Is it only me or does Putin look really bad in this photo? I mean he seems unhealthy and in addition to that he looks like he aged 10 years in just 2. Amazing speedrun.
I’m a plumber in Denver and we are already dealing with the natural gas ban in the city limits. If someone’s gas water heater goes out it’s possible we have to wait up to two weeks to install one. This is after we have to give a detailed explanation as to why we can’t just upgrade to an electric one. If they deny the gas water heater and make us put in an electric one the cost for the homeowner is way more expensive. It’ll be interesting to see how this will all play out.
Geee fucking attack the Baltics and Poland already. We all know you want to and are stupid enough to actually try, eventually.
I just want them to start as soon as possible, because that means NATO will intervene sooner and end this slaughter of Ukrainians.
I’m sick of just watching how dictators decide the fate of millions. Draft me, train me, do this with a million other people from NATO countries, send us over there and end this goddamn stupid shit.
Do you want a nuclear war? Because this is how you get a nuclear war.
I want the war in Ukraine to stop, I’m just not confident a direct conflict between Russia and NATO is our best option because we know Putin is willing to order a nuclear strike if he gets desperate, and nobody wants that to happen.
We don’t know that Putin is willing to order a nuclear strike if he gets desperate. They want everyone to think that because they hope it makes people afraid of interfering in their shitty behavior.
Apparently, it’s effective on at least some people.
Imagine breaking a treaty, invading a country, starting a war, using cluster bombs and then getting angry at the other guy for defending his country with cluster bombs.
Even if he was killed by cluster bombs, so what? He’s a Russian on Ukraine soil. That doesn’t make him a combatant per she, but it doesn’t make him a innocent bystander either.
I see one comment kind of supporting the Russian reporter, and only about the tone of the comments. That’s it. I really don’t see anyone in this comment section really supporting Russia here.
I 100% agree that this is Russia’s own fault. Don’t put non-soldiers next to soldiers actively fighting in a war, because there’s a good chance they’ll be hit by enemy munitions.
There’s one commenter defending Russia. It’s more anti-Ukraine and implying Russia’s innocence (saying they COULD do the same when they already do so much worse).
As a Ukrainian, I hate English sometimes. In Ukrainian, we have many ways to make a short title phrase very much precise, but in English you have to speak large to speak clear.
The sentence wasn’t necessarily unclear, you just have to have a good grasp on how the rules of English grammar establish the subject and object of the sentence, and you need a good sense for how context clues work, and enough cultural context to know what errors the writer is making so you can correct for them. As with many things, we can blame the French for this.
Protection of journalists as civilians>Without providing a precise definition of them, humanitarian law distinguishes between two categories of journalists working in conflict zones: war correspondents accredited to the armed forces and “independent” journalists. According to the Dictionnaire de droit international public, the former category comprises all “specialized journalists who, with the authorization and under the protection of a belligerent’s armed forces, are present on the theatre of operations with a view to providing information on events related to the hostilities.” This definition reflects a practice followed during the Second World War and the Korean War, when war correspondents wore uniforms, enjoyed officers’ privileges and were placed under the authority of the head of the military unit in which they were incorporated. As for the term “journalist,” it designates, according to a 1975 draft UN convention, “…any correspondent, reporter, photographer, and their technical film, radio and television assistants who are ordinarily engaged in any of these activities as their principal occupation…”
Protection of war correspondents>War correspondents fall into the ill-defined category of “persons who accompany the armed forces without actually being members thereof.” Since they are not part of the armed forces, they enjoy civilian status and the protection derived from that status. Moreover, since they are, in a manner of speaking, associated with the war effort, they are entitled to prisoner-of-war status when they fall into the hands of the enemy, provided they have been duly authorized to accompany the armed forces. …
Protection of “embedded” journalists> Some ambiguity surrounds the status of “embedded” journalists … who accompany military troops in wartime. Embedment is not a new phenomenon; what is new is the sheer scale on which it has been practiced since the 2003 conflict in Iraq. The fact that journalists were assigned to American and British combat units and agreed to conditions of incorporation that obliged them to stick with these units, which ensured their protection, would liken them to the war correspondents mentioned in the Third Geneva Convention. And indeed, the guidelines issued by the British Ministry of Defence regarding the media grant the status of prisoners of war to embedded journalists who are taken prisoner. According to unofficial sources, however, it would seem that the French military authorities consider “embeds” as “unilaterals” who are only entitled to civilian status, as stipulated in Article 79 of Protocol I. A clarification on this point would seem essential. […] >The way in which “unilateral” journalists surround themselves with armed bodyguards can have dangerous consequences for all journalists. On 13 April 2003, the private security escort of a CNN crew on its way to Tikrit (northern Iraq) responded with an automatic weapon after the convoy came under fire at the entrance to the town. Some journalists are concerned by this new type of behaviour, which is contrary to all the rules of the profession: “Such a practice sets a dangerous precedent that could jeopardise all other journalists covering this war as well as others in the future,” said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard. “There is a real risk that combatants will henceforth assume that all press vehicles are armed. Journalists can and must try to protect themselves by such methods as travelling in bulletproof vehicles and wearing bulletproof vests, but employing private security firms that do not hesitate to use their firearms just increases the confusion between reporters and combatants.”
