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Post by casimira on Mar 14, 2022 19:48:00 GMT
It was a basic, simple question of the curious nature. Why the need to be so snarky in reply escapes me.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 14, 2022 20:04:29 GMT
You pretend you don't know the back story about Bixa. So be it.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 14, 2022 20:29:01 GMT
(Don't worry. Bixa has forbidden herself from responding to anything I post for the last six months, so there is nothing to worry about unless you fear that she won't respond to your posts. The poor girl has painted herself into a corner.)
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 14, 2022 21:46:16 GMT
I have some thoughts about this, mainly that high emotions over one injustice do not justify housebreaking by individuals. In the first case, the owners of that house have not been tried & convicted of a crime which would cause the French authorities to seize the house, so it is certainly wrong for private individuals to illegally take it over. In the case of the mansion in London, the protestors mainly seem bratty.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 15, 2022 10:55:40 GMT
There were about 15 Ukrainian women and children swarmed around the photo booth in my metro station. Clearly they need photos for their new papers, and the kids need photos if they are attending school.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 15, 2022 17:49:25 GMT
The extremely brave woman who brandished her sign yesterday during the Russian evening news has been fined 30,000 rubles (£215). After all of our media saying that she could face 15 years in prison, I presume that this is to show that Putin is not the meanie we all thought he was. No matter what, I am extremely relieved for the protestor, who certainly lost her job, but I'm sure we all understood that she didn't want it anymore.
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Post by htmb on Mar 15, 2022 19:07:04 GMT
We are witnessing many incredible displays of bravery.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 15, 2022 19:30:17 GMT
Meanwhile, far behind the front lines...
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 16, 2022 7:11:56 GMT
The mud of March (raspoutitsa) is the best weapon that Ukraine has. It stopped Napoléon, it stopped Hitler, it stopped the Red Army and now it is stopping the Russians. Apparently they had hoped to finish conquering Ukraine before the thaw. Didn't work out that way.
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Post by bjd on Mar 16, 2022 8:17:29 GMT
The Russians should know better but obviously their military planning is not up to scratch. Unfortunately, they still have the option of blasting the hell out of Kyiv and other cities.
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Post by whatagain on Mar 16, 2022 9:41:20 GMT
I have some thoughts about this, mainly that high emotions over one injustice do not justify housebreaking by individuals. In the first case, the owners of that house have not been tried & convicted of a crime which would cause the French authorities to seize the house, so it is certainly wrong for private individuals to illegally take it over. In the case of the mansion in London, the protestors mainly seem bratty. I agree that 2 wrongs don't make one right. But, in terms of propangada war, i find this excellent. And fuck the oligarchs. They can buy a house in Crimea.
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Post by whatagain on Mar 16, 2022 9:46:18 GMT
The mud of March ( raspoutitsa) is the best weapon that Ukraine has. It stopped Napoléon, it stopped Hitler, it stopped the Red Army and now it is stopping the Russians. Apparently they had hoped to finish conquering Ukraine before the thaw. Didn't work out that way. Which accreditates the general thinking that Purin expected a blitzkrieg. Simply roll into Kiev, grab Zekensky, give him polinium, put in place a fake government and that it is it. Instead, the troops are stopped, they exhausted their supplies and a new larger logistik must be put in place, death tolls rise, money drops, EU sanctions wirk, Putin finds himself isolated and turns to his only friends left : the Chinese. But the Chinese do nothing for free, he us selling his soul to thd devil and Russia to China. In the meantime, Ukraine stands but is being crippled.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 16, 2022 9:46:22 GMT
I see Ukraine has stated that it won’t join NATO. That may go some way towards bringing this to an end.
But who is going to rebuild Ukraine?
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Post by bjd on Mar 16, 2022 9:51:24 GMT
They can buy a house in Crimea. Or in Sochi -- keep Putin company at the end of a very long table or play hockey at his private rink. Mick, Ukraine's leaders are being realistic and see that joining NATO is not an option. It may indeed be a bargaining point and let Putin off the hook without losing too much face. As for getting rid of the "Nazi regime" in Kjiv and protecting all those poor Russian speakers in the east, the conflict might continue to simmer but without open warfare.
