Dr. Gonzo

How does Tierney make the highest profile VAR “mistake” this season in City’s favour and then get to be on VAR for what is likely the title decider?

Manc referee (Taylor) and Manc VAR (Tierney) for the Man City match

The more Sunak speaks, the more I think “this idiot needs to shut his mouth more” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60941902 Ironically, he could do with a fucking slap from Will Smith

@RandoEFC , US intel is now saying Russia is repositioning forces (like you said) rather than withdrawing.

I mean I think we both agree on the last bit - Abramovich can't suddenly wash his hands of his role in modern day Russia just from his participation in peace talks. We just disagree on what we think is going on in Abramovich's head. And honestly, neither of us can really know how much empathy Abramovich really has at all. Personally, I think he's self-interested because... well the history of him as a person is someone who's very self-interested... and out of all the oligarchs in Russia, I think it makes sense for him to be trying to "re-brand" as more of a statesman - I think in Russia's not-to-distant future the writing is on the wall for Putin and there will be something of a power-struggle for a "new Russia." As arguably the most influential of their oligarchs, he'd represent someone that understands and will protect oligarch interests - and as someone with governmental experience in Russia & now acting as a diplomat... I think it gives him stronger credentials for having a strong say in directing the future of this "new Russia" if not assuming a leadership role himself. Cos I think there's going to be a reckoning between the oligarchs & Russia's current government - for as long as Putin remains, they won't have full access and enjoyment of their assets. And if Abramovich ends up making a difference in bringing peace between Russia and Ukraine that can hold... and even has a part in regime change in Russia... that's all very commendable. I hope he's successful. But... it still won't wash his hands of shaping the country into what it is today.

Today the US has come out and said satellite images show significant withdrawal today though. I'm pretty sure the satellite images are a big part of what the US was basing it's intel on when it was warning for weeks that Russia would invade - so while I'm always a bit skeptical of US intelligence, they've sort of been fairly open in calling out what's been happening with this conflict (probably because this is a conflict they're trying to diffuse rather than one they're an active participant in)... and they've been proven to be pretty accurate so far. So until they start making incorrect assessments, I'll keep listening to what they're reporting from their satellites.

It wasn't a communist state when the oligarchs took over Russia's industry, but I'm not shocked you're failing to see my point tbh. Russia in the 90s was very much a kleptocracy and that's how Russia's elite became Russia's elite.

He's not a Ukrainian citizen? He's a Russian citizen, born in Russia, also he's a Russian born Israeli citizen and a Russian born Portuguese citizen. He might have historic ethnic ties to Ukraine, but really his strongest connection to Ukraine is that he's mates with Shevchenko. He barely grew up around his immediate family. In all seriousness, I don't think he's got much empathy - nor do I think you can live the life he's led with much empathy. Much of his most empathetic actions come from his support of the Jewish community worldwide, yet he's a big sponsor of the illegal settlements that displace Palestinians the same way Russians displaced his ancestors. I think that demonstrates a huge lack of empathy tbh. Like I said, it's good he's trying to end the war - even though I think his motives are simply "my former political ally has now made my life harder" - but it doesn't wash away his role in shaping Russia into what it is today.

Yeah maybe look into the modern history of Russia. We've got issues with corruption, but it's not anywhere quite so brazen as what happened after the fall of the USSR. And that was literally people stealing from former state-run industries that theoretically belonged to every Russian. And it is the point of discussion when you consider how Russian oligarchs have their ties to Putin...

Peace talks in Turkey seem to be going alright. Ukraine's suggesting that it will never joint NATO (it can't for a decade after an active conflict, in any case per NATO rules) and Russia suggesting it will pull troops back from around Kyev.

I don't even think anyone's said that about Abramovich here. We obviously will never know the extent of their relationship, but I think it's evident that ties between Abramovich and Putin have at least deteriorated a bit. The sanctions after 2014 led Abramovich to get Israeli citizenship & even more recently, he's bought Portuguese citizenship. He's concerned with keeping his access to the wealth he's acquired - Putin's more concerned with acting like a Tsar and rebuilding Russia's empire/sphere of influence. I don't think Abramovich's past and his role in making Russia what it is today can be immediately wiped clear because he's trying to find a solution that brings peace. Sure it's great he's using his position of power and influence to do that, even to the point where Putin and his closer allies have sent a message to him by poisoning him. But Abramovich hadn't really shown any issues with Putin's rule over Russia in any sense until the first invasion of Ukraine (Crimea's annexation) caused financial issues and restricted his ability to enter the UK. Personally, I think Abramovich is trying to transition from oligarch to something of a stateman. Russia's economic woes won't end with the end of this conflict, as long as Putin is in power it's likely there will be strong sanctions on Russia. Growing discontent with Putin from the oligarchs is to be expected and I think there will be a push to have Putin sooner rather than later. Arguably the most influential oligarch in the era of Russian oligarchs, asked by Ukraine's leader to negotiate for Russian interests is a threat to the Putin's control, which is why he's probably poisoned him to send a message.

