Ukraine

[Parafox]

11 minutes ago, Line-X said:

Why is this a surprise to you?

 

Prior to the invasion, Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, delivered a sermon in which he declared the divine unity of Ukraine and Russia conferred by God, whilst denouncing the “evil forces” in Ukraine that are hell bent on corrupting and destroying this unity. He called upon God to “prohibit and overturn the designs of the foreign pagans who want war and are gathering troops against Holy Russia.” He then prayed for God to bestow his blessing upon the Russian military sent to protect Russian Orthodox Christians in the Donbass region whilst going on to proclaim that far more is at stake than the liberation of the oppressed Russians, namely, the salvation of mankind itself. Humankind has become weak and is no longer subservient to God’s Law, they are no longer hearing his word and his gospel, and are blinded by the gathering darkness to the Light of Christ. The future of human civilisation itself is in jeopardy he declared before launching into an angry homily denouncing the decadent and permissive west. 

 

The Russian Orthodox Church is providing much of the hagiography and ideology that Putin has appropriated to engender his popularity over the years and justification of this war derives from the Kremlin’s mythologisation and subversion of Russia’s history. The church equates “Holy Russia” with “Holy Rus’’ - the medieval state of Rus and to Putin, Kiev and Crimea, where St. Vladimir was baptised are 'sacred Russian lands.' His last visit to Kyiv was in 2013, during which he could be seen kissing a statue of the saint. He has also erected a similar statue near the Kremlin. 

 

Vladimir Putin supported by and with the full backing of the Russian Orthodox church has for years maintained that the West has long been conspiring against Russia by coopting Ukraine. The 'special operation' in Ukraine is therefore portrayed as a holy war, a crusade and an epic apocalyptic battle between absolute good and absolute evil blessed by this revisionist and revanchist version of Russian history centered on the historical struggle and the repulsion of foreign invaders and infidels - (Mongols, Lithuanians, Poles, Swedes, French, and Germans). The Russian Orthodox Church is regarded as pivotal in the defense and survival of the Russian nation. The memory of these centuries of holy wars are central to Russian school curricula and is similarly etched and ingrained in the collective consciousness of the nation. 

I'm so pleased that you're a FT member and poster rather than any other football forum where your insight and understanding would be completely lost.

Every one of your posts on this subject is essential reading for any of us that wants to get a handle on the current and past reasons for this conflict.

I applaud and thank you. I now know much more about the background to all this terrible state of affairs

Edited 18 March 2022 by Parafox

[Sly]

1 hour ago, Parafox said:

I'm so pleased that you're a FT member and poster rather than any other football forum where your insight and understanding would be completely lost.

Every one of your posts on this subject is essential reading for any of us that wants to get a handle on the current and past reasons for this conflict.

I applaud and thank you. I now know much more about the background to all this terrible state of affairs

I 2nd this @Line-X. 
 

I do like the amount of information you put into your posts. 

[David Hankey]

1 hour ago, Line-X said:

Why is this a surprise to you?

 

Prior to the invasion, Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, delivered a sermon in which he declared the divine unity of Ukraine and Russia conferred by God, whilst denouncing the “evil forces” in Ukraine that are hell bent on corrupting and destroying this unity. He called upon God to “prohibit and overturn the designs of the foreign pagans who want war and are gathering troops against Holy Russia.” He then prayed for God to bestow his blessing upon the Russian military sent to protect Russian Orthodox Christians in the Donbass region whilst going on to proclaim that far more is at stake than the liberation of the oppressed Russians, namely, the salvation of mankind itself. Humankind has become weak and is no longer subservient to God’s Law, they are no longer hearing his word and his gospel, and are blinded by the gathering darkness to the Light of Christ. The future of human civilisation itself is in jeopardy he declared before launching into an angry homily denouncing the decadent and permissive west. 

