It's good to admit it and change tack when you are wrong. Most people are wrong about absolutely everything, almost all the time, but will do anything to avoid admitting it
Today the talk of the need of an EU army. Hmm... but Putin's the bad boy. Not sure why they need an EU army, I thought that's what they had NATO for and its bombs of peace.
Tbf why not. Create an EU army and let them deal with it and if we're out of the EU wtf do we care? I'd rather that than NATO and the U.S. leading it with us tagging along like lapdogs.
Putin will go ape shhite, he'll say you are trying to put an alternative army in via the back door, but at his front door.
He'll just turn the gas off. And that'll be the end of that. Tbh Germany wouldn't want any EU army getting into a conflict with Russia.
The NATO/EU rhetoric indicates to me the shhites are using propoganda to do what they want, ie a collective defense, it just feels like, they were looking for an excuse to put their armies in the Ukraine, regardless of what the Ukranian population actually wanted. Putin starts getting a bit jittery so lumps his army at the front door of the Ukraine. When in my eyes, Putin is right, I can see what NATO or the EU or more likely both are trying to do, even words such as the 'new normal' - it's a case of let's keep pointing the finger at Putin, then the European people (inc UK) will accept the changes we want to make. I feel we are as much the bullies here, as akin with Putin's persona. Even the media question at NATO has asked, are you trying to antagonise Putin? I'll answer that, yes they are.
He'd piss himself laughing at the thought of an EU army, with or without UK participation. He's worried about NATO because NATO is basically the yanks plus various tag-alongs. Do you know how much the yanks spend on "defence" every year? No, nor do I, but it's a lot. Probably more than the entire world has spunked on Covid measures.
I think it's like Trebs said, would Germany even go along with it. As Putin pointed out to the Germans the other day, do you really want to pay 5 times more for your gas. It was like slapping them on to the naughty step.
No, but I do know as recently as three or four years ago the US spent almost 50% of the world's military spending... I think it's dropped a little since then... But for every $2 spent on military in the world the US spends a little under $1 of that. It's absurd. That said, the US isn't the most efficient with their spending, so it's not like they have anywhere near 50% of the world's total military capability. On the other topic of EU army, that could only work with even greater unification and could probably push some states out of the union. Neither France nor Germany have militaries to be sneezed at. Nothing compared to Russia, even combined (Russia has almost as much just on the Ukraine border as they have total combined), but they offer enough of a deterrence that Russia wouldn't want to go to war with them if they could avoid it. In a war with the EU (no US and assuming no one uses nukes) Russia would want to win the war quickly. They have more current capability... But if the war dragged on the balance of favour would go to the EU as they have great economic and industrial capacity. Same with the US. Russia would stand less of a chance the longer the war lasted. And of course, no one, not even the US would stand a chance at a long term war against China. Any war against them would have to be completed quickly or would be lost.
He's got leverage, and he knows how to use it. Germany wants her cheap gas (as does Italy), the City of London wants to keep washing the oligarchs dirty dosh. And literally no one, least of all Uncle Sam, gives a **** about Ukraine. I doubt any US president in the last 20 years could point to it on a map. Bit tough on Ukraine being a pawn in all this, but they need to accept that joining NATO is out of the question imo., and find a better way of doing business with the Russian bear. Because them's the breaks.
Quite worrying that Starmer is saying we aren't tough enough with Russia and he is pushing for us to place harsher sanctions on them.
Could be completely wrong but I don't see a war happening. Think they'll come up with some half arsed compromise, then the US, Ukraine, Russia, UK and the EU will all claim credit for standing their ground and preventing the growth of NATO/Russian aggression (delete as applicable) when in fact they will just be pushing the problem just a bit further down the line. Don't think the West want war with Russia and visa versa but they all wanna appear Billy big bollocks. As oil and gas prices rise these things will probably occur more regularly.
You're worried about that are you? I'm not. I think he's actually pushing to clean up some of the funny money sloshing about the City of London, which seems reasonable enough. Of course, many of Boris' pals will have their snouts in that trough, so don't hold your breath.
Yeah. I'd rather we kept our noses out tbh. I'm pissed off with the way Boris is handling it. Clearly Starmer would be worse with **** like this. I'm not against Starmer btw, the more I see of him I can tell he's close to centre. No wonder the unions want shot of him. If the GE was tomorrow, I'd vote for him.
Keir is an Arsenal supporter, so my conclusion of his words would be helping Chelsea go under, especially as they were built on Russian money. Not that I'm looking for any bites here like. Which reminds me, isn't Archers an Arsenal supporter, sort of like second team, ah starting to see a pattern here now.
