In Solidarity with Ukraine

[skopar steve]

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Ukraine. I hope our rff friends in Ukraine are not caught up in the violence.

 

[raid]

Germany and other countries in Europe depend on natural gas from Russia. Their hands are tied for now.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

Our former leader cares nothing for human rights, not even the right to life itself. He is even more mentally ill than has been discussed. "Narcissistic Personality" isn't nearly enough to explain his behavior. It's much worse. Putin, we are now seeing, is no better; in fact he's evidently much worse. Neither has empathy for human feelings. It's as if a crucial part of them got left out. Trump admires Putin, idealizes him, thinks Putin can do no wrong, and now he basks in the glory of Putin's "accomplishments" as if they were his own. He is very sick. Well, we knew that; and now we can no longer deny what we should have known all along: Putin is just as bad. But is he any sicker than Trump? Or might Trump be just as ruthless, if we didn't have the checks and balances we have in this country? (January sixth comes to mind as I type that.)

What can we do? I think we, and many other countries, need to show up to help defend Ukraine. I know, there's a reason we aren't. But Putin must know we can nuke him back. Should we write to our senators?

Be careful now. There are folks here who thinks The Great Tangerine Nutsack walks on water.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Be careful now. There are folks here who thinks The Great Tangerine Nutsack walks on water.

He does walk on water. I read it online, so it's true.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

He does walk on water. I read it online, so it's true.

😀😀😀😀🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

 

[Borge H]

Germany and other countries in Europe depend on natural gas from Russia. Their hands are tied for now.

Not any longer. EU, US and others have stopped the Swift money transfer system for Russia which will destroy the Russian economy. Russian airplanes are now also forbidden to fly over many countries, including mine, Sweden. We are also supporting the Ukrainians with defensive weapons. Swedish Bofors one-man "tank-killers" in large numbers, Stinger air missiles and a lot more things.

The brave Ukrainians, both men and women, defend their country with brave. The Russian losses are very high, about 4300 Russian young soldiers are dead in the fights. A now more desperate Russian president have ordered the Russian nuclear weapons to be at stand-by.

As a Swedish citizen many of us are chocked by the Russian aggression. I never thought there would be war in Europe again. Ukrainians refugees in large numbers, more than 200 0000, leave for Poland and other countries. Some Polish and other men go to Ukraine to fight.

The Russian president said yesterday that if Sweden and Finland applied for membership in NATO the Russians must take military actions. Many of us think that if the Russians get away with occupying Ukraine the next countries will be the Baltic states and the Swedish island Gotland. The Russian president will not stop. This is 1939 again...

What is the purpose behind all this destructions and killings? 😡

Raid, in Sweden we are not using Russian gas for heating. We have water power, nuclear plants, and wind energy in abundance. Most houses are heated with district heating, wood fuels or heat pumps. We export every day between 3000 to 5000 MW to the European continent.

 

[raydm6]

A now more desperate Russian president have ordered the Russian nuclear weapons to be at stand-by.

The USA - as of this morning - is at DEFCON 2.

https://www.defconlevel.com/

 

[raydm6]

https://www.defconlevel.com/european...#breaking-news

Former U.S. Defense Intelligence Analyst Says Putin Is Escalating Conflict To Nuclear Domain To Topple Kyiv Quickly - A former U.S. defense intelligence analyst says that Putin is "is escalating the conflict into the nuclear domain in order to de-escalate – that is topple Kiev’s regime quickly" due to the fact that his forces aren't getting the job done. Defcon level moved to 2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has now ordered Russia's nuclear deterrent forces on alert in response to Western sanctions and rising tensions over Putin's invasion on Ukraine. Putin's forces are on an equivalent to Defcon 2 now.
Russian President Vladimir Putin Orders Russia's Nuclear Deterrent Forces On Alert In Response To Sanctions And Tensions - Overall Defcon level moved to 2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has now ordered Russia's nuclear deterrent forces on alert in response to Western sanctions and rising tensions over Putin's invasion on Ukraine.

At a meeting with the Kremlin's top officials, Putin made statements that NATO had made 'aggressive statements' along with heavy financial sanctions against Russia, as well as on Vladimir Putin.

Putin has given the orders to the Russian Defense Minister and Chief of the Russian military's General Staff to put the nuclear deterrant forces in a "special regime of combat duty". Taken from Defcon Level Warning System: https://www.defconlevel.com/european...#breaking-news

 

[bluesun267]

This whole thing has me heartsick. I stand with Ukraine.

