Ironies abound: Trump’s major ally in his quest for peace is…his adversary, president Putin. His formal allies, the (former Nato?) Europeans, have parted ways with him and due to a serious, even chronic case of TDS, now prefer war against Russia to peace. Even our thankless, lying and feckless showman of a proxy is attempting, as befits his psychopathic personality, to play both sides, to agree with Trump one day and to spit in his face, “what diplomacy?” the next! And, let’s not forget the paddle-wielding numbskulls in the Dims who were silent for four years as Auto-Pilot Zhou handed off the war to his thug entourage. Even now Victoria emits a few noises from her Columbia sinecure urging the exhausted and demoralized Ukrainian army to fight on! Deep State enemies, domestic and foreign, as Doctorow so eloquently put it. Trump has to proceed very cautiously- and I think Putin fully understands this.
ML, I agree with all, except it is not TDS per se. The Europeans and the UK and Western corporations have already invested a ton of money in Ukraine to secure farmland, minerals, ports, reconstruction contracts, you name it. Who knows how much they have already borrowed off of this collateral from Ukraine as well. The figures must be mindboggling when you see that they now want to send Ukraine an additional 700B Euros. Does anyone in Europe believe that this is because of the Russian threat of invasion? What are you hearing?
It probably isn't a stretch to say the economies of the EU members and the UK are tottering over control of the Ukraine investments and sunk costs at this point. THAT is why they call victory in Ukraine "existential" for themselves.
This piece has me quaking in my boots…censorship, vilification of “populist” movements, unchecked immigration, forced conscription, and now Lagarde’s digital euro or CBDC. Anything more to snuff out freedom?…
Hi ML. thanks for the link. I agree with you - he makes a lot of great and frightening points in this article. It is hard to argue against what he says is now happening and the reasons for it. My big question is who has the capability to "remove the globalists in power and change the dynamic"? I'm not sure there is an answer given that the populace has been disarmed, as long as the police and military remain loyal to their respective national governments.
P.S. - My apologies for the long (10 day) lag in responding to this. My computer died on 3/20 and it was only yesterday I was able to have the data from it moved to a new PC I purchased this last week. Let me tell you it was not fun to be almost totally reliant on TV news rather than alternative media for 9 days. It made me appreciate all the more the wonderful "alternative media" we have such as Mark and those he cites. I felt like I was wearing a blindfold when it came to world events. Everything was about the Signal leak for three days solid. Nothing else in foreign policy or international.
Anyway, thanks again and hope all is well with you.
Good to hear you’re back and reconnected! Even if the news veers in a dismal direction, we have Mark’s unfailing efforts to get to some sort of understanding, which in itself is comforting. Do you remember a commenter - I think from Idaho - named RascalNickof? (a play on the Karamasov family!) Just thought of him as we haven’t heard from him in a while. Yes, Europe (so-called leaders) is trashing itself - almost all the Uber drivers in Paris and vicinity I’ve talked to applaud Trump for trying to turn things around for ordinary Americans - they now are driving “to survive” - not to “make a living…” Business is down…well, cheers!
Great to hear from you, ML! Yes, I find the sanity of Mark's analysis as well as the moral attitude he provides comforting, too. Of course I remember Rascal. I guess commenters kind of come and go (like yours truly, except I keep coming back :). There are and have been so many good ones on this site who add great value to it, such as yourself.
I'm sorry to hear things are trending worse in France. I have a cousin who informed me yesterday that he will be vacationing in Paris and Normandy the first 18 days of April. I'm so happy for him to have the chance to see such a great and beautiful city. But I couldn't help wonder how much it might have changed since I last went there, which is back in the early 2000s. I was there a number of time throughout the '90s as well. I hope he ends up having as good memories of it as I have.
I had written this on another board earlier - hope you mark do not mind repeat
Possibly why Putin not thrilled
my speculation
Trump - While knowing Putin's request(s) - and knowing US UK EU UA will never meet them ---- why not have a few phone calls - then write up a ceasefire proposal that does not address all of Putin's requests, write up a ceasefire that omits essential terms ( as Alaistair Crooke stated) write up a ceasefire you know will never be agreed to --- Sign it and send it to Putin
And then have your lackeys Johnson Rubio et al tell everyone you were the reasonable one, you offered a reasonable ceasefire, you met their requests, but Putin wants to kill innocent people so Putin denied your reasonable request. It's a game show.
