Election Year or Fear!

[MadAmster]

The days of rule of unelected bureaucrats are over.

So said old Fartface immediately after praising Musk and DOGE.

... you REALLY couldn't make it up. Murca is, as Private Frazer might have said, DOOMED.

[Trickytreesreds]

What Maddy said was facts.

The West, as you put it, reacted to requests from Georgia and Ukraine in much the same way they reacted to requests from all the other former soviet satellites such as Romania, Hungary, Poland. Remember, it was the USSR/CCCP or whichever acronym you wish to give it, that dismantled its own area of influence, realising that many of the inhabitants of those satellites didn't want Russian dictatorship.

Are you suggesting that "the West" should have ignored their requests to join the freedom train?

The Russians withdrew and allowed German re unification on the promise of not 1 inch closer from NATO?
NATO didn't have to move 1 inch in any of those countries but did so after lying to Gorbachev.

[SithHappens]

Is that not a myth though and never actually happened?

[Andy_Faber]

Is that not a myth though and never actually happened?

Urban myths litter this thread (on all sides) and it?s best to do your own research to validate or otherwise

[SithHappens]

Urban myths litter this thread (on all sides) and it?s best to do your own research to validate or otherwise

Yep, it does seem it probably is. Seems Gorbachev sometimes claimed it was said and often said it hadn't been.

[Geoff Parkstone]

But it doesn't matter if NATO moved anything anywhere, their ability to strike from distance is up there with Roberto Carlios

[ramAnag]

Urban myths litter this thread (on all sides) and it?s best to do your own research to validate or otherwise

Couldn’t agree more. Exactly why the accuracy of certain assertions has had to be queried and challenged recently.

[Trickytreesreds]

Yep, it does seem it probably is. Seems Gorbachev sometimes claimed it was said and often said it hadn't been.

No myth at all. There may have been no treaty sigend, but it was said orally more than once, to assure Gorbachev. Thats a fact

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contro...NATO_expansion

[Andy_Faber]

No myth at all. There may have been no treaty sigend, but it was said orally more than once, to assure Gorbachev. Thats a fact

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contro...NATO_expansion

I would say though Tricky that, as the current conflict has evidenced, if Russia and a ?western? power had conflicting recollection of a verbal exchange, I?d favour the West every time. The only thing that would put that ?beyond reasonable doubt? in my mind was that Gorby seemed less inclined to fantasy

[Ramshank72]

Moving on, into another sphere, I think you'll all have seen at least photos of, and probably videos of, fireworkless firework shows. Basically thousands of drones moving about showing different coloured lights and making the most brilliant shows. It should come as no surprise that the Chinese are the best at this and they use AI to control these shows.

The next step is to arm 10s of 100s of drones and have them do the fighting. You pay billions getting a new submarine. Less than a million quids worth of drones sink it. Same goes for tanks and artillery. Made obsolete really. Planes? Fly a drone into a jet engine, bye bye F35.

War it is a changing.

Von Leijen announced this week 800 billion Euro for European defence. I hope a lot gets spent on Pan European AI, Pan European drones as well as some on more conventional weaponry or we are done for.

Already happened mate, a young British boy who joined up with the Ukrainian legion, was killed by a Russian drone on his first task very recently. From Call of Duty on his PlayStation, to reality very quickly.
Agree with your prior post, unfortunately people like Putin will always exist to ensure that peace never happens.