Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Criticising their statement last week is perfectly justified, I did too.

Going from that to "it's full of left wing do gooders who only criticise the USA and the EU, oh and probably it's got corrupt ties to Russia as well", as more than one poster wrote, is stupid and just plain wrong.

The last point is missing the point, which is about western countries maintaining close ties with awful regimes as long as it suits them economically and politically and how human rights for oppressed groups matter much less when it comes to those countries. Likewise the USA lecturing countries about redirecting sovereignty after what it did in Iraq etc. It is hypocritical. I also understand why it happens

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for international inspectors to be given access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over the shelling of Europe's largest atomic plant at the weekend

NATO stepping in will lead to catastrophe. NATO intervening directly in Ukraine will create serious risk of nuclear exchange.

NATO acting against Russia means direct conflict between nuclear powers and an actual nuclear exchange, in which we all lose. Only a fool would advocate for that.

An incident at the nuclear plant in Energodar would effect Moscow as much as it would Central Europe. It is in nobodys interest to have an incident there.

As for the damage thus far, its been admin buildings and switchgear equipment, not any power generation/reactors. Also seeing as Russia are in control of the plant, and the plant is supplying power south to occupied Kherson and Zaporozhzhia regions, it wouldnt make much sense for the Russians to bomb it themselves.

You seem to have the same authoritarian mindset as the Putinistas. "Useful idiot" usually refers to naive supporters of Moscow: sort of innocent but misguided. I wouldn't dream of calling you a useful idiot.

And the UN flapping their hands around uselessly. An organisation that has been shown up to be useless when push comes to shove.

That's the thing, I've kinda come around to that same point of view. Chamberlain gets called out a LOT for his appeasement policies, but it was also under his government that a lot of the programs that would help Britain ultimately win the war got started. The production of the Hawker Hurricane and the massive destroyer-building program (Tribals, L & M Class destroyers, the later wartime emergency program) starting in 1938 are just two examples, though I won't get into the army side of things as I believe that's your area of expertise.

I think what ultimately did Chamberlain in with regards to his legacy and public image, apart from the fact that the Germans were quite frankly tactically superior in the early stages of the war, was the fact that he was replaced by a supremely charismatic successor, Winston Churchill and that many people simply weren't aware of the massive logistical challenges involved in getting even partially ready for war by September 1939.

I mean, even today, many people have, quite frankly, no grasp of logistics. Just look at all the calls to get more weapons to Ukraine in this very thread, without taking into consideration that those weapons need to be a) transported there, b) supplied with ammunition & spares, c) have some sort of maintenance base/depot, d) have Ukrainian crews trained up and so on. The importance of logistics, the lead times that the manufacturing of modern weapons systems requires, all these things just don't register in the public consciousness.

You would think the very public vaccine rollout and PPE issues from COVID would give people an idea of how difficult it can be to get the right stuff to the right people at the right time.

Saw an interesting comment on Twitter that the occupation / annexation of Kherson is illegal even under Russian law, never mind the international version. There is nothing in the Russian constitution that allows the current regime and its dictator annex a Ukrainian city and region and make it formally part of the Russian Federation.

For sure, but it does emphasis the absolute illegality of the Putin regime and the fact that the country is being run by a criminal. Kherson cannot 'legally' become part of the Russian Federation....it will just be a case of Putin telling everyone that it is the case.

Well, they say people get more right-wing as they get older, so probably not. 😁