Will be a very difficult late summer and fall — ssu

Also, there seems to be more focus on defensive weaponry, like detecting and shooting down incoming bombs and drones. With less (effective) weaponry to strike back, it's a precarious situation. Sufficient aid to put the invaders on the defense would help.

Inside North Korea’s vast operation to help Russia’s war on Ukraine
^{— Tom Balmforth, Mariano Zafra et al · Reuters · Apr 15, 2025}

Recently, Kryvyi Rih (Republic World, AP, Reuters) and Sumy (AP, Oneindia News, Al Jazeera) were the "sitting ducks".

^{(unknown veracity, but most seems consistent enough with whatever else)}

Trump Tower Moscow, Rare Earths and Geopolitical Perks: How the Kremlin Plans to Bait Trump Into a Grand Bargain
^{— Pyotr Kozlov · The Moscow Times · Apr 21, 2025}

Is Putin going for a Molotov-Ribbentrop type deal with Trump?
I guess it's up to the Ukrainians.
Europe better get its act together.

For can we really entertain the idea that the realist is conceiving the world as existing independently of his senses? — sime

Existentially dependent? The mind is doing the conceiving; self-reference; solipsism. Admit it. ;)

So it appears that "independence" in the context of minds, their ideas and the world are not independent at all, in any sense of the word. — Harry Hindu

It's just because our minds are parts of the world. Partaking in the world means dependencies of sorts.

You (decide to) call your dog, and it comes over: mind → world

Your dog comes over, making you happy: world → mind

So no, not independent.

US lifts sanctions against key Orbán ally accused of corruption (Apr 16, 2025)

Meanwhile Orbán is enacting... crackdown on non-government/foreign-funded organizations and media, so alleged threat to sovereignty can be (ab)used to silence critics; loss of Hungarian citizenship if they have other citizenship as well and allegedly undermine sovereignty; state of emergency can be declared indefinitely from the current maximum of 180 days; additional moves against trans-genders and homosexuals.

Room for corruption up, democracy and civil liberties down, political imposition against whatever cultural trend gets them fired up today, ...

Retardation pandemic?

This law is making its way in, but we'll see:

H.R.1526 - NORRA of 2025
^{— Darrell Issa · US Congress · Feb 24, 2025}

To me, it looks like more power concentration.

ACLU Responds to House Passage of H.R. 1526, Limiting Courts’ Ability to Rein in Abuses of Power
^{— Mike Zamore · American Civil Liberties Union · Apr 9, 2025}

Is Team Trump, or someone in his vicinity, setting up (prerequisites for) authoritarianism, or is there nothing to worry about here?
Having different branches of government, with their own power, is more democratic.

(as an aside, Season 6 of The Handmaid's Tale has started :wink:)

Hmm...?

China Deals a Blow to Donald Trump's F-47 Combat Jet Dream
^{— Brendan Cole · Newsweek · Apr 7, 2025}
US scrambles as China cuts off key minerals for fighter jets
^{— Boyko Nikolov · BulgarianMilitary · Apr 11, 2025}

Bold...

Newsom jumps into economic damage control
^{— Dustin Gardiner, Blake Jones · POLITICO · Apr 7, 2025}

Hmm...

Military contractors pitch unprecedented prison plan for detained immigrants
^{— Dasha Burns, Myah Ward · POLITICO · Apr 11, 2025}

Apart from the vague familiarity with...other things, wouldn't this run into legal troubles?

Information comes in via the sciences; what to do about it is political (or ethics).

Trump Administration Fires Hundreds of Climate and Weather Specialists
^{— Yale Environment 360 · Apr 11, 2025}

implausible climate threats, contributing to a phenomenon known as ‘climate anxiety,’ which has increased significantly among America’s youth — Team anti-woke

Will they shut down NASA's efforts as well?

, is that legal without proving the election was rigged?
Maybe the law no longer matters in the US.

