Russia a threat that we can do little about

[OldNick]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/britain-faces-full-spectrum-of-russian-threat-for-years-to-come-mps-report-says/ar-AAybWce?ocid=spartanntp

[Saint in Paradise]

Ah Russia....an enormous copy of a chav Council estate in Portsmouth, London or Birmingham...to name just 3 places.

Full of untrustworthy,drunken,moronic psychopaths whom only idiots try and connect with ( like a certain Labour leader

does? )

 

I have to question the sanity of anyone who is going there for the World Cup spending money and risking their health

and safety in that place. Would they go to Portsmouth wearing a Saints shirt and hand out money to those locals?

Yes I know in the scheme of things it will be minuscule amount but it is still money that Russia should do without.

 

I expect that some Putin apologists will be along to try and ridicule my post but for personal and private reasons I will never,

ever alter my hatred for that God forsaken cesspit of a country. They are just as bad as North Korea, several African countries

and China.

[hypochondriac]

Whilst I agree that Putin would like nothing more than to undermine our institutions, the sad truth is that they are already doing a pretty good job of that themselves without Russia's help.

[buctootim]

Russia is obsessed with being seen as a Great World Power, despite only having an economy the same size as Spain. 80% of the population seems to suffer from Stockholm syndrome - they believe the consistent 'glorious history' carp they have been told for over 100 years.

 

This is an excellent documentary from the BBC a few months ago. Its must watch for anyone with an interest in Putin's mentality and how we got to where we are now. Many interviews with well placed contributors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvyVSboPQeY

Edited 4 June, 2018 by buctootim

[aintforever]

"hackers, trolls, paid protesters and misinformation " - scary stuff

[Saint86]

 

I have to question the sanity of anyone who is going there for the World Cup spending money and risking their health

and safety in that place. Would they go to Portsmouth wearing a Saints shirt and hand out money to those locals?

 

 

Well, for starters, probably half the football fans in Portsmouth are Saints fans, and a lot of the others support Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, United etc...

[buctootim]

"hackers, trolls, paid protesters and misinformation " - scary stuff

 

Not sure if that is sarcasm or not, but Russia doesn't have the economic or military strength to challenge the West. What it does do well is sow doubt and confusion which erodes public support within democracies for challenging authoritarianism.

[aintforever]

Not sure if that is sarcasm or not, but Russia doesn't have the economic or military strength to challenge the West. What it does do well is sow doubt and confusion which erodes public support within democracies for challenging authoritarianism.

 

Is that really much of a threat though, considering how good our political parties already are at manipulation through the media and misinformation?

[buctootim]

Is that really much of a threat though, considering how good our political parties already are at manipulation through the media and misinformation?

 

The essential difference is that Western politicians selectively use and misuse facts and statistics to support their argument or mislead by omission. But if you're smart and can be bothered you can usually trace back to the source material and expose it for what it is. The trouble is that majority don't bother but we still have investigative journalists who do. Russia under Putin outright lies. It says one thing when the diametric opposite is true.

 

I know a number of ethnic Russian Ukrainians who fled the Donbass after Russia's invasion - the invasion Russia still insists didn't happen. They can tell by their accents even which city the Russian soldiers come from - just as we could if Glaswegians or New Yorkers suddenly started occupying Winchester whilst claiming to be local 'freedom fighters'

Edited 4 June, 2018 by buctootim

[Lighthouse]

Not sure if that is sarcasm or not, but Russia doesn't have the economic or military strength to challenge the West. What it does do well is sow doubt and confusion which erodes public support within democracies for challenging authoritarianism.

 

I'm frequently dismayed to see the number of internet conspiracy loonies who genuinely believe western governments are the worst thing out there. Speaking as if terrorist atrocities are all our fault and that Putin and other dictators are somehow bravely standing up to the greed of the capitalist West. Putin uses this very well and has his own countrymen believing the majority of it, playing on the same insecurities Hitler did about Germany's financial problems being the Allies fault after WWI.

[aintforever]

The essential difference is that Western politicians selectively use and misuse facts and statistics to support their argument or mislead by omission. But if you're smart and can be bothered you can usually trace back to the source material and expose it for what it is. The trouble is that majority don't bother but we still have investigative journalists who do. Russia under Putin outright lies. It says one thing when the diametric opposite is true.

 

I know a number of ethnic Russian Ukrainians who fled the Donbass after Russia's invasion - the invasion Russia still insists didn't happen. They can tell by their accents even which city the Russian soldiers come from - just as we could if Glaswegians or New Yorkers suddenly started occupying Winchester whilst claiming to be local 'freedom fighters'

 

Russia is effectively a police state and I would hate to live there. I agree with the OP about the World Cup but I'm not sure what threat it is to me, today, in Romsey?

[buctootim]

Russia is effectively a police state and I would hate to live there. I agree with the OP about the World Cup but I'm not sure what threat it is to me, today, in Romsey?

 

The WC in isolation isn't a big deal. If countries like Russia and North Korea run their internal politics like arseholes I agree it doesn't directly impact us. The problem is when they start invading and threatening their neighbours and meddling in our politics.

[buctootim]

I'm frequently dismayed to see the number of internet conspiracy loonies who genuinely believe western governments are the worst thing out there. Speaking as if terrorist atrocities are all our fault and that Putin and other dictators are somehow bravely standing up to the greed of the capitalist West. Putin uses this very well and has his own countrymen believing the majority of it, playing on the same insecurities Hitler did about Germany's financial problems being the Allies fault after WWI.

 

Most of the Russians Ive met, educated people, still think that the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in 1939 is a forgery and that Russia invaded Poland in order to protect them from the Nazis. The conspiracists are just their useful idiots.

[aintforever]

The WC in isolation isn't a big deal. If countries like Russia and North Korea run their internal politics like arseholes I agree it doesn't directly impact us. The problem is when they start invading and threatening their neighbours and meddling in our politics.

 

I not convinced that internet trolls and misinformation is really that much of a threat, the press is full of all sorts of lies around election time anyway. Any input from Russia is just a fart in a jaccuzi.

[saint1977]

Russia is obsessed with being seen as a Great World Power, despite only having an economy the same size as Spain. 80% of the population seems to suffer from Stockholm syndrome - they believe the consistent 'glorious history' carp they have been told for over 100 years.

 

This is an excellent documentary from the BBC a few months ago. Its must watch for anyone with an interest in Putin's mentality and how we got to where we are now. Many interviews with well placed contributors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvyVSboPQeY

 

Sounds like you are describing Portsmouth Football Club, or whatever the latest post-administration variant is called. I'm sure Trousers or Rallyboy will tell us what they are called now ;-)

[Verbal]

Is that really much of a threat though, considering how good our political parties already are at manipulation through the media and misinformation?

 

Which reminds me of this Albert Einstein quote: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”

[benjii]

The Frankie Boyle programme on Russia is worth catching on iPlayer.