The mood here in Germany is very nervous. Very few can make any sense of what Putin is actually trying to achieve. He has shot himself in the foot as far as trade with the EU goes. No one here is going to buy his gas or oil in the foreseeable future, which means he will have to sell it to China, making him very dependent on an immediate neighbour. He's just proven he gives a shit about national identity, by razing Ukrainian cities and cultural sites. So that rules out two motives that could be expected of a normal ruler: economic well-being and love of the mother country.
It appears all he really wants is total obedience and subjugation. He's not going to find that in Ukraine. They will fight for their freedom for if they weren't a united nation before, Putin has just made them one.
And he seems to be itching for a fight with a NATO country, but knows he would lose a conventional war with NATO, which leaves the nuclear option, where we all die.
Conclusion: the guy must be insane.
Personally, I think he is one of the playground bullies that are compelled to create situations where everyone around them thinks they are arseholes. Seeking self-affirmation in rejection or something like that.
Our hope lies in someone getting close enough to put a bullet in his head. Or arsenic in his borsht.
I'd really like to know what guys like Abramovich really think about all of this. Putin must be costing them billions.
And how is this going to happen ? Are you aware that Russia also provides the bulk of the EU's wheat and other grains ? So you're going to stop eating, driving, lighting and heating with the snap of your fingers ?
Our hope lies in someone getting close enough to put a bullet in his head. Or arsenic in his borsht.
There is also the reality that almost no one wants this fight. I have staff in Moldova, all of whom have family in Russia / Ukraine. Appreciating that there is a lot of misinformation out there, this is the type of stuff that is playing across the region. Social media may be off-limits, but there is a lot of direct messaging and emailing that is sharing details. Here's a story about big losses in Ukraine by the Russians. Interesting site for updates. https://kyivindependent.com/national/exclusive-voice-message-reveals-russian-military-units-catastrophic-losses-in-ukraine/
The mood here in Germany is very nervous. Very few can make any sense of what Putin is actually trying to achieve. He has shot himself in the foot as far as trade with the EU goes.
No one here is going to buy his gas or oil in the foreseeable future
, which means he will have to sell it to China, making him very dependent on an immediate neighbour. He's just proven he gives a shit about national identity, by razing Ukrainian cities and cultural sites. So that rules out two motives that could be expected of a normal ruler: economic well-being and love of the mother country.
It appears all he really wants is total obedience and subjugation. He's not going to find that in Ukraine. They will fight for their freedom for if they weren't a united nation before, Putin has just made them one.
And he seems to be itching for a fight with a NATO country, but knows he would lose a conventional war with NATO, which leaves the nuclear option, where we all die.
Conclusion: the guy must be insane.
Personally, I think he is one of the playground bullies that are compelled to create situations where everyone around them thinks they are arseholes. Seeking self-affirmation in rejection or something like that.
And how is this going to happen ? Are you aware that Russia also provides the bulk of the EU's wheat and other grains ? So you're going to stop eating, driving, lighting and heating with the snap of your fingers ?
Our hope lies in someone getting close enough to put a bullet in his head. Or arsenic in his borsht.
There is also the reality that almost no one wants this fight. I have staff in Moldova, all of whom have family in Russia / Ukraine.
Appreciating that there is a lot of misinformation out there, this is the type of stuff that is playing across the region. Social media may be off-limits, but there is a lot of direct messaging and emailing that is sharing details.
Here's a story about big losses in Ukraine by the Russians. Interesting site for updates. https://kyivindependent.com/national/exclusive-voice-message-reveals-russian-military-units-catastrophic-losses-in-ukraine/
The mood here in Germany is very nervous. Very few can make any sense of what Putin is actually trying to achieve. He has shot himself in the foot as far as trade with the EU goes. No one here is going to buy his gas or oil in the foreseeable future, which means he will have to sell it to China, making him very dependent on an immediate neighbour. He's just proven he gives a shit about national identity, by razing Ukrainian cities and cultural sites. So that rules out two motives that could be expected of a normal ruler: economic well-being and love of the mother country.
It appears all he really wants is total obedience and subjugation. He's not going to find that in Ukraine. They will fight for their freedom for if they weren't a united nation before, Putin has just made them one.
And he seems to be itching for a fight with a NATO country, but knows he would lose a conventional war with NATO, which leaves the nuclear option, where we all die.
Conclusion: the guy must be insane.
Personally, I think he is one of the playground bullies that are compelled to create situations where everyone around them thinks they are arseholes. Seeking self-affirmation in rejection or something like that.
Our hope lies in someone getting close enough to put a bullet in his head. Or arsenic in his borsht.