, it's being given some further attention:

Ocasio-Cortez: Colleagues ‘should probably disclose’ recent stock purchases now
^{— Filip Timotija · The Hill · Apr 10, 2025}

Could just be "Trump’s loose lips and sticky fingers" I suppose. Insider trading is still illegal.

As an aside, , both the youtube and the Trump message it's referring to were from verified accounts of known public figures, so I'm thinking they're valid enough, despite being on social media. That's just my personal take, don't want to violate forum rules.

In addition to general communication, Internet social media seems to be an emerging secondary (perhaps toward primary) means of making news available; many major sources have verified presence. It's an evolving ecosystem. It's also poisoned by dis/mal/misinformation and other noise; that's a real problem with no easy, immediate solution.

Soybeans from Trump country will go up in price in the EU.

EU targets Trump’s red states with tariffs on US trucks, cigarettes and ice cream
^{— Giovanna Coi, Paroma Soni, Camille Gijs · POLITICO · Apr 9, 2025}

Targeted towards Trump voters. Will it make a difference?


On a separate note, I don't think Trump cares so much about a topic or cause, as he cares about taking the task + asserting himself + stomping someone or making big waves + getting credits applause cheers. And he'll roll with it, tossing weight around as he sees fit. Hostile towards whoever has criticized him, regardless of reason. If so, then there's a chance he could be won over to whatever cause (well, not any cause). I suppose there could be something more meaningful to him. His relationship with Putin is odd, if not suspicious. (end unsolicited assessment :smile:)

Hmm...

Ukraine captures two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia, Zelenskyy says
^{— Al Jazeera · Apr 8, 2025}

Will need outside verification. Would Zelenskyy make it up? Could they be Chinese mercs?

Putin just conscripted a slightly higher number than the last time.

Vladimir Putin signs decree calling up 160,000 Russians for military service
^{— Euronews · Mar 31, 2025}

They're not supposed to go to the frontlines. Maybe they're running low on bodies.

Should they be confirmed Chinese soldiers, what might be expected in response? Will Xi disown/deny them? Either way, there seems to be at least some justification for Ukraine's allies to put soldiers on the ground, though perhaps not that much.

My emphasis:

"For Fain, tariffs address a historic wrong. "We've sat here for the last 30 plus years, with the inception of [the North American Free Trade Agreement] back in 1993-94, and watched our manufacturing base in this country disappear," he said." --NPR link

Yep. — frank

That's just capitalism. Profit maximization. Capitalism has no care about patriotism/nationalism. What matters are cheaper labor / lower wages, competitiveness, less environmental regulations, less health + safety protection, buy lower / sell higher, profitable resources, etc. Marrying capitalism and patriotism/nationalism politically tends toward a more planned economy (like wartime economy :gasp: for a more extreme example), which will get many people's backs up.

The Daily Beast labeled this story "Rash Decision"...

Measles vaccination clinics hit by funding cuts
^{— Xavier Walton · The Hill · Apr 4, 2025}

Bulldozing without considering, clinics scrapped, health workers laid off, the heck are they doing? Seems like an RFK Jr thing, which may be coincidental. Shouldn't the government appoint someone who thinks?

Our thoughts are also with the measles-ravaged country America. I hope we are screening them before they come to Africa. — Elnathan John

:D

Another firing on questionable grounds...

Top US admiral at NATO removed amid Trump’s growing military firings
^{— Noah Robertson · Military Times · Apr 7, 2025}

Not loyal to Trump, "wokeness", DEI efforts, ..., have become reasons for firings.
RFK Jr stands out in demonstrating that merit isn't a reason to be hired.
Musk wrote "the woke mind virus will die" (though not YEC).
I'm wondering if they've considered the slippery slope they've taken.

'Alarmed': Ousted DOJ lawyer testifies she received late night 'threat' from ex-employer
^{— Sarah K Burris · Raw Story · Apr 7, 2025}

Activists on the weekend...

