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Post by paca on Feb 26, 2022 7:43:33 GMT -5
Germany is also opposing the swift sanction but that is under attack from local press, so may be reviewed. Italy might want to review their exception for luxury goods. That is specifically aimed at the cronies and exempts the average Russian. Average Russians have been the targets of sanctions in the past, which made them turn towards Putin. Germanys lack of a proper army is Germany. Mentality has changed. Besides we are too fat and comfy on our sofas. Our young men can shoot you in all sorts of ways in video games, but they barely get a foot out of the house to excersize. At the moment Russia is being isolated in any ways and some of it is painful to watch, but people are basically demanding a stand. Poland does not want to play Russia, which forces FIFA to take a stand. F!1 has cancelled Sotchi because Vettel and Verstappen voiced their opinions. In Munich the mayor asked the conductor of the Philharmonic orchestra to distance himself from his friend Putin. If not, he will be out of a job on Monday. Many other things are going on world wide. People are taking sanctions out of the hands of politicians. A few weeks ago DM would have called it cancel culture, but it is self empowerment of the people and it causes change faster than some would like. It isn't always right, but neither are politicians. ANd everyone can make their own choice.
As to Putin and riches, yeah I agree. He had the chance to really change Russia. But he preferred to fill his own pockets and the pockets of those he needed. He bribed the German ex chancellor with millions and allowing him to adopt children, which his own country would not have done, because he was too old and with way too many wives under his belt. I still can't believe why there wasn't a bigger outcry at the time. IMO he needs to be stripped of his honours and should not be allowed to receive the chancellor pension as long as he works as a lobbyist for Russia. Those rules need to change.They get plenty of money to live comfortably, if chancellors and presidents go to work for millions, than they should forfeit the benefits that are given to them.
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Post by agentf on Feb 26, 2022 8:17:54 GMT -5
paca yeah, don't quote me about the holdouts; there's so much going on that's at stake between memberships and alliances. It's almost jarring. I lit a candle for Kyiv last night, to hold on through the worst. That's the thing too, about war, where you can make all the calculations you want but the human factor is the black swan in any predictable outcome you count on. Ukrainians are glorious right now with their 80yr old conscripts, their smack-talking grandmas or their drivers surviving being rolled over by a Russian tank!!
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Post by paca on Mar 2, 2022 13:01:45 GMT -5
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Post by donna on Mar 2, 2022 13:42:01 GMT -5
I am not a supporter of any invasion into any country, but I refuse to endlessly look the other way (or even approve) when the West and Israel invade countries (Afghanistan, Irak, Syria, Jugoslavia, Libya, Palestine etc) and then condemn Russia when they dare to do a fraction of what the others do. Israel won the European Eurovision contest despite killing millions of Palestinians for every one Israeli that gets killed. And now they are saying that Ukraine should win the contest in solidarity. What hypocrites Western people are! (I am unfortunately from a country that unconditionally supports the US and whatever their greedy government decides.)
I feel sorry for the Ukrainian public who gets caught in the middle of a useless war between East and West, all because of power hungry politicians of all sides (including the Ukrainian ones.) But they voted for these people. This is what democracy is like. You vote for a person you think is decent and then they drag you into war.
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Post by paca on Mar 2, 2022 14:58:44 GMT -5
I think that Ukrainians are the undisputable victims here. And yes what other countries did was wrong, but that does not take away from Russias guilt. They committed war crimes from day one, the invasion itself being a war crime. I do see the hypocrisy and at leastIsrael is honest and true to itself as it does not apply sanctions. Personally I regret the way the EU reacts to Ukraine and Syria. We have to admit that racism is at pla<, especially in the eastern EU states. For years they have refused to allow Afghan or syrian refugees in and even now the non white residents of Ukraine have to line up in a seperate line. Considering how many goods my parents have sent to Poland in the 80s...
then again they have also warned for years that they were preparing to allow eastern European refugees in, expecting this for quite some time. This war is the result of more than 30 years failed politics. There was a chance for Peace while Gorbatchev was president. He was the only Russian president to not enrich himself and his family and who could have remained a trusted politician. But he was left alone and when Jelzin and Putin planned their coup, there was zero support for him. I am aware that Russians hate him, but if he would have had more help, the average Russian citizen would have had a better life today and there would not be war in Ukraine. Gorbotchev also was the only president to ever admit his own faults as well as the faults of those before him. In recent years he has on occasion come out to defend Putin, but at 90 I believe that the man wants to end his life at home and not in prison. SO he does what he has to do and moderates his criticism, but he stands firm on the basics and he has a CV to show his truth.
ANyways I am also cynical enough to acknowledge that much of the solidarity shown is also due to corana fatigue. In our 3rd year in a pandemic this war gives people a reason to demonstrate against sth other than whether or not to wear a mask or get vaxxed. No talk about covid damgers from refugees yet. ANd I just received a mail about churchbells ringing tomorrow at 8. Guess it helps as much as clapping for overworked nurses...
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Post by agentf on Mar 2, 2022 17:03:05 GMT -5
I had a bit of a moment when I paused and thought on one level, when you consider the inner circle of Putin in relation to their ties to Israel, how we may be witnessing the biggest fleecing if not heist, in history of over $400 billion. Then you have to wonder which came first - the chicken or the egg - and as a former Ashkenazi friend would say: the hen, naturally.
Ukrainians are definitely the victims, but are they collateral damage or calculated risk in a really sick game? This is a familiar modus operandi to historians, of separating a belligerent from his fortune and London has a recurring role. Think of the Hessian private contractor of yore. No one would have rooted for him either, since he was a bloodthirsty monster too.
My candle is lit every night for Ukrainians. I wish this would stop.
