On March 13 2014 01:36 PaleMan wrote: Saryph, some of the media reports these are russian troops, some have various versions up to french foreign legion troops
i think most of the russian ppl think its our army troops
Thanks, I don't really speak to many Russians (dota 2 doesn't count imo :p ) so I really have no idea about things like that. It's interesting that most Russians believe it's their troops while the media and president say differently.
Do you think that the people look at Putin saying it's not their troops as sort of a wink wink, nudge nudge sort of thing? Or do they view it as him lying to them?
You know they also have cable/satellite tv and some sort of independent media,its not 1953.
There are no independent television channels in Russia, only the internet and the Russian government has started to try and copy the Chinese firewall for censorship purposes. In January/February, they took away VK from its founder and handed it over to one of Putin's pet oligarchs.
On March 13 2014 03:12 Sent. wrote: No they are not in North Atlantic region. UN system forbids global military alliances. That's why USA had to create ANZUS instead of inviting Australia to NATO.
Poland or Estonia are in the North Atlantic Region?
They are, I don't exactly know how to explain it in English but Batlic Sea is connected to Atlantic Ocean in a way that lets you say that these countries are in North Atlantic Region.
On March 13 2014 03:12 Sent. wrote: No they are not in North Atlantic region. UN system forbids global military alliances. That's why USA had to create ANZUS instead of inviting Australia to NATO.
Poland or Estonia are in the North Atlantic Region?
They are, I don't exactly know how to explain it in English but Batlic Sea is connected to Atlantic Ocean in a way that lets you say that these countries are in North Atlantic Region.
So Brazil and Indonesia can join NATO because they are connected by water to the 'North Atlantic' ? Lets not kid ourselves, NA part of the organization is no longer a geographic description. It is what it is "an alliance of democratic countries"
Sorry I meant special kind of connection and neither Brazil or Indonesia have such connection to North Atlantic region. Article 6 of the Treaty explains it very well.
For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:
on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France (2), on the territory of or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.
Dat extreme accent. That's just one russian guy talking German I think.
I already posted on the last page, who it is... And it is swiss. And quite a bunch of well known names... annd now known for their bright ideas....
What's wrong with his accent? He rolls the Rs like one of the bad guys from a movie out of the cold-war era and he seems to have a very calculated way of talking, as if he'd think about single words and phrases before saying them, like somebody who learned German as his second language.
Putin says what he does for the press. Both foreign and domestic. I'd much rather look at his actions to find meaning on his motives. Tho frankly they hardly paint a better picture.
Seeing that Mr. Putin isn't likely to back down, Ms. Merkel—who has become Europe's de facto leader in addressing the Russia crisis—is pivoting toward a longer view. The conviction now among Berlin officials is that the crisis, following a frantic, acute phase, is congealing into a deeper conflict that will likely take months, if not longer, to resolve.
So after offering the Russian president ample opportunity to de-escalate the situation, the chancellor is changing tack, German officials say. While maintaining a dialogue with Moscow, she has joined in the call for sanctions and braced herself for a lengthy confrontation that carries big risks for both Europe and Russia.
The situation shows that for Ms. Merkel, the long-running European financial crisis—in which she also played a central role—was perhaps only a warmup.
Ms. Merkel has raised the tone in her condemnation of Russian actions. Yet she has also made it clear Europe is now in this for the long haul. Appearing in Warsaw alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday, she said sanctions against Russia appeared likely and expressed little hope that Mr. Putin would budge quickly. Source.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who realizes that Putin is trolling (thanks DEB), and has been for a while.
I highly doubt the European Union gives any cares about Ukraine joining the EU for economic purposes (which is the main point of the EU). This would actually be disastrous. Countries like Portugal and Greece are a huge drain on the most robust nations in the EU. Ukraine is a lot worse off than even those two aforementioned nations. Ukraine would make the Eurozone crisis a lot worse. Well, what is it? Ukraine is a political asset to the European Union and a strategic asset vs Russia to the United States.
Although Russia and Ukraine actually have very deep cultural, historical, and religious ties, Ukraine is still mostly a political asset to Russia, especially in the manner of a reaction to post-Soviet collapse NATO expansion we've seen Russia doing since Russia became a functional country again.
It's a tug of war. Politicians from anywhere can talk and bs about how much they "care" about Ukraine and Ukrainian people, but no bloc actually has Ukraine at heart.
Russia has its great political and military power and its financial elite, and European Union is leveraging on its economic strength (at least in the case of Germany, France, and Britain, although it's mostly Germany that's vocal against Russia, no surprise there). USA is invoking its strategic interests, which includes opposing any expansion of Russian influence.
Also, mentions of Ukrainian forces preparing to attack Russian forces in Crimea are silly. Anyone with any mind in Ukraine knows that is insanity, so it isn't going to happen. And someone posted an article in this thread earlier that Ukraine can't even get its military organized at all. Disorganized 6,000-man force I believe that article stated? The active military force is apparently a hundred thousand strong, so I don't know what's going on with that.
EPT
