In the past several days we’ve seen countries around the world close their airspace to Russian airlines, due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. One company has just terminated an agreement with Aeroflot, and this will arguably have more implications on Aeroflot’s ability to operate than anything else we’ve seen up until this point.
In this post:
Sabre terminates Aeroflot contract
Sabre is a leading software technology company in the travel industry, which powers many airlines’ reservations systems. It has today been announced that Sabre is ending its distribution agreement with Aeroflot.
Sabre is removing Aeroflot flight content from its global distribution system, which is the marketplace used by travel agencies, travel websites, and corporations around the world to shop, book, and service flight reservations. This basically leaves Russia’s government-owned airline in a position where it can no longer sell tickets.
However, it’s worth noting that Sabre isn’t yet terminating its agreement with Aeroflot for other flight management functions. If that were to happen the airline wouldn’t just struggle to sell seats, but would struggle to operate any flights.
As Sabre CEO Sean Menke describes this:
“Sabre has been monitoring the evolving situation in Ukraine with increasing concern. From the beginning, our primary focus has been the safety of our team members in the impacted region, as well as doing our part to support the much-needed relief efforts. We are taking a stand against this military conflict. We are complying, and will continue to comply, with sanctions imposed against Russia. In addition, today we announced that Sabre has terminated its distribution agreement with Aeroflot, removing its content from our GDS.”
Sabre will continue monitoring this ongoing situation, and will evaluate whether additional actions are appropriate, taking into account legal considerations and any counter measures that could be implemented in response (which I suspect is why other functions haven’t been cut off yet).
Sabre has also donated $1 million to the Polish Red Cross, which will be used to purchase food, hygiene products, and sleeping bags, for those seeking shelter in Poland.
Well done, Sabre!
It’s not often I think to myself “way to go, big faceless for-profit corporation, you rock!” But in this case I’d like to say “way to go, Sabre, you rock!”
While the airspace bans we’ve seen implemented so far have ramifications for Russia, they pale in comparison to a global distribution system cutting off Sabre. At the end of the day most airlines are reliant on independent technology companies to actually sell flights, as well as perform all kinds of other flight management functions.
It’s great to see Sabre taking a stand, because this will have a worse impact on Aeroflot’s ability to operate than just about anything else imaginable.
This situation is of course complicated, in the sense the Russian people aren’t to blame for this (most are great people), but rather Putin’s regime is. Putin isn’t going to be directly harmed by not being able to fly Aeroflot, and for that matter, neither are the uber-wealthy people surrounding Putin.
However, realistically one likely path to Putin losing power is if Russians get fed up enough and revolt. As much as that sucks, placing as many sanctions against Russia as possible is the most likely path to that happening.
Bottom line
Travel technology company Sabre has terminated its agreement with Aeroflot. That means Aeroflot can no longer sell tickets through traditional means. Now here’s to hoping that Sabre takes it a step further, and cuts off Aeroflot’s flight management systems as well. Good luck to Aeroflot… the airline will need it.
(Tip of the hat to @TheFlying_Hippo)
Maybe it’s because Aeroflot can’t pay its bill to Sabre? The airline pays a fee for every segment booked in Sabre.
Were you cheering to have the Ukrainian airlines banned from Sabre over the past 8 years when they were bombing eastern Ukraine? If not, then why now? All you are doing is choosing sides in what is really a civil war. I want to see the war end, but that means not choosing sides. You cannot be for the US and the West sending weapons to the Kiev regime and stand for peace at the same time.
Can't make this stuff up!
The whole world would be speaking German today if Churchill, FDR and, yes, Stalin had approached WWII as you are advocating for the Ukraine conflict, another unprovoked war.
Si vis pacem, para bellum !!!
Russians with voting eligibility had the prerogative to put Putin in office. They can do what it takes to remove him, if they so desire. The West can sanction, Russia can counter sanction. People are dying in Ukraine, and we all play our cards. Puerto Rico, Guam and whoever else can leave the US, let Eastern Ukraine and Crimea vote to be annexed by Russia, let the remaining Ukraine join NATO. Do you place a...
