Frosted Flake posted:

There are rumours, I'd rate this pretty low in terms of veracity or probability, that the Brits are lobbying to send NATO into Western Ukraine - a bit like Pristina Airport - to block Lwow and Odessa and create backstop for a Ukrainian rump state.

Frosted Flake posted:

I think there's a huge difference between the Soviet Union and Russian Federation here, insofar as I don't think the Soviets would spend so much time loving around trying not to mobilize or spook NATO.

There are rumours, I'd rate this pretty low in terms of veracity or probability, that the Brits are lobbying to send NATO into Western Ukraine - a bit like Pristina Airport - to block Lwow and Odessa and create backstop for a Ukrainian rump state.

gradenko_2000 posted:

started on a new book today, "The Pacific War and Contingent Victory: Why Japanese Defeat was not Inevitable", by Michael W. Myers, and thought this bit was tangentially related to the current discussion

gradenko_2000 posted:

(I'm also trying something new with the highlighting but idk if that looks better or worse than what I usually do)

EDIT: this is what the last segment would look like if I did it the old way

gradenko_2000 posted:

started on a new book today, "The Pacific War and Contingent Victory: Why Japanese Defeat was not Inevitable", by Michael W. Myers, and thought this bit was tangentially related to the current discussion





(I'm also trying something new with the highlighting but idk if that looks better or worse than what I usually do)

EDIT: this is what the last segment would look like if I did it the old way

fits my needs posted:

new way grays out the text, old way keeps it the same color and easier to read imo

BrotherJayne posted:

I think the old is easier to read tbh

Cerebral Bore posted:

also the old highlights look better imo

BrotherJayne posted:

I think the old is easier to read tbh

fits my needs posted:

new way grays out the text, old way keeps it the same color and easier to read imo

Comrade Koba posted:

quote:

Russia, China and Iran could target UK via Irish ‘backdoor’, thinktank warns

Britain faces a “backdoor” threat to its security from a Russian, Chinese and Iranian presence in the Republic of Ireland, according to a report by an influential thinktank that accuses Dublin of “freeloading” when it comes to European defence.

The UK should also expand its air and naval presence in Northern Ireland, to counter a growing Russian threat on the UK’s western flank, according to the Policy Exchange report, which is backed by two former defence secretaries, Michael Fallon and George Robertson.

The UK and Ireland are at risk from an “acute maritime menace” posed by a Russian doctrine of targeting undersea networks and pipelines and the presence of Russian warships, they say in a foreword to the paper.

Concerns about Russian intelligence operations in Ireland and its vulnerability to cyber-attack are also highlighted in the report, which cites what it describes as an “inordinately large Russian diplomatic outfit in Dublin”.

The embassy had 30 members of staff in 2022, which was more than many other European states with which Russia had closer ties at the time.

Other evidence cited included Russian attempts to expand the embassy significantly, a move blocked in 2020 when the Irish government revoked planning permission on the grounds it was “likely to be harmful to the security and defence of the state”.

China is another significant concern due to its rapid technological advancements and global influence.

Meanwhile Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, has said Iran stands out as the state that “most frequently crosses into terrorism”. UK authorities uncovered at least 10 potential threats last year related to kidnapping or harming UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the Iranian regime.

It was an “unavoidable fact” that Ireland had “freeloaded” off the investment of others who were part of Nato, said the report, which added that this “home truth” had been admitted last year by the then taoiseach, Micheál Martin, as a discussion about Irish neutrality deepened.

Discussions about neutrality among Ireland’s political classes have sharpened in the era of Russian aggression under Vladimir Putin, the arrival of Ukrainian refugees, incursions by Russian ships that are suspected of mapping underwater cables, and a 2021 ransomware attack by suspected Russian gangs on the health service.

Ireland’s president has rebuked the government for launching a debate about the country’s longstanding military neutrality and the possibility of joining Nato, saying ministers were “playing with fire”.

The report tried to sound an alarm bell about the consequences of Sinn Féin winning Irish elections in 2025.

“If Sinn Féin wins in 2025, the UK is therefore looking at many more years of an uncooperative, and likely hostile, neighbour in the face of growing external threats,” it said. While Sinn Féin had been on the rise in the Republic and now holds the post of first minister in Northern Ireland, it has slumped in polls south of the border.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/04/russia-china-iran-could-target-uk-irish-backdoor-thinktank-warns

quote:

A new report by Policy Exchange today reveals that schools are increasingly becoming influenced by gender ideology, to the extent that fundamental safeguarding principles are being compromised by school’s approaches to children with gender distress and their peers.

New research within this report demonstrates that many schools are failing to routinely inform parents when a child discloses gender distress, compromising single-sex spaces, and many are teaching gender identity beliefs within Relationships, Sex & Health Education (RSHE) as if they are facts. Gender affirmative care is prevalent within the school system, despite this being at odds with safeguarding principles that have been enshrined in law for decades.

