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Well.Putin holding one major military exercise across Ukraine border....Obama reacting to it....going with more sanctions I believe...tit for tat sanctions..

Russia would never dare to annex further Ukrainian territory. The West's sanctions would be crippling: Cancellation of another 4 previously planned cocktail parties, travel restrictions for the vice secretaries of the vice governors of Sverdlovsk, Kalmykia and Lipetsk, plus freezing the eBay auction where Putin scored that neat, good-as-new fishing rod at a great price.

 MetalOxide wrote:
Well, Russia and Ukraine are added to my list of places I would never visit.

And will you add the two 'Russian Colonies' to the 'no visit' lists?
- Sukhumvit Street (Soi Nana alley), Bangkok
- Pattaya

 Allod wrote:
Russia would never dare to annex further Ukrainian territory. The West's sanctions would be crippling: Cancellation of another 4 previously planned cocktail parties, travel restrictions for the vice secretaries of the vice governors of Sverdlovsk, Kalmykia and Lipetsk, plus freezing the eBay auction where Putin scored that neat, good-as-new fishing rod at a great price.

 Allod wrote:
Russia would never dare to annex further Ukrainian territory. The West's sanctions would be crippling: Cancellation of another 4 previously planned cocktail parties, travel restrictions for the vice secretaries of the vice governors of Sverdlovsk, Kalmykia and Lipetsk, plus freezing the eBay auction where Putin scored that neat, good-as-new fishing rod at a great price.

Russia will annex what the Ukraine government will let it annex, because in all this mess no one has been a larger ally to Russia than the idiots in Kiev. I mean, who was crazy enough to scare and push Crimea in Russia's arms?
If Kiev grows a brain then Russia isn't going to annex anything more. But if Ukraine falls in a Civil war or Kiev tries some gak against Eastern Ukraine then everybody knows what will happen.

In other news Poland is biggie sizing their defense spending. Plus they are looking at a new kewl tank that looks like something the Tau would have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PL-01

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140110/DEFREG01/301100021/Poland-Plans-Record-Defense-Spending-2014

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b0ad091c-be16-11e2-bb35-00144feab7de.html#axzz2xk5SQNaK

New, from Foregeworld!

 Frazzled wrote:
In other news Poland is biggie sizing their defense spending. Plus they are looking at a new kewl tank that looks like something the Tau would have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PL-01

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140110/DEFREG01/301100021/Poland-Plans-Record-Defense-Spending-2014

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b0ad091c-be16-11e2-bb35-00144feab7de.html#axzz2xk5SQNaK

Can you honestly blame them?

Not at all. I'm just suddenly have this vision of Poland knocking on Germany's door going "hey you remember that fun time we had in 1938..."

I know they have MRAP's and MATV's

Though not sure what good they are against MBT's.

The Poles? Read again they have about 500 MBTs and that new tank looks low and wicked.

Kind of surprised they aren't secretly working on nukes...

 Frazzled wrote:


Kind of surprised they aren't secretly working on nukes...

Well... after the events in Crimea... would you blame them?

Again nope. I'm thinking they might be.

 whembly wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:


Kind of surprised they aren't secretly working on nukes...

Well... after the events in Crimea... would you blame them?

You mean the Red Dawn style attack, where Russia violently overtook Ukraine? Now maybe instead of annexing Crimea into Russia, they could have supported a new State, but whatevers. I seam to remember a few conflicts where we thought people would be happy to see our troops and look how those turned out. If the Crimeans really have a problem with Russian annexation, I haven't seen any proof of it. I'm sure the West would have been happy to run the freedom fighters some weapons if it were the case.

Seriously, I think Russia did what anyone would do and what the West has done on a pretty regular basis. Although to be fair the west doesn't wait until the Warsaw pact is knocking on Mexicos door. Could you imagine the gakfit Nato would have if Russia started recruiting some of our economically weaker allies like Mexico or Greece to join the new Russian Federation?

NATO really overextended its reach by trying to make a grab for Ukraine, and it shows a real lack of understanding if they thought that Putin's Russia was just going to let that slide. NATO has no legitimate reason to try to extend its reach into Russia's back yard, the fact that people don't see how Russia could see this as a threat is mind boggling.

Russia has played it perfectly, making the West look like buffoons and Ukraine looks like a schizophrenic.

It all reminds me of a touching scene from one of my favorite movies.
"Hey Nato.....Do you like Apples?"
"I got Crimea! How do you like them Apples!"

Now all Russia has to do is economically cripple Ukraine by raising the cost of natural gas and boom there goes the Ukrainian economy.

I'm not sure who here really has the better hand to play, but I'm sure the Global Military Industrial complex is just watering at the mouth to sell weapons to everyone.

You mean like Cuba, Nicaragua, and El Salvador? History, its a gas.

http://rt.com/news/nasa-suspends-relations-roscosmos-961/
I wonder how the Americans will get into space now? Also, are the astronauts on the ISS now trapped there? To me, it seems Nasa is shooting itself in the foot now. Wouldn't they do better to stay out of politics and focus their space stuff?

 Frazzled wrote:
The Poles? Read again they have about 500 MBTs and that new tank looks low and wicked.

Kind of surprised they aren't secretly working on nukes...

But Poland still cannot into space

 Frazzled wrote:
You mean like Cuba, Nicaragua, and El Salvador? History, its a gas.

Its like history repeats itself?

