Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

I've said it before: if Trump had even a smidgen of strategic, political common sense, he'd realise that he could earn genuine (albeit grudging) respect from many millions of people by siding completely with Zelenskyy and coming down hard, really hard, on Putin, Xi and Modi. He has it within his power to have a ceasefire in place for Christmas and a tolerable, lasting truce in operation on January 1st.

But he's so consumed by his (unrequited) love for the Big Man in Moscow, and so greedy for Russia's imaginary riches, he can't see the golden opportunity that slips through his fingers every single day.

You’re assuming he’s motivated by statesmanship or legacy. He isn’t. His only consistent priorities are self-enrichment and the approval of a narrow slice of the American public that flatters his ego. Broader respect, historical judgment, or geopolitical stability simply don’t factor in. And even that public approval matters less than it once did. Once this term is over, he can’t be reelected, so there’s no real electoral cost to indulging his instincts. From his perspective, there’s no incentive to confront Putin, no upside in moral clarity, and no reason to seize a “golden opportunity” when personal loyalty, grievance, and transactional fantasy are what actually drive his decisions.

Obviously the US can't be trusted going forward.

Can anyone pin point when the Republicans in America were properly infiltrated by the Kremlin?

This administration will be a case study for many years to come.

I think it has a few elements:

• Legacy of good US-Russian relations under Yeltsin and until Putin's Munich Speech criticising the US in 2007. Some have not processed the new reality.
• Legacy of US-Russia trade and investment since the 1990s. Some do not find it financially convenient to accept the new reality of a hostile Russia. Exxon Mobil exports Kazakh oil from the Russian port of Novorossiysk and the Biden administration even behind the scenes asked Ukraine to stop bombing that port. Caterpillar also has a huge presence in Western Russia or did when the war started.
• The lax campaign-finance laws since the 2010 Citizens United Case has removed limits on spending by SuperPACs. Russian oligarchs take advantage to buy influence.
• Trump's business deals with Russia at least before all these wars.
• Christian Right networks between the US and Russia. Some like Putin's crackdown on LGBT people, feminism etc. However, some also turn a blind eye to Putin's repression of religions other than Russian Orthodox, such as the Yarovaya Law which criminalises missionary activity - including in private houses. Here again we see the revival of Soviet repression against missionaries, except this time its more selective.

For years, high-end builders in the likes of London, New York and Miami have depended on mysterious characters wandering in from dodgy places and buying prestige properties. In essence, the West has participated in the looting of poorer parts of the world. There was always going to be a price to be paid for it.

In the 1990s there was a theory that democracy and capitalism went together. We now know this is not necessarily the case. The idea that they went together was strengthened by the Communism being both authoritarian and not capitalist. However China's economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping blurred the lines. Perestroika in the Gorbachev era was too cautious, not allowing foreign ownership of corporations until 1990, and continuing to fix prices and require state orders (especially for the military) to be met first. In China, the reforms started in 1979. State orders had to be met at fixed prices, but they didn't necessarily have to be met first, and surpluses could be sold privately at market prices.

And presumably, if JD Vance has any input, if they say please and thank you numerous times.

Scumbags tend to stick together, it's no wonder TACO, Vance and Hegseth are comfortable doing Putin's bidding without a hint of embarrassment.

There's probably a few Dems he's bought and owns, as well.

25+ years in power, there is no doubt that Putin has ownership on both sides…

Pink Shirt himself…

Though in fairness, wash any white/light shirt with some blood and they'll all end up pink!

though as someone posted an AI answer a while back, he's more like a useful idiot to them…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2e64lr3zeo

Why are they even asking him.

Just take the money - give it to Ukraine now.

About 20km west of Pokrovsk according to Reddit.

Likely they had it rigged, waiting for Russians to enter and then big kaboom.

Darth on point as always

I watched it on mute so I don't know!

Just when it looks like Russia is about to get rewarded… they go for the jugular and demand even more than what's essentially been discussed for the last few weeks/months…..

RU:"We Want Everything"

'ok, here's everything'

RU:"Not Good Enough! We Want Even More NOW"