Wars & Rumours of Wars

nivek

As Above So Below

Putin says he is ready for a ceasefire 'tomorrow' if Ukraine pulls out of four regions seized by Russian forces and abandons plans to join NATO - after warning the world has reached 'point of no return'

Vladimir Putin has announced he will call a ceasefire and immediately enter peace talks if Ukraine is willing to pull back its troops from four regions occupied by Russian forces and give up plans to make a NATO membership bid.

'We will (call a ceasefire) immediately,' Putin said in a speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry this morning, adding his proposal is aimed at a 'final resolution' of the conflict and that the Kremlin is 'ready to start negotiations without delay'.

But the declaration, which comes on the eve of a two-day conference in Switzerland dedicated to building a 'road map' to peace in Ukraine, is seen as a non-starter in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky has routinely refused to consider a deal that would see Ukrainian land surrendered to Moscow.

His aide Mykhailo Podolyak said of Putin's peace proposal: 'It's all a complete sham. Therefore - once again - get rid of illusions and stop taking seriously the ''proposals of Russia'' that are offensive to common sense.'

But Putin's troops currently control a significant amount of Donetsk and Luhansk, and in September 2022 Moscow unilaterally declared it had annexed those two regions well as parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Putin's forces are also making gains across the border in the north-eastern region of Kharkiv - though his troops previously abandoned large swathes of territory in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia following Ukrainian counterattacks.

In the same speech this morning, the Russian president engaged in yet more sabre-rattling, claiming Western leaders are pushing him towards 'the point of no return' over a nuclear World War Three.

'We have come unacceptably close to the point of no return... Calls to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, which possesses the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons demonstrate the extreme recklessness of Western politicians,' Putin declared.

'They either do not understand the scale of the threat they are creating - or are simply obsessed with their own sense of impunity and exceptionalism.

'Both can lead to tragedy,' he concluded sternly.


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pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
They're making hay of the Cuba visits I but read that Guantanamo a routine stop for subs before heading out to sea and Helena's visit has been scheduled for some time. The Russians stated publicly in advance they carry no nuclear weapons.

I think all the commies proved is that four of their vessels are actually capable of the voyage. Not all are.
 
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J Randall Murphy

Trying To Stay Awake
I agree with Stoltenberg. Russia is the invader and they should not only pack up and go home — but make reparations. Unfortunately we know that's not going to happen. Putin is using a more drawn-out version of the same strategy he used to reintegrate Chechnya, and he's not likely to give-in. At the same time, I don't think it's the rest of the world's job to fight Ukraine's war. I really don't like all the rumblings about re-instituting the draft.
 

J Randall Murphy

Trying To Stay Awake

UN-backed commission accuses Israel and Palestinian groups of war crimes​

But Israel also fares far worse in the report.


 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
American Indians were literally forced to accept fait accompli. Took time and quite a lot of genocide but there you have it.

King Ibn Saud told FDR for they could not accept Israelis and have not changed their position a whit in the 79 years since and I seriously doubt they ever will. At that time and place in history I can understand how this situation came to pass and I can understand both positions in this. I sincerely doubt there is a peaceful solution at this point.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
New 'Nostradamus' predicts exact date of World War 3. Who is he? Know about 'real' Nostradamus and his prophesies


** I am having some trouble pasting this in. Interesting ten second read if you follow the link

New 'Nostradamus' predicts exact date of World War 3. Who is he? Know about 'real' Nostradamus and his prophesies

23 May, 2024

Synopsis
Kushal Kumar is an Indian astrologer who claims to have predicted some world events. He uses the Vedic astrological chart to do so. The Vedic astrological chart is popular in Hindu culture, and it is supposed to be a “map of our karma” using planetary and star alignment.

New 'Nostradamus' predicts exact date of World War 3. Who is he? Know about 'real' Nostradamus and his prophesies

At a time when the Russia- Ukraine War is escalating and there is no let up in Israel -Hamas War in the Gaza Strip, an Indian astrologer dubbed as 'new Nostradamus' has predicted the 'exact date' of the beginning of World War III. According to 'The Daily Star', Kushal Kumar has said that "June 18, 2024, has the strongest planetary stimulus to trigger World War 3 although June 10 and 29 may have a say as well."

Who is Kushal Kumar?​

Kushal Kumar is an Indian astrologer who claims to have predicted some world events. He uses the Vedic astrological chart to do so. The Vedic astrological chart is popular in Hindu culture, and it is supposed to be a “map of our karma” using planetary and star alignment. He earlier predicted that tension would escalate between Israel and Hamas, China and Taiwan, Russia and NATO.
 