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Post by bjd on Mar 16, 2022 10:03:00 GMT
I just found this interesting interview.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 16, 2022 17:10:43 GMT
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Post by lugg on Mar 16, 2022 21:02:07 GMT
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Post by bjd on Mar 17, 2022 6:51:45 GMT
I expect the Russians will set harsh conditions which will be unacceptable to the Ukrainians. Not that the Russians are in a position of military dominance but they have more troops and materiel, plus a willingness to indiscriminately bomb civilians and infrastructure. Plus the idea of Putin losing face because the war didn't go the way he wanted or expected.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 17, 2022 15:43:15 GMT
Not sure this link will work. But Zelenskyy shared a very moving video montage of before and after video set to haunting music by stringed instruments.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 17, 2022 15:51:52 GMT
I had to jump through two YouTube hoops to get to the video, but it works. I saw it yesterday on the French news anyway.
Meanwhile, it appears that the bomb shelter under the theatre in Mariupol was built better than we feared.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 18, 2022 13:48:52 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 18, 2022 16:30:17 GMT
Old people can be fearless.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 19, 2022 15:24:55 GMT
The Ukrainian refugee centre has moved out of my neighbourhood to the opposite end of Paris, because they needed more space. The refugees are now being sent to the Parc des Expositions at Porte de Versailles. It's true that is is much better adapted since it handles huge events all the time, most recently the Salon de l'Agriculture. Meanwhile, the Red Cross has taken possession of a café in Gare de l'Est to create a Ukrainian welcome centre. Passing through the station, I saw that the station definitely full of exhausted Ukrainians, who are met by Red Cross volunteers on the platform on trains arriving from Germany. The Ukrainians are flopped out all over the place, and these ones have huge suitcases, because you can take more stuff if you manage to get it on a train.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 20, 2022 15:23:59 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 22, 2022 8:09:14 GMT
Poor misunderstood Russians!
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Post by whatagain on Mar 22, 2022 8:16:52 GMT
At least he realises he is being hated. Good start. But he seems to still dream to be loved...
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 23, 2022 13:30:34 GMT
It is now certain that Russia has already suffered more than 10,000 dead and at least 10,000 wounded in Ukraine.
Today France sent a full freight train of supplies from Strasbourg to the Ukraine-Romania border.
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Post by questa on Mar 23, 2022 23:46:49 GMT
A real David-and-Goliath situation. The only news, generally speaking, we get from the Ukraine press and is very slanted. Although the Ukn military has astounded the world and the people's courage in the appalling firestorms, Russia is bigger, better materiel and would eventually defeat them. Putin is showing all the signs of a serious mental health issue. He also has the "red button" and would not hesitate to use it if he wanted to. Have a Happy Day, Good Folks Of course you have all seen "Dr Strangelove or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb" ?
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 24, 2022 1:11:11 GMT
The dog video is probably one of the oddest things I've ever seen, considering the circumstances. I thought it was interesting that the girl who answered the door said "y'all".
Questa ~ the news I've read lately -- admittedly not from Ukraine, but strained through the mainstream western media -- is that the war is at a stalemate. That means no real advances from either side, only more casualties and misery.
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Post by whatagain on Mar 25, 2022 7:30:35 GMT
All wars are about casualties and misery, but this one is a surprise, showing the russian bear has no more teeth nor gnaws.
We knew the russian army had flaws, but i didn't expect such a poor and ill led invasion.
On another topic, a glassplant making bottles was cut off from gas in Ukraine, which means it is destroyed. The glass solidified in the oven and the refractory bricks cooled down much too fast, making cracks. If to be restarted you must destroy everything on the hot zone and rebuild. 20 m€ at least, and add some fuel burners to avoid repetition and allow for a slow cooling.
This is anecdotic in this great scheme of death and destruction but just sheds a bit of light on the indirect damages Ukraine suffers.
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