Ukraine (Mod Note & Threadbanned Users in OP)

Jinglejangle69

Ah sure the Irish are grand.

If anyone attacks us America will come and bail us out.

Sure I’m happy for someone else’s kids to go off to fight and die in a war protecting Europe.

Sure it’s grand.

amandstu

This not off topic? Let's talk about what is going on in Ukraine.

Start another thread for Irish neutrality.

20silkcut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118999913#Comment_118999913

I think it’s relative. Ukraine is a real time example of a country that pursued a policy of neutrality in the 21st century only for reality to come kicking its door in.

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118999988#Comment_118999988

I think you mean "relevant"?

Maybe so but this is about the invasion of Ukraine and its consequences .It is a bad feel to be twittering on about Ireland 's neutrality at this time.

Start your own thread about neutrality is my suggestion.

Detritus70

Additional funding for the Irish military doesn't grow on trees. The choice would be higher taxes during an era of unprecedented price growth with nothing going to housing, education, social welfare or healthcare, or leave taxes alone and cut funding to those sectors. Which one could the government sell to the voters?

bear1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119000243#Comment_119000243

No it doesn't, but you don't seem to want to answer questions as to how we should defend ourselves, except to say we can't afford it.

And you're joking about healthcare? They get vasts amount of money and seem to be absolutely useless at solving problems, yet ask for more and more and get it.

Detritus70

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119000254#Comment_119000254

I'm not saying you can't afford it and that you shouldn't, but I'm merely pointing out the reality of the situation, I'm not having a go, so relaxevu mon ami.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118999612#Comment_118999612

To join NATO, we need to be serious about defence and defence spending. We have ships tied up in port because we have no sailors to sail them. We have underpaid soldiers and sailors and that saps morale.

Whether we set defence spending at 1% or 2% of GDP, we need to spend more.

We also need more Gardai and a reformed legal system. Cyber security falls between the defence forces and the Gardai and it is vital that service is beefed up so that the debacle of the HSE attack can never happen again.

Whatever we end up doing, we need to make sure we have friends who will come to our aid if we are attacked.

pixelburp

There's a legitimate argument that our waters require way more protection and assets to do just that, more than any other branch of defence; fighter jets are a ludicrous affectation that'd cost a fortune to maintain and fly about in circles every few months - a robust navy would have active, constant use in patrolling our waters, helping attack drug trafficking, chase antagonists away like Russia, apply adherence to our international fishing boundaries etc. An island nation can justify a small, but effective naval force

Detritus70

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119000430#Comment_119000430

I would actually be in full agreement on this. Setting up a massive army, air force and missile shield would not be an effective way of spending money on defence, considering people cited Russia, China and Somali pirates as possible threats.

Today's threats come very rarely from conventional military attacks. Spending billions on defending against a Russian or Chinese invasion is ludicrous. Citing Somali pirates just means you can't think of any credible threats, one might as well add space aliens to that list. Amassing a huge military is a 20th century solution to a 21st world problem.

It's different in mainland Europe, military aggression from the east has sadly become a credible threat. I wish it wasn't so, because spending billions on weapons of mass destruction is the most idiotic, brain-dead fcuking thing to do. No-one should cheer for that, unless they're a brain donor.

Sam Russell

I think the Russian attack on Chernobyl and other nuclear plants was lunacy but it does highlight their vulnerability. Fortunately, we have no intention of building any.

However, off-shore wind turbines would be vulnerable, as are underwater assets like data cables, gas pipelines and electricity inter-connectors. Add in a few nasties like drug smugglers, people smugglers, and illegal fishing - so we need naval ships capable of defending us from all of these.

pixelburp

Getting back on topic, has anyone heard this before, and have seen it verified? If so, then there can be no argument about the Russian Army being a depraved cabal of monsters. Calling it "terror tactics" seems trite.

Luba Healy, who lives in Trim, Co Meath, finally persuaded her 70-year-old mother Nina and 98-year-old grandmother Galina to leave their hometown in Haivoron, only after a Russian threat to bomb graveyards left them unable to visit loved ones in an Easter Sunday tradition

https://m.independent.ie/news/meath-based-business-woman-travels-to-ukraine-to-rescue-her-98-year-old-grandmother-and-70-year-old-mother-41604986.html

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118998524#Comment_118998524

I was thinking about this a few weeks ago. So I specifically remember footage of people making them in Dnipro, Odesa and Kyiv. Molotov cocktails would only ever be used in urban warfare. None of those cities saw any of that. In fact the only city that saw any street to street type fighting was Mariupol.