J Randall Murphy

Trying To Stay Awake
American Indians were literally forced to accept fait accompli. Took time and quite a lot of genocide but there you have it.

King Ibn Saud told FDR for they could not accept Israelis and have not changed their position a whit in the 79 years since and I seriously doubt they ever will. At that time and place in history I can understand how this situation came to pass and I can understand both positions in this. I sincerely doubt there is a peaceful solution at this point.
I think there's always a peaceful solution — it's called peace ( as in just stop the violence ). That said, a peaceful solution isn't always an agreeable solution, and the line between peace and violence can get really blurry sometimes. Is building a wall that prevents people from returning home non-violent? Is blockading the necessities of life from getting to people behind that wall violence? Certainly there are no easy solutions — but I can't help but think that there are better solutions than the current state of affairs.
 

Dejan Corovic

As above, so bellow
IMO there is a real problem with the idea that someone besides you can vote on whether or not you as an individual must join a military that can order you to go off to kill or be killed in some stupid war. That is not freedom. It's tyranny.

There should be no wars. Period.

Wars are monkey business. That's genes we inherited from chimpanzees.

We have a wrong concept of hero. Hero is not somebody who kills or gets killed for his nation. Hero is somebody who creates jobs that feed families and increase opportunities that nation has.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Ada Sagi: I don't believe in peace now, Hamas hostage survivor, 75, tells BBC

'I don't believe in peace now,' released Gaza hostage tells BBC​

4 hours ago
By Hafsa Khalil, BBC News

An Israeli peace activist who was seized from her home on 7 October and held hostage for 53 days in Gaza has told the BBC how her ordeal destroyed her belief that peace is possible between Palestinians and Israelis.

In her first UK interview since being freed in November, Ada Sagi, 75, also told Emma Barnett on Radio 4's Today programme how she was held in an apartment by paid guards, that Hamas kept her in a hospital before her release - and that she now believes the world hates Jews.

"I don't believe in peace, I don't sorry," the Arabic and Hebrew teacher said. "I understand Hamas don't want it."
Ms Sagi lived for decades in the Nir Oz kibbutz near the Israel-Gaza border, trying to help reconciliation efforts by teaching Israelis Arabic to speak to their neighbours.

In the autumn of 2023, she was planning to come to London to visit her son Noam and celebrate her birthday.
But all that changed when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza, Ms Sagi among them.

Ada, who turned 75 while held hostage by those she describes as “Hamas terrorists”, was finally freed 53 days later.
EPA Ada Sagi after her release
EPA
Ada Sagi was released in November after 53 days in captivity in Gaza

It has taken six months for the life-long peace activist to be ready to talk to the British media about her experience and her views of those who took her freedom, her home and her belief in peace.

She is aware of the 116 hostages still left behind, 41 of whom Israel says are presumed dead, and is urging the Israeli government to agree a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

"Israel have to do the deal... bring back home all these hostages who [are] alive and also dead," she says.
Ms Sagi describes how, when she was first taken into Gaza, she and some other hostages were hidden in a family home with children, but the following day taken to an apartment in the southern city of Khan Younis because it was "dangerous".

The apartment owner, Ms Sagi said, told them his wife and children had been sent to stay with his in-laws. The man, she added, was a nurse.

She said students were being paid to watch over them. "I heard them say... 70 shekels [£14.82; $18.83] for a day," she said.
"It's a lot of money in Gaza because they have no work. And if you have work not with Hamas, it's no more than 20 shekels for a day," she said.

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0:51
Hamas paying Gazans to house Israeli captives, says released hostage
Ms Sagi was among 105 hostages released in November in return for a week-long ceasefire and some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
She described the terrible uncertainty of the run up to her release on the fifth day of the deal along with nine other Israelis and two Thais.
"Every knocking on the door you think there is somebody coming to take you," she said.

When the hostages heard there was a deal and that the older women would be released, she said one of the women eventually freed with her was "terrified" she might have been too young to be included.

"But our housekeeper said: ‘No. You came together, you go together,’" she explained
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67477240
On day 49 - a Friday - Ms Sagi said they were told: "You are going home", which she didn't believe.
"At lunchtime, they gave us food... they take us by car to Khan Younis and we go [un]til the border of Rafah [on the border with Egypt]."
But something had gone wrong and they had to return to Khan Younis.

"We are told they are releasing women with children, [and you feel] all the happiness that you are going to be released, and [then] something goes wrong," she said.

When they got into the city, Ms Sagi said, they were taken to a hospital - which she believes was southern Gaza's main hospital, Nasser - and told: "You are staying here."

