Russia - Ukraine “peace negotiations”
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Mulberry Heel
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God, this is so delusional. Trump is 10 moves ahead of everybody? LOL. This sounds like a mob boss move - tell Ukraine that unless they give us their minerals and natural resources we'll just turn them over to the Russians. And we already had Russia in a bad spot, it's not like they were winning the war before Trump took office. And the way you get Zelensky to sign the minerals deal is to very publicly attack and berate him in the White House? Brilliant negotiator, that Trump!
I don't but strangely it has always been the one thing that I remembered from TAotD, which I similarly haven't read for decades. It wasn't a political book, but it delved a bit into his view that the US should not be involved in overseas conflicts. Given how long it has been, I will concede that it is possible that my brain has scrambled up TAotD with some other Trump book after the TAotD. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to find articles and interviews/speeches that reference Trump as an isolationist including one from Pence linked below. Trump at his core does not believe in doing things for others and he has demonstrated that throughout his private and public life. That correlates with an isolationist viewpoint.
Mike Pence Warns Donald Trump Is Embracing Isolationism Over American Leadership
Former Vice President Mike Pence in a foreign policy speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. says that some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are "abandoning the traditional conservative position of American leadership on the world stage and embracing a new and...
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Zelensky Would Meet With Trump If Invited Back
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’s willing to meet Donald Trump if the US president invites him again “to solve real problems,” adding his country is ready to accept a minerals deal that was put
politicalwire.com
SnoopRob
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I don't but strangely it has always been the one thing that I remembered from TAotD, which I similarly haven't read for decades. It wasn't a political book, but it delved a bit into his view that the US should not be involved in overseas conflicts. Given how long it has been, I will concede that it is possible that my brain has scrambled up TAotD with some other Trump book after the TAotD. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to find articles and interviews/speeches that reference Trump as an isolationist including one from Pence linked below. Trump at his core does not believe in doing things for others and he has demonstrated that throughout his private and public life. That correlates with an isolationist viewpoint.
Mike Pence Warns Donald Trump Is Embracing Isolationism Over American Leadership
Former Vice President Mike Pence in a foreign policy speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. says that some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are "abandoning the traditional conservative position of American leadership on the world stage and embracing a new and...www.c-span.org
I don't disagree that Trump has been portrayed as an isolationist, but that's because the traditional view runs on a spectrum between interventionists on one side and isolationists on the other and he's certainly not a traditional interventionist.
I'm saying that the view is wrong because Trump isn't actually an isolationist (or an interventionist) at a philosophical or even practical level, he's a transactionalist. He's not against getting involved in the affairs of other countries using the tools he has at his disposal, but he only does so when he views that he directly benefits from doing so or when another country offers him direct benefits for doing so. He believes that certain countries and their leaders are his friends (not America's friends, his friends) and he has no compunction about mobilizing US resources to benefit those leaders/countries...Netanyahu & Israel, Putin & Russia, Orban & Hungary, etc. An actual isolationist would be for getting us out of Ukraine altogether, Trump is predominantly worried about mineral rights and securing Russian interests. An isolationsist wouldn't care if other NATO countries paid "their fair share", they'd be working to get us out of NATO altogether. And an isolationist certainly wouldn't have us trying to acquire the Panama Canal and/or Greenland, they'd be getting us out of those places altogether. Ergo, Trump can't be accurately labelled an isolationist and instead a new label (indeed, a new axis) must be created to explain how Trump approaches foreign policy.
One does wonder why all European NATO nations weren’t invited. The Baltic States weren’t invited. They’ve said so publicly.
I don’t know if Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Turkey, or the Balkan NATO nations were invited and chose not to attend.
I see the logic behind not inviting Hungary and Slovakia - they’re led by Putin-like and Putin-wannabe authoritarians.
theel4life
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Don’t forget to cup those balls Donald.
A couple weeks ago, when the Administration started its talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia, there was great consternation that Ukraine would have to sign onto a bad deal because it was losing. Well it didn't. Seeing the glass as half full, perhaps Ukraine is not so desperate. That's a good sign.
CFordUNC
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Lmao at “definitely trolling.” You are so unbelievably soft if you think *that* post constitutes trolling.
The last 80 years have been the safest, most prosperous in world history. Why do you think that is, primarily? Google ‘Pax Americana.’ Read. Educate yourself. Learn a little. Think critically. Analyze.
