North Korea and Nuclear warning

[Alex]

I agree.  The noggers in the woodpile are the Hamas terrorists.

 Having said that, I have read reports that the ordinary people of Gaza seem to like the terrorists. Who knows?
Yes, I agree that terrorists, whoever they are and wherever they are, need to be removed permanently.

Yes JB those 'thugs' pulling and punching Israeli women taken to Gaza on October 7th weren't ALL Hamas.  Other groups joined Hamas, some hard-line Islamist groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but ordinary Palestinians in the streets joined in too, as we all saw from the videos.

[Mups]

His son is even taller Mups !  6' 7"

Blimey.  I'd be talking to his belly button if I stood in front of him. 

[JBR]

Yes JB those 'thugs' pulling and punching Israeli women taken to Gaza on October 7th weren't ALL Hamas.  Other groups joined Hamas, some hard-line Islamist groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but ordinary Palestinians in the streets joined in too, as we all saw from the videos.

Thank you.  Yes, they all need sorting out, and one day...

[klondike]

I think there is more danger in the Russia and Belarus nuclear pact TBH.

[Vlad]

It costs billions upon billions of rubles for Russia to maintain and update its nuclear arsensal.
A large portion of that budget is diverted  to run its war in the Ukraine.
There is a school of thought that quite a number of the land launched nuclear missiles will not even leave its launchers, and those that do will not hit their target due to computer navigational equipment failure or even not detonating.
Its nuclear submarine fleet is in the same predicament, a lack of funds to maintain its submarines and missiles.
I suspect that Belarus is in a similar or even a worst predicament.

[JBR]

It costs billions upon billions of rubles for Russia to maintain and update its nuclear arsensal.
A large portion of that budget is diverted  to run its war in the Ukraine.
There is a school of thought that quite a number of the land launched nuclear missiles will not even leave its launchers, and those that do will not hit their target due to computer navigational equipment failure or even not detonating.
Its nuclear submarine fleet is in the same predicament, a lack of funds to maintain its submarines and missiles.
I suspect that Belarus is in a similar or even a worst predicament.

A very logical and likely situation.  War costs money, and Russia's chests are not infinitely deep.

[Vlad]

A very logical and likely situation.  War costs money, and Russia's chests are not infinitely deep.

Along with sanctions money must be very short now.

[klondike]

A large portion of that budget is diverted  to run its war in the Ukraine.

An even larger portion gets converted into posh apartments, limos and yachts for corrupt high ups in the military.

The US spends more on maintaining its nukes than the entire Russian military spend. IMO they will not dare using them. To be successful you can't send a single nuke or even just a few. You need to wipe out all the enemy launch sites before they can be used. As soon as one is incoming there is every change that the full western arsenal will be on its way back and those will have been maintained. Putin may be desperate but surely not that desperate. If he is then there is going to be a whole lot of land turned glass in Russia.

[JBR]

An even larger portion gets converted into posh apartments, limos and yachts for corrupt high ups in the military.

The US spends more on maintaining its nukes than the entire Russian military spend. IMO they will not dare using them. To be successful you can't send a single nuke or even just a few. You need to wipe out all the enemy launch sites before they can be used. As soon as one is incoming there is every change that the full western arsenal will be on its way back and those will have been maintained. Putin may be desperate but surely not that desperate. If he is then there is going to be a whole lot of land turned glass in Russia.

Yes, and I'm sure that Putin knows that, which is why he's agree to talks with Trumpy.

[Vlad]

I would have thought that the President of the invaded country would also be involved before they carve up his country 

[JBR]

I would have thought that the President of the invaded country would also be involved before they carve up his country

And so he should.
The world is watching, and I'm sure that Trump, Putin and all of the Ukrainian leaders are aware of that.  However, on the other hand, Trump and Putin are the ones who could make all the difference.

[Cassandra]

They are both following the accords of 'The Minsk Agreement of 2014', which the Ukrainian leaders signed and have since chosen to ignore. Kiev was once the capital of Russia. Upon the establishment of the USSR in 1917 following the Revoloution of the same year, it was decided that Kiev as a centre would administer the regions, now under dispute.  Russia wants her territories that were administered from Kiev in the Communist years (1917 - 1999) returned to The Russian Federation following Ukraine's decision to seccede, post Gorbachov. Walensky wants to hang on to these areas, which were never part of The Ukraine. Unfortunately the other side of the story is never told as it is by the Western media.

[Vlad]

Walensky?

[klondike]

I suspect a non deliberate typo.

[Vlad]

Ahhhh, thanks