beautifulthailand99

and Challengers, Caesar howitzers and an endless menagerie of mothballed hardware that has proved difficult to service and oft-times didn't work. Shells seemingly of the right calibre wouldn't fit in the barrels, and barrels would wear out unable to be replaced. Once Ukrainian air defences had been degraded to virtually nothing at the front lines the arrival of TOS thermobaric rockets and FAB glide bombs have cause terrible carnage on the hapless often forced conscripts on the Ukrainian front. It’s total slaughter there now. No wonder they are retreating.

The West needs to have a good debate about how much they pay for hugely expensive tech from the military industrial complex and whether that is good value for money. Russia has rearmed at pace and can produce tank busting Lancets in pop-up factories in shopping malls for 10s of thousands of dollars not millions. That's why the next Wunderwaffe wont win the war for Ukraine.

Aye never forget - he's needed to get his gas to kill the Kurds from somewhere , didn't he !

Here's an archive version https://archive.is/khgHx . Possibly, aircraft carriers are expensive dinosaurs in the new age of asymmetric warfare. Just ask the Russian who lost Moskva to cheap tech - maybe in the future they will become status symbols for second rate navies like the Thais who can use them to cosplay rather than war. If an aircraft carrier was to be sunk in the Med by Iranian proxies it would truly stun and horrify the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleksii_Arestovych self promotes as one that could broker peace, but he is in exile now reviled by many nationalists as a Russian stooge (he isn't). He jokes that Zelenskiy should sue the US and the other partners for breach of contract https://unherd.com/2024/01/oleksiy-arestovych-zelenskyys-challenger/ OA: Ukrainian nationalism is the idea of less than 20% of Ukrainians. This is the problem. FS: What about the remaining 80%? OA: I think for most of them, their idea is of a multinational and poly-cultural country. And when Zelenskyy came into power in 2019, they voted for this idea. He did not articulate it specifically but it was what he meant when he said, “I don’t see a difference in the Ukrainian-Russian language conflict, we are all Ukrainians even if we speak different languages.” And you know, my great criticism of what has happened in Ukraine over the last year, during the emotional trauma of the war, is this idea of Ukrainian nationalism which has divided Ukraine into different people: the Ukrainian speakers and Russian speakers as a second class of people. It’s the main dangerous idea and a worse danger than Russian military aggression, because nobody from this 80% of people wants to die for a system in which they are people of a second class. Zelenskiy was ready to fold as I said it would have tacitly meant letting the Russian dominated oblasts go to Russia (which has happened, and I can't see the clock going back) - but extreme nationalists won't let that happen. His curse was to be an actor and wowed the world with his performance -some moustachioed nonentity would have folded easily once Russian might had shown their teeth and claws. These are the Rumfeldian known knowns about Putin and Russia and ones that western intelligence should surely have known. They gave them just enough to keep going, but not enough to win. https://harpers.org/archive/2023/10/the-tragedy-of-volodymyr-zelensky/ This has been evident not only in his failure to stand up to extremist forces at home, but also in his dealings with Ukraine’s allies, as exemplified by his infamous phone call with Donald Trump in July 2019 when he was asked to investigate the Bidens. Zelensky’s efforts to ingratiate himself with Trump were bad enough, but perhaps can be explained by virtue of America’s importance to Ukraine and Trump’s transactional approach to politics. More troubling was Zelensky’s eagerness to denigrate others for little discernible reason. A transcript of the call records him carping about how the German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French president Emmanuel Macron were not doing enough for Ukraine, telling Trump that he was “absolutely right. Not only one hundred percent, but actually one thousand percent” when he said of European leaders that “all they do is talk.” He likewise echoed Trump’s view that the recently recalled American diplomat Marie Yovanovitch was “a bad ambassador.” As the French journalist Sylvie Kauffmann put it in the New York Times: This popular maverick comedian turned real-life politician after playing one in a TV series, this promising reformer that President Emmanuel Macron of France had hosted at the Élysée even before he was elected, was in fact another spineless, unprepared leader jumping into President Trump’s every trap. The lack of moral courage Zelensky displayed during the exchange was not only personally embarrassing; it also boded poorly, as Kauffmann noted, for his ability to deal with the domestic problems he had been elected to confront. What's left has a chance of joining NATO if they get that peace deal and concede the reality of the ground and a 'free' Ukraine will have been won at huge financial and cost in lives. If Europe (and the US) offers good will but not serious cash, I can see it becoming something of a failed state on the periphery of Europe, with power going back to oligarchs and warlords who have the military might. There is lots of chatter about extreme corruption in the country and if rumours are to be believed Zelenskiy isn't immune. What do I see happening ? An Armistice (Zelenskiy will have to go though) - huge defences on both sides of the border and a frozen conflict. After that is anybodies guess - the US will have moved onto China, and its focus and efforts will be elsewhere. The extreme nationalists will be going nowhere, and they will be very angry and armed and trained to the teeth and if central power falters they will be the kingmakers in a new era, and it won't be pretty for anyone that they consider not 100% behind Slava Ukarainia. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA2510-1.html Armistice Agreements In armistice agreements, like those that ended the Korean War in 1953 and the Transnistria conflict in Moldova in 1992, the two sides commit to stop fighting and often create mechanisms, such as demilitarized zones, to prevent the resumption of violence.[34] Although armistice agreements can be quite detailed (the Korea agreement was nearly 40 pages long), they generally do not address the political drivers of the conflict, which means tensions can endure and diplomatic and economic relations between the parties often remain at a minimal level. Armistice agreements that have mechanisms for monitoring and ensuring compliance to reduce the risk of conflict resuming are more durable than those that do not.[35] An armistice in Ukraine would freeze the front lines and bring a long-term end to active combat. Russia would stop attempts to occupy additional Ukrainian territory and cease missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Ukrainian forces would stop their counteroffensives—strikes on Russian-held areas of Ukraine and on Russia itself. There would still be ongoing, unresolved territorial disputes (that is, divergent positions on the location of Ukraine's borders) between Kyiv and Moscow; these would be contested politically and economically, not militarily. The key political issues beyond territorial control, ranging from Russian payment of reparations to Ukraine's geopolitical status, would remain unaddressed. The sides would likely conduct only minimal trade; the borders would be largely closed. The line of control would likely become highly militarized, like the inner German border during the Cold War.