 

The Russian Orthodox Church is providing much of the hagiography and ideology that Putin has appropriated to engender his popularity over the years and justification of this war derives from the Kremlin’s mythologisation and subversion of Russia’s history. The church equates “Holy Russia” with “Holy Rus’’ - the medieval state of Rus and to Putin, Kiev and Crimea, where St. Vladimir was baptised are 'sacred Russian lands.' His last visit to Kyiv was in 2013, during which he could be seen kissing a statue of the saint. He has also erected a similar statue near the Kremlin. 

 

Vladimir Putin supported by and with the full backing of the Russian Orthodox church has for years maintained that the West has long been conspiring against Russia by coopting Ukraine. The 'special operation' in Ukraine is therefore portrayed as a holy war, a crusade and an epic apocalyptic battle between absolute good and absolute evil blessed by this revisionist and revanchist version of Russian history centered on the historical struggle and the repulsion of foreign invaders and infidels - (Mongols, Lithuanians, Poles, Swedes, French, and Germans). The Russian Orthodox Church is regarded as pivotal in the defense and survival of the Russian nation. The memory of these centuries of holy wars are central to Russian school curricula and is similarly etched and ingrained in the collective consciousness of the nation. 

You'll be telling me next he has God on his side!!

[worthosoriginals]

4 hours ago, David Hankey said:

Putin now quoting from the Bible. I can't think of a more despicable person in the world.

The bible lot tend to be hippocrites, seems hes another 

[worthosoriginals]

4 hours ago, fox_favourite said:

Like - “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"?! 

And other bullshit these hippocrites speak of

[MPH]

4 hours ago, fox_favourite said:

Like - “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"?! 

 Or even “ love your enemies and do good to them “

[SpacedX]

26 minutes ago, worthosoriginals said:

The bible lot tend to be hippocrites, seems hes another 

[weller54]

1 hour ago, David Hankey said:

You'll be telling me next he has God on his side!!

Don't bring Vards into this!

[Leicesterpool]

5 hours ago, Spiritwalker said:

Just thinking that Ukraine should play the Russians at their own game.

Agree not to join NATO, agree to recognise Crimea and the Donbas regions as Russian,

wait for the Russians to go home then say, actually we’ve changed our minds.

 

 

Putin is a nut if they did dared do that hed probably nuke them. Claiming the nazi regime returned one lie or another 

[MPH]

8 hours ago, Spiritwalker said:

Just thinking that Ukraine should play the Russians at their own game.

Agree not to join NATO, agree to recognise Crimea and the Donbas regions as Russian,

wait for the Russians to go home then say, actually we’ve changed our minds.

 

 

It’s entirely possible that they could agree not to join NATO and then wait for a regime change in Russia  before changing their minds. 
 

 

 

and here is one thing to consider… NATO will not allow them to join whilst there is an inherited dispute on their own land… whilst they lay claim to Crimea and the Donbas, with Russian soldiers  occupying those areas stop them from joining.  I don’t think they’ll do it but if they relinquished sovereignty of those areas,   A key Russian demand  before pulling back, they could potentially be in a position of having no disputes on their land again which could be the key to joining NATO..

 

[Bellend Sebastian]

This is good in a 'how did we get here and where might it go' sort of way, and includes a lot of recent history that I was only vaguely aware of or had completely passed me by:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60767454

[Spudulike]

Only a matter of time before this happens in the UK... 

 

 

[yorkie1999]

18 hours ago, Spiritwalker said:

Just thinking that Ukraine should play the Russians at their own game.

Agree not to join NATO, agree to recognise Crimea and the Donbas regions as Russian,

wait for the Russians to go home then say, actually we’ve changed our minds.

 

 

I don't think the russians are going home, for a start how?, they've just spent nearly a month getting there and unless they defeat the entire Ukranian army with missiles, which is a bit harder than it sounds, they won't be allowed to just wander back out of the country, it's going to take a bigger effort to get out than what it was to get in, and they've struggled doing that, so we're led to believe.