Then, after doing that, your homework assignment is to read this opinion piece linked below and come back to tell the rest of the class whether you agree or disagree with it and why. We’ll have a classroom discussion on why or why not you believe that the U.S. intentionally abdicating its leading global role does or does not constitute ‘decline.’
Happy reading and learning!
Pax Americana is over. What comes next will be worse.
For nearly eight decades, humanity has benefited from an international order built and maintained by American power.
thehill.com
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Mulberry Heel
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Marco has his little lips puckered up nicely and already attached to Dear Leader's butt, I see. Next he'll be telling us that Dear Leader is a true Prince of Peace and the greatest negotiator and diplomat of all times!
Mulberry Heel
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LOL. Democrats didn't "give" anything to Russia, Putin just moved in and took it. And during his first term Trump did nothing to help Ukraine regain the Crimea. And unmentioned in that post is that he is now willing to let Russia keep those parts of Ukraine that they've already taken and basically turn Ukraine into little more than a Putin puppet state. Good going, Donald!
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WaynetheDrain
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He's living in an alternate reality than the rest of the human race. And you are dumb enough to believe everything he says.
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Background from Human Rights Watch on her closed churches claim, which is not without an underlying issue but framed for distortion:
Ukraine: New Law Raises Religious Freedom Concerns
Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom.
“Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could effectively ban congregations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine’s largest religious body.
The law, adopted August 20, 2024, prohibits the Russian Orthodox Church from operating in Ukraine and bans any religious organization in Ukraine with ties to it or any other religious organizations based in countries “engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.” It authorizes the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience to identify links between Ukrainian religious organizations andthe Russian Orthodox Church. If found to have links, anorganization would have nine months to sever them,otherwise the agency can petition a court to shut it down.
“Ukrainian authorities understandably want to address state security concerns in the context of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But the law interferes with the right to freedom of religion and is so broad that it could violate the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church members.”
The Ukrainian government should suspend implementation of the law and request the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe’s’ Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to provide expert analysis of the law that would be the basis for its rights-respecting revision, Human Rights Watch said.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was established in 1990 as an autonomous branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leadership supports Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war, and in May 2022 took steps to ensure its independence and full autonomy from the Russian Orthodox Church. Yet, in January 2023, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience found these steps insufficient, stating that the “status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a structural subdivision of the Russian Orthodox Church... remains unchanged.”
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church exists alongside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was established in 2019 under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The law does not impact the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. …”
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Background from Human Rights Watch on her closed churches claim, which is not without an underlying issue but framed for distortion:
Ukraine: New Law Raises Religious Freedom Concerns
Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom.www.hrw.org
“Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could effectively ban congregations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine’s largest religious body.
The law, adopted August 20, 2024, prohibits the Russian Orthodox Church from operating in Ukraine and bans any religious organization in Ukraine with ties to it or any other religious organizations based in countries “engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.” It authorizes the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience to identify links between Ukrainian religious organizations andthe Russian Orthodox Church. If found to have links, anorganization would have nine months to sever them,otherwise the agency can petition a court to shut it down.
“Ukrainian authorities understandably want to address state security concerns in the context of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But the law interferes with the right to freedom of religion and is so broad that it could violate the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church members.”
The Ukrainian government should suspend implementation of the law and request the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe’s’ Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to provide expert analysis of the law that would be the basis for its rights-respecting revision, Human Rights Watch said.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was established in 1990 as an autonomous branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leadership supports Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war, and in May 2022 took steps to ensure its independence and full autonomy from the Russian Orthodox Church. Yet, in January 2023, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience found these steps insufficient, stating that the “status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a structural subdivision of the Russian Orthodox Church... remains unchanged.”
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church exists alongside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was established in 2019 under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The law does not impact the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. …”
More background/history of a thorny issue in Ukraine politics for years:
Holy War: The Fight for Ukraine’s Churches and Monasteries
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church will never be able to return to its prewar position. There are only two options now: swear allegiance to the new national consensus, or become a pro-Kremlin collaborator.
UNCBAdookJD
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Market is down. On pace for for contraction this quarter followed by a deep recession. We have become an unreliable partner to our allies to the point our national anthem gets booed when we play them in sports. We have pretty much ceded the cyber domain to Russia. We have idiots firing people who manage our nukes and then scrambling to rehire them when they realize what those people actually do and then failing because they didn’t even conduct a proper exit interview to make sure they had follow-on contact information.