Russians with voting eligibility had the prerogative to put Putin in office. They can do what it takes to remove him, if they so desire. The West can sanction, Russia can counter sanction. People are dying in Ukraine, and we all play our cards. Puerto Rico, Guam and whoever else can leave the US, let Eastern Ukraine and Crimea vote to be annexed by Russia, let the remaining Ukraine join NATO. Do you place a higher value on oil, money, comfort, power than you do on human life?
Probably the best way to persude Russian people to organaize a coup is to show them an example - how you americans treated other war crime. But wait a minute - Carter, Clinton, Bush, Obama are seems to be fine! Does it mean you value Ukrainain lives more then Iraqian, Afganian and many others?
Ben, you are naive to think that the more sanctions the West throws against Russia, the more chance that ordinary Russians will rise up and overthrow the regime - when has this ever happened in history in any totalitarian country? There have been daily protests throughout Russia since the war began and everyone I know here in Moscow is totally against this pointless war. Ordinary Russians feel helpless, and whilst sanctions might make you feel...
Ben, you are naive to think that the more sanctions the West throws against Russia, the more chance that ordinary Russians will rise up and overthrow the regime - when has this ever happened in history in any totalitarian country? There have been daily protests throughout Russia since the war began and everyone I know here in Moscow is totally against this pointless war. Ordinary Russians feel helpless, and whilst sanctions might make you feel smug, they simply punish the wrong people.
Aeroflot lost Amadeus GDS too. Just received an email by Amadeus.
Aeroflot lost Amadeus GDS too. Just received an email by Amadeus.
bring it on
Did Sabre cut off all US airlines when Uncle Sam illegally invaded Iraq? No. So why this self-righteous anger now? Perhaps the company should reflect on why Pres. Putin was forced to invade the Ukraine. Has NATO expansion been forgotten? Has the overthrow by Nuland et al. Of the democratically elected pro-Russian Ukrainian govt. been erased from history?
Found Putin's account.
@Indopithecus - Back to the basics. Why was Putin "forced" to invade Ukraine? Why can't NATO expand to sovereign states that request membership on their own (as opposed to being coerced via a military invasion)? The Ukrainians thew out the pro-Russia puppet, so what is your point?!
You seem to me like Russo-bot serving up very weak sauce...
Are you really that naïve? Imagine if Mexico had wanted to join the Warsaw pact in the 1980s. Do you think for a second that the US would not have prohibited that militarily if necessary?
In the 1980s when Nicaragua chose a different path, and received military aid from the USSR, what did the US govt do? They started a proxy war against the Nicaragau. And the USSR did what the US govt is...
Are you really that naïve? Imagine if Mexico had wanted to join the Warsaw pact in the 1980s. Do you think for a second that the US would not have prohibited that militarily if necessary?
In the 1980s when Nicaragua chose a different path, and received military aid from the USSR, what did the US govt do? They started a proxy war against the Nicaragau. And the USSR did what the US govt is doing today, provided material support but zero direct military support.
None of this justifies Putin's actions just like Nicaragua's actions did not justify the US actions. But until both sides are willing to talk to each other, this is not going to end and there will never be lasting peace.
Thanks Saber
Meanwhile, the US continues to buy Russian oil. Until that ends, we are complicit.
So where’s Travelport (former Worldspan/Galileo) in all of this? They have remained silent throughout, and a number of the top websites, such as Expedia, Orbitz, Hotwire, etc. run off them. They ALL need to come forward and cut their PCAs with SU.
Lucky, this is a lot less serious than you think. AY was pulled out of Sabre for half a year from Dec. 2019 to Jun. 2020. The key is the hosting agreement, not distribution. I thought Sabre had terminated the hosting agreement after reading the title, which is misleading as well.
I wouldn’t fly Aeroflot even they still sell any tickets. But good to know how a company’s software is managing all the tickets for airlines! Great knowledge learned today.
Russia is too large, it needs to be split into 5 countries to make the world a safer place.
US should also be split into 6 countries to make the world at peace
And while you want Russia to split into 5, USA split into 6.
China is pushing for one.
See how perspective is so different here?
Cut them off entirely right now !!
Congratulations to Sabre............integrity replaces profits and complicity.
You can't say anymore that you are far away from politics. For too long it was way to escape reality. No more. Stop Putin now!
I'm just shocked at the number of comments that believe bullying Russia will lead to uprising that will overthrow Putin.
This same method seems to work so well in North Korea, Cuba, or Iran.
