, , regarding Korea at least, there's a stark contrast between North and South Korea. Can't some of that be attributed to yester-century's darker history...?

, oh no, not at all; apologies if I came through that way.
My point was just that gangsta' sistas' and bullies might be associated with "woke", whether accurate or not; such people have been around forever anyway.

Get a Passport or Leave: Russia’s Ultimatum to Ukrainians (— HRW · Mar 25, 2025)

The date given was Sep 10, 2025.

Colonization.

, hmm...? You could have tried.

Anyway, in offices and companies, demanding an even distribution across whatever, say skin color or gender, is overreach (if done with legislation). Conversely, a marked disproportionate representation of whatever can be remedied by stimulating merit (contra discrimination or social imposition), maybe all the way back to elementary school.

So, the examples, ?

Just talk around it and talk about the unwoke. — Fire Ologist

Nope. I called those folks anti-woke because they called The Little Mermaid woke. Is that what it is?

Meaning is found in its use. Since we're not talking mathematics, definitions are fraught and have to follow use anyway, be it about equality/exclusion, conspiracy theorists, gay marriage, angry bullying radical lesbians, merit, whatever.

So I had to give examples and some context. And gave an apparently agreeable rule-of-thumb. 3/4 wokeity rating? The linked 2024 article also gives examples and international context; notice how "woke" is used to divide/polarize (e.g. "Kremlin statecraft"). From admittedly unreliable memory, "black lives matter" also got "woke-stamped" by some (coinciding with "statecraft" and perhaps some other moves).

Anyway, "woke" is now used as a pejorative by one side in culture wars, often enough accompanied by an extreme example though implicitly carrying other baggage along. But my understanding/impression could easily be off; either way, personally I'd just as well do without the populist noise and @Athena's bullies (not that any of this is about me, mind you).

Are the Trumpests "anti-woke"? — earlier

Years ago, I was horrified by the demands of men-hating, homosexual women, who had gotten control of a women's shelter. [...] — Athena

:o Not what I associate with "woke", seems more like reactionary radicals or something, but my word-use could easily be off. Gangsta' sistas' been 'round forever.

, okie, so we can go by that rule-of-thumb. I'm not sure what its wokeity rating is. 3/4? It comes up in that context.

RFK Jr was appointed because he's susceptible to Circus Trump's whims, because of perceived loyalty, or whatever, not merit. He's also easy to discredit and throw away, just in case. Concern for health overruled or otherwise irrelevant. :down: Are the Trumpests "anti-woke"?

Say, around 1900 (± whatever years depending on place), women couldn't be elected to office. There was a strong, long-held undercurrent of tradition, rendering merit irrelevant, overlapping with conservative (and religious) sentiments. I suppose yester-yester-century's new movements might have been labeled "woke". Not good enough. :down:

There is no such thing as a woke snob? — Fire Ologist

Could be. I was going by the rule-of-thumb, though, which I understand to be in the spirit of DEI. Anyway ... other such agreeable rules?

A couple of years ago, Disney made yet another incarnation of The Little Mermaid, the first being from the late 1980s. Then there was an uproar because of :scream: Ariel's skin color. An army of retarded "anti-woke" rose to the occasion. :down:

Wasn't "woke" also associated with conspiracy theories some years back? Well, there are elements of these culture wars that play right into the hands of adversaries. :down:

(maybe I should have added snobbery — ok done)

the issue before DEI wasn’t that all of these incompetent nepotism babies were running everything — Fire Ologist

Well, that ...

seems like a false dichotomy — Fire Ologist

Anyway, RFK Jr's appointment to head of US Health is a clear high-profile example involving competence, one I'd hold the administration accountable for. Coming up with other examples isn't hard; I guess typical (historical) examples involve skin color, ethnicity, females, religion, political leanings, homosexuals, whatever.

You need to define “conservatism” [...] — Fire Ologist

I'm not using the words in some non-standard way, but rather suggesting an ethical stance, then trying to ask if that's more important than conservatism.

