Is WWIII inevitable?

[dr. d]

Putin is out of his mind, but not out of his mind enough to initiate a first nuke strike on the U.S. unless he doesn't believe in the principle of M.A.D.

i hope the button-pushers under his command, have the common sense not to push any buttons.
us and russia each have the nuclear capability to destroy the planet several times over.

[Devastator]

i hope the button-pushers under his command, have the common sense not to push any buttons.
us and russia each have the nuclear capability to destroy the planet several times over.

It's a good thing that the launch codes are not limited to the president only.

[dr. d]

It's a good thing that the launch codes are not limited to the president only.

i have no idea.
i do not think the russians declared, one way or another, how their launch mechanisms, work.

[tsupermario]

Ooopppsss...




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India bombs militant camps in Pakistan after deadly Kashmir attack - ABC News

India bombs militant camps in Pakistan after deadly Kashmir attack

at that time there was fear that the two would exchange nukes if it escalated further

[Ry_Tower]

And India is great btw.

[Flipo]

Amir Tsarfati
* Russian war ships just left their port in the Black Sea
* The convoy to Kiev moved to assault positions
* The internet is down in Chernihiv to prevent coverage of events
* Russian attacked Belarus from Ukraine territory to give a pretext for war
* European units are getting ready for chemical attack

RUSSIA IS UP FOR SOMETHING BIG IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE!

SATELLITE IMAGE FIRM MAXAR SAYS NEW IMAGERY SHOWS RUSSIAN MILITARY UNITS CONTINUING TO DEPLOY CLOSER TO KYIV, FIRING ARTILLERY TOWARD RESIDENTIAL AREAS.


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[uls]

para sa mga na-exploit ng western media with images of suffering in ukraine appealing to your emotions making you so angry at russians that you smash bottles of vodka and punch a russian model and post emotionally on socmed to demand the US go into ukraine without thinking it can start ww3

here's the guy... a decisionmaker... standing between your emotions and ww3

[Flipo]

Global fight for democracy is in Ukraine | Inquirer Opinion

Global fight for democracy is in Ukraine
By: Susan Stokes - *inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:16 AM March 12, 2022

Chicago — Faced with Russia’s authoritarian kleptocracy to their north and east, Ukrainians—off and on, and with periodic mass uprisings—have chosen a very different political path in recent decades. Through several cycles of elections and popular protest, Ukraine has moved toward the democratic ideals of the rule of law, protection of individual liberties, freedom of expression and association, free and fair elections, and the peaceful resolution of internal conflicts.

Today, international organizations classify Ukraine as a less-than-full—but aspiring—democracy. Russia and Ukraine’s divergent paths—Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ever-tightening dictatorship versus Ukraine’s sometimes-chaotic open society—made the Kremlin’s recent invasion more likely.

One of the key differences between autocracies and democracies is that democracies protect the rights of free speech and assembly, and hence of popular protest. As citizens of democracies know, some regulation of protests is necessary to keep the peace, and sometimes this regulation goes too far, preventing these rights from being exercised.

But dictatorships, like Putin’s, simply cannot tolerate protests—at least of the sort that criticize the government. The Kremlin is now threatening Russians demonstrating against the war in Ukraine with “harsh punishment” for organizing “mass riots.” Russia’s Putin-controlled parliament is considering a law that would impose 15-year prison sentences for those who “falsify” information about the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Autocrats are also more likely to inflict physical harm on protesters. In fact, an earlier violent crackdown in Kyiv was the prologue to the eventual ouster of Ukraine’s last pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, in 2014. In an attempt to placate pro-Western constituencies in Ukraine, Yanukovych flirted with the European Union, announcing in 2013 that his government would sign an association agreement with the EU. But in late November 2013, under pressure from Putin, he abruptly turned away from the EU and instead signaled a preference for joining the proposed Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.

Stunned by Yanukovych’s move, demonstrators converged on Kyiv’s Maidan Square. In the early hours of Nov. 30, a small group of protesters was lingering alongside municipal workers who were mounting a Christmas tree, when a contingent from the Berkut, a Ukrainian special police force, suddenly appeared, attacking the protesters and workers with boots and batons. The violence against peaceful demonstrators, ordered by Yanukovych, was unusual for Ukraine at the time.

Images of bloodied young people being pushed into police vehicles sparked an enormous outpouring of anger, and more than half a million demonstrators were estimated to have packed into central Kyiv on Dec. 1. This was the beginning of the Euromaidan protests, which culminated in February 2014 with Yanukovych fleeing Ukraine into self-exile in Russia. Putin recently alluded to these events in a speech justifying the current onslaught on Ukraine, claiming in Orwellian language that Yanukovych was ousted in a “coup.”

Putin’s physical assault on Ukraine caps a period of political attacks on democracy around the world. Many of the assailants have been elected leaders who, like Yanukovych, took aim at their own countries’ constitutions and encroached on citizens’ basic rights. Aspiring autocrats have followed this playbook in countries as diverse as Brazil, Venezuela, and Nicaragua; Hungary, Poland, and Serbia; and Turkey, the Philippines, and the United States.

These democratic backsliders have leaned on one another for support, forming an implicit alliance. Former US President Donald Trump was one of its linchpins, and worked hard to bolster like-minded leaders—including by offering them a coveted visit to the White House. Trump clearly demonstrated his preferences in 2019 by hosting Hungary’s autocratic prime minister, Viktor Orbán, while demanding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pay his way to Washington by initiating legal proceedings against Trump’s then-potential rival for the presidency, Joe Biden.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered this unholy alliance of aspiring autocrats that viewed Putin as the ultimate strongman leader. Orbán has denounced the invasion, while Poland is accepting a flood of Ukrainian refugees. Both Hungary and Poland have new reason to value their Nato membership.

Let us, therefore, hope that Putin’s aggression restores a sense of common purpose among free societies, and persuades would-be autocrats that peace, security, and national survival are well worth the price of admission into the democratic club. There, citizens’ rights and freedoms will have a better chance of being respected. Project Syndicate

Susan Stokes is professor of political science and director of the Chicago Center on Democracy at the University of Chicago.

[uls]

Global fight for democracy is in Ukraine | Inquirer Opinion

[I]Global fight for democracy is in Ukraine
By: Susan Stokes - *inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:16 AM March 12, 2022



One of the key differences between autocracies and democracies is that democracies protect the rights of free speech and assembly, and hence of popular protest. As citizens of democracies know, some regulation of protests is necessary to keep the peace, and sometimes this regulation goes too far, preventing these rights from being exercised.

gimme a break have you seen how american big tech (google, facebook, twitter) censor opinions that go against the official narrative? (like the vaccine narrative)

sa twiiter palang ang dami accounts na-suspend

--

so facebook censors hate speech

ok... pero they just made an exception

pwede hate speech against russians

Facebook allows war posts urging violence against Russian invaders | Reuters

March 10 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (FB.O) will allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion, according to internal emails seen by Reuters on Thursday, in a temporary change to its hate speech policy.

freedom ba yan?

when companies decide what opinions are and aren't allowed

[uls]

nakita niyo ba ung nangyari sa canada?

ung mga nag protesta against vaccine mandate had their bank accounts frozen

freedom?