Irony here is people who are trying to take down confederates statues or judging history with the current perspective. Same people who probably favor sanctions against Russia. Yet these people never judge imperialism with current perspective.
French Polynesia, maybe rather than...
I'm just shocked at the number of comments that believe bullying Russia will lead to uprising that will overthrow Putin.
This same method seems to work so well in North Korea, Cuba, or Iran.
Irony here is people who are trying to take down confederates statues or judging history with the current perspective. Same people who probably favor sanctions against Russia. Yet these people never judge imperialism with current perspective.
French Polynesia, maybe rather than bullying Russian people, you can start by not going to Bora Bora until they get their independence?
Guam? Puerto Rico? Or American Samoa? (and please tell me the people there have closer ties with USA than with Samoa)
Businesses should mind their own business, not geopolitics.
Apples and oranges, as usual.
Bullying Putin won't lead Russians to overthrow him, just like it did not get Germans to turn against Adolf, if or rather because deep down the Russians do not disapprove of Putin. It is why they are complicit by doing nothing. To counter Russia, the tried and true formula of everyone else uniting against a rogue regime is what will ultimately work, just as it did against the Third...
Apples and oranges, as usual.
Bullying Putin won't lead Russians to overthrow him, just like it did not get Germans to turn against Adolf, if or rather because deep down the Russians do not disapprove of Putin. It is why they are complicit by doing nothing. To counter Russia, the tried and true formula of everyone else uniting against a rogue regime is what will ultimately work, just as it did against the Third Reich.
French Polynesia, Bora Bora, Guam, Puerto Rico, and other post-colonial territories are in a different category because there is no evidence that they are agitating for "independence", which they pretty much already have.
Please tell me you do not condone Putin's unprovoked attack on a large sovereign nation...
@Eskimo
Once an apologist. Always an apologist.....Your nihilism and rationalization of mediocrity - whether it's about airlines or geopolitics - has at least been predictable and constant. I saw through you from the very first day. And there was nothing but emptiness...
@DCS
I'm not going to comment on deep down how the Russians or Germans feel because I'm neither. But from a historical perspective, I agree, you just can't topple a regime by expecting the people will cause uprising. It's just not going to happen.
It's different to you because post-colonial territories have been successfully brainwashed, and not agitating for "independence"? So by your "independence" should justify the conquest? Not to count all those colonies who...
@DCS
I'm not going to comment on deep down how the Russians or Germans feel because I'm neither. But from a historical perspective, I agree, you just can't topple a regime by expecting the people will cause uprising. It's just not going to happen.
It's different to you because post-colonial territories have been successfully brainwashed, and not agitating for "independence"? So by your "independence" should justify the conquest? Not to count all those colonies who did seek and got their independence. Does it justify the British to conquer India, now that it's been given independence? (Probably an easy yes for you)
People of North Korea doesn't seem to be agitating for "independence" so why are we not leaving that regime alone?
The problem is the West is judging the world from their own angle. So if Putin invaded Ukraine, and some how managed get people not agitating for "independence", means Putin's invasion is justifiable?
I do condone the actions of Putin. Not that his action is justifiable, but it's also far from being unprovoked either. Same goes with many of the reaction against Putin.
And really, why didn't the same group of people do the same when Putin went for Crimea years ago.
@John
Care to add something useful yourself?
Being too dumb to understand anything is why you only see nihilism. Your brain is empty. But you'll hate me even more when I tell you Santa Clause isn't real, and the tooth fairy is just your loving parents. (if you ever had one)
Wrong. Ever heard of the French Revolution, the American Revolution or Ukraine's 2014 Revolution of Dignity? Etc? Etc? Etc? It takes moral authority, clarity and, yes, courage, which neither Nazi-era Germans nor...
Wrong. Ever heard of the French Revolution, the American Revolution or Ukraine's 2014 Revolution of Dignity? Etc? Etc? Etc? It takes moral authority, clarity and, yes, courage, which neither Nazi-era Germans nor present-day Russians can claim because ________ (you can fill in the blank because I am sure you know what Nazi-Germany and present-day Russia have in common vs. Western liberal democracies).
There is no brainwashing of pre-colonial territories, which prosper precisely because of their affiliations with and the protection of powerful democracies. Imagine Puerto Rico without its US affiliation. It would be a poor, third-world island-state...