 

[Robin3mj]

Took my kids into DC today and tried to explain as best I could how lucky we are, and that it takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to keep it that way. All the stars at the WW2 memorial representing the dead and the names on the Vietnam War memorial (quibble if you will with that conflict’s rationale) hit home for small children.

 

[markjwyatt]

Get out there and use your Kievs and FEDs. I know, USSR products, but made by Ukrainians. It's all I can come up with -- this invasion makes me furious and sad.

Haha- I was thinking that too, but ultimately these were Soviet cameras, and Russia is the inheritor of the Soviet legacy. Never-the-less, at least Kievs were actually made in Ukraine by initially some Germans and Ukrainians (probably some Russians too). Later it was mostly Ukranians, and they kept building them into the 1980s. My Kiev is from 1978, and has a really nice black rework- probably performed by a Ukrainian craftsman.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Nato is the real problem here. Basically, the west should mind its own business.

Nobody was forced to be in NATO, comparing to USSR. Ukraine gravitates more to the West.

 

[jonmanjiro]

NATO is, by design, a defense organization. Its "threat" to Russia exists only in Putin's deranged, paranoid mind.

If that's the case, what was NATO doing in Serbia in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, Iraq in 2004, and Libya in 2011?

Not any longer. EU, US and others have stopped the switch money transfer system for Russia which will destroy the Russian economy.

Not switch, SWIFT. While European and American politicians are saying cutting Russia off will destroy Russia's economy, there's reason to suspect it may just be wishful thinking. The Federal Reserve (and I think multiple European reserve banks) and many on Wall Street, were actually against the move, one reason being they can track money being transferred through SWIFT, but now that Russia will be forced to use other systems, such as CIPS, tracking money transfers will no longer be possible by the West.

Anyway, SWIFT is being left open (for now?) for gas payments to Russia. Gas exports are 30% of Russia's economy. With the ruble crashing... that's a lot more rubles.

The cutoff from SWIFT gets all the attention, but the sanction on Russia's central bank locking up its reserves held in western countries is probably the one that has the real teeth. It does appear that Russia anticipated that and have moved most of their reserves out of reach of the West though.

in Sweden we are not using Russian gas for heating. We have water power, nuclear plants, and wind energy in abundance. Most houses are heated with district heating, wood fuels or heat pumps. We export every day between 3000 to 5000 MW to the European continent.

Smart move by Sweden. Russian gas accounts for 40% of gas imported by Europe as a whole. Germany imports about half its gas from Russia, some countries as much as 100%. Your close neighbors Finland and Latvia, more than 90% each. Also, gas is not just used for heating. It's also used to make fertilizer, for example. Besides, energy is not just a resource, its the prerequisite for all other resources. Energy use directly correlates with GDP. If Russia cut off the gas supply to Europe tomorrow, I shudder to think what would happen to European economy as a whole.


Just a horrible state of affairs all around. I hope peace can be reached quickly.

 

[james.liam]

do you see any similarity with the situation in 1938, when the nazi leader decided to take the sudeten land because some people of german origin lived in that region. That was the first sted toawrd a devastating war. I live in Italy, and I am concerned about the Baltics; Ukraine could be the first course of a bloody lunch for the russia mad man...

Not a mad man; quite rational in fact. Russia is run as a large crime syndicate; when the mob boss slips up, the capos get restless. His brinksmanship is predicated on not suffering the fate of Lavrentiy Beria.

Be careful now. There are folks here who thinks The Great Tangerine Nutsack walks on water.

Ah, Waldroppings.

This needless nightmare with manifest consequences, unfolding as it has because no one is really in charge here to counter Russian imperialism, recalls a memorable scene from 'The Hunt for Red October', where the carrier commander looks out on his flaming flight deck and declares, "This business will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it."

 

[Rick Waldroup]

Perhaps something positive will come from the cease fire talks, but that is probably wishful thinking.

 

[james.liam]

Putin's terms of capitulation requires the dismantling of the army and the capture and/or killing of the political leadership; akin to the terms imposed on France in 1940.
'Finlandization' of Ukraine is the temporary goal, erasure of an independent nation is the ultimate plan.

The refugee crisis is going to be appalling, with ?tens of millions heading West.

And it won't end there, unfortunately. The best the West can hope to do at this late date is to bloody Putin as badly as possible. Russian hacking of critical infrastructure here and across Europe is the Trojan horse waiting for its belly door to swing open.