Angry protesters from New York to Alaska assail Trump and Musk in ‘Hands Off!’ rallies
^{— Dave Collins, Julie Carr, Fatima Hussein, Erik Verduzco, Nicholas Riccardi, Mark Thiessen · AP · Apr 5, 2025}

The CSDP doesn't come up much. Related:

EU finance ministers to discuss joint fund to buy and own defence gear
^{— Jan Strupczewski, Richard Chang · Reuters · Apr 7, 2025}

Due to Putin and Trump. Expect anti-EDM/Europe campaigns/rhetoric from the Kremlin. Expect haggling and bureaucracy. We'll see what comes of it.

It does actually make sense if you look at it from their ideological authoritarian perspective. — ChatteringMonkey

Might as well say it as it is.

FYI, a short correspondence regarding how individual US tariffs are determined, between James Surowiecki (journalist) and Kush Desai (The White House) (both social media accounts below are verified, I wanted to link original sources):

Just figured out where these fake tariff rates come from. They didn't actually calculate tariff rates + non-tariff barriers, as they say they did. Instead, for every country, they just took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country's exports to us.

So we have a $17.9 billion trade deficit with Indonesia. Its exports to us are $28 billion. $17.9/$28 = 64%, which Trump claims is the tariff rate Indonesia charges us. What extraordinary nonsense this is. — James Surowiecki · Apr 2, 2025

No we literally calculated tariff and non tariff barriers.

https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/reciprocal-tariff-calculations — Kush Desai · Apr 2, 2025

This is truly amazing. The Deputy White House Press Secretary is claiming that I'm wrong, and that the "tariff rates" on Trump's chart were calculated by "literally" measuring every country's tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers.

To prove it, he screenshots the formula the USTR says was used to calculate the reciprocal tariffs we imposed on other countries. And when you back out the Greek symbols, what is that formula? Trade deficit/imports - exactly what I said it was.

I don't know if the Deputy Press Secretary was misinformed, or is just being misleading. Either way, the Trump administration did not "literally calculate tariff and non tariff barriers" to determine the tariff rates it's imposing on other countries. As I said, it divided our trade deficit with a country by our imports with that country, and then multiplied by 0.5 (because Trump was being "lenient").

Oh, and if our trade deficit/imports with a country is less than 10%, or we have a trade surplus with a country, Trump slapped a flat 10% tariff on that country. — James Surowiecki · Apr 3, 2025

(the correspondence has additional comments/details if anyone cares)

I suppose the Trump team is free to determine/calculate whatever. Doesn't inspire much confidence. More importantly, what do you make of it?

, haggling, poor comms, people in people out, egos in the way, tip-toeing, ... I guess that's a lesson in itself.

Supporter high-ups, ministers, presidents, should have told Kyiv something in the spirit of ...

We'll give you what you need (implicitly including Wiesbaden work), provided that there will be no unacceptable civilian casualties. Internal transparency matters. Treating others well, friend or foe, will further incentivize us. The objective is an unoccupied Ukraine.

... and kept promises.

Catching up with some Zakaria interviews...

_{Fareed speaks with former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. They discuss Vice President Vance’s recent trip to Greenland, President Trump’s desire to “purchase” the territory and the future of the US-Danish alliance.}

On GPS: Former Danish Prime Minister: ‘We have stood by America for decades’
^{— Fareed Zakaria · CNN · Mar 30, 2025 · 5m:48s}

Yep, Trump/Vance's statements just don't make sense, unless their motives lie elsewhere, e.g. natural resources. If it's minerals, then set up business with the Greenlanders.

_{Fareed speaks with Russian political philosopher Alexander Dugin, who is known to some as “Putin’s brain.” They discuss the growing alignment between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin – and the origins of Russia’s war on Ukraine.}

On GPS: Russian philosopher: ‘Putinism has won in the US’
^{— Fareed Zakaria · CNN · Mar 30, 2025 · 7m:29s}

Ough. The imperialism is hard to miss. Since Dugin's latest book is about Trump's second presidency, he must be a quick writer.

