Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

a good chance russia has bought trump

Rheinmetal CEO (whom Russia tried to assassinate recently) was on Bloomberg saying they can produce a lot more but the orders are not coming in from European countries

Oh +100 to this. Mueller found plenty of dirt on Trump, but it never ended up in front of a judge and jury (or Congress for that matter.) Trump is mobbed up big time with RuZZia.

Would you ask a barber if needed a haircut?

I don't think people fully appreciate how quickly a nation with an active heavy engineering talent pool can pivot to weapons manufacturing. There's a few recently shuttered car plants in Germany that can have their assembly lines repurposed very quickly.

But as another poster pointed out there aren't enough targets for more shells. The Russian line in Ukraine is now supplied by donkey and the desperate, the hungry, the thirsty and the unmotivated. As Ukraine starts to push back the line they're doing so meticulously and for good. House by house, town by town, and then city by city.

I am just pointing out and agreeing with poster I quoted that Russian statistics are a load of 💩

Even if one takes them at face value

Nevertheless we do need to spend more on defence and aid to Ukraine instead of hoping that Russia collapses

Best be prepared than be surprised

Putin’s aim are to divide and literally conquer, that much is obvious, he even said so himself when he publicly laid out his ambition of recreation of Russian empire

I said it in parallel thread, yes Ukraine have reduced Russia to a shell of what it was but a murdering Russian alcoholic rapist on a donkey with an AK is still dangerous especially if the opponent unlike the Ukrainians is completely undefended

The US is already fractured politically.

All we should do is respond via the WTO rules, like during the first Trump term when his tariffs on EU steel was met by an EU tariff on Harley Davison bikes.

Thinking about that though, it's already that way. Maybe Democrats just need to push that point more in the media.

The EU stood by the USA after 9/11 according to the Nato charter. When the fighting was over did the US contribute to the peace or fund rebuilding in Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria or give up some of its give its natural resources to its helpers. Like hell it did.
When added up Europe gave most Aid to Ukraine with US aid being mostly in weapons and military gear to the benefit of its military related businesses.
The US placed restrictions on where its weapons could be used - thereby tying Ukraine's hands. I don’t see any limitations on where the US bombed this past month?

These peace talks between just one member of NATO with Russia, and excluding the nation which was invaded is actually a SHAM - with the US now shamelessly demanding reparations!

It’s time NATO ditched Trump.

We’ve got to pick a stand point at some stage - you can certainly see MAGA trying to stir up right wing hatred in Europe and if left long enough they may well succeed. But Europe does need to start acting as one nation on this issue - clearly any gaps will be exploited by the US - we can’t keep the US at any price - it’s better we’re on our own and united than bowing to America -we’ll never become stronger as a continent if we do that - and we’ll be just ripe for even more exploitation - whatever the “cost” today, it will be twice that tomorrow

He has his own platform now.

Musk is killing Tesla and X already, and while FB is still handy for social groups I don't know anyone who still uses it personally.

Facebook are still a large employer here so can't see the Irish govt supporting that but banning X Europe-wide on the basis that it's a source of propoganda and disinformation would certainly be a worthwhile move. Even just to watch Musk's tantrums it'd be funny!

In order for MAGA not to exploit the gaps, the gaps have to be closed. This means European leaders dealing with domestic issues in a timely and effective manner so that the public aren't driven into the arms of extremists offering quick answers. If that cannot be done, then things like the prohibition of Twitter, as suggested by @Sleepy would be like trying to repair the big gash in the hull of the Titanic with some electrical tape. Ain't gonna work.

Demand for US weapons have gone through the roof worldwide thanks to Russia's arms being exposed in Ukraine. This is wishful thinking.

Trump and Elon (and the US oligarchs who bent the knee) only care about their own profits

If they introduce tariffs then target these oligarchs directly instead of broad tarrifs

If Trump bring a sledgehammer stab him and his buddies with a sharp pointy knife directly aimed at their kidneys

That way you turn US businesses and stock market (the only thing Trump cares about) who only want to make money and trying to avoid for most part getting involved in politics against Trump

Putin uses divide and conquer tactics against Europe, use the same against both Putin and Trump

@saabsaab might be happy with that 😁