Loss of protection>… The fact that a journalist engages in propaganda cannot be considered as direct participation (see below). It is only when a journalist takes a direct part in the hostilities that he loses his immunity and becomes a legitimate target. …
Obligation to take precautionary measures when launching attacks that could affect journalists and news media>The lawfulness of an attack depends not only on the nature of the target – which must be a military objective – but also on whether the required precautions have been taken, in particular as regards respect for the principle of proportionality and the obligation to give warning. In this regard, journalists and news media do not enjoy a particular status but benefit from the general protection against the effects of hostilities that Protocol I grants to civilians and civilian objects.
The principle of proportionality: a curb on immunity for journalists and media>[…] It was only in 1977 that [the principle of proportionality] was enshrined in a convention, namely in Articles 51 (5) (b) and 57 (2) (a) (iii) of Protocol I. This principle represents an attempt to reduce as much as possible the “collateral damage” caused by military operations. It provides the criterion that makes it possible to determine to what degree such damage can be justified under international humanitarian law: there must be a reasonable correlation between legitimate destruction and undesirable collateral effects. According to the principle of proportionality as set out in the above-mentioned articles, the accidental collateral effects of the attack, that is to say the incidental harmful effects on protected persons and property, must not be excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage. […]
ConclusionIt follows from the above that journalists and their equipment enjoy immunity, the former as civilians, the latter as a result of the general protection that international humanitarian law grants to civilian objects. However, this immunity is not absolute. Journalists are protected only as long as they do not take a direct part in the hostilities. News media, even when used for propaganda purposes, enjoy immunity from attacks, except when they are used for military purposes or to incite war crimes, genocide or acts of violence. However, even when an attack on news media may be justified for such reasons, every feasible precaution must be taken to avoid, or at least limit, loss of human life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. […]
Using cluster munitions against a group of civilians is disproportionate. The group included at least four journalists. One killed, three injured. The killing was unlawful (even if the journalist was a propagandist).
The correct response is not to be joyful that a Russian journalist has been killed (i.e. on the grounds that Russia has killed journalists). It is to uphold the universal principal that all killing of journalists in wartime is illegal. Otherwise, all that gesticulating about the ‘international rules based order’ and all that outrage at Russian war crimes is just empty posturing. And justifying war crimes because the enemy has committed them renders the Geneva convention meaningless.
United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1738 (2006), 23 December 2006, supports the above description, and (emphasis added):
Reaffirms its condemnation of all incitements to violence against civilians in situations of armed conflict, further reaffirms the need to bring to justice, in accordance with applicable international law, individuals who incite such violence, and indicates its willingness, when authorizing missions, to consider, where appropriate, steps in response to media broadcast inciting genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law[.]
Otherwise, all that gesticulating about the ‘international rules based order’ and all that outrage at Russian war crimes is just empty posturing. And justifying war crimes because the enemy has committed them renders the Geneva convention meaningless.
Yet it is meaningless in the context of nuclear countries. International law works more as a suggestion as you can’t forcibly enforce it against country that just says no to you.
But yes if confirmed by 3rd parties that Ukraine is responsible for the death of the journalist in the manner Russian Foreign Ministry described there should be consequences.
reuters.com
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