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Post by hopemax on Mar 3, 2025 22:33:36 GMT
And China is probably scrambling too. They likely expected some capitulation to Russia by the US. But the extent of which we are tearing down our own soft and hard power, and pissing off our allies, in 2 months means they will have to update all of their own assessments! Can they achieve more through soft power than they expected? Is the near future the time to go with hard power? In any event, I expect China to be more aggressive than their original strategy and it will end up helping them out of their own financial stagnation problem, an unexpected bonus!
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 3, 2025 23:36:28 GMT
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 3, 2025 23:45:42 GMT
Another interpretation, much more likely than Trump being brilliant or making chess moves. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/world/europe/trump-zelensky-putin.html
Trump’s Dressing Down of Zelensky Plays Into Putin’s War Aims
The public blowup could propel President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to escalate the fight in Ukraine instead of agreeing to peace.
President Trump says he wants a quick cease-fire in Ukraine. But President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia appears to be in no rush, and the blowup on Friday between Mr. Trump and Ukraine’s president may give Russia’s leader the kind of ammunition he needs to prolong the fight.
With the American alliance with Ukraine suffering a dramatic, public rupture, Mr. Putin now seems even more likely to hold out for a deal on his terms — and he could even be tempted to expand his push on the battlefield. |
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purplebee
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,955 
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Post by purplebee on Mar 3, 2025 23:48:15 GMT
You need to stop dissing poodles, they’re way smarter than these tools! 🐩 I remain unapologetically pro-poodle. Me too! And anti-trump. |
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 4, 2025 0:38:25 GMT
While not surprising, suspending military aid to Ukraine is really infuriating, stupid and probably, unconstitutional. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/03/us/trump-news-congress
Ukraine aid: The United States is temporarily suspending all military aid to Ukraine, according to a senior administration official, who said the aid would not resume until President Trump determined that Ukraine had demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia. The order is to take effect immediately, affecting hundreds of million of dollars in arms and ammunition in the pipelines and on order. The decision comes amid the fallout of a heated Oval Office meeting on Friday between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Mar 4, 2025 0:42:35 GMT
The comments about Trump relying on certain forces to win the election were said the same time Russian tv posted the naked pics of Melania. |
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 4, 2025 0:45:02 GMT
The comments about Trump relying on certain forces to win the election were said the same time Russian tv posted the naked pics of Melania. I’m pretty sure the pictures were Putin way of reminding Trump to toe the line, or else. An embarrassing, not so subtle message to Trump that Putin is in charge and has the power in that relationship. I like this theory, too about the Russian people thehill.com/opinion/international/4993990-putin-is-sending-a-not-so-friendly-message-to-trump/Finally, it’s possible that Putin’s target audience is Russian — both the masses and the elites. Accordingly, Putin is fully in charge, while Trump is the cuckolded husband who can’t behave like a tough Russian, a “muzhik,” and keep his wife under control. Many average Russians will likely giggle along with Skabeeva and wonder how Trump and his crazy Americans can possibly outmaneuver their genius leader. In contrast, Russian elites will get a charge out of Trump’s possible anger, but may see through Putin’s transparent attempt to strengthen his position by making Trump look weak. |
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anaterra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,282
Location: Texas
Jun 29, 2014 3:04:02 GMT
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Post by anaterra on Mar 4, 2025 0:53:10 GMT
My favorite part is how the OP posted this.... and hasnt been back... doesnt surprise me...
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 4, 2025 0:55:53 GMT
This and the news about tariffs on Mexico and Canada shows Trump is screwing over allies left and right. So much winning. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/03/us/trump-news-congress
Trump’s directive, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg News, also halts hundreds of millions of dollars in aid through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides funds that Kyiv can use only to buy new military hardware directly from U.S. defense companies. It was unclear what exactly President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine would need to do for Trump to resume the military assistance.
On Dec. 30, former President Joseph R. Biden approved $1.25 billion in arms and equipment to draw down from Pentagon stockpiles over the next six months, giving Ukraine’s military a reliable source of weaponry as the Trump administration took office. The shipments have been sent to Ukraine about every two weeks since then, meeting Ukraine’s needs while not placing a strain on Pentagon stockpiles, as new orders gradually replenish the American inventories. The Pentagon has transferred roughly one-third of those shipments, meaning Trump’s directive freezes the remaining two-thirds.
Trump’s directive, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg News, also halts hundreds of millions of dollars in aid through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides funds that Kyiv can use only to buy new military hardware directly from U.S. defense companies. It was unclear what exactly President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine would need to do for Trump to resume the military assistance. |
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Post by Merge on Mar 4, 2025 0:58:43 GMT
This and the news about tariffs on Mexico and Canada shows Trump is screwing over allies left and right. So much winning. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/03/us/trump-news-congress
Trump’s directive, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg News, also halts hundreds of millions of dollars in aid through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides funds that Kyiv can use only to buy new military hardware directly from U.S. defense companies. It was unclear what exactly President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine would need to do for Trump to resume the military assistance.
