RayC

Thanks for the links. As you say the research conducted by Pew contains no data about Belgium specifically, so it is basically irrelevant. Wrt the Brussels Times' link. Imo a wavering in support amongst the general public two years into a conflict is hardly surprising. The view amongst the Belgium public is consistent with the wider EU public opinion, so I'm not sure why you single out Belgium? Belgium's conduct in the Congo was shameful, but unless you believe that there is something in the Belgian pysche that lends itself to colonialism and sadistic behaviour, it has no relevant to the Belgium's role in the current Ukraine conflict. Unfortunately, the PVDA has a small number of unreconstructed Stalinists within its' ranks, so their support for Russia is hardly a surprise: Without wishing to sound like an apologist for Vlangs Belang - a party I abhor - their leadership has condemned and distanced itself from Russia since the invasion. So far as financial support from Belgium for Ukraine is concerned, the unimaginative titled 'Belgium -Ukraine' fund stands at €1.4 billion and the Belgium government passed a bill in March authorising €400m in military aid to Ukraine. (Note: The link which I have is in French so cannot be posted. A search of 'Le Soir (Belgium)' should uncover relevant details). Far from wavering in its' support for Ukraine, the Belgium government and public have remained as steadfast as others in the EU.

Do you have a link supporting that contention?

If you say so.

As opposed to either dismissing everything that appears in the MSM despite the evidence, for the simple reason that it does not fit your narrative or, alternatively, inventing 'facts' to 'support' that narrative.

Like most people, I don't like being patronised ("Do try to keep up"). However, I over-reacted. I have no excuse for labelling your post as a lie. I apologise and withdraw the comment. What I should have said about your comment that, " .. the expansion of (the) EU ... had a bigger impact (than Brexit)" on the £/baht exchange rate was that it is uninformed as it is not supported by the evidence. Sterling declined overnight by +/-10% due to the referendum result: When the EU expanded by 10 members in May 2004, the pound increased against the baht by 4%. Bulgaria and Romania (in 2007) and Croatia (in 2013) joined the EU, the £/baht rate declined by <1% (effectively within the range of a normal trading day). The idea that sterling's decline from 2007 onwards was a result of the events of 2004 i.e. that it would take the money markets 3 years to absorb the implications of the EU expansion in 2004 is imo nonsense. It might be argued that the Eurozone crisis from 2009 - 15 weighted on sterling vis-à-vis the baht but imo the effect was limited. The two most important events, which have moved the £/baht exchange rate over the past 20 years are 1) the financial crisis of 2007/08 and 2) the result of the Brexit referendum. In 1), the market judged the impact to be greater on the UK's economy than Thailand's hence the decline. 2) shouldn't require any further explanation. The effect of the expansion of the EU membership per sec had no negative impact on the £/baht exchange rate.

🤷 The pound declined as more countries were allowed membership of the EU: That is untrue; incorrect; a falsehood; a lie, etc. But my mistake, Donald, you didn't state that (top of p5) 🤦

Macron resigned from the Socialist Party in 2009. He's probably best described now as a right-of-centre liberal.

Your original post offers no qualification re residence or anything else. It is just a categorical statement. If you have changed your mind and now wish to introduce nuances that's fine, but let's not pretend that was the original point. Thanks The post in question is shown below. It is incorrect therefore it is not defamatory to call it as such. "The expansion of EU from a decent trading block to a gravy train had a bigger impact. Just look at the pound decling as more countries were allowed in."

That is quite a career. You should be proud of that.

Getting desperate. The realisation that their argument is lost may (hopefully) be beginning to dawn on some Putin supporters.

Your original post: "Here in UK my wife has a doctors appointment today. Booked it last week. My father is due an op. On the waiting list for 4 weeks already, due on 27th August. It's not as bad as some like to make out." Based on your family's experience you therefore conclude that waiting times are not as bad as some people claim. No nuance, no acknowledgement that other people's experiences may have been different. The clear implication of your post is to suggest that others are complaining unnecessarily. You will, no doubt, state that you didn't say that and that I am misinterpreting your position. Factual true you didn't state that explicitly, but given that I am not alone in my interpretation it might suggest that you should try to be less ambiguous in future. Imo you are being disingenuous. Still, I suppose that it is better than stating outright lies as did regarding £/baht exchange rates in another post.

A huge body of evidence would suggest otherwise

Once again, fine; you are happy with your personal experience. In your opinion, "it is not as bad as some people like to make out". There are people who don't share that view.

Untrue. The pound actually rose against the baht after the expansion of EU membership in May 2004 and January 2007. In contrast, the pound declined by 10% against the baht following the 2016 referendum.

If you are happy with the level of provision that's up to you, but then don't claim that, "it's not as bad as some like make out". That is a relative judgement: some people might believe that things are worse than reported.

Right on cue our senior Putin apologist arrives at the scene. Did you miss these bits? Don't you think that they are legitimate concerns? "Weber highlighted that Hungary’s new fast-track visa system for citizens of eight countries, including Russia and Belarus, bypasses essential security checks" "Weber's letter emphasized that the policy could undermine the integrity of the Schengen area, a borderless zone that allows free movement among its 29 member countries. He called for EU leaders to adopt stringent measures to protect the Schengen area's security and prevent other member states from implementing similar initiatives".

Err ... Ukraine became a sovereign state in 1991.

Putin's senior apologist has joined the conversation

That depends on what you consider 'bad'. The NHS lags the majority of other European countries when it comes to targets. For example, Belgium sets itself the target of patients getting a GP appointment within a day and being seen by a specialist within two weeks. It used to meet those targets in more than 60% of cases (not sure if that is still the case).

Certainly a factor. Bht55/£1 in May 2016. Pound fell back to 45 after referendum. Not been close to Bht50/£1 since.

You keep citing Mearsheimer and Sachs' views on Ukraine as though they are the definite word on the matter. That is obviously not the case. That have an opinion which others vehemently disagree with. I dare say that they are a few "super intellectuals" among the signatories to the open letter. https://voxukraine.org/en/open-letter-to-jeffrey-sachs https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/opinion/international/3543012-who-caused-the-russo-ukrainian-war-nato-or-russia/amp/

Whereas of course, you are able to cut through the propaganda and misinformation and have a clear view of the true situation. Oh, the arrogant delusion of the conspiracy theorist.

And you have shown time and again that you are on the side of Russia.

The MSM narrative on COVID being what? That the vaccines offered some protection against the virus? Brand is nothing more than a self-serving conspiracy theorist.

I'm not surprised that you don't have an opinion on the article as it undermines your premise that the US is to blame for the current conflict. The last paragraph does not show any bias on Patrikarakos' part; it shows that he does not believe Putin which is a different thing. Events in Ukraine since 2014 add ample evidence to support Patrikarakos' skepticism re Putin's intentions. Wrt the Crimea. I accept that polls can get results wrong but, call me cynical if you like, I find it hard to believe that support by those in the Crimea for unifying with Russia rose from 41% (according to a poll) in February 2014 to 96% a mere month later in the referendum.