Selecting people by merit instead of tradition/conformity seems like the right thing to do.
Is that anti-conservative?

EDIT (added snobbery)

Selecting people by merit instead of tradition/snobbery/conformity seems like the right thing to do.
Is that anti-conservative?

That was 7 years ago:

How everything became the culture war
^{— Michael Grunwald · POLITICO · Nov 3, 2018}

Much of the article aged fairly well.

, how far does the immunity go?
All the way until impeachment + conviction by Congress?

Trump's "Fifth Avenue" sequel
^{— Axios · Jan 9, 2024}

Possible Exxon business for lifting of sanctions (which apparently matter to Putin):

Exclusive: US and Russian officials discussed energy deals alongside latest Ukraine peace talks
^{— Reuters · Aug 26, 2025}

Does Sullivan's accusation hold up?

Trump threw away America’s relationship with India just to PROTECT his family’s business interests with Pakistan — a move he says makes US allies like Japan & Germany wonder if they can TRUST Washington at all.
^{— MeidasTouch via Megh Updates · Sep 2, 2025 · 1m:32s}
Ex-US NSA Jake Sullivan Accuses Trump Of Sacrificing India Ties For Family's Business With Pakistan
^{— CNN-News18 · Sep 2, 2025 · 5m:47s}

If this...stuff is true, then...corruption of sorts, though I doubt the Trumpets care.

€6.4 billion from the EU to Slovakia over half a decade for development, education, science, resilience, infrastructure, whatever.

... 2024 Jun 6 · 2024 Jun 30

Fico insists on continuing to help finance the Kremlin's bombing of Ukraine.

... 2024 Dec 23 · 2025 Aug 16 · 2025 Sep 2

:chin: What am I missing?

EDIT (had some trouble finding the reference below)

Slovakia and Hungary call on the Commission to uphold energy security guarantees (— Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs · 2025 Aug 27)

Referring to a 2025 Jan 27 statement by the European Commission, that the integrity of the energy infrastructure supplying EU members is a matter of security for the entire EU, Blanár calls Ukraine's attack on Russian oil pipelines unacceptable.

Some Slovak press apparently wasn't impressed by recent events where Fico met with Putin:

Robert Fico was surrounded by dictators from all over the world in China. They celebrated the end of World War II (— Aktuality · 2025 Sep 2)

There are some coincidences here and there, but perhaps nothing illegit.

• The Kremlin backs Orbán (Hungary)
• Orbán (Hungary) backs The Heritage Foundation
• The Heritage Foundation pushes Project 2025
• The Trump administration and Project 2025 overlap

Both Trump/Vance and Orbán periodically whine and complain about Europe / the EU, for example. (As well as Putin.) While critique is welcome, crap has been seen going beyond that. Is there a momentum of sorts towards alignment of sorts (or attempted anyway)?

• PM Orbán takes part in panel discussion in Washington (— Government of Hungary · Mar 8, 2024)
• How Orban Became Putin’s Pawn (— Foreign Policy · Jul 11, 2024)
• Hungarian government proxy is spending a fortune to influence public opinion in the US (— Atlatszo · Oct 23, 2024)
• Why is Hungary’s Viktor Orban cozying up to both Putin and Trump? (— New York Post · Mar 2, 2025)
• Autocracy, Corruption, and Decline: Why Hungary and Orbanism Must Never be a Model for the U.S. (— Just Security · Jun 30, 2025)
• U.S. science and universities are becoming political hostages in the Orbánization of knowledge (— STAT · Sep 2, 2025)

Much more importantly, what's your take, anything to see here? (Could be faces in the clouds.)

Continuing from earlier comments ...

SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Push for peace in Ukraine could rapidly fade if large-scale Russian attacks continue
^{— UN · Aug 29, 2025}

The assault of “629 airborne weapons” killed 25 people — including 4 children — and wounded 63 more, said Yulia Svyrydenko, including a girl “not yet three years old, born under Russian shelling in October 2022, and killed by Russian shelling in August 2025”.
Strikes also damaged the European Union Delegation and British Council premises - diplomatic sites, not military targets - “deliberate acts of terror”, she said, demanding stronger air defence and long-range capabilities to protect civilians, alongside tougher sanctions to deprive Moscow of funds for its war.
Citing the Russian Federation’s systematic abduction of children, forced adoption and identity erasure, she said: “Russia kills children from a distance with missiles and drones, and those who fall under its control it steals.”
She urged the Council to act, insisting that peace requires both bolstering its defence and intensifying pressure on Moscow until it shows genuine willingness to negotiate, stressing: "Aggression must be punished, never rewarded." — Yulia Svyrydenko

Such attacks targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, including arms depots, airfields and UAV factories, not civilians, said the Russian Federation’s speaker.
Rather, civilian deaths resulted from Ukrainian air defences placed in residential areas, he said, stressing Kyiv is “shamelessly and criminally” using Ukrainians as human shields and such tragedies are “intentionally whipped up to blame the deaths of Ukrainian civilians on Russia,” to secure more Western arms and sanctions.
Moscow further accused the West of hypocrisy, ignoring Ukrainian drone and missile attacks on Russian Federation cities that, it said, killed and wounded scores of civilians in late August. The West’s selective blindness undermines its credibility, while reiterating demands for security guarantees that address the Russian Federation's concerns. He also accused Kyiv of “skyrocketing human rights violations”.
On the Alaska Summit, he said the Russian Federation remains open to negotiations, but only on terms that exclude North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion and recognize Russian interests, accusing Kyiv of blocking compromise and pursuing “PR over diplomacy”. — Dmitry Polyanski

“These are not military targets. Aerial attacks in massive waves on densely populated urban areas with explosive weaponry have no justification,” Slovenia’s representative said.
Reiterating condemnation of intensified attacks “while peace in Ukraine is being discussed”, she said they represent a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and “must not go unpunished”.
“2025 is rapidly becoming the deadliest year of this war,” she said, stressing: “We need to refocus our discussions on stopping the bloodshed. We need an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.” — Ondina Blokar Drobič

:chin:
Well, yes, something doesn't add up, though at least it consistently doesn't add up; in this UN forum, I guess all that can be done is calling it out.
House Trump was silent in this round, as far as I know ^{(2025Feb21, 2025Apr15, 2025Jun17)}; busy at home ^{(2025Aug12, 2025Aug29)}.

More crap from the clown entourage...

Stephen Miller: The Democratic Party is a 'domestic, extremist organization' (Fox · Aug 25, 2025 · 5m:5s)

Well then, now that it's been broadcast by a government official, what will happen next (if anything)?

Stephen Miller Yells About American ‘Killing Field’ in Unhinged Rant (Daily Beast · Aug 26, 2025)
Stephen Miller rants about ‘killing field’ in Chicago as he appears to liken city crime to Cambodian Genocide (The Independent · Aug 26, 2025)
Taking Stephen Miller Seriously. And Literally. (Charlie Sykes · Aug 29, 2025)
Stephen Miler called Democratic Party a 'domestic, extremist organization' (just double-checking · Snopes · Aug 30, 2025)

Should be passed off as Trump-style ramblings, though I suspect some will pick it up.
What's your take?

Reichstag fire (— 1933)
Shelling of Mainila (— 1939)
Zersetzung (— 1970s—1980s)
"False positives" scandal (— 1988—2014)
Domestic Military Deployments after Trump v. United States (— Chris Mirasola · University of Houston Law Center · Nov 13, 2024 — Aug 19, 2025)

I was thinking about taking bets on whether Trump will double down on his RFK Jr appointment. :D
(He'll either stay, or quietly be asked to resign for some reason they find plausible, is my guess.)

