Russia on brink of ... NOPE! Russia INVADES Ukraine!

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tweaker2

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
14,475
6,896
136
Briahna Joy Gray
@briebriejoy


She's smart, she's articulate, AND she's so, so wrong on Ukraine it makes my skin crawl. :(


What she fails to recognize is how the war in Ukraine is affecting so many more millions of people around the world than those concerns of hers that seem to be her personal priorities. She also fails to recognize that each concern of hers requires a response proportional to the dangers each represents to the other democracies of the world.

She is, IMO, making a stand on the wrong side of history based on her apparent ignorance of just how important it is for the democracies of the world to prioritize their resources toward the war Putin started in Ukraine over others that are not such a significant threat to the stability and prosperity of the nations who see democracy as a means to that end.
 

Jaskalas

Lifer
Jun 23, 2004
33,378
7,443
136
  • Ukraine shouldn't have been wearing that dress.
  • Ukraine should have kept its mouth shut.
  • The police definitely shouldn't have bothered that nice rich white family with the problem Ukraine caused.
^ There are certainly parallels here. Won't someone think of those poor little Nazis trying to march across Europe again?
Yeah, no, sorry. I will not be satisfied until every last Orc is driven back to Mordor. Preferably in jars.

The enormity of their evil meaning and purpose cannot be understated. Russia continues to believe in the Genocide and Conquest of others. To such a degree as to throw their entire nation behind accomplishing it. We must unite as many people behind our banner as possible. Our defensive Alliance must have no bounds. No limits. Where they fight, we must kill.
 
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Dec 10, 2005
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She is making *excellent* points, we can all agree as to how we'd like the world to look like... then realize the only way to get there is one step at a time..
Her points are whatboutisms and operate on the idea that foreign policy should rely on some great moral underpinning instead of the practical realities of running a country and interacting with other nation-states.

Her eye roll during the interview she had with the former ambassador, where he was describing Ukrainian children being kidnapped by Russia was pretty gross.

And lastly, her whole description of how our foreign policy should be sounds an awful lot like America First, especially when described as a "what's in it for us".
 
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rommelrommel

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2002
4,370
3,077
146
Hey, if we could invade China and free the Uighurs easily without risking nuclear war I wouldn't be opposed. It is bad, it's just not something that can be solved with force right now.
 
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thilanliyan

Lifer
Jun 21, 2005
11,848
2,051
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What surprises me about Russians is the level of acceptance/expectations of misery.

Of course they were lying, of course they were corrupt, of course they will use you and let you die miserable deaths, yet soldiers volunteer?
I can't remember if it was Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, but in one of their books they tackle this question. Basically it is an innate "serf mentality" that makes them gravitate towards "strongmen" and be okay with their conditions. Those books were written a while ago of course, so I don't know whether that definitely applies in this modern day...but maybe it's as true as it was back then.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,677
916
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Russia 'speak': We are justified in bombing/torturing/raping/kidnapping their civilians since they are Nazi BUT they are terrorists for attacking our warships....
 
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tweaker2

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
14,475
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I can't remember if it was Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, but in one of their books they tackle this question. Basically it is an innate "serf mentality" that makes them gravitate towards "strongmen" and be okay with their conditions. Those books were written a while ago of course, so I don't know whether that definitely applies in this modern day...but maybe it's as true as it was back then.


Keeping their serfs poor, ignorant, dependent and indentured is something dictators, royal or otherwise have done for centuries on end. It's much like what the GOP have done to the poorer Repub controlled rural states in the south and mid-west with millions of the ignorant conservatives that live under their rule. The Repubs have, as their other tyrannical oppressors have in the bygone past exploited religion (their numbers being large and gullible toward authoritarian dictums) and the use of vague unnamed and unsubstantiated yet terrifying boogiemen to strike fear and hate in their subjects so as to have them look for protection from their masters.

One would think that in this age of the widespread use of social media dictators the world over would be in constant peril of being exposed for the self-interested power hungry mere humans they are. Yet these tyrants, these autocratic corrupters here in the USA and abroad have managed to separate their befuddled loyalists away from reality through the use of persistent and omnipresent lies and disinformation. Our nation's conservative self-described aristocracy class have done an excellent job in this regard.
 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
26,967
35,582
136
I'm pretty confident this is a joke but you're right with Russian state TV you can't be 100% sure.

Exactly. Between the vodka and the crazy it's really hard to tell, especially when you rely on others for translations.

Toilets were more Georgia anyway, all about the washing machines this time aren't they?
 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
26,967
35,582
136
I hope it's true, probably not, but so karmic.

Yuri murders, rapes and loots. Hauls his spoils back to Mordor for his gleeful wench to climb her new throne in triumph.

The stinking bomb that drops wasn't the one she expects.

Meh. I'm sure Russians examine their spoils before fleeing, certainly before installing. I am relatively sure the vast majority of boobytraps are set by Russians too, often on the loot they have to abandon before running for it. It's Ukrainians reclaiming the stuff that get hurt I'm pretty sure.