European defense is being taken seriously enough. Here's a half-hour report regarding some Estonian, Finnish, and Norwegian responses to the activities of Putin's Russia:

How Northern Europe is preparing for war with Russia
^{— Le Monde in English / youtube · Mar 15, 2025 · 30m:48s
(the original French report is pay-walled)}

Typical modus operandi of hybrid attacks mentioned in the report:

• set up social media groups, anti-Europe pages
• post stickers, flyers, conspiracy files
• organize fake protests (cost ≥ 500 €)
• cyberattacks
• bomb threats via email against schools, ports

The report is fairly recent. Additional resources have been allocated in some of these areas. I expect these efforts to continue/increase while Russia is on the offense.


Ukraine’s clandestine book club defies Russia’s push to rewrite history
^{— Peter Pomerantsev, Alina Dykhman · Guardian · Mar 22, 2025}

Micro-resistance to Russification?

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving
^{— Alexandra Witze · Nature · Mar 27, 2025}

3 out of 4 is high; actual numbers will be lower; packing up and moving isn't so easy, let alone to another country.
Still, some will be leaving due to the Trump administration, which might well turn out to be a(nother) loss for the US.
And, they're already deporting foreign students (2025Mar27, 2025Mar29), and some have cancelled studies in the US.
What a dumb mess.
Who does it all benefit anyway?

Trump is routinely reported as propagating 'disinformation' or 'making claims without evidence', but in plain language, he lies - repeatedly and prolifically, nearly every time he speaks. — Wayfarer

There's no doubt about the abundant dis/mal/misinformation.

Reporting on False or misleading statements by Donald Trump 4-5 years ago, which might already have been a record back then:

Reporter to Trump: 'Do you regret all the lying to Americans?'
^{— Shirish V Dáte, Brianna Keilar · CNN/youtube · Aug 14, 2020 · 4m:14s}
_{(apologies in advance if the CNN youtube goes against the rules, it's direct and relevant, though)}

When speaking with Trump followers, I found that some say "He's just trolling, you have to read him right", some dodge/divert or refuse to comment or turn my inquiry into a semantics game, some dismisses with a "They all lie" handwave (and fail to address the amount), some double down (into Alice's proverbial rabbit hole), ... I suppose Trump is free to lie, it's not illegal; it becomes a problem when lots of people (always) trust his word more than "mainstream media" or whatever. How to characterize this aspect of those people? Puzzling that it continues.


^{A standard phrase of his for years}

Following up on Sheremeta's comments posted Mar 28, 2025:

• Intimidate/threaten to gain power:
  Examples include Brad Raffensperger, Russell Bowers, Gabriel Sterling.
  Paramilitary or radical groups ready to help him?
• Consolidate power:
  He ditched JAG; there are other examples.
  Going by Project 2025? The Heritage Foundation?
• Establish police state:
  Raids, camps, deportations (crime is actually down).
  Insurrection Act? Jan 6 pardons?
• Constrain opposition:
  Overhaul of the Department of Justice and the FBI.
  Investigate/discredit district attorneys.
• Undermine free press:
  He's been saying "Fake news" for years.
  MSNBC, AP, Reuters have been hit.
  Many of his followers now just trust him.
  (By the way, he's also said "Rigged election" for years.)

Seems doubtful that he could come up with his moves by himself.
Anyway, I guess we'll see. (Though hopefully not.)

Your reality or my reality?  :chin: — Agree-to-Disagree

Earth doesn't become flat because someone thinks so.

Trump officials will screen NIH funding opportunities
^{— Sara Reardon, Jon Cohen, Jocelyn Kaiser · Science/AAAS · Mar 26, 2025}

Less and less separation, independence, ... Political imposition, scientific grants to align with government messaging, ... Creepy.