I wasn't wrong paper tiger it is. This is what a hollowed out dying US hegemon looks like pleading for reasonableness from your enemy. Second video. And an astonishing article in The Atlantic, you can almost smell the fear - it truly is an Arabist Viet Cong. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/03/houthis-yemen-war-palestine/677637/

They actually want to flog off an aircraft carrier now the Prince of Wales. Like the real thing, it doesn't work. And whatever you do don't mention the Ajax tank. The Tories have destroyed the British Armed Forces far more than leftist blow hard malcontents like me ever could. But they make good ads.... God Save the King ! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13138221/Britains-cash-strapped-Navy-forced-sell-aircraft-carrier-HMS-Prince-Wales.html

To be fair to Germany, their guilt runs very deep and rightly so. My dad never trusted them to his dying breath in 1996 having fought them in WW2.

Well it's true continuing this war is just condemning 100s or thousands of young men on both sides to their slaughter. It's WW1 in 1915 not WW2 defeating Nazism. The weasel Lindsay Graham that praised Zelenskiy to his face and said this was a great deal for the US seems to have gone quiet recently. All of this was hugely predictable to anyone with half a brain which makes it all the more evil to me that the powers that be are so cynical and so calculating in the playing of the "Great Game". They must think we are stupid, but then most people are or are distracted or just too busy to figure it all out. A few years back, my brother's family went to Ukraine for a city break - their taxi driver was quite knowledgable and took care of them for their stay. He mentioned that I a European was married to a Thai woman and expressed his displeasure that such a thing would happen. He said in our country we have a saying a cow shouldn't marry a horse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystia_Freeland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_McFaul

He's served in the armed forces and you ?

Probably adeptly balancing east and west and not letting extreme nationalist forces push the Maidan 'coup' egged on by the US and the EU. Realpolitik when you live next door to the Bear and the US is a poor friend when they are done with you. Which is where we are now, a ruined Ukraine and a ruined Ukrainian economy with a demographic time bomb - the millions who have left will probably never return and a West edging their way to the exit smiling with a good luck and a wave. As Milley said in an interview with the FT last week America is done with forever wars. That Boris was sent to scupper a messy peace deal brokered in Istanbul and persuade Zelenskiy to crack on is a criminal act in my book it's not as if the west didn't know what Putin and Russia were capable of. Just look at Grozny, Allepo and the like, and he did them whilst he was our 'friend'. The real obstacle to any deal is not so much domestic support as finding a trustworthy negotiating partner. “For negotiations to work, you need a tango,” the senior government official said. “War is actually quite successful for Putin. What is his reason to stop?” A Ukrainian military-intelligence source suggested that current rates of equipment and ammunition use might force both sides to a temporary ceasefire some time next year. But it would be only a pause, he says: there is little confidence in a lasting deal as long as Mr Putin is alive. “We know he hates Ukraine and our freedom. We are a bad example for his society.” For Ms Manukhina, the suggestion of waiting for a change in the Russian leadership brings her to tears. She says the little people, like her, are being forgotten. “If we are going to wait until Putin dies, all of our guys will perish. If nothing else is working, we must negotiate.” https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/02/22/after-two-years-of-war-ukrainians-are-becoming-pessimistic

In the UK now we knew a lot of Thai families and most can't afford to go home any more particularly those still working so when you factor in all the families that have their handouts when they land.