So to answer the question....they're probably still in storage in those other cities somewhere. Given that the standard Russian model of warfare is to pulverise a city with artillery and rocket fire before entering it I'm not sure if they would actually prove to be more of an explosion hazard then an effective weapon.

McGiver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119000430#Comment_119000430

You might need to check Swedish scheme to lease Grippen jets to Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. You don't have to buy them...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119000729#Comment_119000729

Who talks about 20th century model? You don't need a huge military, if you mean just manpower. You need modern gear. You need an effective and efficient military. Current Irish Defence Forces are neither.

Navy and Airforce should definitely be the focus, Ground Forces less so.

McGiver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119001252#Comment_119001252

I've been talking about this on this thread for months - this is fully expected and just standard Russian tactics. Western Europe simply have no clue about Russian regimes and their tactics and are now awakening and "shocked".

In fact, I would be surprised if the Russian army didn't engage in some sort of torture, brutality and genocide. All of this part of the standard operation tactics of this thuggish barbarian country.

Central, Eastern and Northern Europe have known all this for a while...

Pussyhands

Bit strange, the war tourism going on. Have to ask if its safe enough for all these politicians to go to Ukraine and Angelina fcuking Jolie, why are we not building emergency accommodation in Ukraine instead of bringing them all here and spending billions putting tax payers money into landlords and hotels pockets?

A euro goes way way further in Ukraine too!

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119001685#Comment_119001685

There is a problem with Angelina Jolie you fuccing jerk?

Maybe Putin could rebuild a few of the houses he is demolishing.

pixelburp

Building emergency accomodation in an active war zone country. Genius. Why have refugees at all. Sure just build some camps wherever the war isn't. Easy. 🙄

ronivek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119001685#Comment_119001685

She's a United Nations Special Envoy who works primarily with refugees and displaced peoples. Hardly "war tourism".

And there is plenty of "emergency accommodation" in Ukraine. Like basements and metro stations where people can try to feel some semblance of safety. I'm not sure a few pre-fabs or tents in a field in the middle of a warzone is really the way to go.

road_high

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119000243#Comment_119000243

We could make massive savings to the sloven welfare budget which lavishes all kinds of expensive nonsense on the terminally lazy. Get rid of many of the “entitlements” and put the spending to proper use on a decent defence force. Get much of it back through spending on equipment and pay of skilled military professionals like in the U.K. and USA

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002185#Comment_119002185

So Pelosi and Jolie are in the middle of a war zone are they?

How many politicians walked openly around Iraq or Afghanistan?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002467#Comment_119002467

Do you know how poorly paid military personnel are here, as well as the U. K. and U. S.

No one stays in unless they have zero skills that can be used in the civilian job market.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119001685#Comment_119001685

She would buy and sell ya.

As for building emergency accommodation in the Ukraine, you were claiming that putin was going to increase the destruction there so he could claim victory this month, why argue for building accommodation if you believe what you were posting before?

Gatling

@Pussyhands have you thought of taking up a hobby at all ,

All these anti ukraine posts are gone way past their sell by dates at this stage

road_high

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002876#Comment_119002876

Not well I’d imagine. Especially entry level ranks. I understood in the USA and U.K. it was better paid and More of a career ?

I know of a few that stayed a whole, got training me indeed left for the pribare

sector or other areas of the public service.

ZeroThreat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002906#Comment_119002906

I'm starting to suspect pussy is the Russian owner of that garage company in Ireland ;)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002924#Comment_119002924

Joining the army here was given as a alternative to prison by the judiciary until the 80s from what I remember, non officer ranks pay haven't improved since then in real terms and you can find them below

https://www.military.ie/en/careers/faqs/defence-forces-rates-of-pay/

British and U. S. you can find for yourself, but last I looked they weren't much better.

As for the training comparable for private sector, it can happen but is dependent on your speciality in the service. We have a couple of ex U. S. military on our American team, who were employed because they were network security specialists in the army.

ronivek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002861#Comment_119002861

I mean first you claimed Jolie was engaging in war tourism: and now you're saying it's not a war zone and therefore it's not war tourism. Make up your mind.

And considering Russia have attacked targets only a few kilometres from the Polish border and hostilities are ongoing I think it's pretty safe to consider the entire country a war zone; although clearly there's a difference between someone visiting Mariupol and someone visiting Lviv or Kyiv.

Detritus70

Funny how some people are obsessed by Zelenskyy's haircut and Angeline Jolie's wherabouts. They must be running out of arguments.

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002897#Comment_119002897

Quote me please.

I don't believe I said that.