Ms Sagi said: "People say that they are not involved. They're involved... and getting money for each of us."
Testimony from a number of other released hostages places 10 hostages in total at Nasser hospital, one of whom remains in captivity.
When asked by the BBC to comment on Ms Sagi’s allegations, the hospital's director, Dr Atef al-Hoot, denied that any hostages were kept there and said it only provided humanitarian services.

The Israeli military has previously said its troops detained "about 200 terrorists who were in the hospital" during a raid on Nasser hospital in February, and that they found ammunition as well as unused medicines intended for Israeli hostages.

Hamas has denied Israeli claims that its fighters have been operating inside Nasser and other hospitals across Gaza.
Reuters Ada Sagi (R) and her son Noam Sagi (L)


Reuters

Ada Sagi and her son Noam had hoped to celebrate her 75th birthday in London before she was kidnapped

Ms Sagi said she and the other residents of Nir Oz who survived the 7 October attacks were now living in apartments in the city of Kiryat Gat.

She is writing a book and working with children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “It’s made me feel good that I can help other people,” she said.

She is also keen to continue talking about her ordeal, despite the strong emotions it brings up.

"I lost my home. I lost my freedom - the whole place that I [have] to go back. Our village - kibbutz - is destroyed," she said.
“I cried good. I'm not ‘iron woman’, like everybody says. Sometimes you cry and it's good. My mother would say: ‘To cry, it cleans the eye.’”
 

nivek

As Above So Below

Russia warns Biden of retaliation after Kremlin blamed America for attack that killed beachgoers

The Kremlin has accused the U.S. of 'killing Russian children' after a Ukrainian attack on occupied Crimea with long-range missiles supplied by Washington and said there will be 'consequences'.

Moscow has summoned the U.S. ambassador to issue a formal warning, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued a public statement slamming the U.S. for 'barbaric' strike on Sevastopol, a strategic port city on the Black Sea.

'The involvement of the United States, the direct involvement, as a result of which Russian civilians are killed, cannot be without consequences,' said Peskov.

'Time will tell what these will be.'

'You should ask my colleagues in Europe, and above all in Washington, the press secretaries, why their governments are killing Russian children. Just ask them this question.' the spokesman for Vladimir Putin said.

After the Sevastopol strike, Russia accused the U.S. of 'waging a hybrid war against Russia' and of becoming 'a party to the conflict.'

Russia also told U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy the attack would 'not go unpunished. Retaliatory measures will definitely follow.'


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nivek

As Above So Below

North Korea 'will send military personnel to Ukraine within a month' to boost Putin's forces - as Pyongyang warns of a 'new world war' after US aircraft carrier's arrival in the South

North Korea has pledged to send military personnel to Ukraine within a month to support Putin's war-weary forces as both sides struggle to make a decisive breakthrough.

Pyongyang will take an unprecedented step in sending construction and engineering forces to occupied territories of Ukraine as early as July to assist in rebuilding work, South Korea's TV Chosun reported earlier, citing a government official.

The rare vow of foreign support follows president Vladimir Putin's official state visit to North Korea earlier this month - the first in almost a quarter of a century - which culminated in the signing of a so-called defence pact on June 19.

The treaty binds its signatories to providing 'military and other assistance with all means in its possession without delay' should either find itself 'put in a state of war by an armed invasion'.

North Korea is believed to have already supplied Russia with about 1.6mn artillery shells between August and January as Moscow continues to hammer populated areas of Ukraine and tries to make decisive gains in the north.

As polarisation hardens, Pyongyang officials criticised the United States on Monday for its expanding military assistance to Ukraine and dispatch of an aircraft carrier to South Korea, warning it could provoke a 'new world war', according to state media.


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nivek

As Above So Below
So, then why are we giving them money and arms?...

...

Ukraine is too CORRUPT to join NATO, US says, in major blow to Zelensky… and boost for Putin

Ukraine is too corrupt to join NATO, the US is set to tell leader Volodymyr Zelensky in a major blow to his nation's security ambitions.

The defence bloc will request at its annual summit next week, in Washington DC, that Ukraine takes 'additional steps before formal membership talks progress', a senior US official told the Telegraph.

Zelensky has been pushing for NATO ascension after Russia's brutal invasion ends to protect itself from future invasion, as the pact compels its members to militarily defend allies if they are attacked.

But corruption, among other issues, has been a major thorn in the Ukrainian leader's side, blocking further relations with the West from developing.

In 2022, after Ukraine formally applied for EU ascension, the EU Commission wrote of Ukraine that while 'preventing and combating corruption has been particularly high on the Ukrainian reform agenda since the Revolution of Dignity' in 2014, 'corruption remains a serious challenge.'


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