Russian Foreign Policy

Purple said:
I think it's more to do with childish anti-Americanism and a romanticised view of totalitarianism with a red hue.
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I think the common language thing is relevant and not just a smart ass comment.
I am sure that some sections of, let's say Romanian society, are obnoxious but we wouldn't really get a feel for that. But we know exactly what Trump is saying and his various dog whistles.
 
Itchy said:
Thanks to NATO standarisation of equipment, operational and planning processes we're fully interoperable!
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We use the same ammunition but we aren't part of their battlefield system. That's what I meant.

It's worth noting that Irish Troops operated under NATO command in Bosnia in 1998. Just sayin'. UN authorised multinational Stabilisation Force (SFOR).
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
I see The Tool is feigning being anti Russian in today's IT. But we will never forget his smart ass comment that NATO vs Putin was not a binary.
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I don't know O'Toole personally, but I do know a few guys of a similar age who are friends with him all the way back to his college days. They would be part of the Worker's Party / Democratic Left / "sticky" tendency that did the long march through Irish Media and academia in the1980s and 1990s. Although AFAIK, O'Tool himself wasn't officially (see what I did there) a "stick" he certainly moved in those circles. The sticks had a number of core beliefs and convictions which could be summarized as follows:
1. They were intellectually a cut above everyone else (a vanguard?) and definitely saw themselves as the smartest guys in the room.
2. They absolutely detested SF / IRA to the point of adopting a pro-unionist stance and condoning British human rights violations in Northern Ireland.
3. They had a sneaking regard for the Soviet bloc and particularly East Germany for some reason. One of them told me that it was a pity the Wall came down when it did, as the East Germans were on the point of renewing their entire housing stock and if it had lasted a few more years, they'd have needed a wall to keep people from the West out!
4. They hated Israel and saw all Palestinian terrorism as fully justified and moral form of resistance.
5. They absolutely despised and hated the USA and American culture. Largely, I think, because its very existence as a successful and prosperous society - and a magnet for emigrants all over the world, including Ireland - acted as a demonstrable rebuke and refutation of their own politics.

This is the milieu O'Toole emerged from. All their instincts would scream out that Russia can't be wrong and NATO can't be right. Thus the Tool's mealy mouthed effort today. In other words, if Russia is wrong, it's our fault for encouraging them to be like that!

Duke of Marmalade said:
As for our 4 leftie MEPs who rejected the anti Russian motion in December resulting in Irish MEPs being 46% in support versus the norm of 82% in support.
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Interesting that the Shinner MEP joined the Mick-n-Ming-n-Claire freak show to make up the quartet. Also interesting that the Shinners voted against the EU - Ukraine Association Agreement in the Dáil and European Parliament back in 2017. And Mary Lou now has the utter hypocrisy to express crocadile tears for the Ukrainian people!

Duke of Marmalade said:
This is not because our lefties are more leftie than France's. It is a reflection of a deep anti American streak in sections of our body politic, though I suppose the French are not particular Yankee lovers either.
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It's also a Francophone thing. But both countries leftist "intellectuals" do indeed share a visceral knee-jerk anti-Americanism.

Duke of Marmalade said:
This is a strange situation given that Ireland is second only to Germany in European countries claiming US ancestry and third only to Mexico overall.
Perhaps it is because, as someone once said, we are divided by a common language.
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....or a resentment of the Irish-American success story? The phrase "Returned Yank" was an insult of the highest order in my youth.
 
Some excellent analysis here for anyone interested in the financial side of things

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Update on the military situation from the BBC.

Close analysis of the latest satellite images by McKenzie Intelligence Services reveals the following:
  • The convoy is not 40 miles long, it’s a series of logistical ‘packets’ strung out along a major highway from the Belarus border, aiming to link up with Russian units on the northern outskirts of Kyiv.
  • The convoy appears to be hampered in several places by broken down vehicles.
  • The column consists of some armour (tanks) and infantry fighting vehicles but mainly logistical vehicles, implying plans for more than just a brief battle.
Separately, the imagery examined by McKenzie Intelligence Services shows a Russian parachute battalion dug in to the area of Hostomel airfield - Ukraine's most important international cargo airport and a key military airbase near Kyiv. But their artillery is assessed to be outside the range of most of the capital.
 
odyssey06 said:
The convoy is not 40 miles long, it’s a series of logistical ‘packets’ strung out along a major highway from the Belarus border, aiming to link up with Russian units on the northern outskirts of Kyiv.
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That sounds more plausible. A 40 mile long convoy sounded a bit made up; such might have many thousands of vehicles.
 
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A big convoy like that might be vulnerable to UAW drone strikes. The Ukrainian Army could be given the drones by NATO forces and who's to say who exactly is piloting them afterwards. Could be Ukrainian operators on the ground. Could equally be NATO remote pilots thousands of miles away.
 