Yes, because the two things happened simultaneously... - and let's not pretend he's doing this out of the goodness of his heart, he's doing it because he's got billions at stake. Sportswashing absolutely works, holy shit.

Yes I’m sure the oligarchs had no idea what they were doing as they looted Russia

Sunak admitting trade not picking up “might be linked to Brexit” means he’s on borrowed time. He didn’t want to say it, but he did & the Tories won’t want a chancellor who sometimes tells the truth

This video just made me google "how many adults are illiterate in the UK" and holy fuck the results are depressing. I wanted to have a laugh at BoJo and the Tories for making a video showing that schools should be doing what schools should be doing... but honestly, given that 1 in 6 adults in the UK are functionally illiterate (HOW?!?!?!)... I'm actually going to say anything the government does to improve the standards of schools is a good thing. That's an appalling statistic and it begs the question... why the fuck is it so bad?

I think more people assumed that Putin was in Roman's pocket tbh. Even if he's been poisoned, there's nothing that can separate Roman Abramovich from Putin. From introducing Putin to Boris Yeltsin, to handpicking his cabinet and "right hand man" - he's been a key Putin ally up until getting poisoned. US intelligence is also expressing doubt that he's been exposed to poison... so it could all just be bullshit.

Not really, Putin and Abramovich will always be closely tied together because of their very close history together. And it's also not as though Putin hasn't turned on oligarchs he was once close with before. I don't think it's foiling any narratives, it's just a new chapter in their relationship. I think it's that. Putin's come to expect his oligarchs to fall in line - he's even made pretty open threats against them. I don't think he likes that Abramovich has been keen to speak on behalf of Russia at Zelensky's request. And, yeah I suspect many of these oligarchs are absolutely furious with Putin. They've suddenly lost their cushy and carefree lives getting to do what they want, their assets in Russia are now worth significantly less than they were a month ago. And it could be that poisoning Abramovich but non-lethally sends a message to other powerful oligarchs close to Putin that it's important for them to fall in line with him.

Him getting poisoned along with 2 Ukraining peace negotiators does indicate that he's fallen out of Putin's good books.

Wasn't expecting to see that headline!

But I doubt India would do that, they don’t exactly have the best relations with China - including active border disputes. I’m actually not sure if China would want to anger the West too much at this point in time. They’re having their own economic issues with with a real estate bubble crisis & rely heavily on the west for trade. But I think they’re happy to play as a middle man where they advocate for deescalation but also are fine with Putin remaining in charge with Russia experiencing economic isolation. It gives them prime opportunity to exploit Russia.

Aren’t those all countries that have very strong trade ties with Russia? China is just trying to play both sides here imo. They rely on trade with the rest and many of their actions have been in line with the west’s condemnation of Russia. They also stand to gain pretty massively from a Russia that is largely isolated - they can do what they’ve done with Iran: become the dominant trade partner & have another country that is essentially one step above a puppet. Russia’s really given China prime opportunity to fully hook Russia with economic imperialism with this war. I really can’t understand Putin’s thinking here - he’s managed to make his military look like dogshit and for as long as he’s alive Russia will be economically isolated by the west. India was basically given permission from the US to use kid gloves on Russia early on in this conflict because Russia’s a huge exporter of food to them. The EU’s still buying Russian oil and gas despite the hard line been taken, but because of it they now have to pay in rubles. I think trade between Russia and India has all the same ties it has before the invasion.

Not really most Iranians aren’t Arabs & Putin dreams of being as repressive of a dictator as Khamenei. And they’re more a Chinese puppet than anything. But Iran not joining in on sanctions isn’t to be surprised at all. I can’t imagine they’d join in on sanctioning any countries that aren’t: the US, UK, & Israel

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/03/24/ukraine-has-launched-counteroffensives-reportedly-surrounding-10000-russian-troops/?sh=2b9be38b1170 Ukraine has reportedly surrounded 10k Russian troops in their recent counteroffensive.

The latest big scandal in the US is one of the Supreme Court Justices' wives was involved in planning the January 6th coup attempt to stop the election and keep Trump in power. He was the only Justice that voted that Congress not be allowed to investigate the storming of the US capitol... making it look like he was trying to protect his wife.