[David Hankey]

The egotistical Putin will not retreat. He dare not admit defeat but will have to think of some way of saving face.

 

In the meantime the war crimes continue on a daily basis with innocent civilians being killed and the flattening of towns and cities goes on unabated.

[String fellow]

1 hour ago, David Hankey said:

The egotistical Putin will not retreat. He dare not admit defeat but will have to think of some way of saving face.

 

In the meantime the war crimes continue on a daily basis with innocent civilians being killed and the flattening of towns and cities goes on unabated.

Hitler + Nukes = Putin.

[yorkie1999]

2 hours ago, David Hankey said:

The egotistical Putin will not retreat. He dare not admit defeat but will have to think of some way of saving face.

 

In the meantime the war crimes continue on a daily basis with innocent civilians being killed and the flattening of towns and cities goes on unabated.

He could walk away tomorrow and most Russians would be unaware anything is happening, either through self denial or disbelief. One of my wife’s friends is Russian but has lived here for a long time, she rang her parents the other week to see if they’re alright and told her mum about the Russian army invading and the  civilian killings in Ukraine, her mum accused her of being a liar said Putins a wonderful man , and vowed never to speak to her again and hung up. Now if that’s the level of information that Russians have, Putin could call all his troops back and no one would be the wiser.

[David Hankey]

40 minutes ago, yorkie1999 said:

He could walk away tomorrow and most Russians would be unaware anything is happening, either through self denial or disbelief. One of my wife’s friends is Russian but has lived here for a long time, she rang her parents the other week to see if they’re alright and told her mum about the Russian army invading and the  civilian killings in Ukraine, her mum accused her of being a liar said Putins a wonderful man , and vowed never to speak to her again and hung up. Now if that’s the level of information that Russians have, Putin could call all his troops back and no one would be the wiser.

Just goes to show there's none so blind as those who will not see.

[worthosoriginals]

On 18/03/2022 at 17:08, David Hankey said:

Putin now quoting from the Bible. I can't think of a more despicable person in the world.

Pretty apt really, a bullshitter quotes from a book of fairy tales

[weller54]

1 hour ago, worthosoriginals said:

Pretty apt really, a bullshitter quotes from a book of fairy tales

 

[MPH]

Russian Cosmonauts arrive at the space station in yellow with blue trim space suits. 

 

 

A coincidence, apparently but that’s a bit of an ‘ oops’ moment surely. Can’t believe someone authorized that

[leicsmac]

11 minutes ago, MPH said:

Russian Cosmonauts arrive at the space station in yellow with blue trim space suits. 

 

 

A coincidence, apparently but that’s a bit of an ‘ oops’ moment surely. Can’t believe someone authorized that

There's no way that was a coincidence.

 

Cosmonauts weaponising plausible deniability to send a message about how stupid this all is here. Good for them.

[MPH]

2 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

There's no way that was a coincidence.

 

Cosmonauts weaponising plausible deniability to send a message about how stupid this all is here. Good for them.

 

if you look at the pictures they actually set out in an all blue suit and arrived in the yellow ones!

[leicsmac]

7 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

if you look at the pictures they actually set out in an all blue suit and arrived in the yellow ones!

Yep. All the more reason to know this was well-planned.

 

Space is a global commons where the only nation is human. I'm glad the cosmonauts at least get that.

[SpacedX]

7 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Yep. All the more reason to know this was well-planned.

 

Space is a global commons where the only nation is human. I'm glad the cosmonauts at least get that.

When they return to earth I'm afraid that the increasingly erratic head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, may well have other ideas. 

[st albans fox]

1 hour ago, Line-X said:

When they return to earth I'm afraid that the increasingly erratic head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, may well have other ideas. 

Yes - these three guys could be the winners of the competition to decide which three cosmonauts are visiting Venus with a pair of flip flops and a Spartak Moscow kit for protection …….