White House says ousted CDC director Susan Monarez was 'not aligned' with President Trump's mission (— ABC · Aug 28, 2025 · 1m:21s)

Look, what I will say about this individual is that her lawyer's statement made it abundantly clear themselves that she was not aligned with the president's mission to make America healthy again. — Leavitt

Make America Healthy Again



Monarez is better aligned with the slogan than Trump and RFK Jr together

Yaay :up: :)

A new cancer vaccine just wiped out tumors in mice
^{— University of Florida · Aug 19, 2025}

Some have used Guenther's writings to argue that politicians are out of touch and gotta' go.

Political Representation Gaps and Populism
^{— Laurenz Guenther · Toulouse School of Economics · Sep 30, 2022 — Aug 18, 2025}
Representation gaps and the rise of populism
^{— Laurenz Guenther · The Conversation · Feb 3, 2025}

So, politicians and population don't match up, and "right-wing populists fill the cultural representation gap".
Like en vogue fashion, populism may go wherever the wind blows.
A populist leader then can't be expected to be principled; concern for truth, morals, whatever takes a back seat.
They can instead take culture wars for a ride (in the front seat), and have (loud) us-versus-them attitudes reign; convenient for adversaries.
When populism is a weakness of humanity, it becomes a weakness of democracy.

4 CDC leaders resign over ‘weaponizing of public health’ (— The Hill · Aug 27, 2025)

Beyer: Trump Must Fire Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (— Don Beyer · Aug 28, 2025)

No sh¦t. And a few others. How much longer before RFK Jr gets a cab home? And a few others. Hold the administration accountable.

How to erode long-standing friendship/trust

U.S. Orders Intelligence Agencies to Step Up Spying on Greenland (— Wall Street Journal · May 6, 2025)

France summons US ambassador over antisemitism claims (— Courthouse News · Aug 25, 2025)

Denmark summons US envoy over suspected influence operations in Greenland (— Reuters · Aug 27, 2025)

EDIT

Rumors will have it that the Trump administration has been doing crap in Alberta, Canada; though being rumors, they've become more credible

Obama, Trump, whoever, brought up for Europe (and Canada) to carry its NATO weight, as it were.
Defense increase seems to be happening, however scary.

Will war in Ukraine mark a new era for European defence research? (— Nature · Aug 17, 2022)
Europe needs to spend more on defence, not just pretend to (— The Economist · Mar 20, 2025)
French Automaker to Mass Produce MBDA’s ‘One Way Effector’ Missile (— DefenseMirror · Jun 15, 2025)
Europe builds for war as arms factories expand at triple speed (— Financial Times · Aug 12, 2025)

Russia might find itself well outgunned in Ukraine (+ deterrence works), but I'd suggest not forgetting more sanctions.



Pleasantries:

Chinese President Xi Jinping sends independence day greetings to Ukraine (— SCMP · Aug 25, 2025)

Russia’s top diplomat says Zelensky can’t sign Ukraine war peace deal because he’s ‘illegitimate’ (— New York Post · Aug 24, 2025)

secure elections can not take place with the ongoing war against Russia

He's legitimate. (Can the same be said for Putin?)

Q: "This past weekend, Sergey Lavrov was saying that Putin will not sign a peace deal with Zelensky because Russia views him as illegitimate."
President Trump: "It doesn't matter what they say. Everybody's posturing. It's all bullshit." — CSPAN · Aug 26, 2025

According to one commentator, the Kremlin's push is like a Trojan horse.

• would buy them time
• would give them an easy excuse to withdraw from negotiations at any time
• besides, they could always claim that such an election was illegitimate

Seems safe enough to say that the Kremlin does not^† particularly have peace in mind.
Rather, colonization^‡ at the expense of Russians and Ukrainians (and North Koreans).


