Keeping Ukraine in our thoughts and prayers here

[bcla]

Is that official or just a rumor? The last I heard was that they were just keeping the option open. Putin supposedly threatened to attack them if they did join NATO.

There's certainly talk about it beyond just conjecture. It's certainly being actively discussed among politicians.

https://apnews.com/article/finland-sweden-nato-membership-34ef217e563ac9ea080c495ce6ffdb88

Besides that, they participate in exercises with NATO members. The Swedes make their own aircraft, but the Finns buy a lot from the US. A Finnish Air Force Pilot even participated in an exchange program with the US Marine Corps and landed an F/A-18 on an aircraft carrier.

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your...fighter-pilot-lands-on-us-aircraft-carrier-2/

Finnish Air Force Capt. Juha Jarvinen exits his F/A-18C Hornet on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Jarvinen is a part of the first pilot exchange program between Finland and the U.S. (MC1 Brian M. Wilbur/Navy)

 

[bcla]

Everything is going to work out. I mean, even Singapore and Switzerland have come out of neutrality.

Singapore is hardly neutral. They buy tons of American weapons and have allowed American naval vessels use of their ports for decades. It's assumed that if the US needs a base in Asia there will be easy access of military bases in Singapore.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-and-us-to-update-and-renew-key-defence-pact​

SINGAPORE - Singapore and the United States have agreed to update and renew a key pact which provides for the US security forces to use Singapore's air and naval bases, and has underpinned the US regional presence for almost 30 years.​

​

In a breakfast meeting on Friday (May 31), Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and US Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan welcomed the imminent renewal of the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the United States Use of Facilities in Singapore, as they reaffirmed the excellent and longstanding bilateral defence relations.​

 

[hopemax]

If we want to look at how this is going to upend the world economy look no further than the price of oil. JP Morgan came out today and said if Russian supply disruption continues that oil could hit $185 a barrel. Is that $6 a gallon...$7...here in the States? I'm not sure, but Americans aren't ready for that

And the wheat. For the West, it means anything grain-related costs more. For Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet countries it means potential starvation. You've probably seen, but for everyone else, 29% of the world's wheat comes from Ukraine & Russia. Over 70% of the world's sunflower oil. And we don't have a way to replace it, in the near term. There is a huge humanitarian and refugee crisis that will grow, not just in Eastern Europe, but anywhere that was dependent on Ukrainian and Russian exports.

It's probably a reason why Putin thought the West wouldn't risk it. It's probably a reason China has calculated in their favor. So much distrust of the West, in parts of the world, and now we've disrupted their food supply and will be desperate to replace Russia in their sphere of influence. China wins if Russia wins, China wins if Russia loses. Americans aren't ready for what it will take to stave that off either, in addition to all the aid into Europe. It's part of what makes the sanctions and soft embargo actions so surprising. World leaders have committed to the non-military WWIII level impacts, I suspect they are more committed to the military ones too, but everything needs to be in position first. Forget the nuclear, Russia can escalate to chemical and bio weapons first. So they will play the game of "no boots, no planes" as long as possible, to buy time and hope another option presents itself.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet but...

I've seen reports that Russia have shelled a nuclear power plant, one many times larger than Chernobyl! How reckless can you get?!

 

[JimMIA]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet but...

I've seen reports that Russia have shelled a nuclear power plant, one many times larger than Chernobyl! How reckless can you get?!

Yes, Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant last night after a fierce battle. That's the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, and it's in the southern part of Ukraine.

Apparently nothing critical at the plant was breached and there has been no radiation leak...according to the Russians.

 

[JimMIA]

He died? When did it happen?

It happened several days ago. The soldier was killed in combat and when Ukrainian soldiers checked his body they found his cell phone with texts to "Mama" just a few minutes before he was killed. You'd have to Google it to get the details, but they took, and published, screenshots of the texts on his phone.

Among other things, he'd apparently been told they were in a military drill, but he told his "Mama" that they were in a full-fledged war. He also said they were bombing a lot of civilians. Very poignant.

 

[Kennywood]

The lyrics from "Bohemian Rhspsody" seem somehow fitting:

Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away

Mama, ooh-ooh
Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on
As if nothing really matters

Too late
My time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye, everybody
I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth

Mama, ooh-ooh (Any way the wind blows)
I don't wanna die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all

 

[Planogirl]

I saw a video of a Ukrainian live streaming the sound of explosions and a lady ran by him crying. He tried to reassure her but he said she was too terrified. I don't know if I feel more sad or frustrated. I hate that the world just has to sit and watch this.

