The end of NATO?

[taxi1]

Every time I see stuff like "Ukraine started it" I think of Orwell...

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command... and if all others accepted the lie, which the party imposed, if all records told the same tale, then the lie passed into history and became truth"

 

[sevenhelmet]

Every time I see stuff like "Ukraine started it" I think of Orwell...

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command... and if all others accepted the lie, which the party imposed, if all records told the same tale, then the lie passed into history and became truth"

Liked because I agree... but very, very sad and more than a little angry about this.

Russians have openly invaded a neighboring country and murdered hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, along with sending their own people into a meat grinder with no regard for the value of human life, and the current occupant of the WH has decided to swallow their narrative and legitimize it. This is very different from the same old "EU should defend itself!" argument. I'm not trying to rekindle that shit show of a debate.

"Qaint ideas from yesteryear" is more than a commentary on my age and stage of life relative to some people on this forum. It's also a narrative on how our ideals seem to have shifted as a society: I am not sure we are the good guys.

Aging sucks, and not just because I ache getting out of bed in the morning.

 

[Yardstick]

The way political rhetoric goes I guess...

View attachment 42387



"Never would have happened" if he was President I guess.

Seeing as Putin invaded under both the Obama and Biden admins but not trump’s, he’s probably right in saying that. Biden’s weakness invited Putin to roll even further, that is indisputable

 

[Spekkio]

Trump occasionally says ridiculous stuff that has a nugget of truth to it. Is there a specific policy U.S. foreign policy position espoused by the Obama / Biden administration that would have influenced Putin to invade specifically in 2014 and then again in 2022, or is it really just coincidence?

 

[ea6bflyr]

Trump occasionally says ridiculous stuff that occasionally has a nugget of truth to it.

FIFY.

 

[Spekkio]

That is a better way of putting it. Yes, Trump frequently says ridiculous things that don't have any truth to it.

 

[JTS11]

Seeing as Putin invaded under both the Obama and Biden admins but not trump’s, he’s probably right in saying that. Biden’s weakness invited Putin to roll even further, that is indisputable

I hear that after Trump's latest physical that he requires a follow-on colonoscopy. I'm hoping that there are no polyps, but maybe we'll get to see a picture of Yardstick IRL. 😃

 

[Spekkio]

I hear that after Trump's latest physical that he requires a follow-on colonoscopy. I'm hoping that there are no polyps, but maybe we'll get to see a picture of Yardstick IRL. 😃

I, too, live my days hoping to see images of 70 year old colons.

 

[taxi1]

Seeing as Putin invaded under both the Obama and Biden admins but not trump’s, he’s probably right in saying that. Biden’s weakness invited Putin to roll even further, that is indisputable

No need to take what is offered as a gift.

 

[Sonog]

I am a male and a former (quite successful) coach of a women's college sport, so take this with a grain of salt but: I think biological males in women's sports is, for all intents and purposes, a red herring. There are about 500,000 student-athletes (a moniker I abhor) and about 10 of them are estimated to be trans. While it is an issue that deserves a solution, it is nowhere near the most pressing issue in college sports.

We are looking at the total collapse of global hegemony because of 10 trans athletes. Yay social media!

 

[sevenhelmet]

We are looking at the total collapse of global hegemony because of 10 trans athletes. Yay social media!

They're just incidental scapegoats. We're looking at the total surrender of global hegemony because it was more expedient to sell out to Putin and create some memecoins for social media followers suckers than it was to demonstrate actual, constructive leadership. The ability to create market turmoil is just another self-enrichment opportunity! What a great setup. We all feel better, don't we?

Perhaps, just perhaps... someone who is 80 years old and won't be around to see the consequences of their present actions isn't the best choice for POTUS? I have been saying this since 2016- It's pretty incredible that nobody in their 40s/50s is talented enough to step up. But I'm sure things are run fairly and on merit, right?

 

[Spekkio]

It is an oxymoron to claim that Russia is a backwards-ass military that can't successfully conduct large-scale operations against a neighboring country the fraction if its size and also to claim that Russia is a threat to global hegemony in 2025.

If you believe Russia is closer to North Korea in global capabilities and its only trump card is to saber-rattle its nuclear arsenal, then there's no reason for the U.S. to pay much attention to them.

And outside of people military circles, aid to Ukraine / Russian containment is a very tough sell.

 

[taxi1]

It is an oxymoron to claim that Russia is a backwards-ass military that can't successfully conduct large-scale operations against a neighboring country the fraction if its size and also to claim that Russia is a threat to global hegemony in 2025.

A key problem is that no matter what we think, Russia thinks it is a threat.

Making Russia Great Again is an absolute thing.

 

[sevenhelmet]

It is an oxymoron to claim that Russia is a backwards-ass military that can't successfully conduct large-scale operations against a neighboring country the fraction if its size and also to claim that Russia is a threat to global hegemony in 2025.

If you believe Russia is closer to North Korea in global capabilities and its only trump card is to saber-rattle its nuclear arsenal, then there's no reason for the U.S. to pay much attention to them.

And outside of people military circles, aid to Ukraine / Russian containment is a very tough sell.

Russia doesn't have to be a threat to global hegemony for us to surrender it. That's what I find so frustrating about this- the dollar and our standard of living are being actively sabotaged, simply because of DJT's feelings. All while people go "Russia isn't that big of a deal", effectively enabling the behavior. It's not 4D chess- it's pride, anger, and a studied ignorance.

After watching the last administration F away the Afghan withdrawal, I think it's high time for someone younger than 60 to be in the office. Our national politics are selling us all up the river for a few old rich guys to get temporarily richer before they die.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Russia doesn't have to be a threat to global hegemony for us to surrender it. That's what I find so frustrating about this- the dollar and our standard of living are being actively sabotaged, simply because of DJT's feelings. All while people go "Russia isn't that big of a deal", effectively enabling the behavior. It's not 4D chess- it's pride, anger, and a studied ignorance.

After watching the last administration F away the Afghan withdrawal, I think it's high time for someone younger than 60 to be in the office. Our national politics are selling us all up the river for a few old rich guys to get temporarily richer before they die.

Dollar policy reminds me of the Plaza Accords of 1985 whereby President Reagan forced Germany, France, the UK and Japan to help depreciate the US dollar. One of the people involved in that was Robert Lighthizer, who was Trump’s US Trade Representative in his first term. Lighthizer’s former chief of staff has that position now.

Plaza Accord - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org