I don't believe it

[Des Taff Jenkins]

What a laugh, there's the US shooting down a Chinese what? balloon, and warning they will do it again, next thing they are crying foul as the Soviets bring down one of their spy planes. Looks like a case of don't do as I do, do as I say. Must have been very embarrassing for them, Shades of Mr Powers.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

Like this Des, any thing you can do we can do better, we can do anything better than you.

[James Curry]

What a pity the fuel did not ignite and bring the Russian fighter down. Russia is trying to get the west to react so Putin can go to the Russian people and say s "see I told you the west would attack us" This happened over the Black sea and not russian terriorty.

I spotted an article yesterday the UK are continueing to reduce the size of the Army 9000 men to go by 2023. This is from the 2021 Armed forces review. Also in the review was we are to scrap 148 challenger 2 tanks. This is so they can develope the Challenger 3. Coulsd they just not give the Ukrainians the ones we intend to scrap? are is it a case of the 14 we are giving thenm are the only ones we have that are actually still in working order.

[vic mcclymont]

Depends which source you read James, some say reduction and say increase to 73,000.
MOD staff is nearly 60,000 they should also be reduced in numbers.
Vic
Ps we should be increasing not reducing

[Keith Tindell]

I still think the big danger is China, i see in todays news that the Chinese leader is visiting Putin in Moscow to *strengthen ties*, lets just hope he is not going to supply weapons, this could really get nasty. the only way we could combat China would be with trade, we have not had our eye on them for years. the gov how now banned TIC Tok , whatever that is, but apparently owned by China, and used a lot by people in gov.

[Johnny Kieran]

Yes, the balloons were over the US for quite a while, but the drone was in international airspace, so we are told anyway.
The Russians are crap, they've been trying to rule the world in their nasty, vicious way for hundreds of years. Most civilised nations are out of that empire, rule by force mode. The chinks, N Koreans and Russians are the only types that need to rule in that fashion. The Arab nations just have it in them by nature.
I've always said that the Russians should have been driven back to their borders after Hitler was beaten, but such is life.

[James Curry]

That was Churchills intended plan but the USA said no, hence the mess.

[happy daze john in oz]

Putin now been officially charged with war crimes, but chance of an arrest a bit murky.
May have some effect on the people though, many are not in favor of the war but are afraid to say so.

[James Curry]

The following countries do not recognise the ICC and are not signatories to the agreement. RUSSIA

As of January 2019, 123 states are members of the Court.[3] Other states that have not become parties to the Rome Statute include India, Indonesia, and China.[3] On May 6, 2002, the United States, in a position shared with Israel and Sudan, having previously signed the Rome Statute formally withdrew its signature and indicated that it did not intend to ratify the agreement.[3]

United States policy concerning the ICC has varied widely. The Clinton administration signed the Rome Statute in 2000, but did not submit it for Senate ratification. The George W. Bush administration, the U.S. administration at the time of the ICC's founding, stated that it would not join the ICC. The Obama administration subsequently re-established a working relationship with the Court as an observer.[4]

Strange that those countries in BOLD have a poor record on human rights.. USA and Guantánamo Bay??

[Keith Tindell]

It is just a pointer on what the rest of the world think about him, and will annoy him, and gnaw away at him, all good news. It does restrict his movements to other countries, which will affect his ego. Just imagine him flying to one of his* friendly* countries, and his plane developed an engine fault, which requires an emergency landing in one of the countries signed up to the agreement, and he is arrested, that would cause sparks to fly.