Jaydog wrote: ↑Wed Mar 05, 2025 5:44 pm
I agree. It was in jest obviously.
I knew you weren’t drinking over priced American wine
Yes, I knew were were just having a dig Jay
We actually make some pretty good wines here in British Columbia too. The industry has grown massively over the past 20 years.
There is a patch of the interior of BC that is actually the northern tip of the Sonoran desert - so very hot and dry in summer. Grow some really good "ox blood" like heavy reds
malcolmw wrote: ↑Wed Mar 05, 2025 6:49 pm
Yes, I knew were were just having a dig Jay
We actually make some pretty good wines here in British Columbia too. The industry has grown massively over the past 20 years.
There is a patch of the interior of BC that is actually the northern tip of the Sonoran desert - so very hot and dry in summer. Grow some really good "ox blood" like heavy reds
Ox blood? I’m thinking Northern Rhone Syrah then.
Used to buy Norman Hardie Chardonnay & Pinot Noir from The Wine Society. Wellington Ontario I think. So a very cold climate? Fantastic wines. However it turned out he was a perv who abused his staff and his wines were dropped.
I declare my love for Saint Daniel and I can shoehorn him in to any conversation.
An interesting article today giving some historic context to why Zelensky is not simply going to accept Trump's so-called ceasefire. When I read this, I marvel at his self control in that interview - how did he simply not get up and bitch-slap Vance?
Ukraine is in a far better position today than when war with Russia broke out in 2022
Mark MacKinnon Senior International Correspondent
If Donald Trump thinks Volodymyr Zelensky is out of cards now, he should have seen how the deck was stacked against the Ukrainian leader on the night of Feb. 24, 2022.
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was just hours old. The West had completely deserted Ukraine, pulling its military trainers and even its diplomats out of the country, expecting a rapid Russian conquest of Kyiv. Famously, many believed the war might be over in 72 hours.
Instead of folding, Mr. Zelensky and his inner circle stood outside the presidential administration building on Bankova Street in Kyiv to record a video that ricocheted around the world. “The President is here. We are all here,” Mr. Zelensky said, speaking into his mobile phone on that dimly lit night. “Our soldiers are here …. We defend our independence. That’s how it will go.”
The video fuelled what has been a remarkable military effort by Ukraine – always outmanned and outgunned, but still in control of the capital and 80 per cent of their country’s territory. Many Ukrainian soldiers later said that seeing Mr. Zelensky broadcasting his defiance from Bankova Street was the moment they started to believe they could indeed resist the invading Russian army.
Three years later, Mr. Zelensky doesn’t need Mr. Trump – who berated the Ukrainian leader in a stunning Feb. 28 clash in the Oval Office of the White House – to tell him that his cards aren’t good. He knows.
But they’re far better than they were that night on Bankova. The Trump administration may well be abandoning Ukraine – Mr. Trump this week suspended all military assistance to Ukraine – but Mr. Zelensky received promises from Europe and Canada to create a “coalition of the willing” to stand with Ukraine. If Ukraine wasn’t willing to surrender on Feb. 24, 2022, there’s no reason it should now, just because Mr. Trump wants to end the war as quickly as possible, and largely on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s terms.
On Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky also rolled out his own vision of a peace plan, beginning with an exchange of prisoners and an immediate end to air and sea attacks “if Russia will do the same.” Moscow’s reply came hours later when it launched another mass attack, 115 drones and four missiles, on Ukrainian cities.
While Ottawa, London and Brussels are ill-prepared to defend Kyiv without Washington’s help, Ukraine is still in a far better position than it was in 2022, when it stood alone.
The history goes back much further than that. What the West often forgets is that this war began not with the start of the full-scale invasion three years ago, but in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and launched a proxy war in Ukraine’s southeastern Donbas region.
Many Ukrainians would point further back in history, to Stalin’s forced famine of the 1930s – Canada now recognizes the Holodomor as an act of genocide – as proof of Russia’s historic desire to eliminate Ukraine and Ukrainian-ness.
In 2014, the West again did little to help, eventually forcing Ukraine to agree to a pair of ceasefires – very similar to what Mr. Trump is trying to push on Mr. Zelensky – that froze the front line but did nothing to address the underlying causes of the conflict. All the while, Mr. Putin, who has made it clear he doesn’t see Ukraine or Ukrainians as worthy of a state of their own, was laying the groundwork for his next, larger, invasion.