On Dec. 30, former President Joseph R. Biden approved $1.25 billion in arms and equipment to draw down from Pentagon stockpiles over the next six months, giving Ukraine’s military a reliable source of weaponry as the Trump administration took office. The shipments have been sent to Ukraine about every two weeks since then, meeting Ukraine’s needs while not placing a strain on Pentagon stockpiles, as new orders gradually replenish the American inventories. The Pentagon has transferred roughly one-third of those shipments, meaning Trump’s directive freezes the remaining two-thirds.
Trump’s directive, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg News, also halts hundreds of millions of dollars in aid through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides funds that Kyiv can use only to buy new military hardware directly from U.S. defense companies. It was unclear what exactly President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine would need to do for Trump to resume the military assistance.Insofar as Trump thinks ahead about anything, the showdown with Zelenskyy was clearly a pretext to pull aid to Ukraine. More likely his Russian handlers were the ones thinking ahead about that, though. |
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 4, 2025 1:04:08 GMT
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/03/us/trump-news-congressThe most immediate beneficiary is President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. If the suspension is lengthy, he can use the time to press for further territorial gains. And he may well decide to hold back from any negotiations at all, figuring that any prolonged dispute between Trump and Zelensky will only strengthen his position, either on the battlefield or when cease-fire talks take place.
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 4, 2025 1:06:52 GMT
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/03/trump-concessions-russia-polling/The most anodyne interpretation of the Trump administration’s increasingly antagonistic attitude toward Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is that President Donald Trump just wants the war to stop.
He promised to end the war — as early as Day 1 of his new term — and if that means attacking the victim, echoing Russian propaganda and harming an ally’s bargaining power, then so be it, apparently. Ukraine must be compelled to make concessions.
But while ending the war is a goal that pretty much everyone agrees on, the terms on which that happens and the concessions matter greatly. It’s too simple to make this a choice between peace and not-peace. And right now pretty much every concession the Trump administration is pointing to tends to favor Russia.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Mar 4, 2025 1:30:43 GMT
This whole thing makes me sick.
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maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,948
Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Mar 4, 2025 11:21:06 GMT
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 4, 2025 12:20:21 GMT
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-3-2025As seemed evident even at the time, the ambush of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday was a setup to provide justification for cutting off congressionally approved aid to Ukraine as it tries to fight off Russia’s invasion. That “impoundment” of funds Congress has determined should go to Ukraine is illegal under the terms of the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, and it is unconstitutional because the Constitution gives to Congress, not to the president, the power to set government spending and to make laws. The president’s job is to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
It was for a similar impoundment of congressionally appropriated funds for Ukraine, holding them back until Zelensky agreed to tilt the 2020 election by smearing Joe Biden, that the House of Representatives impeached Trump in 2019. It is not hard to imagine that Trump chose to repeat that performance, in public this time, as a demonstration of his determination to act as he wishes regardless of laws and Constitution.
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 4, 2025 12:32:59 GMT
So reassuring. A 68 year old DJ and karate instructor is uniquely qualified to advise on Ukrainian policy. Why rely on anyone with actual experience and knowledge? |
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,571
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Post by ashley on Mar 4, 2025 12:42:43 GMT
So reassuring. A 68 year old DJ and karate instructor is uniquely qualified to advise on Ukrainian policy. Why rely on anyone with actual experience and knowledge? because people with actual experience and knowledge know better and that doesn’t suit Trump and his mindless puppets. |
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dawnnikol
Prolific Pea
'A life without books is a life not lived.' Jay Kristoff
Posts: 9,460
Sept 21, 2015 18:39:25 GMT
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Post by dawnnikol on Mar 4, 2025 12:48:25 GMT
And China is probably scrambling too. They likely expected some capitulation to Russia by the US. But the extent of which we are tearing down our own soft and hard power, and pissing off our allies, in 2 months means they will have to update all of their own assessments! Can they achieve more through soft power than they expected? Is the near future the time to go with hard power? In any event, I expect China to be more aggressive than their original strategy and it will end up helping them out of their own financial stagnation problem, an unexpected bonus! I had read that China had a "sit back and wait" attitude about what was coming with our new Administration. Win for them and win for Russia. |
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maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,948
Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Mar 4, 2025 12:55:04 GMT
So reassuring. A 68 year old DJ and karate instructor is uniquely qualified to advise on Ukrainian policy. Why rely on anyone with actual experience and knowledge? LOL, I thought you’d like that one. I read the article and immediately thought of all of you in this thread. Great sources, right? |
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Post by Merge on Mar 4, 2025 13:24:47 GMT
So reassuring. A 68 year old DJ and karate instructor is uniquely qualified to advise on Ukrainian policy. Why rely on anyone with actual experience and knowledge? What Trump liked about it was that it praised him. Full stop. |
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