'Nuff said. Putin's adventurism won't fare any better than did the Fuhrer's because he's now gone where the latter went and united the world against him, triggering the Kabayashi Maru aka no-win scenario.
Everything else in the comment is just the usual contrarian-for-the-sake-ot-it fluff.
Goodbye.
@DCS
It's Kobayashi Maru and Captain Kirk did beat it.
It's no-win is because you aren't capable enough to think beyond the box.
French Revolution, the American Revolution or Ukraine's 2014 Revolution of Dignity? Etc? Etc? Etc? was not originated from foreign bullies putting sanctions. It was mostly internal (and maybe some hidden foreign influence).
Just like you admitted, deep down the Russians do not disapprove of Putin. So it's just not going to...
@DCS
It's Kobayashi Maru and Captain Kirk did beat it.
It's no-win is because you aren't capable enough to think beyond the box.
French Revolution, the American Revolution or Ukraine's 2014 Revolution of Dignity? Etc? Etc? Etc? was not originated from foreign bullies putting sanctions. It was mostly internal (and maybe some hidden foreign influence).
Just like you admitted, deep down the Russians do not disapprove of Putin. So it's just not going to happen.
While Putin is bad, being the opposite doesn't make you good.
Isn't it Western liberal democracies that uses nuclear weapons for the only campaign in history, twice?
Imagine Puerto Rico without its US affiliation?
No point in commenting in a parallel universe of what if? Anyone can play what if.
Imagine Iwo Jima without its US affiliation?
Imagine Singapore still under British affiliation?
Imagine Cuba with ballistic missiles?
Pointless.
Everything else in the comment is just the usual contrarian-for-the-sake-ot-it fluff.
'Nuff said
1: Kirk cheated.
2: You are absolutely wrong about the absence of external influences/pressures in so-called "internal" revolutions. But internal, external or otherwise, revolutions require moral clarity and courage, which Russians, like Nazi-era Germans, do not have, in large part for having been under totalitarian regimes for way too long.
4: V Putin, like Alexander of Macedonia, J Caesar, N Bonaparte, A Hitler and other would-be 'conquerors' has crossed into personal non grata...
1: Kirk cheated.
2: You are absolutely wrong about the absence of external influences/pressures in so-called "internal" revolutions. But internal, external or otherwise, revolutions require moral clarity and courage, which Russians, like Nazi-era Germans, do not have, in large part for having been under totalitarian regimes for way too long.
4: V Putin, like Alexander of Macedonia, J Caesar, N Bonaparte, A Hitler and other would-be 'conquerors' has crossed into personal non grata land and his days are numbered....
Good luck.
1. Kirk cheated or not depends on perspective. One could argue the test cheated too.
2. moral clarity? I'm sure BLM have all your 'prerequisites' yet here we are.
3. missing???
4. agreed. His days are numbered. But no one lives forever.
4.1 How do you define 'conquerors', likely in terms of geopolitics? But what about religious conqueror? Each Holiness does have territories. Some even fought holy wars for holy lands. (and there goes the can of worms)
Cost-cutting after the dunder mifflin acquisition
Sir,
As a former resident of the USSR I can assure you that you're very wrong in your statement "the Russian people aren’t to blame for this (most are great people)". 86% percent of Russian voted for Putin during the election. 70%+ support Putin's aggression now. Don't you know that the majority of Germans loved Hitler? Here is the same case. That's why it's very important to hit every Russian where it hurts. Maybe...
Sir,
As a former resident of the USSR I can assure you that you're very wrong in your statement "the Russian people aren’t to blame for this (most are great people)". 86% percent of Russian voted for Putin during the election. 70%+ support Putin's aggression now. Don't you know that the majority of Germans loved Hitler? Here is the same case. That's why it's very important to hit every Russian where it hurts. Maybe then they will open their eyes. Although living there for 30+ years makes me doubt it very much. Anyway, thank you Sabre.
The 70% or more of the population do not even know what is going on. They do not have access to independent news media. Instead they have to rely on state controlled media which insists that there is no war. The duma (Russian parliament) just approved a new law. Delivering and passing on any other than state approved news carries a sentence upto 15 years. More than 7.000 anti-war demonstrators have already been detained.
Indeed good on Sabre and Amadeus and every other financial/transaction system needs to do the same.