^{† (some chronological evidence) 2014, 2014, 2019, 2019, 2022, 2022, 2023, 2023, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025, 2025}

_{‡ (some chronological evidence) 2020, 2022, 2022, 2023, 2023, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2024, 2025, 2025}

to get his opponents to defend flag burning — NOS4A2

Intentionally going for division/polarization/vitriol?

^{(division favors adversaries, collaboration favors the cooperators)}

Emphasis mine ...

As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies. Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation, and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology. They also, outrageously, give a complete pass to China's largest Tech Companies. This must end, and end NOW! With this TRUTH, I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional Tariffs on that Country's Exports to the U.S.A., and institute Export restrictions on our Highly Protected Technology and Chips. America, and American Technology Companies, are neither the “piggy bank” nor the “doormat” of the World any longer. Show respect to America and our amazing Tech Companies or, consider the consequences! Thank you for your attention to this matter.
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA — Donald J. Trump · Aug 25, 2025

It's unclear what that will mean for ...

Russian attack on western Ukraine hits an American factory during the US-led push for peace (— AP · Aug 21, 2025)

What do you think will come of it (if anything)?
What should come of it (if anything)?

Do people out there really just swallow all this?

Despite a very high popularity and, according to many, among the greatest 8 months in Presidential History, ABC & NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the worst and most biased networks in history, give me 97% BAD STORIES. IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC. I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!! MAGA — Donald J. Trump · Aug 24, 2025

Unsubstantiated postulates (as usual) just in that post:

• very high popularity (self-appraisal)
• according to many, among the greatest 8 months in Presidential History (self-appraisal)
• ABC, NBC
  
  • FAKE NEWS × 2
  • worst and most biased networks in history
  • 97% BAD STORIES × 2
  • ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY × 2
  • SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC
  • biased and untruthful × 2
  • threat to our Democracy × 2

I'd like to see some substantiation.
After all, it's from the person in the top position of the US.
Until substantiated, it reads like accusations that are confessions ("biased and untruthful").
And attacks on free speech.

Does that count as free speech, or, more generally, free expression?

Is flag burning protected speech? What to know about Trump's order (— BrieAnna J Frank, Bart Jansen · USA TODAY · Aug 25, 2025)

, you can click on your name () to find the older post. The current Gaza situation is a humanitarian disaster. (If I remember right, Biden started putting pressure on Netanyahu.)

, were you thinking of this (poster)?



I'm in. I'm not on board with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Not that anything here is about me, though.

Why has Donald Trump not spoken out about the famine in Gaza? | Inside Story (— Al Jazeera · Aug 25, 2025 · 27m:55s)

As mentioned before, there's more than one problem, ongoing existential threat to Israel, ongoing injustices to Palestinians, ... Apparently, many can't see one for the other.

Trump keeps pulling this one ...

This dire public safety crisis stems directly from the abject failures of the city's local leadership… — Donald J. Trump · Aug 11, 2025

Crime stats in big blue cities are fake. The real rates of crime, chaos & dysfunction are orders of magnitude higher.
Everyone who lives in these areas knows this. They program their entire lives around it.
Democrats are trying to unravel civilization. Pres Trump will save it. — Stephen Miller · Aug 12, 2025

the stats that they gave because they turned out to be a total fraud
the real stats, the stats went through the roof — President Trump calls Washington, DC crime stats a 'fraud' amid crime decrease · WUSA9 · Aug 13, 2025

D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety. This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing! Until 4 days ago, Washington, D.C., was the most unsafe “city” in the United States, and perhaps the World. Now, in just a short period of time, it is perhaps the safest, and getting better every single hour! People are flocking to D.C. again, and soon, the beautification will begin! — Donald J. Trump · Aug 18, 2025

What are the supposed real, (magnitude) higher numbers that he's using for comparison?
It's a standard case of "Put up or shut up", especially before doing anything.

