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[Colin Bishop]

I think that this demonstrates just how unwise it is to cut back on defence spending:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31049952

It is obviously provocative and designed to test our defences but too many of our politicians from different parties seem to prefer the fluffy bunny approach. They need to see the world as it is rather than what they would, in their ignorance, like it to be!

Colin

[Shipmate60]

Shoot it down!!


Bob

[GAZOU]

Fun that all this

The next war it is: a small suitcase with a button, and a madman to press on the button

[Plastic - RIP]

I think that this demonstrates just how unwise it is to cut back on defence spending:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31049952

It is obviously provocative and designed to test our defences but too many of our politicians from different parties seem to prefer the fluffy bunny approach. They need to see the world as it is rather than what they would, in their ignorance, like it to be!

Colin

They've been doing this for ever - and we probably do it to them.

There seems to be a lot of anti-Putin hysteria at the moment.

[Colin Bishop]

There seems to be a lot of anti-Putin hysteria at the moment.

Not sure I'd describe it as hysteria if you look at his background and track record. (including the current Alexander Litvinenko enquiry)

Colin

[sparkey]

  The Russians don't need to invade they already own half of London the Arabs own a large chunk as well,   Ray. 

[Shipmate60]

If we leave it much longer we will have to track intruders with radio controlled aircraft if the cuts go any deeper or as proposed.


Bob

[RAAArtyGunner]

Bottom line do not be deceived they, Communists , are not the enemy.
The enemy is already within, I don't mean communists.

Australia and others are in the same boat, thankfully Australians (not the government) are waking up and acting early before it is too late.

Those who have served know the drill, divide and conquer, so lets get the cold war running again and keep them all occupied, dumb, dumb.

Didn't we learn the lesson from WWI and WWII that we MUST unite to fight the common foe.

[cabman]

It seems quite apt that the above link is from a BBC news web page. It seems that Auntie is advertising in Russia nowadays if the Bear's tailplane number is anything to go by. Surely this is a regular occurance and not particularly newsworthy.

[Brian60]

I remember these sorties taking place in the 60' and 70s so no change there.

What has happened is that the last 20 years they had stopped because of the thawing in relations between east and west. What you see now is just political posturing on the part of Putin.

He's cause unrest in the last few years with the re-invasion of small Baltic countries the latest being the Ukraine, the west has taken umbrage at it all and begins threatening with repercussions.

To save face among his own people and especially the military he has no option but to show the world that Russia is still a major player and won't be dictated to- hence the resumption of incursive flights.

[w3bby]

They did the same off the coast of Denmark recently, no transponder and therefore (apparently) not visible to civilians.

http://www.thelocal.dk/20141213/copenhagen-flight-nearly-collides-with-russian-military-jet

They were severely told off by the Swedish Government.....

[Arrow5]

Correct Brian about the almost continuous "Bear" patrols been going on for decades. There was a famous photograph of the tail gunner in the Bear holding up a Playboy magazine centrefold  for the benefit of the RAF Lossiemouth based interceptor.  You are wrong about the Baltic states. They have not been invaded  and are very much part of the west with major trade development with Scandinavia and Europe  , Skype HQ is in Estonia for instance, major shipping and ferry companies, tourism flourishes.   No doubt Russia might like to annex these three, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania but it would not be anything like the Ukraine. There is a vast Russian speaking population in those countries but they all value their own national characteristics and history pre-communism.  Like the former East Germany they started with a clean sheet after the Russian influence departed and a lot of people from the old regime got a new chance in the so called "free world"....don't start me on that.

[Arrow5]

In the Riga Motor Museum, Latvia,  there is a wrecked limo that was driven by a drunken Soviet leader while on holiday complete with a lifelike ,drunk,waxwork of Brezhneve behind the wheel.  There is a moral there !

[Plastic - RIP]

It seems to me that the West's Goverments wants to take us back to the '60s - a frightened population waiting for the 'enemy' to attack.

If you look at the way no-one questioned the government's policy back then, it would be much easier to control the population.

All they need to do is invent lots of scarey enemies and fire up the gullible masses with provocative stories in the media.

[inertia]

It seems to me that the West's Goverments wants to take us back to the '60s - a frightened population waiting for the 'enemy' to attack.

Why would "they" need to do that? The Romans relied on bread and circuses to keep the plebs happy; these days it's pizzas and football but the majority of the population seem sufficiently content to walk to heel.
As for inventing scary enemies and firing up the gullible with provocative stories, the Daily Mail have been using that method to sell newspapers ever since I can remember!
While I was at school we went to CCF camp at RAF Chivenor at the time when they operated Hunters. One squadron were going on to fly Lightinings and all they did were what they called "PI's" (practise intercepts) which involved getting up as high as you could in the shortest time; shouting "Bang Bang, Mr Bear - you're dead!" then landing. How they envied the other squadron who were going on to ground attack duties and spent their time lobbing concrete bombs and strafing dummy blockhouses from about zero feet at Pembrey range just across the estuary. The Ivans were flying TU95 sabre-rattling missions along our coastline even then (1967).
DM

[Colin Bishop]

Today's Russia is a lot different to what it was back in the Cold War. Putin is clearly on the way to developing a 'Messiah Complex' in that he believes that only he can restore Russia to her proper place in the world by annexing areas of what is considered to be 'Greater Russia' that were granted independence when the USSR collapsed. This is why he is ensuring that he will remain in charge for the indefinite future. He is probably also aware that if he does step down then his successor is likely to stitch him up for fraud and put him in jail just as he has done to his own rivals! Such men can be unpredictable if pushed which makes them very dangerous.

The Russians are a strange people and not 'European' at all even in the western parts of the country. I visited St Petersburg off a cruise ship a few years back and while the old imperial palaces were amazing, there were other sights almost equally jaw dropping. We did a couple of half day coach trips and I counted over 30 road accidents en route ranging from severe collisions to cars upended in ditches. In the picture below, two people are burning to death in the car on fire and just out of shot other casualties are sitting or lying on the roadside verge. The passing traffic simply carried on as normal swerving around the obstruction, nobody seemed to bat an eyelid except for the horrified Brits on our coach.

Colin

[GAZOU]

Cars are going to drive much less well

[derekwarner]

Colin....the image you show and your accompanying text suggesting no Russian national cared is I suggest is in extremely poor taste on your part

However considering this, I have better things to do than trounce through images for crashed British motor vehicles with corpses ......... and to post with degrading comments

I have had the pleasure of working with Russian nationals in an Australian National Defence entity...so apart from the Friday night shots of Vodka ...found them to be quite normal and not at all strange and certainly not bigoted ......

My memory reminds me that MBM has certain guidelines  in relation to religion or and political speak........I must re-read them.........Derek

[Perkasaman2]

Colin's recurring defence diatribe is political. His posted image is totally unacceptable on a family forum.

[Martin (Admin)]

And we'll leave it there methinks.

 New Topic:  Israel & Palestine.