Russian invasion of Ukraine

[pietillidie]

Hard to work out if progress is being made in talks, if they're even genuine. The status quo seems to be more refugees, wreckage and gradual advancement. Ukraine is apparently still beefing up its air and missile capabilities, but you do wish that process would hurry along. Anyone got a better sense of where things are at?

The consensus seems to be a long game and an eventual deal with the devil, but that doesn't make it feel any better.

[stui magpie]

^

In the meantime, Putin is trashing the joint.

Yeah, buildings aren't as important as lives, but it's going to take ages and a shitpile of $ to repair all the damage, even if it ended now.

[David]

For what it's worth, here's a short bit of analysis that points out something a lot of people have overlooked: for all the song and dance about NATO, it's the EU that Russia (and specifically Putin) sees as the biggest regional threat.

https://tldrussia.substack.com/p/heres-looking-at-eu

[Dave The Man]

The Russian War with Ukraine might be helping Trump to get back in as President as he is Close Mates with Putin

[David]

You don't reckon that perception would damage him domestically? Putin's not exactly on most Americans' Christmas card list right now I would have thought. Man cannot get elected by QAnon, paleocon and Russian Orthodox votes alone.

[Dave The Man]

You don't reckon that perception would damage him domestically? Putin's not exactly on most Americans' Christmas card list right now I would have thought. Man cannot get elected by QAnon, paleocon and Russian Orthodox votes alone.

Well his Followers are Mostly Idiots and Putin/Russia wig the US Election

[Jezza]

The Russian War with Ukraine might be helping Trump to get back in as President as he is Close Mates with Putin

"Close mates"?

Where's your evidence?

[Pies4shaw]

You don't reckon that perception would damage him domestically? Putin's not exactly on most Americans' Christmas card list right now I would have thought. Man cannot get elected by QAnon, paleocon and Russian Orthodox votes alone.

Especially when association with Putin is going to alienate the genuine fascist vote - all that unpleasant reference to "denazification" of the Ukraine is going to hurt the traditional right-wing vote in the States.

[stui magpie]

Despite Trump maintaining a lot of influence, the Republicans cannot seriously allow him to run again. They have to find a way, by negotiation if necessary, to prevent him from running for nomination.

If he does run for the Republican nomination, it's probable he would win it and that would be a disaster for them.

Biden's performance on the Ukraine crisis has generally been good, Trumps remarks complimenting Putin poor. If Trump runs, the Democrats could run a sock puppet and still blitz it.

[doriswilgus]

Has anyone ever seen Trump criticise Putin in any shape or form over the last five years?Even when Putin invaded Ukraine Tump said it was a ‘genius move’ and praised him for being so smart.I think that says it all about the nature of their relationship.It’s not healthy for someone who wants to be the so called leader of the free world to have a sycophantic relationship with a dictator like that.

[stui magpie]

^

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/24/poli ... index.html

So, why is Trump praising Putin? For Trump, everything -- and I mean everything -- is transactional. There is no right or wrong. There's only, can you do this thing or not, and what does it get you versus what does it cost you. In Trump's worldview, might makes right. If you can take something, you should. Being perceived as strong -- in your own country and in the world -- is all that matters.
We saw that sentiment play out many times during Trump's presidency.

I read that a few weeks ago, seems a fair assessment.

[pietillidie]

^Which basically means malignant narcissism or psychopathy, where the cost to others doesn't factor into the equation. Because he's so easily slighted, we know it's the former.

[roar]

You don't reckon that perception would damage him domestically? Putin's not exactly on most Americans' Christmas card list right now I would have thought. Man cannot get elected by QAnon, paleocon and Russian Orthodox votes alone.

Especially when association with Putin is going to alienate the genuine fascist vote - all that unpleasant reference to "denazification" of the Ukraine is going to hurt the traditional right-wing vote in the States.

You give them far too much credit, p4s. That sort of logic is beyond most of them.

[David]

[pietillidie]

Great to see Zelensky still powering on. Hope in the rebuild is definitely the way to keep people pushing through.

It's incredible how the news varies from one minute to the next, though. As Stui said somewhere above, one minute someone writes Putin is a genius, the next he's in decline, the next whatever else. One minute the West has done well, the next it's the West's fault. People are plainly clueless and making up absolutely any old nonsense. I am yet to read anything trustworthy, no matter the supposed qualifications.

I don't even second guess Korea anymore because the generation shift since I left has been so great. Hence no comment on the recent election. But apparently people who have spent two minutes in Russia, or who took a subject once on the Soviet Union, are experts. Never has there been such a void of knowledge on a subject, and such uninformative news.