Furthermore, he keeps pulling it (msn) and the population, including many politicians, keep tolerating it; where are the responses with potential consequences?
Further furthermore, the number of False or misleading statements by Donald Trump keep increasing, which was record-setting some time ago (also check CNN / Colbert from 2020).
Regress for all to see; I'm sure US adversaries are delighted, and the Trumpists appear oblivious.

they're all funded by the US department of state — Tzeentch

Nope. They have all kinds of funding, some including from the US State Department, the Economist Intelligence Unit mostly from revenue, ... It varies, yet these freedom type results are fairly similar. You can also find methodologies.

Sea-level projections from the 1990s were spot on, study says
^{— Phys.org · Aug 22, 2025}

The "accelerating" part is a downer. (Is that still a word?)

Evaluating IPCC Projections of Global Sea-Level Change From the Pre-Satellite Era
^{— Earth's Future · Aug 22, 2025}

Probabilistic reconstruction of sea-level changes and their causes since 1900
^{— Earth System Science Data · Jul 31, 2024}

How would more moving water in circulation manifest (in everyday life)? Low islands getting smaller seems a safe bet. Low fields becoming lakes? I'm guessing more flash floods in some places.

How public lying can work:

Feb 27, 2014 · Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War) (— various via Wikipedia)

Feb 26, 2019 · From 'Not Us' To 'Why Hide It?': How Russia Denied Its Crimea Invasion, Then Admitted It (— Carl Schreck · Chizhov, Putin, Shoigu · RFE/RL)

Feb 20, 2022 · Moscow Has No Plans for Aggression, Has Never Attacked Anyone In Its History, Kremlin Spokesman Says (— Ilya Tsukanov · Peskov · Sputnik)

Feb 24, 2022 · Russian invasion of Ukraine (— various via Wikipedia)

Plausible deniability or unactionability for a while, until exposed or otherwise unfeasible, just long enough.
I guess there's no accountability for such lying, apart from distrust perhaps.
(The domestic audience is a bit more puzzling.)
In this case, all on Putin's watch.

, you've repeated that already and have already gotten responses. As to my comment, should I take that as a "Yes" + a "No", then?

, globalization has already happened in whatever ways. Goods-versus-bads is apparently a hot topic in some circles. Blanket globophobia is a wee immature, though.

, nah. But the Kremlin is on it; age-old strategy. Distrust in Trump's US doesn't mean mutual distrust throughout (if that's what you were seeing); in fact, it can lead to increased cooperation/collaboration/bonding elsewhere.

, any relation to Michael?

Leavitt: Countries 'respect the United States again' (— NBC · Aug 19, 2025 · 49s) (via Fox)

All countries around this world actually respect the United States again — Leavitt

Not really. Though some have learned how to entertain him (including Putin by the way).

US popularity collapses worldwide in wake of Trump’s return (— POLITICO · May 12, 2025)

China now more popular worldwide than the US

U.S. Image Declines in Many Nations Amid Low Confidence in Trump (— Pew · Jun 11, 2025)

Low confidence in Trump in most countries surveyed

'Never been lower': Trump's approval among Republicans rapidly declining due to this issue (— AlterNet · Aug 13, 2025)

Economist-YouGov survey revealed Wednesday that President Donald Trump's approval among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters has slipped

The decline is driven by a 17-point plunge among independents, who give the president a 29 percent approval rating. His numbers with the group have never been lower.

and the president is using the might of American strength to demand that respect — Leavitt

Not Putin. They instead continued bombing Ukraine (and went after Trump's coveted minerals earlier for that matter). The clown apparently never learns.

Bad statement. Perhaps not that surprising, though, given the record-setting number of false or misleading statements by Donald Trump (CNN / Colbert from 2020). Additionally, their endless crap could undermine trust for years (and years). Who benefits? Putin's Russia, other adversaries.

, Washington (again)? Are you claiming that the reports are all plain wrong?