Found this to be sadly, ironically, appropriate. If you don't recognize the overlay, it's Charles Minard's visualization of Napoleon's failed attempt to take Moscow. It's the great-great-great-grandfather of the current data visualizations now everywhere.
The mood here in Germany is very nervous. Very few can make any sense of what Putin is actually trying to achieve. He has shot himself in the foot as far as trade with the EU goes. No one here is going to buy his gas or oil in the foreseeable future, which means he will have to sell it to China, making him very dependent on an immediate neighbour. He's just proven he gives a shit about national identity, by razing Ukrainian cities and cultural sites. So that rules out two motives that could be expected of a normal ruler: economic well-being and love of the mother country.
It appears all he really wants is total obedience and subjugation. He's not going to find that in Ukraine. They will fight for their freedom for if they weren't a united nation before, Putin has just made them one.
And he seems to be itching for a fight with a NATO country, but knows he would lose a conventional war with NATO, which leaves the nuclear option, where we all die.
Conclusion: the guy must be insane.
Personally, I think he is one of the playground bullies that are compelled to create situations where everyone around them thinks they are arseholes. Seeking self-affirmation in rejection or something like that.
“I mean, he took a very tough stance against Russia. I'm surprised you don't think that he would have handled it better than Joe Biden,” Schmitt told Bolton.
“He did not,” Bolton replied. “We didn't sanction Nord Stream 2. We should have. We should have brought the project to an end. We did impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs and several others because of their sales of S-400 anti-aircraft systems to other countries. But in almost every case, the sanctions were imposed with Trump complaining about it, saying we were being too hard.”
The Trump-era national security adviser claimed the former president did not know where Ukraine was on a map and said he believed Russia did not take more aggressive actions while Trump was in office because Russia “didn’t feel that their military was ready.”
“The fact is that he barely knew where Ukraine was. He once asked John Kelly, his second chief of staff, if Finland were a part of Russia. It’s just not accurate to say that Trump's behavior somehow deterred the Russians,” Bolton said.
Well let's shoot some holes in your little reference shall we ?
First off, Trump did impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 contrary to your claims.
Bolton is an outright liar amongst other things and I find it very ironic that anyone from your side of the tracks gives him any credibility considering how much he was hated and held in contempt. And there is no actual confirmation provided to back up the claim regarding John Kelly. I have no doubt that Trump knew where Ukraine was if for no other reason than he was involved in global real estate developments. I am sure that he knows how to use a map without being told. The Ukrainian coastline on the Black Sea is a favorite vacation destination of many Russians including Khrushchev among others.
I have known this about Ukraine for decades just from paying attention. Long before the article I cite below. Well, at least since Khrushchev left power because it was one of his favorite places in retirement.
Ask a group of Russians where they'll be vacationing this summer and chances are they'll all give the same answer: Ukraine.
The vast nation in the heart of Eastern Europe rarely features on the travel itineraries of many Westerners.
However, the latest figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO) show that Ukraine is the 12th most popular tourist destination in the world — with 20.7 million visitors in 2009.
Moving on ...
From the end of your article cited is this ...
“John Bolton was fired because he believes anything less than war is not enough. President Trump ensured peace during his administration and ended wars, making Bolton irrelevant," Budowich said.
A majority of Americans believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump were still president, according to a poll released last week.
A Harvard Center for American Political Studies-Harris Poll survey last week found that 62 percent of those polled believed Putin would not be moving against Ukraine if Trump were still in office. . It seems that more agree with my assessment than your assessment.
Incompetent leadership? (not Putin's) Lack of motivation/interest on the part of the air force personnel?
Been kind of wondering if some of the logistics issues they have had are actually self sabotage by those who don't want to be there attacking their brethren.
so... what is he holding it back for? Does he think NATO is going to come with air cover?
i think he's probably sandbagging too in his defense, he's clearly suffering from evil over-load i'm hoping someone offers him an easy out (golden bridge) what will his plebs do when they speak to their ukrainian brethren and find out how f'n heinous he's been? putin huilo doesn't know when to pull out
If you don't recognize the overlay, it's Charles Minard's visualization of Napoleon's failed attempt to take Moscow. It's the great-great-great-grandfather of the current data visualizations now everywhere.
So how come the last President wouldn't meet with Zylenskyy? Why did he not provide the optics of US support when asked? Why did he withhold funds? Did that help the situation? How is that not "in support of Putin"? Please don't respond with corruption, you know better.
Looking forward to the past few weeks, NATO has been the foundation of an immediate and significant response to the invasion. Need I remind you what the last guy said about NATO:
"You know, we're dealing with NATO from the days of the Soviet Union,
which no longer exists. We need to either transition into terror or we
need something else."
