Boris fronts the global agenda again

[B0ycey]

It was, however the centre if Kiev was just people going about their normal business.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxXh6vuTxcs

Well Biden and Johnson are polling shit at the moment so of course they want to play the Ukraine card. It gives them soundbites to detract from home affairs. It won't work though. I will still be talking about partygate until the clown walks I suspect. And Russia have explained this is training anyway. Besides, Russia aren't stupid. They have a Champions League final to host and their best mates China are running the Olympics. Only Johnson was stupid enough to fall for this and gave us a date that clearly is fucking wrong. If Russia are to invade Ukraine they will do it when China invade Taiwan. America can't fight on two fronts and they have a treaty with Taiwan and only offer sanctions for Ukraine it seems.

[papasmurf]

Wasn't today the day? BoJo said invasion was imminent and quoted the 16th as the day Russia was going to invade.

It was, however the centre if Kiev was just people going about their normal business.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxXh6vuTxcs

[B0ycey]

Just been watching a live broadcast on YouTube from Kiev. It just looked like business as usual.

Wasn't today the day? BoJo said invasion was imminent and quoted the 16th as the day Russia was going to invade. Of course we have heard it all before and so have Ukraine. And now Russia are retreating their training because it is clear this is more to do with confusing NATO than going into a costly war. I guess it's only the West who enter pointless conflicts I suspect.

[papasmurf]

Well that's half day closing nearly done and Vlad didn't creep upon them.

Just been watching a live broadcast on YouTube from Kiev. It just looked like business as usual. 

[cromwell]

Well that's half day closing nearly done and Vlad didn't creep upon them.

[Streetwalker]

Well , what do you think sanctions are?

A waste of time in the main , as Borky has alluded probably do us more harm than them 

 

[Sampanviking]

Are you sure about that?

https://tinyurl.com/89suatrh

Russian businesspeople and officials accused of corruption or links to the Kremlin own at least 150 properties worth £1.5bn, according to Transparency International. If those individuals were sanctioned, the economic use of their assets, including property, would be frozen. Sanctioned individuals would not be able to sell, rent or remortgage their property to free up capital.

Talk about loose language! Corruption or Links to the Kremlin. I have no doubt about them being corrupt, but what exactly is a "link to the Kremlin"?
Is there such a thing as a Billionaire that does not have "links" to numerous governments?
This is simply insinuation by use of near meaningless term.
I would suggest that these individuals have links to the Knesset which are far more significant than those to the Kremlin

[Borchester]

The estimated £11 Billion of Russian money legally  invested in the UK ,not to mention the many times that which passes through the UK's banks every year means yes they do have to take the clown seriously

Freezing or confiscating Russian money or the threat to will do more to end this circus than sitting at the other end of a table (like other leaders) that has two post codes .

The trouble is that if we froze the Russians money then all future tranches would go to Frankfurt or Paris, which the EU has been hankering after for yonks. And a lot of that money  is in British banks because the Russians don't trust their own ones, so they won't mind if it stays in London rather than Moscow.

Plus, wars aren't fought over money. They are fought because the various participants don't have the sense to stay out of it. As far as I can see the Russians see the Ukraine as being within its sphere of influence. The Ukrainians want the Russians to go fly a kite.Macron has an election to win and won't get involved in any foreign adventures unless he can help it. Ditto with Joe Biden who is probably dead anyway.

Which leaves us.

We don't want to fight but by Jingo if we do,
We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too,
We've fought the Bear before, and while we're Britons true,
The Russians shall not have Constantinople. 

I am not entirely sure about the second line, but should I be recalled to the colours, I can only hope that the fighting is over before haulms of the salad potatoes appear.

[Sampanviking]

Given the amount of money at stake in the hands of anti Putin Russians  maybe they are more likely to interfere with the Russian political system than ours  which they seem to like ?  (Just putting it out there )

Well , what do you think sanctions are?

[papasmurf]

Given that virtually all the London based Oligarchs are opponents of Putin,

Are you sure about that?

https://tinyurl.com/89suatrh

Russian businesspeople and officials accused of corruption or links to the Kremlin own at least 150 properties worth £1.5bn, according to Transparency International. If those individuals were sanctioned, the economic use of their assets, including property, would be frozen. Sanctioned individuals would not be able to sell, rent or remortgage their property to free up capital.

[Streetwalker]

Given that virtually all the London based Oligarchs are opponents of Putin, who mourn the good old days of Yeltsin when they could pillage the Russian people with impunity, no I don't see the empty threat of sanctions against them as bothering the Kremlin one little bit.

On an aside, we hear a lot about "concerns" that Russian Oligarchs and their money may try to interfere in the UK political system.
Well given the that the Oligarchs are anti Putin and that UK Russian relations are toxic, maybe that boat sailed a long tome ago, just not in the way it is generally thought.

Given the amount of money at stake in the hands of anti Putin Russians  maybe they are more likely to interfere with the Russian political system than ours  which they seem to like ?   (Just putting it out there ) 

[Sampanviking]

The estimated £11 Billion of Russian money legally  invested in the UK ,not to mention the many times that which passes through the UK's banks every year means yes they do have to take the clown seriously

Freezing or confiscating Russian money or the threat to will do more to end this circus than sitting at the other end of a table (like other leaders) that has two post codes .

Given that virtually all the London based Oligarchs are opponents of Putin, who mourn the good old days of Yeltsin when they could pillage the Russian people with impunity, no I don't see the empty threat of sanctions against them as bothering the Kremlin one little bit.

On an aside, we hear a lot about "concerns" that Russian Oligarchs and their money may try to interfere in the UK political system.
Well given the that the Oligarchs are anti Putin and that UK Russian relations are toxic, maybe that boat sailed a long tome ago, just not in the way it is generally thought.

[cromwell]

Not sure that the Russians see the placing of that money as a liability, they can not deal with. The investment works both ways ,it would hurt us as much or more if it dried up.  In fact ,after getting away with introducing lethal nerve agents to our streets on more than one occasion, without more than a murmur from our toothless leaders not sure they have any real regard for those leaders, in any circumstance.

Well that never happened it was in fact all cooked up by our security services,those Russians were innocent tourists or so it was said on here. 

Thats not my take Btw,I agree with you.

[Good old]

The estimated £11 Billion of Russian money legally  invested in the UK ,not to mention the many times that which passes through the UK's banks every year means yes they do have to take the clown seriously

Freezing or confiscating Russian money or the threat to will do more to end this circus than sitting at the other end of a table (like other leaders) that has two post codes .

Not sure that the Russians see the placing of that money as a liability, they can not deal with. The investment works both ways ,it would hurt us as much or more if it dried up.  In fact ,after getting away with introducing lethal nerve agents to our streets on more than one occasion, without more than a murmur from our toothless leaders not sure they have any real regard for those leaders, in any circumstance.

[papasmurf]

Freezing or confiscating Russian money or the threat to will do more to end this circus than sitting at the other end of a table (like other leaders) that has two post codes .

I can't see it happening it would cut off a supply of money to Tory party funds.