Hmm

A secretary can invite anyone to meetings with visiting counterparts, but attendee lists are usually carefully limited to those who need to be there and attendees are typically expected to possess security clearances given the delicate nature of the discussions, according to defense officials and people familiar with the meeting. There is often security near the meeting space to keep away uninvited attendees. — Hegseth Brought His Wife to Sensitive Meetings With Foreign Military Officials · WSJ · Mar 28, 2025

Why hasn't there been any fraud cases yet?

I'm thinking there are some cases where social media messages can be evidence.
This was posted on a verified account (I added the embedded link):

Exactly.
My son, Xavier, died. He was killed by the woke mind virus.
Now, the woke mind virus will die. — Elon Musk · Mar 22, 2025

I think Musk's rationale for what he says/does came up in this thread.
The above message could serve as evidence.

But, moderation is a thankless, tedious job; going into that detail could make the job unreasonably time-consuming. :)

Cause for concern? The commentary doesn't strike me as radicalism or propaganda, which are typical accusations.

Re: America turning from democracy to authoritarianism:

I teach both American and international government. For years, I’ve been going over “case study” states, from mostly democratic (UK), to democratizing-but-corrupt (Mexico, Nigeria), to illiberal-authoritarian (Russia), to theocratic (Iran), to traditional authoritarian (China).

When it comes to the difference between democracy and authoritarianism, one thing Americans need to understand is that there’s never one single moment when you become an authoritarian state; no leader will stand up and announce, “I am now a dictator.”

Putin is the classic case study in the gradual, effective subversion of democracy. Russia had been democratizing for about a decade when he took over in 2000, and now – even though Russia ostensibly still has the appearance of democracy (elections, separation of powers, federalism, and a constitution) – none of that matters. Putin is in absolute control. And Putin is, coincidentally (?), the authoritarian most vocally admired by Donald Trump.

But how screwed are we? Well, as any first-year political science student can tell you, there are – very simple, clear-cut, definitive – ways to tell when your democracy is in danger. Let’s go over them, shall we?

1. You know you’re drifting toward authoritarianism when … your Legislative Branch cedes power to your President.

Montesquieu (and later Madison) envisioned the Legislative Branch as the primary workhorse of government: it was made – in part – to check the President’s excesses. It has far more powers than the President, it’s more representative of the people than the President, and it was specifically given the ability to restrain, overrule, or remove the President. In all of U.S. history, the legislature was never intended to be subservient to executive power. When a President’s rule sidesteps legislative functions – and Congress allows it – the balance of power is subverted.

For the record, Putin’s rise initially faced resistance from his own legislative Duma – serving their constitutional function – until he cowed them, forced out resistors, and intimidated dissent, eventually rewriting the rules around elections to install loyalists exclusively.

Ask yourself: Has the U.S. Congress been ceding power to President Trump, diminishing in importance as the president’s role grows?

2. You know you’re drifting toward authoritarianism when … corporatism becomes normalized.

Corporatism is a political system in which for-profit business groups (i.e., mass media and energy) become the most impactful partners in the government’s policymaking process.

Authoritarians need industry leaders (and more importantly, their money) to spread their influence. Consequently, deals are made and favors traded (tax cuts in exchange for favorable reporting, for instance) that further enhance the power of the oligarchs and the President over that of the people.

For the record, Putin allowed profiteering for oligarchs who would help him (the Rotenburgs and Yuri Kovalchuk), and persecuted or jailed those who opposed him (Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky).

Ask yourself: Has President Trump empowered corporations who aided him and diminished those who opposed him in order to gain more power?

3. You know you’re drifting toward authoritarianism when … you begin to wonder if your President will obey the Constitution.

Rule of law is considered one of the four pillars of democracy, and the U.S. – despite its foibles – has a strong tradition of adherence to this concept. For many countries, the constitution is just a piece of paper, altered on the fly when it suits the regime (example: every Chinese president before Xi Jinping had term limits; now – with a wave of the pen – he does not). If obeying the U.S. Constitution becomes a question rather than an expectation, that is not in the American tradition of democracy.

