Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oceanside50]

Putin is a very dangerous person, in my view. It is a pity that he can get more than 50% of his people to vote for him, albeit by stifling all opposition behind the scenes. Those who stand by and shrug their shoulders or even applaud as Russia under his helm dismembers the sovereign state of Ukraine make the same mistake as those who appeased Germany under Hitler when it annexed Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia.

Putin is not a democrat and you are probably right that he is stifling all opposition behind the scenes. Then again in the USA in practice you just have two parties whose differences are only superficial and which are backed by the same kind of corporations... essentially an oligarchy, not a democracy. Which is why most Americans don't even bother to vote anymore... some thought that Obama would be different but they were disappointed. Crimea & parts of East Ukraine might be similar to Sudetenland... but if you think of it those are parts that are historically inhabited by Russians (Germans in the case of Sudetenland). The Americans have supported far worst things... like what the Jews have done to Palestine, or even worst what the Turks have done to north Cyprus... where the invader has taken territory which was NOT historically inhabited by a majority of their kind. So I am not buying the bullshit that it is OK for the Americans and their satellites to screw other nations but Russia can't even have a say on territories which are inhabited by a majority of Russians. Heck ... even the occupation of Akrotiri and Dhekelia by the British is worst. How the fuck does the UK gets to own parts of Cyprus while Russia can't have a say for what are essentially Russian territories? Putin might be an asshole ... but I think some balance in our world is long overdue!!

Soto, you do make some good points about the USA and Russia in terms of their imperfections as so called democracies. There is, however, a balance that exists in the world that hasn't ever been seen in the past. The things you mentioned with the Crimea, Palestine or Cyprus are insignificant, much like you smacking your little sister upside the head, she can cry all she wants but who cares enough to start another World War.

[Paphitis]

Putin is a very dangerous person, in my view. It is a pity that he can get more than 50% of his people to vote for him, albeit by stifling all opposition behind the scenes. Those who stand by and shrug their shoulders or even applaud as Russia under his helm dismembers the sovereign state of Ukraine make the same mistake as those who appeased Germany under Hitler when it annexed Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia.

Putin is not a democrat and you are probably right that he is stifling all opposition behind the scenes. Then again in the USA in practice you just have two parties whose differences are only superficial and which are backed by the same kind of corporations... essentially an oligarchy, not a democracy. Which is why most Americans don't even bother to vote anymore... some thought that Obama would be different but they were disappointed. Crimea & parts of East Ukraine might be similar to Sudetenland... but if you think of it those are parts that are historically inhabited by Russians (Germans in the case of Sudetenland). The Americans have supported far worst things... like what the Jews have done to Palestine, or even worst what the Turks have done to north Cyprus... where the invader has taken territory which was NOT historically inhabited by a majority of their kind. So I am not buying the bullshit that it is OK for the Americans and their satellites to screw other nations but Russia can't even have a say on territories which are inhabited by a majority of Russians. Heck ... even the occupation of Akrotiri and Dhekelia by the British is worst. How the fuck does the UK gets to own parts of Cyprus while Russia can't have a say for what are essentially Russian territories? Putin might be an asshole ... but I think some balance in our world is long overdue!!

Most Americans don't vote because of voter apathy. Americans are far less political than your average Cypriot.

In America you have thousands of special interest groups and lobbies with special access to power brokers in both parties. Even the head of the Hellenic lobby gets invited to the White House to have lunch or dinner with the President each year.

Such things will never happen in Russia.

[Paphitis]

Putin and Australian PM had a very frosty exchange in Beijing.

Australian PM warned Putin to abide by UN Resolutions on the investigation of the downing of MH17. He told Putin that he has solid evidence that the missile was fired from a launcher which was relocated into Russia.

Putin is due into Brisbane for the G20.

Meanwhile, 4 Russian Warships are headed for Australia. The warships have been intercepted by an Australian Destroyer and another is due there tomorrow and with more warships on their way. The Russian Aircraft are under constant surveillance by Orion aircraft which are circling the ships.

US warships are also on their way.

The Cold War is back on folks. Enjoy the threat of nuclear annihilation!

Big ears is just another Zionist

You're just bloody ridiculous.

Everyone is a Zionist to you. Abbott is a catholic idiot!

A very devout Catholic I might add. He was actually a Monk at one stage and was about to be a priest before politics.

He is our version of Makarios!

[Paphitis]

There is speculation that the Russians are gonna ask for permission to enter Australian Waters!

The response will no doubt be:

[Get Real!]

Think again Psoritis...

[Paphitis]

At the moment, they can't even change heading without running into an Australian Destroyer and there is constant RAAF surveillance from above.

Wonder if they "accidentally" shoot down an Orion. If that is the case, Australia inherits another reef of Russian Steel to complime the Great Barrier Reef. Could be a great tourist attraction.

That old girl looks like a rust bucket.

I think our PM and Putin are not on good terms and Putin will receive a very frosty welcome from the Australian Public. There is no way these ships can enter Australian Waters. They will be sunk if they tried.

[Paphitis]

Think again Psoritis...