Boris Johnson post merely indicates the speculation is correct
i would imagine Putin was not delighted with the coverage
============================
Boris Johnson says it was all a show
"What a surprise - Putin rejects an unconditional ceasefire. He wants to keep bombing and killing innocent Ukrainians. He wants Ukraine disarmed. He wants Ukraine neutralised. He wants to make Ukraine a vassal state of Russia. He isn’t negotiating. He’s laughing at us."
Alaistair Crooke seems to hint that either the US negotiation team is completely inexperienced and dumb as a box of rocks, or the Ukraine ceasefire was all a show and there was never any real intent on having a ceasefire
Oh please. The mainstream media never stops spinning. They never miss an opportunity to portray Putin/Russia in the most possible negative light. It’s laughably predictable. Just as an FYI, Trump peace envoy Steve Witkoff said the following about the 2+ hour call between Trump and Putin: “President Trump and President Putin were in sync with one another, the call was outcome-oriented. I actually think in a couple of weeks, we’re gonna get to [a ceasefire].” According to Witkoff, more progress was made on March 18 than in the “last three and a half years,” with important “trust-building” steps being taken now.
The fact that we are not demanding a election in Ukraine is something Russians are watching closely.
We could easily ask the Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe to help with that.
The fact that we are not doing these things sends the wrong message to the Russians.
.
We are vitally responsible for everything that has happened in Ukraine.
If you are a Russian, you reasonably ask the following question:
If they want good relations with Russia, if the want to repair the damage, why don't they simply put an end to this regime in Kyiv and demand Ukraine hold elections.
Ironies abound: Trump’s major ally in his quest for peace is…his adversary, president Putin. His formal allies, the (former Nato?) Europeans, have parted ways with him and due to a serious, even chronic case of TDS, now prefer war against Russia to peace. Even our thankless, lying and feckless showman of a proxy is attempting, as befits his psychopathic personality, to play both sides, to agree with Trump one day and to spit in his face, “what diplomacy?” the next! And, let’s not forget the paddle-wielding numbskulls in the Dims who were silent for four years as Auto-Pilot Zhou handed off the war to his thug entourage. Even now Victoria emits a few noises from her Columbia sinecure urging the exhausted and demoralized Ukrainian army to fight on! Deep State enemies, domestic and foreign, as Doctorow so eloquently put it. Trump has to proceed very cautiously- and I think Putin fully understands this.
ML, I agree with all, except it is not TDS per se. The Europeans and the UK and Western corporations have already invested a ton of money in Ukraine to secure farmland, minerals, ports, reconstruction contracts, you name it. Who knows how much they have already borrowed off of this collateral from Ukraine as well. The figures must be mindboggling when you see that they now want to send Ukraine an additional 700B Euros. Does anyone in Europe believe that this is because of the Russian threat of invasion? What are you hearing?
https://united24media.com/latest-news/europe-eyes-unprecedented-eur700-billion-military-aid-plan-for-ukraine-5981?gad_source=5
It probably isn't a stretch to say the economies of the EU members and the UK are tottering over control of the Ukraine investments and sunk costs at this point. THAT is why they call victory in Ukraine "existential" for themselves.
Very true, TDS is a part of it. Apparently we’re all going to receive “kits de survie” in the mail. I kid you not. Existentiel.
P.S. - I know you realize all of this already. It just isn't said enough.
This piece has me quaking in my boots…censorship, vilification of “populist” movements, unchecked immigration, forced conscription, and now Lagarde’s digital euro or CBDC. Anything more to snuff out freedom?…
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/europe-goes-full-totalitarian-and-puts-entire-western-world-risk
Hi ML. thanks for the link. I agree with you - he makes a lot of great and frightening points in this article. It is hard to argue against what he says is now happening and the reasons for it. My big question is who has the capability to "remove the globalists in power and change the dynamic"? I'm not sure there is an answer given that the populace has been disarmed, as long as the police and military remain loyal to their respective national governments.