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Post by paca on Mar 3, 2022 13:39:59 GMT -5
he is not yet on anyones list for sanctions, but MC police have stopped this yacht from leaving. Maybe they know sth that the others don't know. In the article it is claimed precaution, but I think that MC knows very well who is doing what in their country. Maybe they just didn't have enough valid proof that would hold up in court, but under current circumstances... Then again decades aiding and abetting criminals for the benefit of the country does not warrant to completely ignore the rule of law because there is a good cause in the air. That would be undermining trust in the legal system. But given we are dealing with an oligarch, he surely speed dialed his lawyers to sort it for him.... www.monacomatin.mc/faits-de-societe/les-autorites-empechent-le-depart-du-megayacht-dun-oligarque-russe-du-port-de-monaco-750459
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Post by agentf on Mar 3, 2022 18:11:09 GMT -5
La Ciotat, now Monaco...the French are busy. All these sudden departures while on one hand having unfinished repairs, and the other having been moored for two years, it kind of points to some guilty minds. I wonder if Somali pirates are rubbing their hands. Most yachts are headed to the Indian ocean where there's no extradition treaties/jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Putin/Abramovich's yacht is in St Maarten. They figure it's Putin's because of how it's kitted out with an anti-missiles system etc. I just hope we're not losing sight of the urgency of not dropping the ball in rescuing the very valiant Ukrainians. I for one hope my prayers to move to Bonaire will be answered, and where headlines report on undisciplined dogs of the canine sort. he is not yet on anyones list for sanctions, but MC police have stopped this yacht from leaving. Maybe they know sth that the others don't know. In the article it is claimed precaution, but I think that MC knows very well who is doing what in their country. Maybe they just didn't have enough valid proof that would hold up in court, but under current circumstances... Then again decades aiding and abetting criminals for the benefit of the country does not warrant to completely ignore the rule of law because there is a good cause in the air. That would be undermining trust in the legal system. But given we are dealing with an oligarch, he surely speed dialed his lawyers to sort it for him.... www.monacomatin.mc/faits-de-societe/les-autorites-empechent-le-depart-du-megayacht-dun-oligarque-russe-du-port-de-monaco-750459
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Post by agentf on Mar 7, 2022 10:21:40 GMT -5
To reprise what I said earlier, this article helps decloak even more the dynamic by which we live in blood economies and the ring leaders haven't changed in 200 years. www.politico.eu/article/britain-tories-russian-money-oligarch/Sanction the Rothschild Bank. I had a bit of a moment when I paused and thought on one level, when you consider the inner circle of Putin in relation to their ties to Israel, how we may be witnessing the biggest fleecing if not heist, in history of over $400 billion. Then you have to wonder which came first - the chicken or the egg - and as a former Ashkenazi friend would say: the hen, naturally. Ukrainians are definitely the victims, but are they collateral damage or calculated risk in a really sick game? This is a familiar modus operandi to historians, of separating a belligerent from his fortune and London has a recurring role. Think of the Hessian private contractor of yore. No one would have rooted for him either, since he was a bloodthirsty monster too. My candle is lit every night for Ukrainians. I wish this would stop.
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Post by donna on Mar 14, 2022 16:12:43 GMT -5
Happy birthday Albert. Hope this birthday year will be better than the last.
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Post by agentf on Apr 14, 2022 6:39:18 GMT -5
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Post by agentf on Apr 27, 2022 10:33:33 GMT -5
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Post by agentf on May 5, 2022 14:19:54 GMT -5
A bizarre coupling with Sarah Ferguson in Sweden... www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/20220505139519/sarah-ferguson-prince-albert-rare-outing-together/I watch the guys at the Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube, for the awful impact of fishing nets on the seal population. (I'm laughing; his project is called the reverse of my 2002 project.) Anyway, if he wants ideas, I'm developing 3 solutions for SDGs, 1 of which is to spare whales & dolphins in shipping lanes and attending the STI forum at the moment. ππ§
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Post by agentf on May 15, 2022 14:08:00 GMT -5
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Post by agentf on May 21, 2022 11:20:35 GMT -5
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Post by donna on May 21, 2022 16:27:44 GMT -5
He probably likes being married (even though it is not a real marriage) if only to be free of women fawning all over him, as I can imagine will happen if they divorce.
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Post by agentf on May 22, 2022 10:11:29 GMT -5
Europeans don't seem to see marriage as a deterrent, on the contrary. Cheating is a pastime and sometimes keeps people's marriages more manageable, if you're so inclined. Now, fawning? π€ I think in his environment, people who flirt mean it and they're not looking for marriage and the doldrums of domesticity in their affairs. I imagine fawning is one degree more shy and again, I see European women as more direct than that. And he's not shy, ask Dita π He probably likes being married (even though it is not a real marriage) if only to be free of women fawning all over him, as I can imagine will happen if they divorce.
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Post by donna on Jun 9, 2022 11:00:03 GMT -5
Is Albert a part of the Bilderberg group and if not, then why? Do you know if he has been invited to Γ‘ melting? The King of the Netherlands is there and his mom before him, but no other royalty.
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Post by paca on Jun 9, 2022 14:18:44 GMT -5
No idea, but judging by his latest pics he is in serious need of a "melting" ;D
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Post by agentf on Jun 9, 2022 18:56:21 GMT -5
π€£ I wonder how relevent the Bilderberg Group still is. It seems to me all this top-down business is so out of touch, has a horrible track record on the ground and that it serves only the 1% which we've seen are just as unable to cope with the times and the unpredictability we're in. What's more some of their engineering has gotten us here, so what good have they done? I was doing my Human Security training today and the Impact Assessment of this group would be: ππ» No idea, but judging by his latest pics he is in serious need of a "melting" ;D
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