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Background from Human Rights Watch on her closed churches claim, which is not without an underlying issue but framed for distortion:
Ukraine: New Law Raises Religious Freedom Concerns
Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom.
“Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could effectively ban congregations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine’s largest religious body.
The law, adopted August 20, 2024, prohibits the Russian Orthodox Church from operating in Ukraine and bans any religious organization in Ukraine with ties to it or any other religious organizations based in countries “engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.” It authorizes the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience to identify links between Ukrainian religious organizations andthe Russian Orthodox Church. If found to have links, anorganization would have nine months to sever them,otherwise the agency can petition a court to shut it down.
“Ukrainian authorities understandably want to address state security concerns in the context of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But the law interferes with the right to freedom of religion and is so broad that it could violate the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church members.”
The Ukrainian government should suspend implementation of the law and request the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe’s’ Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to provide expert analysis of the law that would be the basis for its rights-respecting revision, Human Rights Watch said.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was established in 1990 as an autonomous branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leadership supports Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war, and in May 2022 took steps to ensure its independence and full autonomy from the Russian Orthodox Church. Yet, in January 2023, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience found these steps insufficient, stating that the “status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a structural subdivision of the Russian Orthodox Church... remains unchanged.”
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church exists alongside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was established in 2019 under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The law does not impact the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. …”
As for her crocodile tears for a free press in Ukraine, the media in Ukraine has definitely been targeted- by Russia:
Ukraine: press freedom after 3 years of full-scale war – ipi.media
IPI presents a report on media freedom violations committed over the past three years in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
ipi.media
“… Killings and injuries of journalists reporting in Ukraine spiked during the first six months following the full-scale invasion, but incidents of physical attacks continue at a high level, according to IPI’s Ukraine War Press Freedom Tracker, which has documented threats to journalists in Ukraine since February 2022. IPI documented 24 incidents in 2024, in comparison with 25 in 2023. Nearly all of these attacks have come from Russian shelling or at the hands of Russian forces.
At least 14 journalists have been killed in Ukraine in relation to their work since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, nearly all in Russian shelling or at the hands of Russian forces. Ten were killed in 2022, two in 2023, and two in 2024. This figure also includes journalist Victoria Roshchyna, whose death in Russian captivity last year shocked the Ukrainian media community.
At least 50 journalists have been injuredsince February 24, 2022, according to IPI’s data. Of these, 18 sustained injuries during the most intense period of violence between February and September 2022. Eleven more were wounded in 2023 and 18 in 2024, underscoring the continued high and stable level of risk that journalists face.
Destruction of media infrastructure
Immediately after the full-scale invasion started, Russian forces targeted media infrastructure and offices in Ukraine, including the March 1, 2022 attack on the Kyiv TV tower. The attack on the tower also led to the first wartime killing of a journalist on duty, camera operator Yevhenii Sakun. Russian attacks on Ukrainian media offices and infrastructuredipped in 2023 before intensifying again in 2024, with 15 such attacks last year.
Arrests by Russian occupying authorities
The first months of the full-scale war, amid the overall informational and security chaos which reigned at the time, saw frequent arrests of Ukrainian journalists by Russian occupying authorities. In some cases, journalists and media workers were eventually released, while others remain in custody.
As of February 2025, IPI has knowledge of 20 Ukrainian journalists held by Russian authorities. This includes both journalists who were detained while continuing to report in areas seized by Russia following the full-scale invasion, or who had been detained prior to the invasion in areas under Russian control, especially in occupied Crimea.
Especially worrying is the situation of journalists detained in recently occupied regions of Ukraine, namely Kherson and Zaporizhia, where reliable information on their condition is scarce. This includes at least seven young journalists who published on the anonymous Telegram channel RIA Melitopol and who are being held at unspecified places of detention. …”
BUT, TBF, as the war has worn on, there have also been pressure by Ukrainian officials (especially the military) against reporters covering war progress and corruption allegations:
Shrinking press freedom in Ukraine: urgent need to implement a roadmap for the right to information
Pressure against independent media in Ukraine has been growing for several months. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the Ukrainian authorities to implement the recommendations of its roadmap, presented a year ago, in order to protect independent journalism and the right to information in the...
rsf.org