The report also highlights how gender identity beliefs came to be so embedded within the school system, by tracking the influence of external agencies promoting radical and unscientific beliefs within both the Department for Education and schools themselves. This has created a safeguarding blind spot when it comes to the issue of gender, which must be rectified urgently.
https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/asleep-at-the-wheel/

quote:

Policy Exchange issues a call for evidence asking people to share their experiences and concerns about the ways in which gender identity theory is being adopted in the public sphere, sending their evidence to callforevidence@policyexchange.org.uk

This might include:

Examples of where women’s rights, the rights of LGB people, and children’s rights are at risk of being undermined by the adoption of gender identity theory.
Examples of where organisations and public sector services have introduced de facto self-identification and have developed policies based on gender identity theory.
https://mailchi.mp/policyexchange/policyexchange-1990444?e=%5BUNIQID%5D

quote:

A new paper published by Policy Exchange’s Liveable London and Crime and Justice Units shine a light on the continued erosion of disabled access to Parliament and Westminster and calls for urgent intervention.

The landmark new report from Policy Exchange documents the erosion of disabled access to Parliament and Westminster, with the effects of e-bikes, protests and crime and anti-social behaviour highlighted as particularly harmful to those working in Westminster and visiting the area from across the world.

The report is highly critical of the inaction by authorities including the Metropolitan Police, the Westminster City Council and Parliamentary Authorities. Policy Exchange urges the authorities responsible to take urgent action to rectify the issues which the report raises.

Three case studies by Parliamentarians who have personal experience of this challenge reveal the daily struggle of disabled people in Westminster.
https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/a-culture-of-impunity/

Slavvy posted:

Impressive hubris

fits my needs posted:

https://x.com/washingtonpost/status/1754948102690148609?s=20

lol

Nothus posted:

Soo, a tripwire?

Owlbear Camus posted:

England worried Ireland not painting the UK's fence very well.

"It's great fun," said a Minister of Enclosure representative. "The paint isn't all that costly."

fits my needs posted:

https://x.com/washingtonpost/status/1754948102690148609?s=20

lol

JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:

probably not even possible

FirstnameLastname posted:

reminder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbSGp4WIBsQ

The Oldest Man posted:

drat its weird how that country we colonized and depopulated for like a thousand years doesnt want to get on Team England with us, must be The Hand of Putin again

Orange Devil posted:

The best part is the indication that since Ol' Blighty might be vulnerable through "The Irish Backdoor" they really ought to Do Something to take care of their legitimate security concerns in their own backyard. Maybe install a friendly government? Maybe occupy the place? Who knows? But we already know for certain whatever it is it will all be out of self-defense.

Gotta love that imperial logic at work.



Remember how we were told countries ought to be free to sign treaties with whomever they want? Wanna take a guess at the response if Ireland were to, say, invite China or Russia to establish a naval base in Ireland?

Orange Devil posted:

The best part is the indication that since Ol' Blighty might be vulnerable through "The Irish Backdoor" they really ought to Do Something to take care of their legitimate security concerns in their own backyard. Maybe install a friendly government? Maybe occupy the place? Who knows? But we already know for certain whatever it is it will all be out of self-defense.

Gotta love that imperial logic at work.



Remember how we were told countries ought to be free to sign treaties with whomever they want? Wanna take a guess at the response if Ireland were to, say, invite China or Russia to establish a naval base in Ireland?

Regarde Aduck posted:

feels like a lot of people are setting themselves up for disappointment

JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:

i dunno what air defenses a fire base like that would have outside of patriots (there must be something) but it doesn't seem too economical to have something like that at every loving outpost in the empire

probably not even possible

i read something else about that attack a few days ago that the attacking drone essentially followed a us reconnaissance drone back to near the base, so it went undetected that way. dunno how true that might be

e: I see that is referenced in the wapo article

Regarde Aduck posted:

feels like a lot of people are setting themselves up for disappointment

TeenageArchipelago posted:

Neoliberalism is finally ending the "French" part of the French Revolution. The death of nationalism in the imperial core is coinciding with the beginning of climate doom and a general destabilization due to huge increases in access to information. Going to own

fits my needs posted:

https://x.com/washingtonpost/status/1754948102690148609?s=20

lol

fits my needs posted:

https://x.com/washingtonpost/status/1754948102690148609?s=20

lol

Cao Ni Ma posted:

Original story was like "Actually they cleverly hid their suicide drone behind the US drone so they didnt know how to respond" and now its "Actually they couldn't have stopped it even if they had tried"

skooma512 posted:

haha. lol lmao.

I'm so getting sent to an internment camp when they learn nothing from this and start a war with China and take huge losses.

"We got our poo poo rocked by drones and decided to just keep embezzling money in wunderwaffe instead of basic air defense, time to have a genocide about it"

DancingShade posted:

The interment camps will all be sold off to build luxury condos.

The Oldest Man posted:

drat its weird how that country we colonized and depopulated for like a thousand years doesnt want to get on Team England with us, must be The Hand of Putin again