You underestimate their ingenuity. They build a nuke then put it on a catapult powered by methane gas. Then they get a metric ton of Polish sausage give it 10,000 football hooligans and....well you get the idea.

No one expects the Polish Catapult!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Iron_Captain wrote:
http://rt.com/news/nasa-suspends-relations-roscosmos-961/
I wonder how the Americans will get into space now? Also, are the astronauts on the ISS now trapped there? To me, it seems Nasa is shooting itself in the foot now. Wouldn't they do better to stay out of politics and focus their space stuff?

Yea thats pretty stupid so about par for the course.

 Frazzled wrote:
You underestimate their ingenuity. They build a nuke then put it on a catapult powered by methane gas. Then they get a metric ton of Polish sausage give it 10,000 football hooligans and....well you get the idea.

No one expects the Polish Catapult!

I have been looking for an excuse to post a Polandball comic here. This is the perfect opportunity!

 whembly wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Kind of surprised they aren't secretly working on nukes...

Well... after the events in Crimea... would you blame them?

 Frazzled wrote:
Again nope. I'm thinking they might be.

I wonder if other countries will decide that giving up their nuclear deterrent is no longer in their interests

The thing that gets me is that Poland is allied with Germany...against Russia! Doesn't feel natural to somebody that's read a lot of eastern European history.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
The thing that gets me is that Poland is allied with Germany...against Russia! Doesn't feel natural to somebody that's read a lot of eastern European history.

Not sure which history books you are reading. The Germans, Russians and even the Western Allies fethed Poland pretty badly in WW2.

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Kind of surprised they aren't secretly working on nukes...

Well... after the events in Crimea... would you blame them?

 Frazzled wrote:
Again nope. I'm thinking they might be.

I wonder if other countries will decide that giving up their nuclear deterrent is no longer in their interests

Considering that the Ukraine did that in exchange for protection and that from the countries that were supposed to protect them, one was the one that invaded them and the others just shrugged, it would take some pretty dumb head of state to give up their nuclear arsenal after this fiasco...

 Iron_Captain wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
You underestimate their ingenuity. They build a nuke then put it on a catapult powered by methane gas. Then they get a metric ton of Polish sausage give it 10,000 football hooligans and....well you get the idea.

No one expects the Polish Catapult!

I have been looking for an excuse to post a Polandball comic here. This is the perfect opportunity!

Why is Poland a pokeball?

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
The thing that gets me is that Poland is allied with Germany...against Russia! Doesn't feel natural to somebody that's read a lot of eastern European history.

My enemy's enemy is my friend. Today.

PhantomViper wrote:
Considering that the Ukraine did that in exchange for protection and that from the countries that were supposed to protect them, one was the one that invaded them and the others just shrugged, it would take some pretty dumb head of state to give up their nuclear arsenal after this fiasco...

I remember the usual useful idiots bleating that US foreign policy was telling countries to stockpile chemical/nuclear weapons to prevent invasion. Russia's actions seem to have robbed them of their voice.

Considering that the Ukraine did that in exchange for protection and that from the countries that were supposed to protect them, one was the one that invaded them and the others just shrugged, it would take some pretty dumb head of state to give up their nuclear arsenal after this fiasco...

Have you seen what is going on in the Ukraine? I'm pretty happy they don't have nukes. That is one unstable country right now.

NATO now has Ukraine.....and all the headaches, problems and financial responsibility that comes with supporting a country in complete chaos in almost every respect.

Russia got Crimea, and all the "problems" that come from a population that actively wants them there.

Russia 10, NATO -200

What long term effects this will have on the Russian and Global economy is really the biggest issue. Russia is in a pretty strong position, but we will just have to see how much effect NATO countries isolating Russia will have. Russia's Economy is based on Energy and Natural Resources, something the world really needs right now.

Seems Chaos that Poland going to "Catch Them All" again?

PhantomViper wrote:Considering that the Ukraine did that in exchange for protection and that from the countries that were supposed to protect them, one was the one that invaded them and the others just shrugged, it would take some pretty dumb head of state to give up their nuclear arsenal after this fiasco...

To be fair, it's not as if Ukraine had a real choice in the matter. Newborn Russia was always going to evacuate its nukes from newborn Ukraine, and those protection guarantees she got were a gesture, nothing more.

Dreadclaw69 wrote:My enemy's enemy is my friend. Today.

You would need to find some very, let's say, special people if you wanted to see Germans or Polish who actually thought of their neighbors as "enemies" in any sense of the word.

Andrew1975 wrote:Russia is in a pretty strong position, but we will just have to see how much effect NATO countries isolating Russia will have. Russia's Economy is based on Energy and Natural Resources, something the world really needs right now.

What isolation? For the forseeable future, Europe is dependent on Russian gas and can not risk any meaningful sanctions. And that's the end of the story; you can't isolate a country if its most important trade partner is not aboard.

Putin won, and can continue to win as long as he wants, because he knows that a) nobody will go to a war that could become a nuclear one for Ukraine, and b) Europe will not dare to hurt Russia economically, because the repercussions would topple all the involved European governments in the end, and leaders tend to like staying in power.

All this huffing and puffing of NATO, the EU, etc. was nothing but embarrassing mummery from the beginning.

That's what I was saying, Russia is in a very comfortable position. There is a lot of bluster about economic sanctions, but I don't really see that hurting Russia very much.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Why is Poland a pokeball?

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/polandball