Keep doing it. Penalize the financial system, kill SWIFT. Makes my bitcoin and crypto going up.
You keep harping on your personal circumstances like we give a **** LOL.
I guess Aeroflot will start using Travelsky soon...
(For those not familiar Travelsky is the GDS used by all airlines in mainland China)
For those who say general Russian publics are not involved with Ukrainian war and should not be punished. To this I say SILENCE is COMPLICITY.
Bring that same energy to the US where unarmed people of color are being killed daily. You wanna talk about silence? Look no further than the US.
@Alonzo:
Because you disagree with American politics you think the Russian invasion is justified? Or what is your point?
I think that the Iraq war was wrong! But at the same time I think that the Russian invasion is wrong and has to be ended immediately.
Exactly. It's like everyone thinks you can be on one side or the other, and that it.
Nope, I can list you a whole bunch of stuff that Russia, the US, the UK, Australia etc etc have done that I have a major problem with.
Schoolchild level whataboutism.
I don't disagree with anything you're saying. My comment was purely on silence means complacent.
Please stop posting. The constant false equivalence or bothside-ism simply shows your total lack of perspective.
Just because my perspective differs than yours. Lol, go home donkey.
Gas lighting much? We are talking about Russia invading Ukraine. Stick to the topic at hand. But maybe you are not capable.
Yes. The US has been entirely silent about unarmed people of color being killed. Nothing has happened on that front. You're 100% correct.
Agreed. It's like arguing that ordinary Germans were not "involved" in the Third Reich's atrocities. By doing nothing, they were involved.
Could they have made a difference? Absolutely! The French Revolution, the American Revolution, and, yes, the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, aka the "Maidan Revolution" that culminated in...
Agreed. It's like arguing that ordinary Germans were not "involved" in the Third Reich's atrocities. By doing nothing, they were involved.
Could they have made a difference? Absolutely! The French Revolution, the American Revolution, and, yes, the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, aka the "Maidan Revolution" that culminated in the ousting of pro-Russian puppet President Viktor Yanukovych, are examples of people deciding to make a difference by challenging their rulers...
Anti-war protestors in Moscow were arrested from day one. People can't afford to be arrested and whatever happens to them as a result of political dissent. You don't understand fear of government because you live in a democracy, but even then, we just watched a western government crack down on protestors by using a power overreach that they're being sued against by impartial lawyer groups for doing so. Dissent is often silenced and that's not...
Anti-war protestors in Moscow were arrested from day one. People can't afford to be arrested and whatever happens to them as a result of political dissent. You don't understand fear of government because you live in a democracy, but even then, we just watched a western government crack down on protestors by using a power overreach that they're being sued against by impartial lawyer groups for doing so. Dissent is often silenced and that's not good. Stop accusing those who are silent. You would do the same.
Good for Sabre. Data is power and the GDS companies hold that power. I worked for Worldspan a bunch of years ago and worked on the team that was helping start Orbitz. The amount of travel and reservation data we held was stunning. So good for Sabre for doing what it could to hamper Putin's efforts. And not only that but making such a generous donation to help the now over 1M refugees fleeing Ukraine.
I'm still seeing Aeroflot content in my agency's GDS, Amadeus, which is has the largest market share worldwide. As mentioned, Sabre(which has the largest market share in the US) has a distribution and hosting agreement with Aeroflot. Ending the distribution agreement, will hurt Aeroflot, agencies who use Sabre will not be able to book flights on Aeroflot. This does happen from time to time when GDS companies get into contract disputes with carriers.
Terminating...
I'm still seeing Aeroflot content in my agency's GDS, Amadeus, which is has the largest market share worldwide. As mentioned, Sabre(which has the largest market share in the US) has a distribution and hosting agreement with Aeroflot. Ending the distribution agreement, will hurt Aeroflot, agencies who use Sabre will not be able to book flights on Aeroflot. This does happen from time to time when GDS companies get into contract disputes with carriers.
Terminating the hosting agreement will be much more impactful, the airlines rely heavily on their hosting GDS for all reservation related activity. Aeroflot would have to scramble to find someone to keep track of their current and future reservations, seat assignments, ticketing and check in to name just a few things. Small carriers function without GDS hosting, but all major carriers use one of the 4 major GDS systems to handle these functions.