For the record, Putin regularly violates the civil liberties present within the Russian constitution: restricting protests, intimidating (or outright murdering) journalists, and jailing political opponents.

Ask yourself: Have President Trump’s actions ever threatened constitutional norms or the rule of law in pursuit of personal gain?

4. You know you’re drifting toward authoritarianism when … your President creates enemies for you to turn on, both internally and externally.

This is pretty much textbook fascism, frankly, but I’m shocked at how easily it’s getting overlooked. Look, one cannot be a hero without a villain – and who is more easily vanquished than the vulnerable? If you can turn your citizenry onto a witch hunt against its own people, that’s a useful tool for power grabs in the name of “security.” And if you can turn them against a foreign adversary, even better: nothing promotes nationalism like warfare … especially easily won warfare.

Ask yourself: Has President Trump encouraged us to turn on any of our fellow Americans … or created any new foreign enemies out of historic allies?

5. You know you’re drifting toward authoritarianism when … your President elevates loyalty to himself personally over loyalty to the country.

Consider: though most cabinet members are rotated out when a new president enters, the vast majority of bureaucrats and soldiers (everyone from staff sergeants to park rangers) stay in place, keeping the machinery of government running, as their oath is to the Constitution – not a specific human being. Authoritarians see that as insufficient, replacing elements of the bureaucracy – especially military and law enforcement – who will criticize implementation, or refuse illegal execution, of presidential will.

For the record, one of Putin’s first actions as President was to put the FSB (their version of the FBI) under direct control of the President (himself). Prior to that, there had been a detachment between law enforcement and political power, expected and traditional in western democracies. From May 17, 2000 onward, they became a tool of his will, incrementally expanded in power and wielded against his enemies.

Ask yourself: Has President Trump appointed government agents – especially military and law enforcement – who have vocalized loyalty to him personally, and advocated for vengeance against his political enemies?

Sigh. I’m tired, but I could go on and on. There’s a phrase that’s been paraded lately: “Democracy dies in darkness.” In my experience, that’s not necessarily what’s happening here. Despite the backslide in democratic qualities we’re experiencing, the one we have in spades is transparency: thanks to a vibrant media ecosystem – and Trump’s narcissistic self-promotion – we are constantly aware of the moves he’s making to subvert the norms of our regime.

That said, as democracy dies in America, it won’t be in darkness. It will be in plain sight – and with our permission. — Roman Sheremeta (Case Western Reserve University, Chapman University)

As they say of the ancient Romans, "The Republic didn't fall in a day", something like that. Putin also violated Russian Criminal Code Article 353, by the way.

I'm sure many could use $1M, but is it tax-free? Might Musk come ask for "a favor" sometime in the future? :D Flirting with bribery? Musk can certainly afford it many times over. Ethics? Doesn't look like healthy democracy to me. Two months and a week into Trump's presidency (second round).

Exciting to announce our first million dollar award for supporting our petition against activist judges in Wisconsin!

Next million dollar award will be announced in 2 days. — Elon Musk · Mar 26, 2025

What's going on here?

Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her
^{— Jake Offenhartz, Kathy McCormack, Michael Casey · AP · Mar 26, 2025}

ICE is above the courts?

Not the first such story. I don't fear so much for her (physical) safety at the moment, yet if symptomatic, this backsliding doesn't bode well. By the way, so much for free speech that the current administration has berated others about. Trust erosion. At least the press isn't outlawed when reporting this.

The arresting officers ultimately report to Lyons (ICE), who reports to Noem (Homeland Security), who reports to Trump. Who's above the courts here, if anyone?

Gave me a good chuckle

Goose, bear, Trump (below Vance) - has Benny Hill audio, too :D

More fun - Trump march :D

My apologies for the spam, please delete if found inappropriate

Is Trump that simple/unprincipled?

