TargBaitedStrawman

It seems more likely. The the long term ramifications will be high still I think. Is it worth an escalated cold war with the west again? Da, I'm agree.

Never said bluff, "testing waters". I thought Putin would posture more, but as he increases troops at the border invasion does seem more likely.

Yea never meant for this to be about Ukraine...just surreal US bi-partisan politics..

I see why Putin would invade for short term gain over Ukraine, but the ramifications of another escalated Cold War seem too great to risk for Russia.

I thought Putin was willing to play more of a long game but as troop counts rise he does look impatient.

Fine, I think it's possible but it's becoming more unlikely as troop counts ramp up and tensions continue to raise.

Rebels taking the country would be by force not swaying opinion however unlikely. No country's foreign/domestic policy is set in stone. Especially a young nation like Ukriane. This seems more like attacking/disembling an opposing view for the sake of it now. Just my 2 cents.

Likewise many different things can happen while NATO redeploys in Europe shifting opinion. My position is the same, you mentioned bluffing; I said testing the waters to see what he could get out of all this without full-blown war. Trying more gray war tactics.

They really just ramped it up to 190,000 lol. If Putin invades he invades. I just think he is trying alot of alternatives before invasion. Of course it's still on the table.

We still don't know all the "sanctions" that will be placed on Russia if they invade. Even if Russia invades a total takeover would be difficult, they probably would annex another territory and yes sigh a pledge not to join NATO. Prolonged war benefits no one.

Nothing was clear at the start. Very vague actually. Any position made clear or escalation came as a response from the negotiating table. I still think Putin is probing to find a way to take Ukraine without war while testing the response of NATO, same opinion.

Hello from the states, it all sounds similar to the situation here. https://www.google.com/amp/s/beta.ctvnews.ca/national/canada/2022/2/14/1_5781022.html I can see the majority of Canadians condemn it. There still seems to be alot of support for the protest with people donating to the cause and sparking international follow up protests. Can't wait for the freedom convoy into DC...

Ukraine is a very young nation, very susceptible to swaying. They'll cheer NATO until they realize the west won't risk getting bogged down in a land war in eastern europe. Ukraine has closer ties to Russia and Putin has shown he's willing to fight for it; eventually they have to reach some agreement with him.

That article was written in January when troops were at 100,000 on border and more countries were pledging support. US withdrew their troops and NATO's weak threats have shown they are not willing to risk all out war for Ukraine. This leaves the Ukrainians to themselves. Eventually they will have to come to the table with Putin.

If recent events like Jan 6th and the convoy protest in Canada have shown us anything, it's that public opinion and protests can spark up sporadically anywhere with people questioning their governments. Russia has been bombarding Ukraine with Pro-Russian propaganda for a long time, I just think Putin is more likely to go the KGB route rather then risking all out war.

Putin has stated over and over that his main goal is to stop the expansion of NATO into Ukraine and eastern europe, he doesn't need to invade to change the pieces on the world chess board. We know he just wants to control Ukraine. Russian backed Ukrainian rebels can still take the country from within with close military support. Russia seems to be getting alot more proficient at fighting gray wars. The weak responses by NATO are definitely inviting more Russian escalation.

It still seems unlikely he will invade, Putin is just testing the waters. Congress being bipartisan on anything right now is more surreal considering the current divide. Unfortunately, it seems when America doesn't have a new enemy to fight and/or a major war to keep it's attention; the introspection begins and the dark past comes out causing internal conflict until our next war. America needs to break the wheel. At this point though, I'm just thankful for a somewhat functioning democracy.

"I never win anything," Dolorous Edd complained. "The gods always smiled on Watt, though. When the wildlings knocked him off the Bridge of Skulls, somehow he landed in a nice deep pool of water. How lucky was that, missing all those rocks?" "Was it a long fall?" Grenn wanted to know. "Did landing in the pool of water save his life?" "No," said Dolorous Edd. "He was dead already, from that axe in his head. Still, it was pretty lucky, missing the rocks." Dolorous Edd hands down.

That was my general thought as well, solid background with the Iron Bank. I was also thinking it would be interesting to have a Master of Coin with inner working knowledge of the Iron Bank. That knowledge is profitable and has to make getting a loan easier or settling debts. That's what ya gotta love about the Iron Bank they're willing to gamble and they got the money to do it. Until eventually they will hit a winner and recoup their loses one way or another. I like the idea of someone from Essos holding the position, as many have said Illyrio is a great choice; I imagine he would be a combination of Rego Draz and Littlefinger as Master of Coin.

Tycho Nestoris

Spying

Ice Dragons vs. Dragons?

"Happy wife happy life", (or as close to happiness as you can get with Cersei). Making Cersei truly content seems just as hard as keeping the wildings at bay on the wall. Robert's excessive drinking and whoring make him very difficult too deal with as well. Robert definitely had little interest in ruling so giving Cersei automony over somethings kinda kills two birds with one stone.

I would ask: "Have you tried cocaine George?! Asking for my friend Stephen..."

Robert had a burning hatred for all Targaryen. By killing Elia Martel and her children, Tywin did all the dirty work. It would be a black mark on the beginning of Robert's reign if the scandal was made widely known.