So today, every human being can add two new reasons to end the war. Today, the number of Gazans killed reached 30,000. And Palestinians in northern Gaza fought over aid trucks – some were looters, others were probably starving, or maybe the looters were starving. A stampede ensued, killing some; IDF forces, in a related or discrete event nearby, felt threatened and killed others. As of this writing, at least 112 Palestinians are dead, over 700 wounded. Social media can battle out which side killed how many, but I know the truth: the war killed all of them. It has to stop. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2024-02-29/ty-article/.highlight/30-000-dead-a-stampede-of-the-starving-hostages-dying-the-war-in-gaza-has-to-end/0000018d-f621-d72b-a18d-f7f12cd10000

Simon Jenkins absolutely nailing it here. Western Europe has no conceivable interest in escalating the Ukraine war through a long-range missile exchange. While it should sustain its logistical support for Ukrainian forces, it has no strategic interest in Kyiv’s desire to drive Russia out of the majority Russian-speaking areas of Crimea or Donbas. It has every interest in assiduously seeking an early settlement and starting the rebuilding of Ukraine. As for the west’s “soft power” sanctions on Russia, they have failed miserably, disrupting the global trading economy in the process. Sanctions may be beloved of western diplomats and thinktanks. They may even hurt someone – not least Britain’s energy users – but they have not devastated the Russian economy or changed Putin’s mind. This year Russia’s growth rate is expected to exceed Britain’s. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/05/nato-ukraine-russia-germany-military-leak

Looking like the Houthis may have cut internet cables and have certainly sunk a British ship. The US coalition seems to be deadly quiet. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/04/business/red-sea-cables-cut-internet/index.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/02/stricken-ship-attacked-by-houthi-rebels-sinks-in-red-sea

The media often fails to mention the time Donald “Buddha” Trump became a wandering ascetic and religious teacher in South Asia during the 5th century BC. His teachings and writings would even lead to the foundation of Buddhism.

Donald Trump and the Pilgrims take to the shores of Plymouth - 1620, colorized. He has been a pivotal figure at the great moments in history.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/04/business/red-sea-cables-cut-internet/index.html The destruction of cables in the Red Sea comes weeks after the official Yemeni government warned of the possibility that Houthi rebels would target the cables. The Iranian-backed militants have already disrupted global supply chains by attacking commercial vessels in the crucial waterway. An F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet parked on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the Red Sea. Related article Inside the US Navy’s frontline fight against the Houthis in the Red Sea Reports last week from Israeli news outlet Globes suggested the Houthis had been behind the damage to the cables. Yemeni rebel leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi denied the allegations. “We have no intention of targeting sea cables providing internet to countries in the region,” he said. The Houthis have since blamed British and US military units operating in the area for the damage, according to a report Saturday by the rebels’ official news agency.

https://archive.is/L6JrZ

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/04/german-leaks-british-troops-at-risk-tip-of-iceberg/ German military leaks that have put British troops at risk could be the tip of the iceberg, Berlin’s former intelligence chief warned on Monday night. August Hanning said more Nato secrets may have been compromised after Russia intercepted and published a video call disclosing military information, telling Bild newspaper: “This leak could have been just the tip of the iceberg.” On Monday, sources claimed that Russia had identified Germany as the “weakest link” in Nato and was using Olaf Scholz as a “useful idiot”. The German chancellor was under major pressure on Monday after the German air force accidentally leaked details of British “troops on the ground” in Ukraine in an unsecure video conference call. Meanwhile, security experts warned that Britain was not ready for a “high-casualty scenario” if a wider conflict broke out in Europe. Experts from the Rusi think tank said contingency plans were “ill-suited” to dealing with returning injured soldiers and the possibility of attacks closer to British soil.

Or more accurately, they are all genocides in the eyes of reasonable people. It's not a race to the bottom.

whey should he !

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/un-watch/ Overall, we rate UN Watch Right Biased based on information and political positions that favor the right and Mostly Factual due to the use of poor sources that have failed fact checks.

Off topic deflection.

I had thought she was useless, but israel's horrific genocidal war crimes are sticking in the craws of their most fervent backers. Stop arming israel that would be a good start - that and a ceasefire and humanitarian aid.