Donald Trump the Megathread part II - mod warnings in OP, Updated 18/03/25

I said months ago that the only way this war was going to end was through dialogue as neither side has the ability to deliver a knock out blow and without talks this war was just going to drag on and on; we're at a million casualties already. I got hauled over the coals for that by certain posters.

However, you're correct. Talks are, essentially, a good thing. What's not good about them is the fact that the Ukraine are being deliberately left out of these talks, which makes their validity suspect to say the least. And, as you say, a "fair deal" looks to be out the window because of who Trump is clearly siding with.

However, it's always been the case that the Ukraine would have to give up something and with Trump's stance on helping them look increasingly non-existent, that's become all the more explicit. Looking at where they can go, they'll probably have to let the Crimea go, which is over 70% Russian anyway and the overwhelming ethnic identity is Russian. They'll also have to issue a promise about NATO membership as well. I can't see Russia backing down on that. Everything else, though, seems up in the air.

The way Trump is operating at the moment, though, it looks like he's fully prepared to give Putin everything he wants. So these talks are going to be a long haul. But without the Ukraine sitting at the table and putting forth their side I cannot see any real satisfactory outcome.

Maybe that's what Putin and Trump really want?

Putin and Trump aren't really negotiating a peace deal so much as they're negotiating cessation of US support for Ukraine. The terms that Russia offer are designed to fulfill that side of the bargain. It's only through the assumption that cessation of US support to Ukraine would force a ceasefire are these looked at as peace talks.

Just sayin'

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19ZR2NEJup/

Really doesn’t matter anymore. Trump knows the absolute worst thing that will happen to him is he will be told no, and even that might only be a temporary no. He will never face consequences consequences for his actions - the US had plenty of time to throw the book at him but ended up giving him more power than any president has ever had.

Should they fcuk!

Since when did we look to challenge ignorance, bigotry and racism by copying it?

The right has been on the rise for the last ten years in Europe almost exclusively on the back of negativity, false promises, a helpful media and a ready scapegoat.

And they have had success, in the UK, Brexit came as a consequence of this, in the US Trump. But neither societies are showing examples that other countries should seek to emulate. The UK will likely see reform gain again at the next election on what will be almost exclusively a campaign repeating US recent rhetoric.

They continue to focus on immigration and boats crossing the channel when the people on these boats make up something like 5% of total immigration each year.

Since just before Covid, the wealth of Billionaires has sky-rocketed while the middle class struggle and the lower class suffer and die. People need to wake up and look at the real problems instead of focusing on completely the wrong thing. It won't happen, we see too many people fighting for the billionaires to make it happen, but it should.

"when there's a giant orange carrot"

Not according to Stormy….

The right has been on the rise largely because of States absolute refusal to acknowledge that migration is an issue that a lot of people care about. What the far right parties have recognised is that migration puts pressure on services but that migration also changes communities.

When I say that the central parties need to tack to the right, it doesn't mean rounding up foreigners to send home. As you rightly point out, most migration is legal, so the centre right remedy is to just make it more difficult to get a visa. I personally think that companies sponsoring visas need to fully show that the skill is not here or in the EU and that the company can provide accommodation for the visa holder and their dependents and such accommodation should not take from existing capacity.

Without the infrastructure pressures, communities are likely to be more welcoming and less likely to turn to extremists.

Agreed. The man's an absolute rat. The sooner he and his type are gone the better.

Getting the feeling that just like when the G8 was rechristened to «G7» after Russia invaded Crimea, it might be time to rename it again to «G6».

There’s little point in having Donnie involved in an economic forum either way if his main contribution is to it is to throw random tariffs whenever he damn well pleases.

Put it back to G7 when he’s gone and the States gets its collective head screwed back on again.

Parties in most countries in Europe already track to the right and most definitely in the UK and America.

If they were genuinely left leaning, the aftermath of the crash in 08 would have seen banks and speculators not get bailed out as they were and steps would have been taken to de-commoditize housing markets worldwide.

What you are calling for is the movement from the centre right that has dominated to further right.

And why? To appease those on the far right?

People care more about housing, healthcare, education and quality of life than they ever do about immigration but continually we have to read stuff like this because right wing media, mouthpieces and politicians don't want to see steps taken to help people in real ways and so they play the immigration Trump card to shift the conversation.