"I said a long time ago that NATO had problems: Number one, it was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago."
"They want (us) to protect against Russia, and yet they pay billions of
dollars to Russia, and we're the schmucks paying for the whole thing."
That's the guy who is going to protect you against Russia? He would have stopped this? In reality, the US and NATO response would have been much weaker had Trump remained in office. If you recall...Donnie was so hard on Russia that he wanted them to rejoin the G7.
What's amazing about your discussion of timing (quote above) is your blind spot for the damage done by Trump. Instead of thinking that Putin saw weakness in Biden, what he understood is that the US would never be weaker than it was at the end of the Trump era. Trump had done as much of Putin's heavy lifting as was ever going to get done by a US President, and it was either now or never.
There is a lot that Joe could have done better last night, and since taking office, but the world outside of Russia and China are much happier that Biden is in the White House instead of Trump. As bad as things are, they would be significantly worse with Trump in office. Beyond the head of state, the people running the government today are infinitely more capable than the clowns in place 2 years ago. Stealing that election may have saved Democracy, and the world appreciates it.
Well said. Trump gave Russia the green light to do whatever they wanted. They got the message. Itâs a different president now though.
Russian forces in Ukraine moved to tighten their siege of key cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and the southern port of Mariupol, as one mayor told residents he had been given an ultimatum to surrender or the city would be razed by shelling.
At an outdoor meeting Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of Konotop, in the eastern Sumy region, told residents: “They have given us an ultimatum. If we start resisting, they’ll wipe out the town using artillery.”
“If you are for it, we’ll fight,” Semenikhin is heard telling a crowd of residents. “Who votes to fight?” he shouts as residents shout back, insisting they will resist.
Amid renewed heavy shelling, the mayor of Kharkiv, also in the country’s east, said he had no intention of surrendering.
âI mean, he took a very tough stance against Russia. I'm surprised you don't think that he would have handled it better than Joe Biden,â Schmitt told Bolton.
âHe did not,â Bolton replied. âWe didn't sanction Nord Stream 2. We should have. We should have brought the project to an end. We did impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs and several others because of their sales of S-400 anti-aircraft systems to other countries. But in almost every case, the sanctions were imposed with Trump complaining about it, saying we were being too hard.â
The Trump-era national security adviser claimed the former president did not know where Ukraine was on a map and said he believed Russia did not take more aggressive actions while Trump was in office because Russia âdidnât feel that their military was ready.â
âThe fact is that he barely knew where Ukraine was. He once asked John Kelly, his second chief of staff, if Finland were a part of Russia. Itâs just not accurate to say that Trump's behavior somehow deterred the Russians,â Bolton said.
Furthermore, right after our election with Biden being the winner, I flat out said here in one thread or another that Ukraine and Taiwan can both kiss their collective asses goodbye.
So how come the last President wouldn't meet with Zylenskyy? Why did he not provide the optics of US support when asked? Why did he withhold funds? Did that help the situation? How is that not "in support of Putin"? Please don't respond with corruption, you know better. Looking forward to the past few weeks, NATO has been the foundation of an immediate and significant response to the invasion. Need I remind you what the last guy said about NATO: "You know, we're dealing with NATO from the days of the Soviet Union, which no longer exists. We need to either transition into terror or we need something else." "I said a long time ago that NATO had problems: Number one, it was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago." "They want (us) to protect against Russia, and yet they pay billions of dollars to Russia, and we're the schmucks paying for the whole thing." That's the guy who is going to protect you against Russia? He would have stopped this? In reality, the US and NATO response would have been much weaker had Trump remained in office. If you recall...Donnie was so hard on Russia that he wanted them to rejoin the G7. What's amazing about your discussion of timing (quote above) is your blind spot for the damage done by Trump. Instead of thinking that Putin saw weakness in Biden, what he understood is that the US would never be weaker than it was at the end of the Trump era. Trump had done as much of Putin's heavy lifting as was ever going to get done by a US President, and it was either now or never. There is a lot that Joe could have done better last night, and since taking office, but the world outside of Russia and China are much happier that Biden is in the White House instead of Trump. As bad as things are, they would be significantly worse with Trump in office. Beyond the head of state, the people running the government today are infinitely more capable than the clowns in place 2 years ago. Stealing that election may have saved Democracy, and the world appreciates it.
Found this to be sadly, ironically, appropriate. If you don't recognize the overlay, it's Charles Minard's visualization of Napoleon's failed attempt to take Moscow. It's the great-great-great-grandfather of the current data visualizations now everywhere.