 

[valdas]

If that's the case, what was NATO doing in Serbia in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, Iraq in 2004, and Libya in 2011?



Not switch, SWIFT. While European and American politicians are saying cutting Russia off will destroy Russia's economy, there's reason to suspect it may just be wishful thinking. The Federal Reserve (and I think multiple European reserve banks) and many on Wall Street, were actually against the move, one reason being they can track money being transferred through SWIFT, but now that Russia will be forced to use other systems, such as CIPS, tracking money transfers will no longer be possible by the West.

Anyway, SWIFT is being left open (for now?) for gas payments to Russia. Gas exports are 30% of Russia's economy. With the ruble crashing... that's a lot more rubles.

The cutoff from SWIFT gets all the attention, but the sanction on Russia's central bank locking up its reserves held in western countries is probably the one that has the real teeth. It does appear that Russia anticipated that and have moved most of their reserves out of reach of the West though.



Smart move by Sweden. Russian gas accounts for 40% of gas imported by Europe as a whole. Germany imports about half its gas from Russia, some countries as much as 100%. Your close neighbors Finland and Latvia, more than 90% each. Also, gas is not just used for heating. It's also used to make fertilizer, for example. Besides, energy is not just a resource, its the prerequisite for all other resources. Energy use directly correlates with GDP. If Russia cut off the gas supply to Europe tomorrow, I shudder to think what would happen to European economy as a whole.


Just a horrible state of affairs all around. I hope peace can be reached quickly.

NATO. In democracies people chose what memberships to accept. NATO was a natural security choice for Eastern Europe. We knew that without NATO our independence was fragile. Nobody can tell us what friends we invite to our home.
And by the way - NATO stopped genocide in Balkans. So yes, it was the defence.

Russian economy. Well, check the news… The bad thing for Russia is that they lie to themselves. They say they are using “local semiconductors” and now all of the sudden when Taiwan stops all supplies most of basic things stop working. Planes. Surprise surprise - most of them are leased from Irish company. Now they can’t pay for those planes. Irish already demanded to give it back. No spare parts, no maintenance. All small details, but when you put it all together. Now think what will happen when salaries for already reluctant generals (let alone soldiers) stop or are late? The forecast is that the hyperinflation is a foregone conclusion. And the army is paid in roubles.

Gas/oil. Yes, painful, most of your dependency numbers are more or less right, but it’s not a catastrophe. Some of this dependance is price driven (e.g. Finland can buy from Norway, but Russia is cheaper). There are reserves, there are other routes, some alternatives (e.g. tankers with liquid gas from US). There is a biofuel, the possibility to use nuclear or even go back to coal (temporary). The fact is that stopping gas will hurt Russia much more (therefore this is the last thing they will do). And now this is a good lesson to Europe. Energy diversification will now be the top priority.

 

[BillBingham2]

Absolutely, no doubt.
Unfortunately, we do not learn from history.
Realistically, man is evil. Has been from day one.
We just don't learn.

I don't think Man is evil or good. We are a creation of our environment, roll of the dice. Some are more able to work though things (genetics), others less.

Man is susceptible to fear with is a catalyst (at best) to evil.

I hoped for a peaceful solution, that option is has left as future prosecuted war crimes will show (if the news hasn't already).

Start shipping more gas from the US to the EU, lots more. Make the sanctions tighter. if that doesn't stop the crap in three days, turn off all internet access at the Russian border. Nothing fancy, just turn off the pipes (DNS changes, DDoS to their routers, don't show the fancy stuff yet).

I don't like the idea of hurting the people of Russia with the sanction, but it's better than the alternatives.

I'm hoping that this shenanigans will be a wakeup call for many people around the world and bring us together. If it doesn't this might be the beginning of another time when Star Trek has predicted the future right (WWIII).

B2 (%-O

 

[mpaniagua]

Well currently giving my Kiev88 a stroll. Will follow with the Kiev 4.

Kiev 88 is full of gimmick but pretty used to them now.


Please try to support ukraine camera shops and people selling cameras once this is all over.

 

[rfaspen]

I have been living in absolute fury each day and crippling sadness each night since this has started. I feel too helpless.
​​​​​​
I mean. A peaceful democratic country full of thriving competent people..... I lose words.

​​​​
During my lifetime I have now witnessed an attempted coup of the US government, the monstrous genocidal actions of an evil dictator in Syria, and now the unprovoked attack of a peaceful European nation by another evil dictator. Interesting how Putin has been involved in all three of these events....