Keeping Ukraine in our thoughts and prayers here

[JimMIA]

Not just football, almost every sport has stopped with Russia in one way another, from Formula 1 to chess and everything in between. IOC and the international Taekwondo Association have taken away Putin's honorary medals.

Also Shell has announced they will be leaving all Russian projects.

Oh and Russia has been thrown out of Eurovision.

A LOT of that is just phony, though. For example, soccer didn't actually do anything except tell them they have to compete as the "Football Team of Russia" or some such nonsense.

Nobody in sports -- and especially the IOC! -- has the backbone to really exclude Russia.

 

[Buzz Rules]

A LOT of that is just phony, though. For example, soccer didn't actually do anything except tell them they have to compete as the "Football Team of Russia" or some such nonsense.

Nobody in sports -- and especially the IOC! -- has the backbone to really exclude Russia.

Did you read the FIFA article I posted? Russia is permanently suspended right now.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Please no bickering here

 

[Karin1984]

A LOT of that is just phony, though. For example, soccer didn't actually do anything except tell them they have to compete as the "Football Team of Russia" or some such nonsense.

Nobody in sports -- and especially the IOC! -- has the backbone to really exclude Russia.

Probably because the associations all say 'it's about the sport, not about the countries, no politics,' and then you get into the discussion we had with the Olympics. Should we penalize the good guys for the bad guys behaviour?

 

[JimMIA]

Did you read the FIFA article I posted? Russia is permanently suspended right now.

The article says they are "suspended until further notice." Not banned..."suspended." And not permanently -- just until the promoters change their minds.

It will be just like the IOC's harsh crushing of Russian athletes after decades of doping scandals...nothing.

In a way, it's good that all these organizations are taking symbolic actions to support Ukraine. It's better than nothing -- but in the end, these actions don't mean much. Russian soccer fans have much more serious problems to worry about than this.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I have to say, the Ukranian people are inspiring to me. Somewhat shocked as "times have changed" with people in general, but I'm very heartened by it.

True patriots as we have seen in the past. AS you say "times have changed" but it's good to know that there are still people in the world that will fight for what is right.

 

[JimMIA]

Things are getting serious for Russian billionaires -- they are moving their superyachts to Montenegro and the Maldives! https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/28/rus...-us-moves-to-hunt-down-and-freeze-assets.html

 

[pigletto]

A LOT of that is just phony, though. For example, soccer didn't actually do anything except tell them they have to compete as the "Football Team of Russia" or some such nonsense.

Nobody in sports -- and especially the IOC! -- has the backbone to really exclude Russia.

force them . Write , call , blow up their social media . Start a wave . Boycott the venues that host them etc . It’s unacceptable to play games of sport with a country that’s threatening to blow us all up and they can pick a $&@“/^” side or get the $&@/ out of the way . We collectively have that power. They need spectators and consumers . That’s us.

 

[Karin1984]

Things are getting serious for Russian billionaires -- they are moving their superyachts to Montenegro and the Maldives! https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/28/rus...-us-moves-to-hunt-down-and-freeze-assets.html

Probably because of the Ukrainian sailor who worked for a Russian billionaire, and decided now was the time to sink the ship he worked on.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ested-for-trying-to-sink-oligarchs-superyacht

 

[ronandannette]

Even Switzerland is applying sanctions (we rarely do (the whole "neutrality" thing)).

There’s a lot of that going around it seems. The Cambridges have broken protocol:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1497556980067676163

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

The bridge over the Mississippi River in Memphis last night and tonight:

 

[Darklord77]

I'm looking at this from a different perspective. The Russians, who out number the Ukrainian Air Force by 10 to 1, cannot establish air superiority over the Ukraine. Putin has showed the world just how weak and unprepared his military really is.

The U.S. Air Force could have been in control of the sky in under 2 hours.

 

[amylevan]

I'm looking at this from a different perspective. The Russians, who out number the Ukrainian Air Force by 10 to 1, cannot establish air superiority over the Ukraine. Putin has showed the world just how weak and unprepared his military really is.

The U.S. Air Force could have been in control of the sky in under 2 hours.

I wonder if some of the reasoning is due to lack of conviction on the Russian military side. Do they really believe in what they are doing? Versus the Ukrainians fighting to save their land.

 

[bcla]

I'm looking at this from a different perspective. The Russians, who out number the Ukrainian Air Force by 10 to 1, cannot establish air superiority over the Ukraine. Putin has showed the world just how weak and unprepared his military really is.

The U.S. Air Force could have been in control of the sky in under 2 hours.

Besides the obvious issues with what would be justifiable, the US Air Force wouldn't go at it alone. They don't even have their own electronic warfare aircraft any more. They've been embedding with US Navy and Marine units.

https://www.mountainhome.af.mil/New...st-usaf-airman-pilots-navy-growler-in-combat/

 

[ronandannette]

Besides the obvious issues with what would be justifiable, the US Air Force wouldn't go at it alone. They don't even have their own electronic warfare aircraft any more. They've been embedding with US Navy and Marine units.

https://www.mountainhome.af.mil/New...st-usaf-airman-pilots-navy-growler-in-combat/

Maybe, maybe not. I would hope the full disclosure of military resources are not readily available to the public on-line.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I wonder if some of the reasoning is due to lack of conviction on the Russian military side. Do they really believe in what they are doing? Versus the Ukrainians fighting to save their land.

There are some reports they were told they were on a ‘peacekeeping mission’.

 

[JimMIA]

.

There are some reports they were told they were on a ‘peacekeeping mission’.

There are all sorts of "reports."

I saw one that said that some of the Russian troops thought they were just in a military exercise and couldn't understand why the other team was shooting back at them with real bullets. That sounds pretty far-fetched to me, but...

Much more important facts are that both petroleum giants BP and Shell severed ties with Russian firms in the last two days. BP had a significant investment in a Russian company and sold it and pulled out of Russia.

Shell owned 27% (a huge share) of one Russian natural gas company and 50% (!) of another. They pulled out of Russia, and dumped both companies even though it will affect them greatly now, and in the future.

Those are both very serious losses of decades-old partnerships for Russia...and they won't be coming back. https://thehill.com/business-a-lobb...tional-us-companies-flee-russia-amid-invasion

 

[bcla]

Maybe, maybe not. I would hope the full disclosure of military resources are not readily available to the public on-line.

I'm just saying that the US Air Force doesn't go it alone. The United States has a combined force including the US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Army, and (the best part) allies. While a lot of capabilities are classified, that these forces train and work together is no big secret.

It's very public that the USS Harry S Truman Strike Group is off the coast of Croatia right now. That's not anything that anyone concerned enough to need to know wouldn't already know. It's kind of hard to hide the movements of something that big with that large an entourage.

 

[RamblingMad]

Russia continues to make progress pushing into Ukraine. Is the end game right now economic sanctions? We can provide weapons, but someone has to train them on how to use it and get it to them.

It feels like Putin wants to recreate the Soviet Union for those here old enough to remember.

https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-...errent-invasion-belarus-live-updates-12541713

 

[Dan Murphy]

Putin wants to recreate the Soviet Union for those here old enough to remember.

That's his goal, a 'legacy' for him.