Baby boomer said:
I don't know O'Toole personally, but I do know a few guys of a similar age who are friends with him all the way back to his college days. They would be part of the Worker's Party / Democratic Left / "sticky" tendency that did the long march through Irish Media and academia in the1980s and 1990s. Although AFAIK, O'Tool himself wasn't officially (see what I did there) a "stick" he certainly moved in those circles. The sticks had a number of core beliefs and convictions which could be summarized as follows:
1. They were intellectually a cut above everyone else (a vanguard?) and definitely saw themselves as the smartest guys in the room.
2. They absolutely detested SF / IRA to the point of adopting a pro-unionist stance and condoning British human rights violations in Northern Ireland.
3. They had a sneaking regard for the Soviet bloc and particularly East Germany for some reason. One of them told me that it was a pity the Wall came down when it did, as the East Germans were on the point of renewing their entire housing stock and if it had lasted a few more years, they'd have needed a wall to keep people from the West out!
4. They hated Israel and saw all Palestinian terrorism as fully justified and moral form of resistance.
5. They absolutely despised and hated the USA and American culture. Largely, I think, because its very existence as a successful and prosperous society - and a magnet for emigrants all over the world, including Ireland - acted as a demonstrable rebuke and refutation of their own politics.

This is the milieu O'Toole emerged from. All their instincts would scream out that Russia can't be wrong and NATO can't be right. Thus the Tool's mealy mouthed effort today. In other words, if Russia is wrong, it's our fault for encouraging them to be like that!


Interesting that the Shinner MEP joined the Mick-n-Ming-n-Claire freak show to make up the quartet. Also interesting that the Shinners voted against the EU - Ukraine Association Agreement in the Dáil and European Parliament back in 2017. And Mary Lou now has the utter hypocrisy to express crocadile tears for the Ukrainian people!


It's also a Francophone thing. But both countries leftist "intellectuals" do indeed share a visceral knee-jerk anti-Americanism.


....or a resentment of the Irish-American success story? The phrase "Returned Yank" was an insult of the highest order in my youth.
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A lot of that rings true to me. Also from my NI RC background I noted an identification of America with heathen Protestantism - movie stars as serial divorcers etc. JFK was regarded as a saint.
 
Purple said:
There's ab excellent letter in today's Irish Times which sums up the problem with our 1948 non-aligned policy in the 21st century.
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Karl Martin's and James O'Hagan's letters to the Irish Times were well written. The former talked about our need to have a well equipped army to defend us and the latter was mainly about TD's and MP's showing up in their respective parliament and not listening to anything.

Our neutrality is in the hands of these guys!
 
Leper said:
Our neutrality is in the hands of these guys!
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No, we are not neutral, we are unaligned.
Our Parliament doesn't get to decide if we deploy our troops, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping do, along with the other permanent members of the UN Security Council.
 
A letter in today's IT from the Peace and Neutrality Alliance suggests that the West should give Putin everything he is currently asking for.
Just because it didn't work in 1938 doesn't mean it won't work now.
 
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Duke of Marmalade said:
A letter in today's IT from the Peace and Neutrality Alliance suggests that the west should give Putin everything he is currently asking for.
Just because it didn't work in 1938 doesn't mean it won't work now.
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That is the most sickening piece of garbage I have ever read. What on Earth are these so-called Peace and Neutrality idiots thinking? Are they really, really that mind numbingly stupid? Or is it something more sinister?
 
International Atomic Agency says Ukraine has requested help safeguarding nuclear plants

“The request came as Russia notified the IAEA that its forces have taken control of the territory around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Tuesday. The Russian letter to the IAEA said personnel at the plant continued their “work on providing nuclear safety and monitoring radiation in normal mode of operation. The radiation levels remain normal.”

Social media video footage verified by CNN Wednesday showed workers at the NPP blocking access roads to the plant, one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe.

Russian forces seized control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, last week.

The IAEA said Grossi will be holding consultations and maintaining contacts in order to address Ukraine's request.

The agency added: "The Director General has repeatedly stressed that any military or other action that could threaten the safety or security of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants must be avoided. He also said that operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure."
 
Baby boomer said:
That is the most sickening piece of garbage I have ever read. What on Earth are these so-called Peace and Neutrality idiots thinking? Are they really, really that mind numbingly stupid? Or is it something more sinister?
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I think they are mind numbingly stupid......
 
Baby boomer said:
That is the most sickening piece of garbage I have ever read. What on Earth are these so-called Peace and Neutrality idiots thinking? Are they really, really that mind numbingly stupid? Or is it something more sinister?
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Yep, basically Roger Cole wants President Biden and Vladimir Putin to come to an agreement which prevents the people of democratic States expressing their sovereign rights.
 
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