P.S. - My apologies for the long (10 day) lag in responding to this. My computer died on 3/20 and it was only yesterday I was able to have the data from it moved to a new PC I purchased this last week. Let me tell you it was not fun to be almost totally reliant on TV news rather than alternative media for 9 days. It made me appreciate all the more the wonderful "alternative media" we have such as Mark and those he cites. I felt like I was wearing a blindfold when it came to world events. Everything was about the Signal leak for three days solid. Nothing else in foreign policy or international.
Anyway, thanks again and hope all is well with you.
Good to hear you’re back and reconnected! Even if the news veers in a dismal direction, we have Mark’s unfailing efforts to get to some sort of understanding, which in itself is comforting. Do you remember a commenter - I think from Idaho - named RascalNickof? (a play on the Karamasov family!) Just thought of him as we haven’t heard from him in a while. Yes, Europe (so-called leaders) is trashing itself - almost all the Uber drivers in Paris and vicinity I’ve talked to applaud Trump for trying to turn things around for ordinary Americans - they now are driving “to survive” - not to “make a living…” Business is down…well, cheers!
Great to hear from you, ML! Yes, I find the sanity of Mark's analysis as well as the moral attitude he provides comforting, too. Of course I remember Rascal. I guess commenters kind of come and go (like yours truly, except I keep coming back :). There are and have been so many good ones on this site who add great value to it, such as yourself.
I'm sorry to hear things are trending worse in France. I have a cousin who informed me yesterday that he will be vacationing in Paris and Normandy the first 18 days of April. I'm so happy for him to have the chance to see such a great and beautiful city. But I couldn't help wonder how much it might have changed since I last went there, which is back in the early 2000s. I was there a number of time throughout the '90s as well. I hope he ends up having as good memories of it as I have.
Best wishes always and thanks for the reply!
Yup
I had written this on another board earlier - hope you mark do not mind repeat
Possibly why Putin not thrilled
my speculation
Trump - While knowing Putin's request(s) - and knowing US UK EU UA will never meet them ---- why not have a few phone calls - then write up a ceasefire proposal that does not address all of Putin's requests, write up a ceasefire that omits essential terms ( as Alaistair Crooke stated) write up a ceasefire you know will never be agreed to --- Sign it and send it to Putin
And then have your lackeys Johnson Rubio et al tell everyone you were the reasonable one, you offered a reasonable ceasefire, you met their requests, but Putin wants to kill innocent people so Putin denied your reasonable request. It's a game show.
Boris Johnson post merely indicates the speculation is correct
i would imagine Putin was not delighted with the coverage
============================
Boris Johnson says it was all a show
"What a surprise - Putin rejects an unconditional ceasefire. He wants to keep bombing and killing innocent Ukrainians. He wants Ukraine disarmed. He wants Ukraine neutralised. He wants to make Ukraine a vassal state of Russia. He isn’t negotiating. He’s laughing at us."
https://x.com/BorisJohnson/status/1902117437018903037
Alaistair Crooke seems to hint that either the US negotiation team is completely inexperienced and dumb as a box of rocks, or the Ukraine ceasefire was all a show and there was never any real intent on having a ceasefire
https://youtu.be/NXsykiIDK2g?t=173
Oh please. The mainstream media never stops spinning. They never miss an opportunity to portray Putin/Russia in the most possible negative light. It’s laughably predictable. Just as an FYI, Trump peace envoy Steve Witkoff said the following about the 2+ hour call between Trump and Putin: “President Trump and President Putin were in sync with one another, the call was outcome-oriented. I actually think in a couple of weeks, we’re gonna get to [a ceasefire].” According to Witkoff, more progress was made on March 18 than in the “last three and a half years,” with important “trust-building” steps being taken now.
Douglas Macgregor @DougAMacgregor
The fact that we are not demanding a election in Ukraine is something Russians are watching closely.
We could easily ask the Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe to help with that.
The fact that we are not doing these things sends the wrong message to the Russians.
.
We are vitally responsible for everything that has happened in Ukraine.
If you are a Russian, you reasonably ask the following question:
If they want good relations with Russia, if the want to repair the damage, why don't they simply put an end to this regime in Kyiv and demand Ukraine hold elections.
Essential background: The Greatest Speech of the 21st Century: Jeffrey Sachs before the European Parliament, March 9, 2025
https://montanarcc.substack.com/p/the-greatest-speech-of-the-21st-century