Well done. The only two options on the table are to force Russia to stop with the help of economic sanctions or to eventually have to fight them militarily. None of these sanctions will make a difference for Ukraine but they will make a difference for Russia's ability to attack someone else in the future.
I'm pretty sure Sabre is cutting off support to Aeroflot temporarily. Definitely can't imagine this being permanent. So this helps how in the future? You act like Russia didn't know any of this was going to happen. Like it's some big shock lol.
The whole world thought severe sanctions and economic depression would stop the Weimar Republic from ever attacking someone else in the future (that is Germany btw) and things were so bad for the regular people that it made it extremely easy for the more aggressive party to rise and you know they attacked someone else in the future. So why we cheer every time we see more pain inflected on russian people do we ever...
The whole world thought severe sanctions and economic depression would stop the Weimar Republic from ever attacking someone else in the future (that is Germany btw) and things were so bad for the regular people that it made it extremely easy for the more aggressive party to rise and you know they attacked someone else in the future. So why we cheer every time we see more pain inflected on russian people do we ever consider this might only reiterate Putin's aggression and ultimately lead him to more drastic actions?
And how did things work out in the end for "the more aggressive party that rose and attacked someone else"?
Because Russia in 2022 is not Weimar Republic. They are Hitler Germany circa 1937-1939. They were in their Weimar stage in 1990s and nobody sanctioned them at that time. In fact, millions of Russians avoided starvation in early 1990s because of Western economic aid.
If you want to use this comparison: The Weimar Republic is long over in Russia. They already have their leader.
The Problem during the Third Reich was the same as it is with Russia: Appeasement. Hoping that the dictatorship will vanish at some
Point.
If The Third Reich would’ve been sanctioned earlier, many lives could’ve been saved.
I don't really understand the cheering here. The people of Russia are being punished for something they have nothing to do with. So punishing people for one person's wrong makes this ok? Nah.
I am sorry, who is bombing Ukraine cities right now? Martians? or these innocent and cuddly people of Russia you worry about?
You say it like every citizen of Russia is involved in this. Most are not, they're nice people like Ben said. Cutting off support for the people in Russia seems shortsighted and pointless. Should this same company do the same when the US goes to war as well?
When dealing with tyrants like Putin it's unfortunate that economic sanctions is one set of useful tools. You're right that it's unfortunate that people will beat the brunt of it but, other than sending in armies to support Ukraine, sanctions can do a lot of mind changing. If things get so bad in Russia that the people turn against Putin then maybe he'll stop this madness. So yes, it's terrible that people suffer, and this...
When dealing with tyrants like Putin it's unfortunate that economic sanctions is one set of useful tools. You're right that it's unfortunate that people will beat the brunt of it but, other than sending in armies to support Ukraine, sanctions can do a lot of mind changing. If things get so bad in Russia that the people turn against Putin then maybe he'll stop this madness. So yes, it's terrible that people suffer, and this is not the first instance of this happening in modern times. Iran, North Korea, Cuba, the list is replete with peoples forced to suffer because of their leadership.
Can't make this stuff up!
By keeping quiet about Putin's unprovoked war, the Russian people are involved. If most are not "involved" as you claim,...
Can't make this stuff up!
By keeping quiet about Putin's unprovoked war, the Russian people are involved. If most are not "involved" as you claim, then they should make it clear to Putin that they disapprove of the attack, and call for it to be stopped immediately. The Russian people are not the victim of an unprovoked attack. They are not the ones who are being slaughtered. Ukrainians are, which means that your logic, to the extent that there is even one, is upside down and twisted.
GDS should do the same to any country, including the US.
So "keeping quiet" makes you involved? Guess all the quiet folks in the US who didn't speak out against Trump are morons too. You do know that folks in Russia are silenced just like China, right? You talk like you're on the ground in Russia or something lol. If y'all think this is going to stop or deter Putin, then you don't know much about how this is about to play out in the next...
So "keeping quiet" makes you involved? Guess all the quiet folks in the US who didn't speak out against Trump are morons too. You do know that folks in Russia are silenced just like China, right? You talk like you're on the ground in Russia or something lol. If y'all think this is going to stop or deter Putin, then you don't know much about how this is about to play out in the next few days. Russian citizens aren't the victim but making them a casualty of war seems dumb. Cheering for it is even dumber.
