Another Malaysian jet goes down with 295 passengers, at Ukraine/Russia border

[Abandon]

fuck lol

[Abandon]

Is that a dude?

that bitch was in my hnmls. very few women on earth I wish I could pull a instant transmission on purely to cunt punt more than her

[Aleth]

That the same (taru) Elphaba who ran dynamis on Midgard? If so they seemed OK in game. Although I saw the thread about her emailing some kid's college professor when they were asking for help with something which was more than messed up. Also dynamis kinda seemed like a pyramid scheme in terms of people's time back in the day.

Back on topic: Plot twist: What if shooting down the civilian aircraft wasn't a mistake?

Russia was always going to react badly to the EU considering offering membership to one of it's buffer states. Maybe Putin wants to solidify his rule via another cold war more than he cares about sanctions on his friends? This is assuming the sanctions remain so limp as to be laughable.

[Abandon]

yup, same one

[Meresgi]

Russia is claiming that the plane was loaded with dead people and detonated over their airspace after cruising on autopilot because....the dutch are bored?

[kuronosan]

Russian separatist commander is claiming that the plane was loaded with dead people and detonated over their airspace after cruising on autopilot because....the dutch are bored?

Get it right.

Russia, on the other hand, is claiming that the Ukrainians have the BUK missile system and... if that wasn't bad enough, the Ukrainian leadership has already stated that they possess the BUK system and not the rebels.

So... question is? Who the hell is telling the truth at this point?

[ronin sparthos]

Looks like everyone is....
( •_•) ⌐■-■
passing the buk.
(⌐■_■)

[Quicklet]

Russia knows it can completely lie at this point for domestic propaganda and there will effectively be no recourse against them from the international community.

[Tarage]

I sincerely doubt Russia won't get it's way at this point.

Everyone else on the geopolitical stage is a fucking pussy.

[Brill Weave]

Looks like everyone is....
( •_•) ⌐■-■
passing the buk.
(⌐■_■)

/thread

[ronin sparthos]

I sincerely doubt Russia won't get it's way at this point.

Everyone else on the geopolitical stage is a fucking pussy.

So what should we do geopolitical savant?

[Mazmaz]

God damnit guys I am flying to Europe in 5 fucking days

[Tarage]

So what should we do geopolitical savant?

How about something. Anything.

[archibaldcrane]

How about something. Anything.

Like a third round of sanctions?

[Quicklet]

Sanctions that would actually punish Russia would be a nice start.

[archibaldcrane]

Sanctions that would actually punish Russia would be a nice start.

Well, Russia isn't really a major trading partner with the US. The EU, however, is - they have a lot more ability to "punish" Russia with economic sanctions than we do. We trade more with the Netherlands or South Korea than we do Russia. Russia is only 24th on the list of countries we have trade with.

http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/cy_m3_run.asp

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...ners_464gr.gif

The problem, of course, is that it is difficult for the EU to damage the Russian economy with sanctions without damaging their own.

[Qalbert]

God damnit guys I am flying to Europe in 5 fucking days

I've got my fingers crossed.

[Mazmaz]

thanks broheim!

[Quicklet]

Well, Russia isn't really a major trading partner with the US. The EU, however, is - they have a lot more ability to "punish" Russia with economic sanctions than we do. We trade more with the Netherlands or South Korea than we do Russia. Russia is only 24th on the list of countries we have trade with.

http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/cy_m3_run.asp

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...ners_464gr.gif

The problem, of course, is that it is difficult for the EU to damage the Russian economy with sanctions without damaging their own.

I should have been more explicit that Europe (and in particular Germany) holds a lot of the responsibility for stepping up punishment against Putin. You're right that there's only so much the US can do unilaterally. There's also the complication that the Ukraine issue is tied to the Syria and Iran issues, and pushing Russia away could make those diplomatic efforts more difficult. Obviously everyone wants to work together with Russia instead of against, but if Putin gets off with a slap on the wrist here I think you will see the situation in Ukraine get even worse (because Russia will continue to supply the rebels), and long-term I think it sets up a bad precedent for dealing with a lot of the Asian territorial disputes that are simmering in that region.

[archibaldcrane]

Gotta be honest though, with the onslaught of ISIS, Putin's looking pretty smart in his whole "backing al-Assad" thing eh?