Ukraine

[not2big]

Stalin was also considered a great politician and was responsible for transforming the Soviet Union into a major industrial power. Yet, to achieve these results he executed close to 800,000 of his opponents while approximately 1.5 million perished in the gulag system under his autocratic dictatorship. Indirectly, another 1 - 2 million died during the famines that flourished under his policies.

Adolf introduced the Volkswagen to the world and his autobahn influenced the construction of the Interstate Highway system in the U.S. But, we know the rest of the story.

Sometimes the ends do not justify the means.

 

[Dangler]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon

Things can get very tragic, quickly. Nasty.

 

[Marlon LGHanger]

Anyone remember the Stallone movie Cliff Hanger? Great line by bad guy John Lithgow "Kill ten people and they call you a murderer, kill ten thousand people and they call you a conqueror" LOL

 

[Marlon LGHanger]

I do not read The NY Times. I watched the video of his speech. It wasn’t sarcasm, it was mean spirited drivable, which he excels at. The ass even said he would have prevented it. You know, the guy who wanted to withhold military aid until the Ukrainians generated dirt on his political rival.

You don't get sarcasm....
Did Putin invade Ukraine when Trump was President? Did Xi invade Taiwan when Trump was President? Did Little Rocket Man keep testing missiles when Trump was President?
NO, NO and NO again! You know why? Because they knew when Trump told them not to do it otherwise there would be dire consequences. He told Putin he'd turn Moscow into glass. They all feared him because he was scary unpredictable .... Orange Godzilla LOL

 

[not2big]

Did I miss something? When did XI invade Taiwa? N. Korea never shot off misses. -
Actually, beginning May 4, 2019 through March 2, 2022, there have been sightings of at least ten short range ballistic missles from ranges in North Korea. On October 2, 2019, the fat kid launched a missile from a submarine that traveled about 450 KM and again on March 2, 2020 he launched a missile that traveled 240 KM.

The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General John Hayden said on January 17, 2020 that North Korea is building new missiles, capabilities and weapons "As fast as anybody on the planet." He further stated that North Korea is learning from its mistakes while making advances in its missile programs.

I agree Putin did not invade Ukraine under Trump; however, did Trump do anything to get Putin out of Crimea?

 

[Dangler]

Of note....

The Chinese Embassy in Kyiv issued a notice on February 24 in anticipation of Beijing’s need to organize the return of an estimated 6,000 Chinese nationals living in Ukraine, mainly in the cities of Kyiv, Lvov, Kharkov, Odessa, and Sumy.

“Given the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country, Chinese nationals and companies are facing high security risks. For this reason, the embassy is preparing charter flights and asked all Chinese nationals to voluntarily register,” the notice read, as paraphrased by the Global Times.

 

[Pegasus]

Zelensky will probably die defending his country . He deserves respect .
Diplomacy was never going to work because it takes 2 to make it work .
Putin had already invaded his country twice ( Crimea and the Eastern regions) . He has also done similar to other places a number of times previous .
There were 3 countries that warranted safety and borders of Ukraine when it gave up it's nukes ,the US the Uk and Russia .

 

[Johnny D]

I agree Putin did not invade Ukraine under Trump; however, did Trump do anything to get Putin out of Crimea?

Like the 3 US Presidents before him, Trump exacerbated the political tension in the region and did nothing to help the situation. You can argue all day long over whether Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, or Biden handled the situation better or worse than the other guy while completely ignoring the fact that not a single one of them worked in a positive direction. The invasion is on Putin, for sure, but ALL of the US Presidents since the fall of the Soviet Union contributed to escalating tensions (not to mention setting examples here and there how to invade a weaker country for your own interests) when they had opportunities to do better.

 

[CUSP82]

What could any of them have done better?

 

[BigO]

Putin doesn't want NATO at his border, he's not wrong to keep them away from them.

 

[BigO]

At least Joe isn’t congratulating Putin for doing a great job in acquiring vast lands at minimum expense

They sound like Israel

 

[BlueMorpho]

On a different note, has anyone heard of the Azov Battalion? They have been incorporated into Ukraine's National Guard. Most reliable sources will confirm that they embrace a Neo Nazi ideology. Ukraine has a dark little secret that goes all the way back to WWII: a man named Stepan Bandera infamously collaborated with the Nazi Holocaust in Poland and Ukraine. Fast forward to the 2010: Stepan Bandera is awarded the posthumous award "Hero of Ukraine"... which was later revoked following an uproar. But the fact he was initially awarded the honor says a lot about the country's political turmoil (and presence of pro-fascist parties).

Anyway, I am not being pro-Russia here... I genuinely feel for the Ukrainian folk. But I don't think I want to support the Ukrainian government's use of Neo-Nazi military contingents either.

 

[BigO]

Ukraine government is infested with the same trash as the Russians at the turn of the 20th century.

Very bolshevik in nature. The media will support Ukraine no matter what the truth is.

 

[not2big]

During the far right America First Political Action Conference ( considered by some to be white Supremacists), attended by Trump supporters, Margarie Taylor Green and Paul Gozar who addressed the crowed, the attendees were loudly cheering on Russia and Putin. Seems the U.S. government has its own trash.

 

[CUSP82]

Ukraine government is infested with the same trash as the Russians at the turn of the 20th century.

Very bolshevik in nature. The media will support Ukraine no matter what the truth is.

The truth is you just don't invade other countries. The Russian people don't want war, they don't want their kids killed.There is no excuse for that. And forget that silly idea that Putin will respond to international pressure. It won't stop him, it won't stop Xi and it would never stop us. Besides as much as politicians like to say we have international agreements to punish Putin the things that would really punish him some of or "allies" ( particularly Germany) won't do because it may hurt their people.It all goes back to moneyl sadly we gave Putin the money to wage the war.

 

[Dangler]

I always liked that notion of America First. The alternatives suck big time.

 

[Johnny D]

What could any of them have done better?

Clinton supported NATO's Yukoslav wars
Bush negotiated The Bucharest Declaration
Obama meddled to oust Yanukovych
Trump doubled down on The Bucharest Declaration, and sold weapons to Ukraine

 

[BigO]

The truth is you just don't invade other countries. The Russian people don't want war, they don't want their kids killed.There is no excuse for that. And forget that silly idea that Putin will respond to international pressure. It won't stop him, it won't stop Xi and it would never stop us. Besides as much as politicians like to say we have international agreements to punish Putin the things that would really punish him some of or "allies" ( particularly Germany) won't do because it may hurt their people.It all goes back to moneyl sadly we gave Putin the money to wage the war.

Can't argue with this.

money is the root of all evil, if only we could figure out who controls it!

 

[BigO]

Not saying Russia is right for invading but we could also say that the Ukraine President had a chance to stop the invasion as well.

What should Putin do if he doesn't invade, seems if he doesn't then he will have Nato forces at his door step.

It's a bad situation.

 

[not2big]

To stop, he wold have had to agree to never try to join NATO. As a fledgling democracy bordering autocratic states, Ukraine needed the protection of NATO.