Hi Armchair Critic,

Australia supports Zelensky because he's trying to end the war
justly and on the basis of the United Nations Charter and
International law. Australia must support this action otherwise no
sovereign nation will be safe. Zelensky is confident that now
is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be
stopped.

Putin's decision to invade Ukraine was a major miscalculation.
Unable to secure a rapid victory Russia got bogged down in a
long, bloody, offensive and has suffered a series of
embarrassing defeats. When an authoritarian leader's aura of
invincibility fades - it can cause problems for the leader. It
hasn't ended well for Russian leaders who fought wars and did
not win them.

We need to guard against the propaganda of "Don't humiliate
Putin," camp which is shorthand for "Don't let Ukraine win."
Because that will not be good for Ukraine, the neighbouring
sovereign states, the West, or the wider world.

Our hope lies in the fact that many states - Japan, Germany,
South Korea, Spain, Portugal, and Greece have managed to
throw off militarism and autocracy.

Our hope lies with the emerging generation of Russians
who hopefully will try to have a voice in a new Russia.
Even though they have been thus far effectively controlled
and suppressed by Putin. We can hope that many younger
Russians are aware of the outside world and that they don't
support the war in Ukraine and want an open and prosperous life.

Social media provides a platform to organize and give voice to
this generation that the state can only suppress with difficulty.
Let's hope that they will use it

Hi Foxy,
I've got a big post written and coming, but I'm short on responses and will have to wait until later to post it all.

"Zelensky is confident that now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped."

How's he going to do that?
What path to victory does he have on the battlefield?
Do you actually watch ANY of the content I share? No.

"Putin's decision to invade Ukraine was a major miscalculation.
Unable to secure a rapid victory Russia got bogged down in a
long, bloody, offensive and has suffered a series of
embarrassing defeats."

Ukraine indicated a willingness to negotiate when Russian forces were at Kiev, Russia pulled back in a show of goodwill, then Boris Johnson went to Ukraine and told him to keep the war going.

"When an authoritarian leader's aura of invincibility fades - it can cause problems for the leader."

Putin may step aside in 2024, and Medvedev may take his place.
Speaking of:
- Some interesting predictions from him yesterday, which at first glance seem far fetched.
On second glance, what happens if Russia cuts oil production?
OPEC won't come to the rescue, they oppose the price caps.
Suddenly many of his predictions seem a whole lot less outlandish.

"We need to guard against the propaganda of 'Don't humiliate
Putin,' camp which is shorthand for 'Don't let Ukraine win.'.

I don't want Ukraine to win.
I want the West and the neoconservatives who engineer these endless wars to get a blood nose.
I've no problems with a multi-polar world build on mutual respect for other countries cultures and sovereignty.
I don't think Russia or China seek global conquest.
I hope they just seek security guarantees against the West for it's endless wars, sanctions and overthrows to install western puppet leaders.

"Our hope lies with the emerging generation of Russians who hopefully will try to have a voice in a new Russia.
Even though they have been thus far effectively controlled and suppressed by Putin."

You, therefore support economic sanctions and overthrows.
- I do not.

Are you telling us Armchair Critic that you believe that Taiwan is the aggressor to China?

Everyone on this forum knows who you Armchair Critic
support in Putin's war against Ukraine. You've made
your position obviously clear to everyone. I cannot
condone your support of a tyrant.

I shall leave you with these words:

The USSR was a blood-stained regime
In which millions were murdered as a daily routine
Might is right was their slogan of choice
Dissenting cries were not given a voice

History has written of the many disposed
The frozen infernos have now been exposed
Putin and Stalin are two of a kind
Yet some in the West to this are still blind

Putin like Stalin will take what he wants
He will kill and destroy those who fight in response
The world can't afford this rampage of terror
Not protecting Ukraine would be a huge error

First the Ukraine, then Romania
Followed by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
Do we want the USSR re-instated
Ruling Eastern Europe unabated?

The world must unite and be fully aware
That this is a battle that we all need to share
Putin must be stopped in his tracks
Otherwise no sovereign nation can truly relax.

Who will help us when China comes a calling

Hi Foxy,

I think AC a good guy who cares about the world and think him every bit as entitled to form an opinion as you or I. I think that my opinion might differ from yours as I see the destruction of the Russian forces as a good thing as I think them an instrument of state sanctioned terror. Like you though I hate the loss of life on both sides. As a Russian woman observed, "There are no enemies in war, only victims.".

Hi AC,

I believe that the Russian army lost 300 troops and a heap of equipment from a HIMARS attack near Melitopol before they could be mobilised to the front lines. In the confusion which followed a few hundred troops deserted. The Ukrainians now have kamikaze drones capable of knocking out tanks, apcs and artillery. I think that they have a long range and can return for redeployment if no target is found, although they seem to find plenty of targets in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Y8xdM4Q5g

Hey everyone,
I wrote this big post out this morning when I was short on comments;
It's just over 760 words and I must admit I'm a little apprehensive about whether or not I should post the last part of it because I'm not sure how it will be taken.
- In any case I'll share the first parts of it.

Part 1

You all know that I've stated previously that I don't support economic sanctions
(because I believe its collective punishment against an entire nation)
and I also don't support western overthrows of foreign governments.
(And as for the people of the Donbass I support 'The right to self-determination')

If you stand back and look at that picture, you'll see that many countries which are targets of overthrows of the west have little choice except to act like much worse dictators than what they might actually be.

They have to stop freedom of the press, act against NGO's and mass protests just to retain their culture and sovereignty.
- Because if the don't the West will use their 5th columns to deliberately cause conflicts under the cover of human rights etc.

Using economic sanctions puts a nation into a position where they can't as easily make changes which are better for their citizens, and the people will become disgruntled with their leaders and from there all one needs to do is leverage that curtailment of press freedoms, label the leader a dictator and a human rights abuser and use pro-democracy movements to force an overthrow.

Like it or not, this is what the West does.

- Then you westernise the country; with western puppet governments and western companies come in and rape the nations wealth.
It really is an ugly manipulative system the so called freedom loving democratic west engages itself in.

- And many innocent people end up dying for it.