I know a little something that so many do not appreciate about Donald, but that those of us who worked with him in the financial services game have known for many decades—LONG before he ever made a run at politics.

His stated motives rarely reveal his true agenda. His showmanship and charisma bedazzles the uninformed, which is exactly how he likes it. He never signed a contract or met an agreement he wouldn’t violate or wriggle out of if it suited his hidden agenda. He never met an investor whose purse he didn’t consider his own in some strategic way. And he never met a human being he wouldn’t screw in order to advance or satisfy himself.

If you want to understand his beef with Panama, don’t look at the canal to which he now points. Look at Trump enterprises and their fraught financial and criminal relationship with Panama, and look to the Russian oligarchs who bought condos in his Panama Tower.

If you want to understand his fixation with Gaza, don’t look at the Palestinian or Israeli people; look at the real estate value he now perceives that Gaza holds, and he’d like to unlock.

If you want to understand his insane, obsessive beef with energy renewable windmills, don’t look at the wind energy aspect; look at his beef with Scotland over his golf course and the nearby windmills that damaged his idea of its aesthetics.

If you want to understand his irrational hatred of Obama, don’t look at the policies of the Obama administration; look to the annual press corp dinner where Obama poked fun at him and bruised his ego.

If you want to understand his demonization of Democrats, look not to Democratic social policy, but to the fact they didn’t want him to run under color of their party.

If you want to understand his hatred of “immigrants” don’t look to the actual contributions and challenges related to immigration, but to his own germophobia and personal disgust for all things “dirty and brown.”

What he does SO masterfully, as many sociopaths do, is figure out how to align, however temporarily, his own personal agenda with the drives of those he can then USE to help him execute it.

And the GOP fell right in line with that abusive strategy. The GOP now looks much like a battered wife who would LOVE to quit Trump, but who also knows their financial security, personal comfort, and social status would collapse if they ran away. And they fear they won’t get much sympathy or support from the people who tried to warn them not to marry the dude—a serial, liar, cheater, thief, sadist, and a generally Bad Person.

Many of the GOP politicians today are busily masking their own abuse from the general public; at some point, however, as they watch their power continue to erode, their reputations get smashed, and themselves get blamed for the extensive abuse they now suffer, something’s gonna give.

I don’t know what it is, but every bone in my body FEELS an energetic convergence heading toward a massive, MASSIVE explosion—coming soon. — Eileen Workman · Feb 13, 2025

:D

, the point was just that there hasn't been unconditional support.
Right, the deeds of the supporters haven't been on par with their words.
And then governments change, and things go up in the air (again).

Why did the U.S. shift focus from Ukrainian elections to changing Ukraine’s Constitution?

Maybe because they finally read the Constitution of Ukraine.

Previously, the thinking was: Zelensky is bad because he refuses to sign a capitulation. So, let’s replace him with a “good” candidate — Zaluzhnyi, Poroshenko, Tymoshenko, or someone else. That would require elections.

Then it became clear that no current political figure is willing to sign a capitulation either because it goes against the Constitution of Ukraine. So, the new plan: find a candidate willing to change the Constitution.

But that scenario won’t work either. Only the parliament, which represents the Ukrainian people, can amend the Constitution — and only one-third of Ukrainians are even considering the possibility of territorial concessions.

So what’s left for the Americans to do? Increase political pressure on Ukraine — which is exactly what they’re doing.

And the russians? Step up attacks at the front, intensify airstrikes and the information war — anything to trigger collapse.

But there’s one fundamental contradiction here: Russia’s strategy is to drag things out. More attacks. Delayed negotiations. More visits by Witkoff. Trump portraits, and so on. They have time until the end of the year — and they intend to use it to either break Ukraine or seize more territory.