While the CNG looks at the Turkish Bathtubs in its EEZ, superpowers Russia and Australia are conducting gunboat diplomacy sizing each other up. It's a very dangerous time for the world!

We are very honored to have the Russian Navy pay us a visit. It's a great opportunity to put all our military equipment to good use.

Let Australia be a role model for Greece and Cyprus! You do need it and Australia shows you the way. We do not fear Russia at all. They fear is a lot more by the looks of it. Why else would they send us their Navy for potential target practice?

We have more than enough equipment to give Russia a real nice blood nose and black eye. They are in our back yard, so we have the advantage. It's just 4 rust buckets against the might of the ADF.

[Tim Drayton]

Putin is a very dangerous person, in my view. It is a pity that he can get more than 50% of his people to vote for him, albeit by stifling all opposition behind the scenes. Those who stand by and shrug their shoulders or even applaud as Russia under his helm dismembers the sovereign state of Ukraine make the same mistake as those who appeased Germany under Hitler when it annexed Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia.

Putin is not a democrat and you are probably right that he is stifling all opposition behind the scenes. Then again in the USA in practice you just have two parties whose differences are only superficial and which are backed by the same kind of corporations... essentially an oligarchy, not a democracy. Which is why most Americans don't even bother to vote anymore... some thought that Obama would be different but they were disappointed. Crimea & parts of East Ukraine might be similar to Sudetenland... but if you think of it those are parts that are historically inhabited by Russians (Germans in the case of Sudetenland). The Americans have supported far worst things... like what the Jews have done to Palestine, or even worst what the Turks have done to north Cyprus... where the invader has taken territory which was NOT historically inhabited by a majority of their kind. So I am not buying the bullshit that it is OK for the Americans and their satellites to screw other nations but Russia can't even have a say on territories which are inhabited by a majority of Russians. Heck ... even the occupation of Akrotiri and Dhekelia by the British is worst. How the fuck does the UK gets to own parts of Cyprus while Russia can't have a say for what are essentially Russian territories? Putin might be an asshole ... but I think some balance in our world is long overdue!!

My dear Sotos, I am not selling any "bullshit" which says that it is OK for anyone. I do not support any tyrant, I do not believe that any people in the world deserve to live under tyranny (or aspire to do so), I do not support any kind of imperialism or neo-imperialism. In fact, if you condemn Turkey's occupation of part of Cyprus on the grounds that this infringes international law and the sovereignty of a nation recognised under international law, then, logically, you must also condemn Israel's illegal occupation of territory outside its legitimate borders under international law, you must condemn China's occupation of Tibet and, likewise, Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. If you do not, then you are guilty of hypocrisy. In the case of Ukriane, I thought an amicable solution was staring everybody in the face whereby a "territory for recognition" treaty could be negotiated - Ukraine would cede some territory where most of the people are Russian speakers to Russia and Russia would respect the right of self-determination of the Ukranian people (who are also Orthodox Christians, by the way - if Russia is automatically right in everything because it is Orthodox, as seems to be the way of thinking here, why are the Orthodox Ukranians wrong?) who clearly aspire to move in a liberal direction and ultimately become eligible for EU membership. But 'negotiate' was the word. It was Putin who ended that possibility when using sheer force instead. The issue is still not that cut and dried. A referendum was held in 1991 and the Russian-speaking areas also supported Ukranian independence. A lot of the people in Ukriane who now speak Russian had Ukranian-speaking grandparents and great-grandparents and they speak Russian as a result of Stalinist forced Russification, not because they were originally ethnically Russian people. Your argument about the USA is well understood. One of the ways that Putin has managed to cement his power behind the facade of elections is by stifling press freedom and ensuring that all of the media acts as his propaganda outlet, thus ending all meaningful debate around elections and turning them into a charade. Of course, if you look at a country like the UK with its right-wing tabloids backed up by big money that set a right wing agenda, or look at Germany, where one single newspaper, Bild, serves this function, you have to ask how different things are. I sometimes wonder as to the real reason for the killing of president Kennedy and I am sure it was because he was treading on the toes of the real rulers of the country behind the scenes - remember Roosevelt's enigmatic words "Beware the military-industrial complex" - and this, if true, shows that democracy is ultimately a sham everywhere. This all harks back to back to the debate among left-wingers at the outbreak of World War II as to whether to remain neutral as a liberal brand of capitalism fights it out against an autocratic brand of capitalism, or whether liberal democracy, ultimately a sham that it may be, is worth fighting for against fascism. I believe that the latter is true.

[Paphitis]

Putin is a very dangerous person, in my view. It is a pity that he can get more than 50% of his people to vote for him, albeit by stifling all opposition behind the scenes. Those who stand by and shrug their shoulders or even applaud as Russia under his helm dismembers the sovereign state of Ukraine make the same mistake as those who appeased Germany under Hitler when it annexed Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia.