The Minsk agreements were so far from real peace that Ukrainians in 2019 voted out the president who had signed them, Petro Poroshenko (who is now being investigated for treason), and elected a TV comedian named Volodymyr Zelensky with a massive mandate to seek peace.
At the time, it was seen as Ukrainians tilting toward populism, a country tired of war (and corruption) electing a TV star with no political background to lead them out of a crisis.
And Mr. Zelensky tried to deliver. But after a single 2019 summit with Mr. Putin – presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron and then-German chancellor Angela Merkel – Mr. Zelensky, a Russian-speaking Ukrainian from a region of the country long seen as pro-Moscow, came away realizing that Mr. Putin wasn’t interested in a lasting peace deal.
This is the background behind Mr. Zelensky’s scowl as U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, who has never been to Ukraine, lectured him in the Oval Office about what was happening on the front line. (In truth, Ukrainian troops are losing ground along much of the 1,000-kilometre front, but have thus far prevented Russian forces from making any kind of strategic breakthrough.)
The most telling exchange came at the end of the argument, when an angry Mr. Trump told Mr. Zelensky that he needed to accept a ceasefire “so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed.”
“Of course, I want to stop the war,” Mr. Zelensky replied.
“But you’re saying you don’t want a ceasefire. I want a ceasefire,” Mr. Trump interjected.
Then came the moment of truth, where Mr. Zelensky made it clear that his people, his electorate, wouldn’t let him sign another Minsk-like ceasefire that made concessions to Russia, even if he wanted to agree. “Ask our people about a ceasefire, what they think,” Mr. Zelensky replied.
Ukrainians have been down the temporary solution road before. And they’ve also been forced to fight their larger neighbour alone, without U.S. help.
Given their history with Russia, Ukrainians and their President have chosen the latter course.
The whole thing is a mess, i am very concerned about the future of NATO and the Wests security going forward.
I am sure the War could have been avoided in the first place though, Putin picks on weakness but backs down against strength. If i had been in Bidens position, bearing in mind Ukraine want to join NATO and Russia do not want them to join. I would have said to Russia, as long as they do not invade, Ukraine would not been invited in, but the minute Russia did invade, Ukraine would be given a fast track into NATO with immediate effect and resolution 5 would be enforced. I dont think he would have done it then.
Used to buy Norman Hardie Chardonnay & Pinot Noir from The Wine Society. Wellington Ontario I think. So a very cold climate? Fantastic wines. However it turned out he was a perv who abused his staff and his wines were dropped.
Yes, almost rival the SA and Oz Shiraz, but not generally quite as good imo.
If your wine society can access some BC wines, give them a try. Black Hills wines are very good, but many others to choose from.
We lived in the Toronto area for 4 years and used to down to Niagara wine country a lot to play golf. Our favourite winery was Henry of Pelham in the St. Catharines area.
That area has a similar wine climate to Burgundy apparently. But lots of snow in winter?
BC wines are better - I think.
I'm sure not many folks here watched the traditional opposition rebuttal speech to the president's speech last night (I didn't).
But I was curious to know a bit more about the senator the Dem's chose to do this. It's a new senator - Elissa Slotkin from Michigan.
I found her speech reassuring - its refreshing to hear some logic in these times out of the US.
I'm not sure if I was American, I would vote Dem (in Trump's world I would of course, but then MAGA is not, imo, Republican - guys like John McCain or Ronnie Reagan were real Republicans and I'd likely have voted for them), but I think its worth looking at how the other side sees the current clusterF*** that is US "leadership".
Anyway - its too long to post fully here, but the full transcript of her 10-minute speech is at the bottom of this NPR link.
I urge everyone to give it a read.
Jimang wrote: ↑Wed Mar 05, 2025 7:26 pm
The whole thing is a mess, i am very concerned about the future of NATO and the Wests security going forward.
I am sure the War could have been avoided in the first place though, Putin picks on weakness but backs down against strength. If i had been in Bidens position, bearing in mind Ukraine want to join NATO and Russia do not want them to join. I would have said to Russia, as long as they do not invade, Ukraine would not been invited in, but the minute Russia did invade, Ukraine would be given a fast track into NATO with immediate effect and resolution 5 would be enforced. I dont think he would have done it then.
The problem is nobody will actually stare down Putin. As a trained KGB officer he is a master at manipulating situations and looking strong, when he in fact is not. Navalny is dead because he was showing Russians that Putin has weaknesses. That could not be tolerated, so he was eliminated - like anyone else who stands against Putin.
