On the news this morning, it said that a UN proposal condemming Russia was blocked.
It was blocked by Russia who is holding the chair at the moment.
Sums it all up doesnât it
Just a lunch club for posh boys and girls, these quangos are all the same.
Iâm afraid to say that in many ways the UN is irrelevant, good for humanitarian aid etc and some forms of peacekeeping but in situations like this it is powerless to actually do anything positive.
Resolution condemning Russia proposed by France, US, UK, vetoed by Russia; China and India abstained. So exactly what you might expect.
It should always have been a majority vote, anything that allows a state to veto any motion brought against itself is and always was a fudge, so yes it is toothless.
Iâm not sure it is irrelevant because it has at least forced some countries to show their hands, which could be useful later if the majority of the world seeks to extend sanctions at some point to countries who support the Russian aggression either formally or for self interest.
China was a slight surprise, I thought that bearing in mind their expansionist attitudes they might have voted against. But India and UAE, what is that all about? UAE, a rich but tiny and thus vulnerable state should really be on the side of the underdog, and India, what the hell is that all about? Do they want to keep their powder dry for an invasion of Pakistan? Hardly, apart from the mutual nuclear issue, there is surely no way they would want to have to invade and effectively absorb 225 million more Muslims into their already troubled experience.
I have been alone, as far as I can see, in mentioning the risks to Finland and Sweden, but for the first time last night they were brought into one of the discussions. To my mind, the only national I would less want to be at the moment than Ukrainian, would be Finnish. Hundreds of years of bad experience with Russia and a very fragile neutrality with a long common border, they really should have taken a leaf out of the Baltic/Eastern European statesâ book long ago. Too late now, just fingers crossed that the evil Putin gets a bloody nose in Ukraine, a success there with a neutered puppet regime would only encourage him to look for another âsoftâ target elsewhere.
My bravery awards go to the hundreds of people signing up and collect their guns in Ukraine, but also to those numerous Russians who came out onto the streets in protest knowing full well what awaited many of them when roughly bungled into a police van.
Finally, the UN and ever increasingly serious sanctions aside, the best encouragement to those ordinary Russians would be the total blanking of Russia by all sports associations and sports people. That wouldnât hit their pockets, as financial sanctions will eventually ours, but a very bitter pill to know why they as a nation are totally isolated in the whole world. Which is why I would hope that such sanctions would be applied to countries, like India, who refuse to take part themselves. Can you imagine what no more cricket played there would do and even if their own stars could not play at home if they wanted to play elsewhere?
Hardly news, I believe we already know their hands.
But very useful for the catering and hotel/ flight perspective so the lunch club can consume fine foods from all over their UN states.
Well I must have missed India and the UAE clapping the sight of missiles landing on an inoffensive country, so news to me. I also thought that the Chinese might even support the incursion in some way. Perhaps they donât want to cock up the coming paralympics in Beijing. On that score I do hope that Russians, already sneaking in under a joke banner, would be denied access, or if not, that other athletes would refuse to compete against them.
Why? The underdog is less powerful, who wants to back a loser? Probably a short-term view but the UAE is a fairly short-term place.
The UAE isnât really a country, itâs a federation of seven states, one of which is very rich, Abu Dhabi, but most donât havenât any money at all. Sharjah, I believe, lives on Saudi handouts. Which is why it is dry, except for some bizarre reason its cricket club, where Iâve lunched.
When I lived in Dubai, the only other emirate with a few bob, a wealthy, elderly Indian gentleman, who had been there most of his life, gave me his interpretation of its history to me.
Dubai was originally a break away from Abu Dhabi by two families who then fell out. In the mid 1800s one of the families, the Maktoums, invited the other, the Oneids, to a âpeace and reconciliationâ feast on the their side of Dubai creek. They slaughtered the Oneids after dinner and have run Dubai ever since. Piracy, with a sideline in slavery, was the main industry in Dubai at that stage. Then there was all the Trucal States business and the old piracy business wasnât what it used to be, so they turned to trading.
How Dubaiâs growth has been funded has always been bit obscure but even when I was there, over twenty years ago, and even in the most âexclusiveâ spots, there were a lot of dodgy Russians around, and dodgy Russian prostitutes to look after them.
Iâd say Dubai is awash with dodgy Russian money and thatâs why they UAE abstained.
A good reason to add them to the list then, but, of course, it wonât happen.
Almost as much as London, probably.
It was my understanding that this is the reason the resolution was changed from âcondemnâ to another word I entirely forget, you can look up the exact wording Iâm sure 
A resolution to condemn China would have voted against, the lesser wording was negotiated with them to âallowâ them to abstain instead.
Edit: âdeploringâ was the actual word used instead of condemn.
I think was changed to âRussia is very, very naughtyâ.
Thatâs just an excuse surely? 
No Tim, itâs an explanation
Which is of course what I said to you on another thread, does this mean the penny has finally dropped?
Are you stalking me Tim 
You start so many threads on the same subject itâs hard to keep up with what youâve said where.