heybruce

Do you think that justifies an invasion? Should the UK prepare for an EU invasion?

EU resolve is failing? I've read of disagreements on how to end the war, but not of any nation advocating abandoning Ukraine. How do you think morale in the Russian Army is holding up?

From your source: "Positive views of Russia have been retained in China, Indonesia, Egypt, Vietnam, Algeria, Morocco, Malaysia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia." A rogue's gallery of corrupt states noted for stifling their press, leaving people easy prey to Russian propaganda promoted on social media.

Since its initial founding in 1949 I don't think NATO has ever asked another nation to join. It has always been other nations with a legitimate fear of Russian aggression that asked to join NATO.

You don't understand the Chamberlain analogy very well, do you?

The CDC said that vaccinations greatly reduced the risk of infection and, if infected, greatly reduced the risk of hospitalization and death. The CDC also released data supporting its claims. As the vaccine evolved and vaccination effectiveness declined the CDC released new data showing this. The data consistently shows that vaccination reduces the risk of catching Covid and of hospitalization and death. Provide a link to an actual CDC spokesperson stating without qualification that you wouldn't catch Covid if you were vaccinated. BTW: From your forum name I suspect you are a Trump fan. I assume you know that he has been vaccinated and boosted. He promoted vaccinations and boosters to his base until he received push-back, then dropped it. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-donald-trump-coronavirus-vaccine-74abcd4e6833835f5df445fe2142e22b

That's my concern. I'd want them tested by a credible lab for insecticides and other chemicals. I've tried crickets in Mexico and Thailand. When fried up crispy and seasoned with chili powder they're not bad. When lightly fried they're just a bland mush with a slightly crispy outer shell. Not great but better than going hungry.

Do you actually believe all the Russian propaganda, or are you being paid to promote it?

By the same token, if all the Russian military in Ukraine would surrender, the war would be over and the killing stop.

"These people arrange the looting of countries between themselves. They have no loyalty to the people of a country." That's certainly how Ukraine operated when it was being run by Russia backed oligarchs. Breaking free from that kind of system takes a lot of time and effort. "It was Victoria Nuland who got caught on tape arranging the 2014 coup in Ukraine." Total BS. There was an illegally recorded phone conversation between two State Department officials discussing the players in the 2014 protests and who was the best candidate for US support. A normal internal discussions of an international situation. Calling it a coup is ridiculous.

"I'm not going to ignore sources because of gaslighting or tone policing." So we should just trust you because nobody lies on the internet. ????

Russia isn't sorting. It invaded, leveled cities, depopulated captured areas by deportation and murder, etc. Ukraine isn't being "encouraged/forced" to fight. Ukraine is willingly fighting for survival.

Gee, why would people think Putin wants to capture all of Ukraine? Was it the suicidal attempt to encircle and capture Kyiv? Or maybe the ongoing attempt to capture all of southern Ukraine, making it a landlocked fraction of a country?

"Ukraine's current borders have come about only by historic happenstance. People made them, people can break them." How many countries can you name for which that is not true? Certainly not Russia, Manchuria is not a "natural" Russian region. The situation was worse for the Soviet Union, which Putin seems intent to re-create.

Ok, I assumed by test you meant a written exam only. Of course a test performed on a shooting range would have to include instructions on safety procedures. Personally I don't care if a gun owner couldn't hit the ground if he fell out a window, so long as he keeps his gun pointed in a safe direction and always treats it as if it were loaded.