I don't know if that guy had a few vodkas, mixed with crumbling mental health, or if that was just a standard rant with altered subtitles. I do know it's rrrreally fucking hard to feel bad for people who use butterfly bombs, or rig grenades to trees in parks and playgrounds, targeting families and kids. In addition to supporting all the rape, torture and murder I mean.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
83,716
47,399
136
The United States will betray Europe / NATO / Ukraine sooner rather than later. Putin isn't just buying for time with the lives of the mobilized, soon he will have an Ally.
Fox News has done its job well.

New WSJ survey: 81% of Democrats said they supported additional aid for Ukraine, while only 35% of Republicans and 45% of independents said the same
Unless you think this war will still be going on in 2025 (It might!) there's no logical way Putin would have an ally as Congress has almost zero power over foreign policy.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,381
8,130
126
Unless you think this war will still be going on in 2025 (It might!) there's no logical way Putin would have an ally as Congress has almost zero power over foreign policy.

They sure have a hand in voting for aid.

The United States has been a leading provider of security assistance to Ukraine, particularly since Russia launched its renewed and expanded invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. From 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine, through October 14, 2022, the United States has provided more than $20.3 billion in security assistance “to help Ukraine preserve its territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO.” Of this amount, the Biden Administration has committed about $17.6 billion in security assistance since the start of the 2022 war. FY2022 and FY2023 security assistance packages are mostly being funded via almost $28 billion in supplemental appropriations (P.L. 117-103, Div. N; P.L. 117-128; and P.L. 117-180, Div. B). FY2022 and FY2023 appropriations include a total of $14.05 billion to replenish Department of Defense (DOD) equipment stocks sent to Ukraine via presidential drawdown authority; $9.3 billion for DOD’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI; P.L. 114-92, §1250); and $4.65 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF; 22 U.S.C. §2763) for Ukraine and “countries impacted by the situation in Ukraine.” Supplemental appropriations also have included funds for U.S. European Command operations and related support for the U.S. military.

 

tweaker2

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
14,475
6,896
136
The United States will betray Europe / NATO / Ukraine sooner rather than later. Putin isn't just buying for time with the lives of the mobilized, soon he will have an Ally.
Fox News has done its job well.

New WSJ survey: 81% of Democrats said they supported additional aid for Ukraine, while only 35% of Republicans and 45% of independents said the same


Seems to me it's a conditioned gut reaction by the Repubs to resist and obstruct any and all policies and actions "perpetrated" by the "Radical Left" AKA "Liberal Socialist Democrats", along with the Repub's habit of taking actions against the Democrats out of nothing more than misplaced hateful spite.

The Independents percentage seems to be right in line with their ideological stance, where a slightly more favorable tip towards supporting Ukraine in their numbers over this particular issue makes sense.
 
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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
83,716
47,399
136
They sure have a hand in voting for aid.

The United States has been a leading provider of security assistance to Ukraine, particularly since Russia launched its renewed and expanded invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. From 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine, through October 14, 2022, the United States has provided more than $20.3 billion in security assistance “to help Ukraine preserve its territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO.” Of this amount, the Biden Administration has committed about $17.6 billion in security assistance since the start of the 2022 war. FY2022 and FY2023 security assistance packages are mostly being funded via almost $28 billion in supplemental appropriations (P.L. 117-103, Div. N; P.L. 117-128; and P.L. 117-180, Div. B). FY2022 and FY2023 appropriations include a total of $14.05 billion to replenish Department of Defense (DOD) equipment stocks sent to Ukraine via presidential drawdown authority; $9.3 billion for DOD’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI; P.L. 114-92, §1250); and $4.65 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF; 22 U.S.C. §2763) for Ukraine and “countries impacted by the situation in Ukraine.” Supplemental appropriations also have included funds for U.S. European Command operations and related support for the U.S. military.

Even that I doubt. Democrats are already putting through a big aid package before the next congressional term and Biden will be able to monkey with available funding for a good long time.

Republicans have essentially zero ability to affect aid to Ukraine although I do agree that they are more and more closely siding with Putin as time goes on.
 

Dave_5k

Golden Member
May 23, 2017
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Unless you think this war will still be going on in 2025 (It might!) there's no logical way Putin would have an ally as Congress has almost zero power over foreign policy.
Congress has 100% control over the purse strings, and MAGA-Q can defund all Ukraine aid/appropriations (and they fully plan to, although it will only be 3rd or 4th priority after impeaching Biden at least 3 times, setting up special investigation and hearings on Hunter 24/7, killing all Jan 6 investigations and inquiries, and blocking all Biden appointments to all offices and judges, and hard defaulting on the US government payments to extort what they want)
 
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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
83,716
47,399
136
Congress has 100% control over the purse strings, and MAGA-Q can defund all Ukraine aid/appropriations (and they fully plan to, although it will only be 3rd or 4th priority after impeaching Biden at least 3 times, setting up special investigation and hearings on Hunter 24/7, killing all Jan 6 investigations and inquiries, and blocking all Biden appointments to all offices and judges)
Well you will be pleasantly surprised when Republicans are completely unable to defund Ukraine aid and appropriations then, haha.

Repeat after me: Assuming Democrats pass additional funding for Ukraine before next January, which they fully have the votes to do and plan on doing, Republicans cannot do anything to affect aid to Ukraine. Period.