I will repeat what I jut posted up-thread: Your argument is essentially that ordinary Germans were not "involved" in the Third Reich's atrocities. However, by doing nothing, they were involved.
Could they have made a difference? Absolutely! The French Revolution, the American Revolution, and, yes, the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, aka the "Maidan Revolution" that culminated in the ousting of pro-Russian puppet President Viktor Yanukovych, are examples of people deciding to make a difference by challenging their rulers...
Stop posting.
What?? I don't think anyone knows or even cares what you're talking about except you and that other donkey Vitali.
@Alonzo - You are the clueless one, just as clueless as is Putin, considering the overwhelming repudiation of your (and Putin's) nonsensical claims.
Stop posting!!!
I guess (most) US people is keeping quiet when Afghanistan, Iranian, Syrian, people from SRJ are suffering from bombs made in USA. If you believe democrat is a real thing and can declare/terminate a war, then "most" must be accurate.
Majority of Russian citizens do still support the war. Why do you think all neighboring countries refer to them as Mordor?
If you really believe these bogus reports about anything coming out of Russia, you're dumber than Putin. I ain't heard any Russians coming on CNBC or CNN saying they support war. Any report is as accurate as anything that comes from the CDC. Toilet paper.
@ Alonzo, I was in Kyiv until 2/13, hold an advanced degree in international relations, read my news in Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, English and Italian. I also have friends and family in every country involved in conflict (incl Russia). What's your story? I will not even respond to your personal attack.
Alonzo is like most internet morons who have expert opinions just because they read a couple of articles in Vice or watch a TikTok video. The scary part about this is that they actually believe that it's possible to be an expert without knowing a language or travelling to that said country before. Arrogance at its finest.
The people of Russia are being inconvenienced (seriously, in some cases). We, in the west will also be inconvenienced. The people of Ukraine are being slaughtered and, eventually, deprived of their national existence. So let's keep some perspective.
Of all the populations involved the one most able to put a stop to this are the Russians. While no one confuses Russia with a democracy that responds to small movements in public opinion no one believes...
The people of Russia are being inconvenienced (seriously, in some cases). We, in the west will also be inconvenienced. The people of Ukraine are being slaughtered and, eventually, deprived of their national existence. So let's keep some perspective.
Of all the populations involved the one most able to put a stop to this are the Russians. While no one confuses Russia with a democracy that responds to small movements in public opinion no one believes that this war will end without substantial push-back from the population. Also, it's believed that about 68% of the Russian population does, in fact, support the "special military operation".
How many air tickets are Ukraine International selling right now? The people of Ukraine are being punished for something. They have nothing to do with.
You are right, Ben: Russians need to stand up against the war-criminal Putin and his cronies. Change must come from within.
“Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men…”
How about the war criminals Trump, Obama, Bush & family, Clinton, Boris, Tony, and other innumerable leaders of the West, who contributed to deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people of Afghanistan, Iraq, etc under the pretext of spreading freedom and democracy, for the obvious purpose of enriching their corporations, at the expense of my tax money?
Putin is a criminal of the same caliber as those “freedom fighters”, yet no one (well, almost...
How about the war criminals Trump, Obama, Bush & family, Clinton, Boris, Tony, and other innumerable leaders of the West, who contributed to deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people of Afghanistan, Iraq, etc under the pretext of spreading freedom and democracy, for the obvious purpose of enriching their corporations, at the expense of my tax money?
Putin is a criminal of the same caliber as those “freedom fighters”, yet no one (well, almost no one) called for destruction of entire societies to punish their crimes.
The war in Ukraine (and all other wars) should stop immediately. But the PR stunts of the greedy corporations that never blinked their eyes at their own governments’ crimes in the past 60 years should be called for what they are: PR. The inevitable outcome will be to make common people suffer and stick even more to their leaders’ crazy visions. Just read the history a bit.
Ben, I have been and will continue to be an avid reader of the blog. However, your following statement is very naive: "However, realistically the most likely path to Putin losing power is if Russians get fed up enough and revolt. As much as that sucks, placing as many sanctions against Russia as possible is the most likely way to accomplish that.".... It's not as simple as that, especially when there is an authoritarian regime...