Meanwhile, the U.S. needs speed. The “best negotiator” and “great peacemaker” has promised to end the war in 24 hours. Now, it’s becoming clear that his capitulation plan isn’t working, and he has to come up with new excuses daily — in front of the cameras and the American people.

What’s the outlook?

Once the U.S. realizes that pressure on Ukraine isn’t working, they’ll either start pressuring Russia — or walk away and dump the problem on Europe. — Валерій Пекар via Roman Sheremeta · Mar 23, 2025

Don't know if this was posted already, but here goes anyway.

And to be honest with you, Canada only works as a state. — Trump · The White House · Mar 13, 2025

I’ve covered a lot of Donald Trump press conferences over the years. I’ve seen him lie, deflect, and embarrass himself in countless ways. But what I just witnessed in the Oval Office may have been the most off-the-rails, unhinged display yet.
Trump sat down with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte — a serious figure there to talk about security and alliance unity — but Trump wasn’t interested in that. No, Trump used the opportunity to fantasize about annexing Canada. He actually said, “Canada only works as a state,” and gushed about how the U.S. would look on a map if we just erased the border and took Canada as our own. This wasn’t satire. This wasn’t a joke. This was the president rambling about absorbing another sovereign nation — while the NATO secretary general sat there watching this clown show unfold.
And it didn’t stop there. Trump started pushing the idea of conquering Greenland too, saying NATO might need to get involved in helping the U.S. take it over — as if it’s a game of Risk. He literally said we "need it for international security" and tried to rope NATO into his imperial fever dream. The look on Rutte’s face said it all.
Then, Trump pivoted to his usual bigotry. Instead of talking about defense cooperation or global security, Trump bragged about how he uses transgender people as political pawns to rile up his base before elections — saying Republicans should “bring it up a week before the election” to win votes. In other words, he openly admitted he sees cruelty and manufactured culture war nonsense as a campaign strategy. Despicable.
When asked about American small businesses hurting from tariffs, Trump did what he always does: lie and bluster. “You’re going to be so much richer,” he said. Meanwhile, Medicaid is being gutted, Social Security is under threat, and Trump’s billionaire cronies are cheering as the safety net burns.
Oh, and then Trump suggested we start sending drug dealers to the Netherlands — yes, you read that right — in a bizarre attempt at humor that landed more like a diplomatic insult, especially considering the NATO secretary general used to be the prime minister of the Netherlands.
He kept rambling about how the U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada, said the European Union is “very nasty,” claimed we can’t sell cars in Europe (not true), and then told an utterly deranged story about how he “invaded Los Angeles” to turn on the water — another lie pulled from his fantasyland. What actually happened was that he diverted water from Northern California, destroying farmland and hurting his own voters in the process.
To top it off, he said our allies shouldn’t worry about Putin, brushing off any concerns about Russian aggression with a shrug.
Let me be blunt: This is not normal. This is not politics-as-usual. This is a dangerous, unstable person with authoritarian fantasies, spewing nonsense in front of our closest allies while the world watches. — White House reporter via Ben Meiselas

Doesn't seem normal to me either, but that by itself isn't as objectionable + serious + putrid as much of what he said.

The decision to support them or not, and under what conditions, is ours. The idea that we should just follow them, wherever that may lead us, is insane considering what is at stake. — ChatteringMonkey

The Ukrainians haven't been supported unconditionally. (Imagine if someone like Utkin had been at the helm in Kyiv. :gasp:) Actually, there's been so much caution that some of it amounted to tip-toeing — which is playing Putin's game; recall, the Kremlin says what they want others to hear regardless; they're not omnipotent.
The Ukrainians, the victims, have said "No"; most of the world concurred. :shrug:
As mentioned, expect responses. (Do you really want to see the Ukrainians being shιt all over (again), plus open expansion of anti-democracy?)
Putin can be deterred if the Ukrainians want to. Non-appeasement + discouragement also mean wider impact.
(Meh Why do the re-re-repetitions (have to) keep coming?)