, oddly enough, such reports tend to come out of places with sufficient freedom and review. Go figure. You're free to call them a collective of conspiratorial liars. :snicker:

V-Dem Institute, World Justice Forum, MaxRange, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Freedom House, Academic Freedom, Economist Group, Heritage Foundation + Wall Street Journal, Reuters + Oxford, Reporters Without Borders, Transparency International, Foundation for the Advancement of Freedom, CIRIGHTS Data Project

I’m not clicking on your links, bub. — NOS4A2

Too bad.

One day you’ll just have to make an argument. — NOS4A2

Point already made ("Don't be surprised").

People trying to "boycott" peace out of sheer spite for Trump is probably one of the funniest things I've seen on this forum. :rofl: — Tzeentch

That's what you see?

Not supporting the Ukrainians trying (despite getting sh¦t all over again and again), wrestling free from their old northern shadow, standing up against invasion + land-grabbery, sovereignty of Ukraine, calling out Kremlin aggression + bullsh¦ttery, defending democratization, resisting Russification (≠ Russophobia) + Russian regress/oppression/colonization, whatever ...?

Hm.

You think Orbán ^{(2024, 2025)} and Fico ^{(2024, 2025)} are down with trading Hungary and Slovakia for Ukraine?
A territory swap, an exchange, perhaps accompanied by something else?
"The moment of truth, sir, and sir." :)
The Kremlin circle might, maybe; well, surely they would consider it, neighbors right in the middle of Europe (yummm), though still at some distance from Transnistria and the coveted Odesa.
Trump might eye a few Mar-a-Hungakia business opportunities (Putin can remove obstacles :up:).
Hungary and Slovakia would be leaving the EU and NATO, presumably.
The rest of Europe might object; well, to Russian forces moving in at least.



Now back to the real world, apologies for the distraction.

Some of these predictions are (still) accurate enough, others are somewhat off:

Vladimir Putin Could Be Laying a Trap (via yahoo)
^{— Jonathan Lemire · The Atlantic · Aug 12, 2025}

Speaking of freedom, , here's a list from higher to lower:

▸ Norway, Australia, United States, South Korea, Singapore, Russia, North Korea

• Interactive map

• Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index (focuses on change/trajectory, part of the picture)

Don't be surprised when there are objections to Trump's circus helping the proliferation of the lower.

EDIT

Can't distinguish the governance of, say, Solberg and Putin? Lincoln and Stalin? Macron and Mussolini?
Well, if you can't differentiate, then that's on you (or on cognitive/intellectual inadequacy).

, that makes it 20 years before the new tsar broke their own law along with the agreement you mention.
Add Trump's Crimea Declaration of 2018, and whatever.
So, rules out the window, and orange-flavored appeasement?
Doesn't look promising.

Anyway, there's this tedious list of oddities on Trump and Putin's relationship.
Trump wrote "STOP" to Putin, and "CRAZY" about Putin, on his platform, and then...? Back to the old buddy-appeasement.
Bizarrely, after one of Medvedev's ramblings, Trump sent two submaries.
Mentioned list of oddities, Fiona Hill, various Kremlin (and a higher number of other Russian) comments/reactions, volte-faces like the above — taken together — is evidence to suggest that Trump has a hole in his understanding, or something.

The Trump circus has seen some incompetence.
RFK Jr might be the clearest example.
Witkoff is another (via upolitics, via thedailybeast, Niall Ferguson via instagram or facebook; via cnn or tass).
...

:up: to Melania if the reports are accurate:

Melania Trump Letter to Putin Handed Over in Alaska (— Newsweek · Aug 16, 2025)

Trump

• cut tracking of kidnapped Ukrainian children
• blocked aid approved by Congress
• disbanded sanctions enforcement
• opposed oil price cap at G7
• paused intelligence sharing to Ukraine
• voted against a UN resolution condemning the aggression
• provided Putin a boost in Alaska, red carpet too
• re-confirmed his odd affinity for Putin

Something's off, but what? Personality quirk or something?


Artwork by Alesha Stupin