Ben, I have been and will continue to be an avid reader of the blog. However, your following statement is very naive: "However, realistically the most likely path to Putin losing power is if Russians get fed up enough and revolt. As much as that sucks, placing as many sanctions against Russia as possible is the most likely way to accomplish that.".... It's not as simple as that, especially when there is an authoritarian regime in place. Any attempted revolt would be brutally put down and likely be unsuccessful. I say target the oligarchs. They're the ones with the means and influence to change things, especially if their bank accounts dwindle too far. The average person doesn't have much power to do anything. I assumed you would have picked up on that. By the way, the Russophobia here is quite disgusting, especially in the comment sections. You really should consider reigning in the hate, as I assume many comments violate community standards dealing with hate speech and/or discrimination.
PSA: Russians are NOT bad people.
Simply not true, Jesse. Most every analyst in the world writing in NYT's etc has detailed end game likelihoods. Every single one has said that the one sure path of avoiding total war in Europe will be the Russian people rising up against Putin. My personal feeling is once they rise in uncontrollable masses, those around Putin's circle will feel emboldened with public support and actually kill him.
Right, and you think all of that's gonna happen before Kyiv falls in less than a weeks time? Get real.
Then the war shifts to a different phase - occupation. It's a two-pronged strategy. First, cause as much economic pain as possible on the Russian people to destabilize the regime. Second, keep the Russian Army bogged down combating an insurrection in Ukraine, so that they cannot advance elsewhere and so Russian social media is full of a steady stream of returning coffins and grieving Russian mothers.
Agreed. The entire west believes all the russian people will rise up against putin, haha that is beyond laughable. We have completly destroyed their economy and wiped out 90% of ordinary russian's savings. They are rally behind Putin and get on board with their war. A couple of instagram posts from elite Russians criticizing Putin does not mean that all russians are against Putin. We are leaving Russians with no choice but to support Putin's...
Agreed. The entire west believes all the russian people will rise up against putin, haha that is beyond laughable. We have completly destroyed their economy and wiped out 90% of ordinary russian's savings. They are rally behind Putin and get on board with their war. A couple of instagram posts from elite Russians criticizing Putin does not mean that all russians are against Putin. We are leaving Russians with no choice but to support Putin's aggression. If we want to stop Putin we need US armed forces involved. Sanctions will just further his aggression and turn this is into something way worse because we are forcing them with no alternative.
It is NOT in the interests of the Western Media/Politicians to end the conflict anytime soon. The longer the war drags, the better for the West. This war is going to be tough for Russian people and disastrous for the Ukrainian people. 1 Million refugees already and expected to swell to 4 million in the next month.
Taking Syria as a recent example - Weapons supplied from abroad has kept the conflict going on...
It is NOT in the interests of the Western Media/Politicians to end the conflict anytime soon. The longer the war drags, the better for the West. This war is going to be tough for Russian people and disastrous for the Ukrainian people. 1 Million refugees already and expected to swell to 4 million in the next month.
Taking Syria as a recent example - Weapons supplied from abroad has kept the conflict going on for more than a Decade, Destroyed the cities, 50% of the population displaced and living as refugees. I wouldn't be surprised if a decade from now; 50% of Ukrainian population live in the EU not as citizens but as refugees with UK / USA setting the record for having admitted the least.
This is actually a lot less of an impact than you might imagine, given that Aeroflot was already being blocked from receiving most of the GDS revenue through BSPs and ICH (sorry, lots of acronyms). The hosting agreement is also still in place (for now) so the operational impact will be minimal.
I love how the CEO of Sabre dropped into the comments section to share that the company's actions have a lot less impact than one might think. Bravo!
Haha, yes I do get mixed up with Sean Menke sometimes (as does he with me) but we are different people. :)
Yeah, that's exactly what Menke would say!
And some folks thought I was making stuff up about Sean M. and his fetishistic obsession with acronyms....LOL
I know, I know. LOL?
Well, I guess we know who the Russian hackers are going to target now. I appreciate the gesture but would have preferred not to see this.
Could someone chime in and tell us who owns Aeroflot?
As of March 2020, the Russian Government owns 51% of Aeroflot through the Federal Agency for State Property Management, with the rest of the shares being free-floating.
This is great. Bravo Sabre.
Except that part where US airlines are still flying around with Russian fuel in their airplanes. It's a small part (18%) but still.