Putin is not a democrat and you are probably right that he is stifling all opposition behind the scenes. Then again in the USA in practice you just have two parties whose differences are only superficial and which are backed by the same kind of corporations... essentially an oligarchy, not a democracy. Which is why most Americans don't even bother to vote anymore... some thought that Obama would be different but they were disappointed. Crimea & parts of East Ukraine might be similar to Sudetenland... but if you think of it those are parts that are historically inhabited by Russians (Germans in the case of Sudetenland). The Americans have supported far worst things... like what the Jews have done to Palestine, or even worst what the Turks have done to north Cyprus... where the invader has taken territory which was NOT historically inhabited by a majority of their kind. So I am not buying the bullshit that it is OK for the Americans and their satellites to screw other nations but Russia can't even have a say on territories which are inhabited by a majority of Russians. Heck ... even the occupation of Akrotiri and Dhekelia by the British is worst. How the fuck does the UK gets to own parts of Cyprus while Russia can't have a say for what are essentially Russian territories? Putin might be an asshole ... but I think some balance in our world is long overdue!!

My dear Sotos, I am not selling any "bullshit" which says that it is OK for anyone. I do not support any tyrant, I do not believe that any people in the world deserve to live under tyranny (or aspire to do so), I do not support any kind of imperialism or neo-imperialism. In fact, if you condemn Turkey's occupation of part of Cyprus on the grounds that this infringes international law and the sovereignty of a nation recognised under international law, then, logically, you must also condemn Israel's illegal occupation of territory outside its legitimate borders under international law, you must condemn China's occupation of Tibet and, likewise, Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. If you do not, then you are guilty of hypocrisy. In the case of Ukriane, I thought an amicable solution was staring everybody in the face whereby a "territory for recognition" treaty could be negotiated - Ukraine would cede some territory where most of the people are Russian speakers to Russia and Russia would respect the right of self-determination of the Ukranian people (who are also Orthodox Christians, by the way - if Russia is automatically right in everything because it is Orthodox, as seems to be the way of thinking here, why are the Orthodox Ukranians wrong?) who clearly aspire to move in a liberal direction and ultimately become eligible for EU membership. But 'negotiate' was the word. It was Putin who ended that possibility when using sheer force instead. The issue is still not that cut and dried. A referendum was held in 1991 and the Russian-speaking areas also supported Ukranian independence. A lot of the people in Ukriane who now speak Russian had Ukranian-speaking grandparents and great-grandparents and they speak Russian as a result of Stalinist forced Russification, not because they were originally ethnically Russian people. Your argument about the USA is well understood. One of the ways that Putin has managed to cement his power behind the facade of elections is by stifling press freedom and ensuring that all of the media acts as his propaganda outlet, thus ending all meaningful debate around elections and turning them into a charade. Of course, if you look at a country like the UK with its right-wing tabloids backed up by big money that set a right wing agenda, or look at Germany, where one single newspaper, Bild, serves this function, you have to ask how different things are. I sometimes wonder as to the real reason for the killing of president Kennedy and I am sure it was because he was treading on the toes of the real rulers of the country behind the scenes - remember Roosevelt's enigmatic words "Beware the military-industrial complex" - and this, if true, shows that democracy is ultimately a sham everywhere. This all harks back to back to the debate among left-wingers at the outbreak of World War II as to whether to remain neutral as a liberal brand of capitalism fights it out against an autocratic brand of capitalism, or whether liberal democracy, ultimately a sham that it may be, is worth fighting for against fascism. I believe that the latter is true.

With serious hat on I got to say Great post Tim.

[Paphitis]

Anyway, back to the topic.

It is Russia that is in fact regressing back to an era of Cold War.

Australia's PM has doner us proud, because he has been very vocal about MH17 and Ukraine and he was looking Putin in the eye when he told him a few home truths. So Russia now believes that by sending 4 Ships to Australia, that we will be intimidated. Well, the ADF is not intimidated at all, and right now, the Royal Australian Navy is right there next to the Russian Ships within close proximity and our aircraft are over the top of them.

We have seen it all before and fought much stronger countries than Russia such as Germany, and Japan. The ADF has a proud tradition. They are equipped with the best weapons money can buy, and our personnel are trained to the highest standards. When we look at Russia, when do not see a superpower. We see a desperate attempt at intimidation and attention by a tyrant. Usually, such muscle flexing lacks due strategic and tactical consideration so the upper hand is with the ADF. They can sail right up to Australian Waters but then what? They have to turn back with their tails between their legs.

They are flying their flag and we are flying ours. As long as they stay in International Waters, then they have nothing to worry about but I am sure that the ADF will be conducting their Electronic Counter Measures which will basically disable their ability to fire any weapons or use their radar.

If they ask to come into Australian Waters, they will be denied access. If they attempt to enter Australia illegally, then matters could easily get out of hand because the Royal Australian navy will not allow this. Shots will be fired!

Do not think for one second that these Russian Ships will or can enter. If Russia wants a war all they have to do is try!

Which means that potentially, they world has a very serious situation on its hands.

this is for you Get Real! The Australian Air Warfare Destroyer is one of the most advance Ships on the planet based on the AEGIS Arleigh Burke Fire Control System.