You are right - what should have been done is a fast-track of Ukraine's membership of both the EU and NATO. Some academics tremble when you mention that because they feel Putin would have unleashed his nuclear arsenal on the west. I very much doubt Ronald Reagan would have allowed Russia to invade Ukraine unresisted.
Just as Kennedy stared down the Russians with the Cuban missile crisis, the US and NATO could well have countered Russian troop build up on the Ukrainian border in January 2022 with troops and armament programs into Ukraine. There is some evidence that Putin would have stood down. Remember the West's response to that troop build up? It was weak and tepid beyond belief.
So Putin knew NATO was weak and the US divided (imo thanks to his own strategy to foster that division internally). So he invaded, knowing there was little risk of direct NATO intervention.
Putin - like Russian leaders before him - does not see Ukraine as a nation. He sees them as a Russian Republic, and has -again - masterfully convinced Russians of that In the absence of any counter narrative of course)
He knows full well that Trump can only see the world as a series of real-estate like deals. All he had to do was wait for Trump to get back into power and then sit back and watch his plan unfold - which is happening. Trump sees Ukraine as losing, so he will simply walk away to the perceived strength (Putin), all disguised by saying he just wants the war to end, yada, yada.
Trump is practicing Realpolitik which refers to a system of politics or principles based on practical considerations, rather than ideological or moral ones.
It emphasizes power, pragmatic decision-making, and achieving national interests, often at the expense of ethical ideals.
Realpolitik is typically associated with leaders who prioritize the stability and strength of their state over diplomatic or humanitarian concerns.
Trump says he will cut of aid and also military intelligence, which includes battlefield survalance, and the logistics for using american weapons, which compromises Ukraine's ability to defend itself.
Result,, Zelensky returns to the negotiations table and is willing to talk about a peace deal.
Realpolitik often relies on deceit, manipulation, and betrayal to achieve objectives, which can erode trust among nations and make future cooperation difficult.
Never confuse intellect with imagination.
Never let good taste stand in the way of style ~ big nosed Pseudo intellectual, sarky super hero, weirdly obsessed idiot stalker, boring smarmy w*nker, worst pollster, far right dimwit, and resident perspicacious comedian...OR IS HE
Never confuse intellect with imagination.
Never let good taste stand in the way of style ~ big nosed Pseudo intellectual, sarky super hero, weirdly obsessed idiot stalker, boring smarmy w*nker, worst pollster, far right dimwit, and resident perspicacious comedian...OR IS HE
BradWhite wrote: ↑Thu Mar 06, 2025 11:08 amWhoever Controls the Media, Controls the Mind.
Musk: His cars are crap though.
Do those pictures make you feel at home?
' "Football is about the people and the players,” he said. “Then there are those who will mingle in the middle: the coaches, executives and journalists. That last group represents the worst part about football" Marcelo Bielsa
Irish Ian wrote: ↑Thu Mar 06, 2025 12:20 pm
Do those pictures make you feel at home?
That particular salute was very popular with Americans and it was called the Bellamy Salute and it was used when pledging allegiance to the flag and also at sporting events.
Never confuse intellect with imagination.
Never let good taste stand in the way of style ~ big nosed Pseudo intellectual, sarky super hero, weirdly obsessed idiot stalker, boring smarmy w*nker, worst pollster, far right dimwit, and resident perspicacious comedian...OR IS HE
The Bellamy Salute and the Roman salute were a pledge of allegiance to state and country and flag.
The Leeds chest salute used to get accused of being a far right neo nazi thing, specially when others wanted to demonise Leeds fans because of the hatred to the club.
Only seems apt when weaponised towards certain people to bring them down, yet others are not questioned or demonised by the media for theirs.
Nazi salutes are vile and unacceptable for anyone to use them and none of the above are actually nazi salutes, apart from the Royal family who if history proves me right, that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were sympathetic to Nazi Germany. , but how people are so eager to use anything to gain political traction to bring someone down.
Propaganda will always be used to gravitate an agenda.
Please refrain from the salutes people, we aren't going to look pleasant to new members if they see pages of salutes, including nazi ones even from years ago.
Nobody I know does a "Bellamy or Roman salute " the Leeds salute is technically different and if a bobby saw you doing it in the street wouldn't arrested you now I got myself thinking.
We accommodate lots of diversity on here and it won't look great if any reports fly in.
Thank you
Leeds salute
" Man is not affected by events but by the view he takes of them "
, but how people are so eager to use anything to gain political traction to bring someone down.