The fact that Russian backed separatists began armed conflict with Russian support and leadership in 2014 does not mean that the majority of people in the region want independence from Ukraine. "The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in April 2014 with low-level fighting between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatist rebels who seized some towns in predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine...One of the most important rebel leaders, Igor "Strelkov" Girkin, is a Russian citizen and military veteran who retired from Russia's internal security services just weeks before he began leading the rebels, who are widely thought to include unmarked Russian special forces." https://www.vox.com/2014/9/3/18088560/ukraine-everything-you-need-to-know The Azov regiment was one of many hastily thrown together to prevent the Russian backed, financed, armed and led rebellion from spreading. Why shouldn't the Ukrainian language be taught in Ukrainian schools and used in Ukraine's government? The country is Ukraine. Isn't Russian taught in Russian schools and used in Russia's government? How do they do things in your country? An independence referendum in the eastern regions before 2014 might have had some merit, but a referendum conducted under Russian puppet administrations and after Russian ethnic cleansing would be meaningless. Do you think Russia would have respected the results of an independence referendum in Chechnya in 1994?

Again we are largely in agreement. However, not on this: "If you're of age and can pass a rigorous test, you should not have to have training." Just as a driving test is required for one's first driver license, so a demonstration of safe gun handling in a supervised shooting range should be required for a gun license. There is a difference between knowing the rules and demonstrating one can handle a gun or vehicle in accordance with the rules. Plus, having an armed small arms instructor calmly tell you that he will shoot you if you point your weapon in an unsafe direction makes a lasting impression. It really drives home the point that guns are not toys and must be handled responsibly. Of course requiring a demonstration of competence does not guarantee that a person will always handle a gun or vehicle competently. However it will eliminate some of the clearly incompetent and make it easier to justify revoking a license and seizing a gun or vehicle after reckless behavior.

I also did not point out how many gun deaths were accidental. The pertinent point is that a great many young lives are lost unnecessarily because of guns. Sadly, there are many preventable "leading cause of death" cases that are so common as to not be newsworthy. Maybe newspapers and news programs should make daily reports about the number of deaths caused by obesity, alcoholism, smoking, drug use, guns, etc., but they don't and I think the public would tire of it. Do you think all news sources should not only give these daily death reports, but also break them down by demographics?

So we're almost in agreement on some things. Free gun registration is reasonable, however the gun registration must be changed whenever the gun changes hands, and stolen guns must be reported immediately. I don't see why gun licensing should be free, since it should come after a mandatory gun safety course, preferably taught by former military small arms instructors (those guys will shoot anyone handling a gun in a dangerous manner). Since training and licensing costs money, the people benefiting should pay. I also want to see rigorous enforcement of these laws. I would love to see headlines such as "Man arrested after reporting gun stolen from unlocked vehicle" and "Man arrested after gun stolen but not reported used in commission of crime" and "Man charged with criminal negligence after shooting neighbor with gun he thought was unloaded".

Gun ownership implies number of guns owned. The fact that a record number of guns are owned by a smaller number of people suggests that more gun fanatics are accumulating larger arsenals. That is hardly reassuring.

In a nutshell, register guns and license gun owners in a manner similar to how automobiles and drivers and registered and licensed. Pass laws imposing strict penalties for carrying a firearm while under the influence, much the same as driving a car under the influence. Impose penalties for reckless firearm handling similar to penalties for reckless driving. Prosecute anyone who uses the lame excuse "I didn't think it was loaded" for criminal negligence. Make it illegal to store a firearm in an unsafe manner, such as in an unlocked car. I could come up with more, but you get the idea. Make responsible ownership and handling of firearms a legal responsibility with stiff penalties for irresponsibility.

Source for your gun ownership claim? "There are more than 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the United States, or enough for every man, woman and child to own one and still have 67 million guns left over." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/19/there-are-more-guns-than-people-in-the-united-states-according-to-a-new-study-of-global-firearm-ownership/ I may have to take a break from identifying your false facts. It's easier for you to invent lies than for me to show they are lies.

What?! The "this topic is about assault rifles" poster is now asking for suggestions about rational gun laws? Let me guess; once someone posts suggested laws you'll respond with "No, no, no, only laws about assault rifles!".

Your hypocrisy knows no limits. Check your posts immediately preceding this one. They aren't about assault rifles.

You want to limit discussion to assault rifles for other posters, yet you routinely bring up the large number of deaths caused by other firearms. Once again, pick a lane.