Roaldi]

Been seeing a lot of incredible things in politics in the last few years, but the spectacle of many players on the American right-wing voicing support for Putin is something else. I didn't see that one coming.

[Peter McLennan]

Been seeing a lot of incredible things in politics in the last few years, but the spectacle of many players on the American right-wing voicing support for Putin is something else. I didn't see that one coming.

Who's doing that?

[Robert Roaldi]

Who's doing that?

Sorry, that was a dumb generalized statement on my part. A friend sent me some examples from the social media lunatic fringe, luckily nobody important, but I made the mistake of reading some of it and got me worked up. I deleted my friend's email, didn't keep any links, not worth looking at was my conclusion.

[Robert Roaldi]

Saw this today by David Frum of he Atlanic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/fox-news-gop-war-over-ukraine/621382/.

Some (expected) weirdness by Erik Prince and Steve Bannon https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/putin-ain-t-woke-steve-bannon-and-erik-prince-celebrate-russia-for-being-anti-lgbt/ar-AAUgpL3?li=BBoPRmx. I guess what they say is true though, Putin is pretty much anti-woke, have to give them that.

[Peter McLennan]

Anyone supporting Putin or his recent activities needs to be vilified to the fullest extent legally possible. He is the Darth Vader of real life.

Countering these cynical events is going to hurt us all and Putin is counting on that very fact to elude censure.  It's up to us to man up and accept these realities, even if it means (horror of horrors) "pain at the pump".

[TechTalk]

Who's doing that?

Putin's Right-Wing Shills - And why they matter.

https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/putins-right-wing-shills

These Conservatives Are Defending Russia In Ukraine Crisis—And Trump Leads The Way

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/02/23/these-conservatives-are-defending-russia-in-ukraine-crisis-and-trump-leads-the-way

[digitaldog]

Does this sum it up?

[LesPalenik]

Meanwhile, Biden is saying - maybe we'll impose some sanctions, or maybe some others, but best we'll wait a month to see how it works.
   
Big contrast to Justin Trudeau, Boris Johnson, Jens Stoltenberg or Ursula von der Leyen who speak up much stronger for the sanctions and against Putin.

[TechTalk]

Meanwhile, Biden is saying - maybe we'll impose some sanctions, or maybe some others, but best we'll wait a month to see how it works.

That may be what you're hearing, but it isn't what he's saying.

[digitaldog]

Meanwhile, Biden is saying - maybe we'll impose some sanctions, or maybe some others, but best we'll wait a month to see how it works.

Old news:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/politics/joe-biden-ukraine-russia-sanctions/index.html
Biden imposes additional sanctions on Russia: 'Putin chose this war'

[digitaldog]

Newer news:
White House**and EU nations announce expulsion of 'selected Russian banks' from SWIFT. The White House, along with France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada, announced Saturday evening that they would expel certain Russian banks from SWIFT, the high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world, pledging to "collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."

** that be Biden....

[Chris Kern]

For those of you in North America (and perhaps other locations) interested in continuously-updated broadcast news coverage:

Notwithstanding its bizarre obsession with reporting the decision by Roman Abromovich to turn over control of the Chelsea football club to a charitable trust, my impression is that the BBC generally is doing a better job than CNN in covering the invasion of Ukraine.

CNN may be first and fastest with the latest live video — I guess even the Beeb, with its considerable resources, can't field as many of its own crews and/or has fewer in-country partners than CNN — but the BBC reporters are producing prepared pieces which strike me as more intelligently drafted than what I'm seeing on CNN; the BBC presenters also seem better informed than their CNN counterparts.

[LesPalenik]

That may be what you're hearing, but it isn't what he's saying.

He isn't saying it anymore, but that's what he said when he initially imposed sanctions on just two Russian banks. It's good to see that he now extended the sanctions to more meaningful and effective means. Also good to see Germany increasing their help from the initial shipment of 5,000 helmets to sending now Javelins, Stingers and RPGs.

[digitaldog]

First:

Meanwhile, Biden is saying -maybe we'll impose some sanctions, or maybe some others, but best we'll wait a month to see how it works.

2nd:

He isn't saying it anymore, but that's what he said when he initially imposed sanctions on just two Russian banks.

Can you see the confusion from your readers based on the highlighted language?

[LesPalenik]

First: 2nd:Can you see the confusion from your readers based on the highlighted language?

No.

[TechTalk]

Also good to see Germany increasing their help from the initial shipment of 5,000 helmets to sending now Javelins, Stingers and RPGs.

Biden authorizes $350 million more in defense aid for Ukraine in response to Russian invasion

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/26/biden-ukraine-military-aid-package

President Biden authorized a $350 million defense aid package for Ukraine, the White House announced late Friday, as Washington rushes to send more assistance to the pro-Western government.

The package includes anti-armor missiles, including antitank Javelin missiles; small arms; body armor; and various other munitions “in support of Ukraine’s front-line defenders who are facing down Russia’s brutal attack,” a senior defense official told reporters Saturday. The Biden administration intends to provide support as long as there is a viable Ukrainian government fighting off Russian forces, The Washington Post previously reported.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a Saturday statement that it was the third drawdown of money from the United States to Ukraine in the past year, totaling more than $1 billion. The secretary of state described the third drawdown as “unprecedented.”...

...The United States had already provided about $650 million in defense aid to Ukraine in the past year, including Javelin missiles that were used to destroy Russian tanks this past week, according to the Ukrainian government. The United States had drawn from American weapons stocks last fall and again in December.

On Friday, the White House asked Congress to approve $6.4 billion in new emergency aid for Ukraine, hoping to boost humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country and shore up other allies in the region against any further Russian aggression. Lawmakers are expected to formally debate the proposal when they return to Washington next week....

...The United States has been joined by several other nations that have pledged to give equipment and funding to the Ukrainian military. The Netherlands is planning to supply 200 Stinger air defense rockets, while Belgium has pledged 3,800 tons of fuel and 2,000 machine guns. Countries such as France and Canada have also given military equipment in support of Ukraine against the Russian forces.