 

[HiStitch626]

Airbnb has canceled all guest and host fees for Ukraine. You can support the people of the country by making a booking you will not use as all the funds will go directly to them.

 

[JimMIA]

DW spoke today to a friend of ours from Ukraine (another skate Mom). Her Mom and Dad are still in Ukraine (must be in their 80's, I'm guessing), and she said they were under bombardment from time to time. So far, so good.

DD19 is on her way home from college for Spring Break, and that friend's DD17 is like a little sister to our DD. They'll be spending time together this next week, and I assume we'll get an update of her grandparents' situation. Hopefully no bad news.

Say a prayer for them, please.

 

[punkin]

DW spoke today to a friend of ours from Ukraine (another skate Mom). Her Mom and Dad are still in Ukraine (must be in their 80's, I'm guessing), and she said they were under bombardment from time to time. So far, so good.

DD19 is on her way home from college for Spring Break, and that friend's DD17 is like a little sister to our DD. They'll be spending time together this next week, and I assume we'll get an update of her grandparents' situation. Hopefully no bad news.

Say a prayer for them, please.

I've been praying non-stop since this happened, as well as donating to charities. May the good Lord, in his infinite mercy save the people of Ukraine and in his infinite justice give Putin a debilitating but non fatal stroke!

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

The use of the term "war" is now illegal in Russia and carries with it a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Key social media sites are barred, including Facebook, as are all independent news sources, including the BBC. Putin describes the situation as a "special military operation".

 

[dvcgirl67]

Airbnb has canceled all guest and host fees for Ukraine. You can support the people of the country by making a booking you will not use as all the funds will go directly to them.

I was tempted by this, but then saw an expert say that once this kind of thing goes viral...that it can lead to people being scammed. I can imagine lots of Russian bots setting up fake AirBnbs and collecting funds.

 

[JimMIA]

I was tempted by this, but then saw an expert say that once this kind of thing goes viral...that it can lead to people being scammed. I can imagine lots of Russian bots setting up fake AirBnbs and collecting funds.

Yep. I would be absolutely sure any contributions made are going to established charities like the Red Cross or similar.

Lots of people try to help at times like this, but big events also attract an entire industry of scammers.

 

[punkin]

Time to take up the old ways again. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odessa_Catacombs

 

[RamblingMad]

How about all of the pets for the folks in Ukraine? Who is rescuing the dogs and cats?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

How about all of the pets for the folks in Ukraine? Who is rescuing the dogs and cats?

Many are taking their pets with them. I guess restrictions were relaxed on trains and in neighboring countries.

Did anyone see the story today of the father and son who went back to get their dogs after seeing the mother and sister off safely? It was excruciating. They ran into a tank who fired on them. Dad and two of the dogs (I saw one German Shepherd in the video) were killed as the son repeatedly begs the father “not to die”. So incredibly sad!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Many are taking their pets with them. I guess restrictions were relaxed on trains and in neighboring countries.

Did anyone see the story today of the father and son who went back to get their dogs after seeing the mother and sister off safely? It was excruciating. They ran into a tank who fired on them. Dad and two of the dogs (I saw one German Shepherd in the video) were killed as the son repeatedly begs the father “not to die”. So incredibly sad!

I saw the video, PnM. So sad. The Russian soldiers are bastards.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

I saw the video, PnM. So sad. The Russian soldiers are bastards.

Putin is the bastard. Many of the Russian soldiers think they are "on maneuverers".

They say that the Russian invasion is not a done deal. The British Empire never survived. Neither did the Roman, French, German ones, and so on.

Case in point: the invasion of the Iraq/Afghanistan. We did some good work there and suppressed the warring regimes. But they never really went anywhere and made life a living hell for us. Then, when we finally left, the Taliban and various other factions just popped right back up again into power. I truly believe that Russia may gain ground, but they will never dominate Ukraine.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Putin is the bastard. Many of the Russian soldiers think they are "on maneuverers".

They say that the Russian invasion is not a done deal. The British Empire never survived. Neither did the Roman, French, German ones, and so on.

Case in point: the invasion of the Iraq/Afghanistan. We did some good work there and suppressed the warring regimes. But they never really went anywhere and made life a living hell for us. Then, when we finally left, the Taliban and various other factions just popped right back up again into power. I truly believe that Russia may gain ground, but they will never dominate Ukraine.

I understand what you are saying. But how can whoever is firing from the tank not know who they are firing on, and how great the damage will be? The missiles in that story went right from the front to the back, and left huge holes in their vehicle (and whatever else was in their path). The dad, before he passed, said his “foot was blown off”.

Indirectily, sure, it’s Putin. But others doing his dirty work have to know what they are doing.