Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Is CNN and the likes broadcast in Russia? I presume it's not but have no idea.

I think they shouldn't broadcast in Western countries, they only exist to spread propaganda and create an anti Europe sentiment in the West. You could see it on this thread and many others how watching that crap can distort peoples worldviews in disturbing ways. It's more or less brainwashing but at a very slow pace.

I'm all for having different media types and difference of opinion but no good will ever come out of publicly broadcasting state propaganda from tyrannical countries who are in direct conflict with us. If we want to have an honest public debate about Russia let's do it with historians and the like, not Putin's paid mouthpieces.

and given the behaviour of Russia this past week I would not be at all surprised if Finland added NATO membership to EU membership before we hit 2023.

Nail on the proverbial head. I have said it before if NATO was genuinely the issue then why did Putin who was president of Russia at the time not invade the Baltic nations prior to their joining NATO in 2004. That was over 10 years after the Baltic nations regained their independence from Russian occupation and I would say that Russia's behaviour this week has shown the benefits of that decision by Lativa, Lithuania and Estonia.

The Russian Central bank just raised its interest rates to 20%

Why should it be?

Being able to live in peace? Russia has invaded them what twice in the last 8 years....why would they listen to a word they say.

The poster that you are responding to, @gmisk is clearly victim-blaming. Ukraine is not the culpable one here, Russia and only Russia is

RT has been quoted by anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorist and general loons. It spreads misinformation that is dangerous to society. Unfortunately a small but vocal cohort of the population are gullible. Maybe we will have less of this cohort believing and spreading nonsense when it is banned.

Simply no. There are plenty of people and organisations who are essentially barred from television exposure and with good reason. If Gemma O Doherty were given a weekly show to proliferate her ideas, I can imagine some people would watch, but she doesn't get that because she is a kook.

The idea that we should hear all sides is nonsense if it's not qualified. I don't want to hear from sides who are spreading their ideas in bad faith, essentially attempting to commit intellectual sabotage. That includes RT at this point.

I think the general reaction online is that it was a fertiliser plant blown up.

Putin even a cnut while offering tea, using his left hand.

Food and supplies must be a massive worry now, aid convoys need to go in. Problem is, we know from Syria that the Russians will attack them, even UN aid supplies, they are animals.

This notion that RT shouldn't be banned because of our noble aspirations for free speech, or letting people see how ridiculous their output is is, nonsense. RT is not news, it's not information, it's nothing but absolute propaganda. And not the kind of "propaganda" some people claim RTE is; RT is propaganda specifically designed to undermine western democracy. It is a tool of Russian aggression against the West. It's used to sow misinformation, confusion and discord - that's is sole purpose. If our way of life means anything to us, we should defend against it. We need to be pragmatic, not idealistic. Doing so does not undermine us in any way.

If Russian propaganda is a tool being wielded against us; blunt the tool.

As someone’s who’s visited Hiroshima - we must do everything possible to avoid nuclear bombs being dropped. The horror of walking through the museum looking at the thousands of lives burned to dust from one blast, the city flattened and the horror of the disaster living with them to this day. Only the dome on the river partially survived the blast as a symbol of what once was.

No one can assume Putin is bluffing. Putin is a man with nothing to lose, someone needs to infiltrate the Kremlin and fast. The world and the Russian’s themselves need to be rid of him. The problem as many others have said - will another Putin friendly head be installed and how would that improve the situation.

One of things that stuck with me most on the folly of a nuclear war was an old Dave Allen sketch from the 80s where an ICBM exchange is under way between the Soviet Union and the Allies. A man, played by Allen, intently listen to regular radio bulletins on the progress of the war from the relative safety of underground fallout shelter. After two weeks go by, it is announced that the Soviet Union agrees to an unconditional surrender, and the man is overjoyed. Immediately he opens the hatch of his little bunker and hops out of it, doing a jig of delight, shouting "WE'VE WON! WE'VE WON!" and laughing. His laughter and dancing soon die away when he notices there's nothing left only some ruins of buildings in an irradiated wasteland.

Some of the commentary on his threat suggests that he might launch one, a small one, to nowhere in particular just to see what kind of reaction he gets. That would be his one and only shot at it. Given by the ratcheting up of the Western and worldwide response there would be one and quite probably one he wouldn't like. He is almost fully isolated now, apart from his equally nasty puppet next door. Even China has backed off. That makes him very dangerous but also very vulnerable, The sanctions will really start to take their toll over the next weeks and months and you would expect that plans for cutting off the oil and gas is being worked on.