Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

Your mistake is thinking that Trump is an ordinary politician, in an ordinary country with an ordinary base of supporters.

He survived Jan 6, Georgia election interference (I listened to the entire phone call recording), civil rape finding, NY conviction (the weakest of all the cases) etc etc.

In spite of all that he won both houses and the popular vote.

Any other politician would be compromised by Epstein, not this lad.

His corruption is so obvious in open daylight, and how to get his influence so obvious, he never stops saying or doing compromising stuff and yet the show goes on.

He has an iron grip on Congress and is ruling by decree way beyond any other president in history.

There is so much stuff that makes him an unsuitable president, there is no need for playing imagine or conspiracies.

Given what he has gotten away with to date in plain sight (his popular vote was within months of a criminal conviction and within a year or so of rape trial) his boast of shooting someone in the face in Times square and getting away with it isn't that far off.

No need for capitals lad

You nearly managed a post without capitals but not much else. Keep trying

If you think this chap is actually going to be placed in the line of fire, I've a bridge to sell you.

Darth on point as always

To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

No wonder trump wanted ukraine's capitulation by thanks giving

Looks like an ammo dump

Concern Russia rebuilding its Tu-22 strategic bomber fleet, after Ukraine destroyed 11-12 of them in Operation Spider's Web last year. They are moving them near to NATO's borders, reducing the distance from Ukraine from 4500km to 1500km..

Lord Glasman on The Times Radio is wrong in my opinion to argue elections during the war are possible. He says Ukraine is "overdue an election". In peacetime I would agree. He says that the UK had one in 1945. Thats true but the Nazis were already defeated by then and Japan was at the other end of the world. In 1944 the US had an election but Japan was an ocean away. The US is protected by the two oceans and that has also played a major role in their rise as a superpower, which is now being challenged.

Belgium blocking confiscation of frozen Russian assets to secure a loan for Ukraine. Most of the Russian assets frozen are in Belgium. I think some see the assets as leverage over Russia, but we are 4 years in and that hasnt worked. I say confiscate and give the money to Ukraine - but obviously trace it so those involved in the recent corruption scandal dont get their hands on it.

The Plantation of Mariupol. Districts in the city have been renamed after the USSR and Lenin. Population being replaced with Russians.

Vacant properties are being claimed by the state as abandoned in order to seize them. Most of the 400,000 inhabitants of the city fled during the war. Apartment blocks are being built on areas that were graves during the siege. To encourage Russian colonists to move there, loans with 2% interest rates over 30 years are being granted.

Obvious echoes of the Plantations in Ireland in the 16th/17th centuries.

Reports from RFU news (a pro Ukraine channel) that Russia has lost ground in Kupiansk, only controlling 30% of the town. Ukraine's control of the heights southwest of the city is better for drones.

If Zelensky resigns without an election, then Putin will use that to say the leader of Ukraine is unelected and illegitimate. Its a trap. But it does show the problem when there isnt a Vice President. Russia abolished its Vice President Alexander Rutskoy during the conflict between Yeltsin and the Russian Parliament in 1993 when he supported impeaching Yeltsin. The constitutional changes introduced by referendum (when Russia was a democracy) passed wuth 56% support. The cheering on of Yeltsin in the West during this conflict seems to have done a lot of damage to support for democracy in Russia, according to the Canadian series "The Putin System".

Anyway, update on the situation on the Lyman front from RFU news. Says Russia has not advanced in this area in over a month.

I dont think it would collapse the Euro. Of course the fear might be that other authoritarian regimes would remove their assets. But the vast majority of them are not interested in building empires, unlike Russia. I think the EU could make the case that this situation is unique. There is precedent for reparations including after WW1 and WW2. This is payback for what Russia did and compensation.

Kasparov

It wouldn't collapse it, but it would dent confidence in Europe I feel (although I think it would restore itself pretty quickly). I do however understand that Belgium isn't really jumping at the bit to be the only one to seize Russian assets while other countries watch on and do nothing.

I wouldn't hope for that if I were you.

There are far worse than him waiting in wings if Putin falls, and the very worse thing for the whole region of Europe is a disorderly transition in Moscow, or a fracturing of the Russian Federation. Not while there are badly maintained nuclear weapons scattered about.